Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

Sam Fisher is back in the best Xbox Live game ever. Does it all gel together as well as everyone says? Find out here.

	Version Xbox (PS2, GCN soon)	Developer UbiSoft	Publisher UbiSoft	Genre Action/Stealth

By Rick Larson

Two years ago, the original Splinter Cell made its stealthy debut on the Xbox. The Tom Clancy inspired masterpiece took the gaming community by surprise with its revolutionary gameplay and graphical elements. Never before had a player been put so convincingly in the position of using light and shadows as a means of making his way through a mission to save the free world. While some considered it direct competition to the almighty Metal Gear Solid franchise, Splinter Cell was in a whole different playing field. It was grounded in realism and kept tensions high at every turn. Its unique and original use of lighting not only made the game beautiful but added so much depth to the gameplay. This seemingly perfect merger of graphics and gameplay allowed it to bring home numerous game of the year awards.

UbiSoft has returned with the second instalment of the Splinter Cell series. Sam Fisher once again stands ready to take on any force that threatens the US along with his allies Lambert, Grimsdottir, and newcomer Dermont P. Brunton. In a high quality and action packed FMV sequence, the game starts off showing a terrorist task force invading an American embassy. The leader of the terrorist group is a man by the name of Suhadi Sadono. Sadono is a ruthless man bent on tearing apart the US. So how does the name Pandora Tomorrow fit into all of this? It is part of Sadono's plan to bring about the fall of Americans, to know any more you'll have to play the game.

In comparison to the first Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow is a pretty large leap forward. Everything that made the original so amazing has been greatly refined and more attractive than before. For players of the original, it's probably hard to imagine how this could be possible. Here's the breakdown.

SC wowed us with its spectacular graphics. Character models were excellent, environments where huge and detailed, and the lighting effects were drool worthy. SC: PT ups the bar in every aspect. The character models are now even more detailed and Sam Fisher looks even better than before. Fisher's overall proportions seemed to have changed slightly since the last game. While in the original he was very thin and lanky, the new model is a bit more buff. This is best portrayed when he is wearing the new jungle gear.

The locations of SC: PT now range from the claustrophobic levels that were found in the original to new huge open area. One that particularly stands out is the Israel level in which Sam must navigate through massive courtyard, churches, and streets. This takes place on multiple levels of height as well. Sam goes from the streets to the top of buildings and back down again. The scale is just astounding.

The detail has also increased a great deal. Little touches have been thrown in all over just to make the world seem more real. All the textures were created from scratch for this sequel. Just looking at the game makes this easy to pick out. Everything just looks more realistic than before and makes the experience more engrossing. The new outdoor environments make this apparent. The leaves, brush, grass, and vines are gorgeous. The animation added for wind and while being rubbed up against adds to the sense of realism.

All the lighting effects are back in full force for this sequel. Staying in the shadows is still the name of the game and Ubi went the extra mile and surpassed the original in even this area. There are many more lights and many more shadows to cover these immense levels and even with the numerous real time lighting effects taking place in a single area there isn't a hint of slowdown. Out of all the levels one stands out more than any in terms of graphics- Jakarta, Indonesia. This boasts every graphical element Ubi could muster. It's night, it's raining, and it covers streets, sewers, and indoor areas. So much detail went into this level that it truly is breathtaking. The water effects are beautiful. The rain drips on the screen and makes the environment and characters look convincingly wet. Lightning will even blind Sam if he has his night vision on, leaving the image that was seen during the flash brightly imprinted on the screen for a short period of time. The level even takes a bit of the flare from one of UbiSoft's other hits, Prince of Persia, by giving everything an eerie and subtle glow. It's truly a sight to behold.

Being a stealth game it's important to hear everything that's going on around you. SC: PT makes sure you can do just that. Through it's use of DD5.1 players can hear the entire setting encompass them. This helps a great deal when trying to hide from enemies. It also gives a greater sense of immersion.

Voice acting is once again very high quality due to its excellent voice talent. Michael Ironside returns with the perfect grim voice of Sam Fisher. Dennis Haysbert known for is role in the hit series 24, lends his talent for the role of Lambert. The rest of the cast offers a great performance. The only thing in the voice acting area that is less than superb is the annoying reoccurrence of certain phrases when alarms are set off.

The music of SC: PT fits the stealthy covert ops feel perfectly. Though it may not be the best soundtrack ever in a game it does it's job and never tries to be overbearing. The music is mainly their just for to set the mood and it does a great job at it.

For those that played the original the controls at the start of the game will feel a bit awkward. This is not to say it is a bad control scheme but UbiSoft has simplified the formula making it more accessible to a larger group of gamers. Even with the simpler controls a greater amount of moves has been added. Sam can now whistle to attract enemies, perform a new version of the split jump, and execute a swat roll to spin by doors without being seen. This makes the already deep gameplay even deeper and more enjoyable.

Stealth is still the focal point of SC: PT but gamers will now find more opportunities to get into shootouts. While making the game more fun and allowing a break from the tension, Sam is still only "human" and it doesn't take a whole lot for him to get shot down. Luckily the shooting is very easy to master and in some of the purposefully added shooting scenes, even when outnumbered Sam can still pull out victorious with little frustration.

What I found the most impressive about the gameplay is how Ubi managed to incorporate a cinematic feel into the game itself while the player still has control. Moments like crawling on the side of a train while another train comes rushing by leaving Sam hanging on for dear life by one arm while waving in the rushing wind are just awe inspiring. SC:PT really allows a gamer to play out what they would normally only see in a cut scene of most games. This gives a very satisfying feeling.

One of the few things that I found disappointing about the single player was the absence of that revolutionary feeling that the original SC brought about. By no means did this hurt the single player, it just didn't pack that initial punch of amazement. It seems Ubi wanted to make up for that however and managed to throw something completely new into the mix- online spies vs. mercenaries multiplayer. When first hearing that it would only allow 4 players and the mercs would be the only one with guns, the multiplayer sounded a bit iffy. Now after thorough play time, any hint of worry I had has been thrown out the window.

UbiSoft managed to really make the multiplayer an even playing field. Both the spies and mercs have their advantages and disadvantages. The mercs are pretty much armed to the teeth with electronic and movement tracking vision for hunting down the spies. the big machine gun and heavy equipment make the mercs slower and unable to access vents and shafts the way spies do. Spies don't get to rely on deadly force with a weapon. their primary weapon is a small rifle that fires sticky shockers. It's purpose is just to give the spy some time to make a quick dash while a merc is immobilized. The spy must rely more on staying in the shadows and vents in order to evade the deadly mercs. Both classes have several gadgets to aid them in their efforts as well.

Team work is crucial for both spies and mercs. For the mercs, they must defend certain points from the spies but since there are only two mercs they have to be able to communicate and cover ground quickly in order to be successful. Spies must rely on each other as diversions. It's always smart to have one spy grab the mercs' attention while the other tries to disarm a ND133 container which holds deadly biological agents. It's a completely new experience and the most addicting and enjoyable game on Xbox Live to date.

SC: PT is everything the original was and more. It still suffers from a few of the minor bugs like the clipping issues the first had, but other than that there really is nothing to complain about. It's both an outstanding single player game and a revolutionary multiplayer game. UbiSoft showed off their amazing talent once again. This easily ranks up with the best titles on any system.