If there’s one constant in the gaming world it’s when you do something right, milking it for all it’s worth. Whether it’s Capcom pumping out crappy Megaman after crappy Megaman, or EA being, well EA, you never ever change anything until it’s become completely unprofitable. Looks like nobody told Ubisoft Shanghai how things are supposed to be done.
When the original Splinter Cell was released back in the fall of 2002, it immediately became a critical and financial success. The innovative use of light and shadows for concealment, and the strong level of environmental immersion easily drew in gamers all across the world.
In the following years, UbiSoft returned twice more with Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, introducing Spy vs. Merc multiplayer mode and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, bringing co-op to the table.
The formula worked and everything was riding high, but then Ubisoft Shanghai decided they wanted to start over from scratch. There’s no reason why they chose to break the already established Splinter Cell mould, but gamers everywhere will be damn glad they did.
Where previous Splinter Cell games featured black ops veteran and pension collector, Sam Fisher, collecting covert information by infiltration terrorist hideouts, Double Agent has Sam infiltrating the terrorist group themselves.
No longer will you have to worry about losing the mission if you happen to trigger three alarms. Instead, you’ll have to worry about your “friends” losing their trust in you and painting the wall with your brain matter.
Missions are no longer simple affairs as you’ll often have two conflicting sets of objectives to complete. Sometimes you’ll be forced to make a moral choice and, on a few occasions, it can be a really hard choice to make. Is it okay to blow up a half-full cruise ship if it allows you to maintain your cover? Think about that one.
Failure to complete objectives will cause a loss of trust and if one side completely loses its trust in you, you’ll fail. Furthermore, there are several special missions where you must snoop around the terrorists' hideout and if you get caught in the wrong place, or using a spy gadget, your cover could be blown.
Perhaps one of the biggest changes to the series is the loss of Sam’s classic multi-vision goggles. Though they’re still in the game, Sam only has them in a handful of missions. The rest are done with nothing more than the naked eye. It may seem a bit trivial at first, but actually being forced to stumble through the darkness, instead of being able to see, drastically changes game play.
Article comments
1 - Jackie
Just a note. Dennis Haysbert doesn't voice Lambert.
Don Jordan has voiced Lambert in every game except Pandora Tomorrow, where Haysbert took the role. But it was only for the one game.
2 - Jason "Njiska" Westhaver
You would be correct, my mistake.