Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

The third installment in this great Clancy franchise came up fast. Was it the next step in giving us the best stealth experience ever?

	Version ALL	Developer Ubisoft Montreal	Publisher Ubisoft	Genre Action

By Ben S. Dutka

Back in 2002, Splinter Cell burst onto the scene and immediately garnered high critical acclaim for its ultimately realistic gameplay and top-notch visuals. At that point, there was only one real contender for the crown in the specified stealth category, Metal Gear Solid. After the original on the PSOne came to be known as one of the finest video games in history, Konami followed it up with two more PS2 MGS titles, both fantastic.

Splinter Cell took a slightly different approach by focusing almost entirely on the gameplay, which was designed to reflect how an elite secret agent in the field might act. Sam Fisher wasn't Solid Snake, but then again, he wasn't meant to be. In their own right, the Splinter Cell games strive to obtain stealth supremacy, and the original took a giant step towards that goal. Pandora Tomorrow, follow-up to the original and released just last year, took a few more steps. And now, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory has arrived to push the envelope yet again.

The contrast between light and shadow, the two facets of the game that will mean the difference between life and death, is a primary focus of the astounding graphics. We saw it in the original Splinter Cell, we saw a slight enhancement in Pandora Tomorrow, and Chaos Theory delivers once more. The character modeling is exquisite, the detail is both significant and finely crafted, and the lighting is nothing short of amazing. The developers even paid careful attention to better character animations, and that doesn't go unnoticed.

The only real downside is that the darkness permeates so much of the environment that you spend a lot of time in the "green" of night-vision. It's basically a requirement, but it's kind of a shame that all that great detail is mostly viewed through the fuzzy lime green color of those invaluable goggles. Still, there are few better graphical presentations out there, and any gamer should be impressed by Ubisoft Montreal's effort.

As important as those wonderful visuals are, sound is also a crucial aspect of the Splinter Cell series. In order for realism to take a front seat, it's not only the eyes of your foes you need to worry about. A suspicious sound of boots ringing on metal will raise a guard's suspicion as quickly as a perceived movement in dimly lit shadows. Thankfully, the developers have known this ever since the first installment of the franchise.

The sound is clear and crisp, with solid voice-acting from the cast and even the NPCs, and each small sound effect in your surrounding environment is beautifully orchestrated. There seems to be an issue regarding the balance of these effects, as the sudden choking gasp of a guard seems incredibly loud, but at least this matches well with the sharp and intimidating gunfire. The soundtrack can't be all that prominent - having hard rock anthems ripping in the background wouldn't make much sense - but I have always wanted better tracks for the Splinter Cell games. In the end, though, the series maintains excellent sound technicals.

What is the gameplay in Splinter Cell? It's about silence and efficiency. It's about being a ghost. It's about options. The biggest allure of Splinter Cell has always centered on the great number of options available to the player; there are always several ways to deal with a difficult situation. Whether you simply wish to sneak by, grab someone for interrogation, or rain lethal attacks from the shadows, the game allows you to choose... for the most part. There are sections of the game that impose restrictions, like not allowing deadly force or requiring that you extract information from an unsuspecting enemy, but your choices are there most of the time.

Your old bag of tricks is back and better than ever, now complimented by several new gadgets and techniques. In direct comparison to the original title, Chaos Theory is leaps and bounds ahead of it; it's as if Ubisoft simply used the first Splinter Cell as a template, and then built on that solid foundation. As a perfectly competent American spy named Sam Fisher, you will be sent on missions from the U.S. to Korea, and your goals will range widely.

You will recognize some of the fun little toys Sam has at his disposal, and others will be new to you. Those making their return include the SC-20k all-purpose semi-automatic rifle, capable of both sniper attacks and secondary launching of grenades and other strategic tools. The Sticky Shockers and Ring Airfoil Rounds are back, both used for incapacitating foes from afar. The 5-7 SC pistol has returned as well, but this time, you have the option of the OCP (Optically Channeled Potentiator), used by pressing the left trigger rather than the right. The OCP can disable electrical things like cameras and lights, which is quite useful. The left trigger is basically "non-lethal," as pulling this when holding a guard will allow Sam to execute a sleeper hold rather than a deadly attack.

Another long-range addition to the gameplay is the EEV (Electronically Enhanced Vision). This can be used to actually hack into computers from afar, allowing you to obtain valuable information and disable obstacles like laser grids. This is mapped to the directional pad, along with your other familiar "visions;" Night and Thermal. You will also have your handy-dandy Optic Cable, used to check out what's on the other side of that door. Lastly, and speaking of doors, you can now open a door "stealthily," which allows you to control the speed of the opening door with the left analog stick.

The AI has been improved, and those enemies now have flares and flashlights to simultaneously make things more realistic and more difficult for you. They will cover each other in gunfights, their hearing and sight is pretty darn good, and oh yeah, they're excellent shots. It won't take many solid hits to kill you, and believe it when I say you are dead meat if you're caught in the open by more than one foe. The game forces you to stay in the shadows to be effective, which is exactly the point, of course.

Lethal force is usually allowed, but as you are rated in this newest installment, it's not the best idea if you're going for that 100% success rating. To achieve this, you need to complete all available objectives and have a zero count for deaths, bodies found, times recognized as an intruder, and alarms. It's not that difficult to get, especially on Normal, but it will require a lot of trial and error on your part. However, you will be doing all of this with a set of finely tuned and fluid controls, and it's a minor miracle that the developers were able to map so many commands to the Xbox gamepad and still make them so accessible. Control is one area where Splinter Cell easily trumps its rival, Metal Gear Solid.

On the flip side, there is one interesting dichotomy of the game. While the number of options available to you have increased yet again, giving the player a beautiful sense of freedom, these options get cut almost in half if you're looking for a high success rating. If no lethal force can be used, you're eliminating many of those options and the gameplay comes down to just sneaking around. And that may make sense; 100% stealth = 100% success rating, but if you do this all the time, you will find yourself simply grabbing guards all the time and doing nothing else.

This isn't usually tough to do, either. So long as it's dark and you have some skill with the analog, you should be fine. But this leads me to another slight negative: when the prompt "Grab Character" pops up, if you're moving forward, the analog movement will move upwards to select "Interact" rather than the one you want. This presents an immensely frustrating problem when sneaking up on a guard if he's moving: when you get close enough and the command pops up, your forward analog movement will cause you to select "Interact" and nothing will happen. This can occur several times for each attempt; you have to learn to be almost completely stationary before attempting the grab. It's a problem, but not a crippling one.

The depth consists of all those lethal and non-lethal attacks and maneuvers, as well as the platforming elements, which include grappling, rappelling, climbing, hanging, etc. Sam still can't crawl unless he's moving into a crawl space, which is curious, considering that it would be very effective. You will also have primary, secondary, opportunity, and bonus objectives to tackle, and these will be attempted in a less linear environment than SC fans might be used to. There's some more exploration and backtracking involved in Chaos Theory, and the extra options and objectives also give a more realistic sense of freedom.

It's unlikely Splinter Cell will ever have the astounding storyline the Metal Gear franchise is famous for. However, while Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater may have sported one of the finest acted and presented plots in video game history, Chaos Theory concentrates all its focus on the gameplay, which is inherently deeper. There is just more stuff to do in Chaos Theory, and your environment is more accurately simulated. The story is both interesting and even intricate, but its hardly character-driven. In the end, SC is all about immersing the player in a completely believable world where it truly feels realistic from top to bottom.

In the end, the comparisons between the two mammoth franchises will continue. However, there are only two things you really need to know: 1. Konami and Ubisoft approach the genre very differently, and thus, achieve different goals, and 2. Every installment in each series is spectacular. If you want a character-driven story full of twists and turns and a plot that may bring a tear to your eye, surrounding a solid stealth experience in an almost fantasy-style setting, play MGS 3. If you want the focus on deeper gameplay, realism and accuracy, and general freedom, opt for Chaos Theory.

The latter also has the benefit of greatly improved online and multiplayer modes; the new Co-op gameplay will have fans playing together for months, and you will even experience new moves and techniques here and there. In the end, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory takes the foundation built by the original, brings back the enhancements from the sequel, and then takes another stride. The trial-and-error gameplay might annoy some people, striving for high success ratings will limit your options, and you spend a whole lot of time in the dark, but that's okay. It's gorgeous to look at, a pleasure to interact with, wonderfully realistic, and incredibly immersive. Another bulls-eye for Ubisoft.