Sneaky Saturday: Splinter Cell Stealth Action Redefined

 

Image Credit: Steam

Whenever I think of my favorite game series it usually is series that I have beat every title in like Halo, Gears of War, and The Elder Scrolls, but there is one I've always felt like I was lying when talking about my favorites; Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell as I only beat the last two games. Now this isn't a slight at all to the older games at all it was just that I absolutely sucked at stealth games back when I was younger terms like stealth is optional was one of my favorites because it meant I didn't have to be patient or take my time but now as a much more patient gamer this game has easily become one my personal favorites and reaffirmed my love for the series. The levels are always so atmospheric the lighting in game is mind blowing for a game that is almost Twenty Two years old, yes this game is almost Twenty Two years old it can buy its own drinks in the US. The game feels fresh and new but also shows its age honestly if you are tired of modern games where everything feels so safe and by the numbers this game can remind you what gaming used to be like. Lets dive into this review. (Reviewed on a XBOX series X with the enhancements provided to original XBOX titles)

For a game that came out in 2002 this game still looks and plays well the lighting, level design, and the music all help to create a very specific atmosphere. Now the graphics are amazing for the age but I feel like my experience might have been different due to playing the game on Xbox series X and on a 4k TV but even the graphics feel good in a nostalgic way that reminds me of an older time. The game is so beautiful the lighting for a game this old is so precise and close to life and the way that the light reflects on surfaces such as a neon billboard reflecting onto a nearby building the Kalinatek mission or the way that you have to take off your night vision when entering a freezer due the light reflecting in the condensation making it impossible to see in there or the lonely vending machine in the dark halls of the CIA headquarters illuminating a small section of the hallways. These examples all work to show how far ahead of its time the lighting and graphics were in Splinter Cell. Overall it is one of the best looking older games out there. I'm sure on PC with proper widescreen support and other quality of life fixes it is probably amazingly beautiful.

The gameplay is great most missions can be solved in multiple way such as killing or incapacitating everyone who stands between you and the objective, or you could look for ways around them like grabbing a ledge and dropping into the bushes and waiting for them to pass by before darting into an dark alley out of sight. Now some levels do really limit you by imposing an alarm limit or limiting you to no lethal force, the rules of engagement always change from mission to mission in a way that makes sense like in the CIA HQ you can't kill anyone because there are fellow intelligence agents and fellow Americans or the Chinese embassy due to not wanting to cause an international incident of an American spy being found in the Embassy in Myanmar formerly Burma. Overall the gameplay begins to make sense more and more as you go and get more tools culminating the SC-30k or the F2000 with a fancy assortment of gadgets. The way you get the SC-30k is interesting as it is introduced in a mission where you cannot kill anyone and it feels like it was intentional to show the player how the gadgets works such as the smoke grenade being a aoe cloud of gas that incapacitates multiple enemies or the airfoil being like a distant punch that can disorient and knockout enemies. Overall the only thing I had to adapt to in the game was actually being conscious of how much sound I was making as there is no sound meter like in later games in the franchise but if you take things slowly and pay attention to the ground you will be able to get by most challenges. Overall the use of light and sound instead of just line of sight makes this game feel unrealistic at times but in the best of ways!

Finally the story it truly feels like a good classic spy thriller as it takes you across the North America, Asia, and Europe and never feels like it overstays in any area. The first several missions are in the Republic of Georgia and we start by investigating the disappearance of two CIA agents Alice Madison who was undercover in the political cabinet of Georgian President Nikoladze, and agents Robert Blaustein who was sent to investigate Alice's disappearance and was also now missing. Upon arriving in Tbilisi is where we begin the game first having to rendezvous with our contact who is shortly killed in a warehouse fire but was able to relay the information we needed. From here the story expands into a globe trotting spy story involving Chinese generals, doomsday devices, and the possibility of war. The game has many strong levels such as the Defense Ministry where you have to find information as to why the CIA agents had been killed and you have to navigate guard patrols, laser alarm systems, and even eavesdrop on generals in a glass elevator while avoiding guards it truly makes you feel like a James Bond or Jack Bauer type of character. Another mission that oozes atmosphere and makes you feel like a true agent of a classified branch of the NSA is the Abattoir where you must infiltrate a slaughter house to prevent a web broadcast of captured United States soldiers being executed from happening. Going through the old blood stained hallways of this industrial, dark, grimy slaughterhouse fighting rogue Chinese soldiers and sneaking around them with a very ambient soundtrack enhancing the stakes finally culminating in a shootout where you team up with the captured soldiers to take out their captors and preventing a war feels amazing.

Overall this game truly excels in its ability to engross the player in the world by finding email conversations between enemies and documents that make us ask what is going on the world building is great. This game truly is a masterclass in making the player feel like a spy that could truly operate in the dark infiltrating both allies and opponents alike. This game truly deserves the score of 4/5 as it near perfect and an amazing introduction to the world of Splinter Cell and as the box promised it did redefine stealth action! What's your favorite Tom Clancy game let me know in the comments!