Hands-On: Splinter Cell: Double Agent

New hands-on impressions of Sam Fisher's newest game with fresh E3 media.

Sam Fisher has seen better days. His daughter, tragically killed during an operation, devastates our green goggled friend to the point where he signs up for suicide missions. His life has no meaning anymore, so why should he hold back? The answer pushes the Splinter Cell franchise to new psychological limits and the player into missions far more intense than any nightmare Tom Clancy could conjure up, in Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Luckily, while the game is grim and gritty, Ubisoft has managed to make the game look just flat out beautiful on the Xbox 360.

Easily the focus of Double Agent, the new cinematic and psychological nature of the game was demonstrated by Ubisoft at the show. No longer just confined to straightforward cinematics, Double Agent allows players to control Fisher during scripted sequences and even make decisions that will impact the entire game. For instance, Fisher is working undercover in this latest entry to the Splinter Cell franchise, and at one point, you will be forced to choose whether or not to murder an innocent bystander just to give your cover credibility. Depending on whether or not you kill the innocent, you will have different branching missions. It's all apart of Ubisoft's big push to make real decisions actually impact the game and we are easily excited by the potential.

In another part of the floor demo, Sam Fisher had to make his way through a war torn part of Africa, with warring factions murdering civilians and soldiers alike without any involvement from Fisher. However, you can choose to get involved, and save innocent civilians, which makes your infiltration that much harder, or let innocent bystanders be blown away like the cruel, heartless bastard you are. The amount of freedom you have in Double Agent is staggering for this kind of genre.

The game incorporates all new moves and camera angles, although as of this E3 build, a new side wall technique was very glitchy and had the unfortunate (and unexpected) ability to get the player killed. The HUD is almost barren, furthering the cinematic feel of the game, with just a light sensor to alert you to how compromised your position is. Even cinematic sequences, like parachuting from thousands of feet in the air, can be controlled by the player with a limited range of movement. There is a definite movie-like quality to Sam Fisher's latest adventure.

A whole new range of weaponry will be available to players, but a groovy new espionage tactic on display at E3 was a wet suit that allows Fisher to swim underwater. An incredibly cool sequence had Fisher going underneath a sheet of ice, swimming along to track guards' shadows walking on top of the ice. Once you get a hold of an enemy position, you can knock against the ice and distract them, where once confused, they will be plunged into the hypothermic temperatures and disposed of with your trusty pocket knife. It's like an interactive reproduction of one of the most memorable scenes from Cliffhanger.

The A.I. seems smarter than ever, and that means you'll have to use more strategy than you can shake a GPS unit at. While still able to exploit certain elements in typical Fisher fashion, you'll have to play close attention to your surroundings. Need to get to your mission objective? Climb underneath and grab on to the military van moving to your target. However, if you make your move before the careful guards not only check outside, but under the vehicle, you will be caught (and promptly killed). This level of intelligence means a more interactive environment than ever before; with Fisher even able to sneak grenades into enemy tanks and watch them explode from a safe distance.

Visually, the game is as lethal as Sam Fisher. Fully taking advantage of next gen hardware, the game is stunning on Xbox 360, displaying a wide variety of locales with incredible lighting, textures, effects and little touches that make the game far more realistic than even its well aged Xbox predecessors. Seeing wind blow of icy rocks, realistic shadows underneath sheets of ice and a devastated war torn alley was just a taste of what we got at E3. Even little things, like Sam Fisher's sunglasses, seem incredibly detailed. It lends so much to the atmosphere and will undoubtedly make this game as intense as Ubisoft has billed.

In terms of things to be improved on, as of this build, the framerate was not quite up to par with the rest of the visuals. And unfortunately, some clipping occurred once or twice, which combined with an inconsistent framerate, detracted from what was otherwise a stellar looking game. Still several months away from being finished, and considering Ubisoft's track record, one would think this will be corrected by its scheduled release date of Sepetember.

There is still so much hidden from public view, including all the additional weaponry, gadgets and Xbox 360 content, such as Live multiplayer and Achievements. That said, we were able to pry from Ubisoft's ninja spies that players can expect at the very least, similar multiplayer offerings from the previous Splinter Cell installments and a robust, fun 3-on-3 mode that should make for some sweaty controllers. As we near closer to September, and Ubisoft unleashes Splinter Cell on the public, click back to Kikizo for more on this promising title.

Will Federman
Staff Writer, Kikizo