Splinter Cell Review - PC Game Reviews

Splinter Cell Pack Review

worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. If captured, the U.S. government will deny any knowledge of your existence. You are Sam Fisher, an ex-CIA, ex-Navy SEAL, now a highly trained secret operative of the National Security Agency’s secret arm: Third Echelon. You are a Splinter Cell, like a sliver of glass. Small, sharp, and nearly invisible, leaving no trace… Set in the year 2004, the game begins with the disappearance of a CIA agent in T’Bilisi, the capital of Georgia, of the former USSR. When a second agent also vanishes, the CIA calls for the help of Third Echelon, which is composed of a team of hackers, strategists, a mission commander and one field agent. You.

Splinter Cell is available for the X-Box, PS 2 and the PC. The game features stunning environments driven by the next generation Unreal™ engine with dynamic lighting, shadowing, animation, physics, and sound effects that mirror reality. By using real-time cast shadows and light-maps this game has got the best lighting and shadows ever seen in a PC title.


You get to visit Georgia, China and in a Mission Impossible throwback, the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. You have to use stealth to survive. An onscreen visibility meter lets you know just how hard it is for enemies to spot you, making stealth-work a discipline you must master. Tactics like sniping, split jumping, zip lining, rappelling, and using human shields are part and parcel of your extensive options. The sheer amount of moves available is impressive with Sam having the ability to sneak, run, crouch, hang off ledges, creep hand-over-hand on pipes, swing along ropes, peek around corners, jump off walls to gain height and even do a split jump, Van Damme Style! Naturally you also have access to futuristic gadgets like night vision & thermal goggles, fibre optics, portable cameras, camera-jammers, laser microphones, and lock-picks. As far as your weapons go, you begin with a silenced SC Pistol, and eventually move on to the futuristic SC-20K M.A.W.S., a rifle with the options of a sniper scope and multipurpose launcher, which you use to fire the sticky and diversion cameras into enemy-controlled areas in order to scout for threats. The sticky camera can zoom and has thermal and night vision. The diversion camera has a noisemaker which attracts enemies and a Co2 gas canister to knock them unconscious when they investigate!


You’ll need all your wits and gadgets to get through this game as the enemy AI is TOUGH! The guards behave and react realistically. For example, if you shoot out a light, nearby guards will first try to turn it back on and then get alarmed. A guard spotting a glimpse of you will only investigate the area. However, if they see you clearly or hear gunfire they draw weapons, sound alarms and notify other guards. Your enemies are aware of their environments and will both see and hear you. Luckily, there are several ways to complete a given mission objective. Which means you’ll want to play this game more than once. I did!


Realism is what the designers have strived for. Animations have been hand crafted, not motion captured which makes them as silky-smooth as you can ever hope to get. In a blend of gaming power and Hollywood talent, the designers roped in actor Michael Ironside to dub for the voice of Sam Fisher. He manages to bring just the right tone of curtness and skill to Fisher’s voice. The overall sound effects are perfectly done with everything from the smashing of glass to the creaking of pipes created brilliantly. The conversations you overhear are a blast and provide critical information at the right time.


Bottom line: If you are a fan of stealth-action you MUST buy this game! We at Game-Force are proud to give it the Game of the Month award. So whether you’re a console freak or a PC guy, this is the game to get this month. Enuff said!


HIGHS: Cool graphics, Superb sound, Bond gadgets
LOWS: Difficult, Linear, Stealth & Shadows might become boring.
NUTSHELL: Game of the Month.
Christof Rating: 93%