Splinter Cell Double Agent

Preview from Oracle, Oracle, Oracle, Oracle and Oracle - Sunday, 20 August 2006 @ 12:00am

I recently visited Sydney?s own Ubisoft office to have a closer glimpse of the next installment of the Tom Clancy Splinter Cell series. Sam Fisher is defiantly back bolder, stronger and serious than ever.. but the big question is ?whose side is he on??

Ubisoft are involving the players into the compelling story by giving the former Navy SEAL choices of what you do during the missions. So, what?s it gonna be? Are you going to continue his path down the career of a Government agent, or are you switching the side he fights for?

Whatever path you chose for Sam, each decision will branch you off to another mission, giving this game much more depth and definitely more replay value.

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Once again the HUD in Splinter Cell has been updated and improved for better visuals and gameplay, in other words they stripped it all away leaving only your ?enemy alert system?. I think this is a great move, as it gives the game more of a cinematic feel with its glorious widescreen high definition format on the 360.

Ok, let?s get down to business. The first mission showed began with Sam Fisher diving out of a plane. As Sam falls you can honestly feel the adrenaline Sam is having from the gushing wind ripping through his body and the sound of his heart beat. What makes this jump so intense is how the camera shakes behind him adding an astonishing feeling to the scene. It all looked pretty smooth sailing from there until his parachute fails to eject, suddenly the player is thrown into a cut scene much like Resident Evil 4 where you must use the analogue stick to pull the emergency chute cord.

The trick here is you aren?t sure which directions to push the analogue stick in although the player is rewarded if he/she is aiming the stick in the right direction by receiving feedback from the controller?s vibration. After scrambling to find the direction Sam reaches for the chord and pulls free, success!

As you draw closer to the ground your jaw begins to drop from the beautiful visuals Ubisoft delivers in the game. You begin to put your thoughts towards what you're landing upon. As you do, Sam slowly lands perfectly on a gorgeous glacier.

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The reflections of the water and the ice are just stunning, finally a game where it can show of the 360?s true potential. In this mission Sam is able to dive off into the icy water and can freely swim under the thin ice hidden from enemies. One thing that I found very cool in this mission was that Sam was able to tap on the thin ice above him, causing an enemy to blindly walk over it seeing what the problem is. As Sam gazes from under the water you are able to see the enemy?s shadow and foot prints press into the ground. Once you have a perfect view of the enemy, you?re able to smash through the ice and drag the guy down into the icy waters with you. A quick knife to the throat will stop him squirming.. the blood soon begins to mix with the water around you. Nothing gives off satisfaction like that.

I was then shown another mission but this time involving Sam with the terrorist organisation. It began in a worn down town called Kinshasa, where a deadly civil war was happening involving citizens and terrorist groups alike. As the game started there are men around you instantly. This map demonstrates that there are many routes you can take to play the mission. In this case, up through the building balconies, down on the streets, low into the sewerage pipes or even hiding under a truck ?Cape Fear? style as it takes you around the map.

Another great example of the ?choose your own adventure? style for Double Agent is you can hear the screams of men and women. You must be quick to follow them but as you peek around the final corner you see them lined up against the wall with a group of men aiming their weapons at them. You can either be a hero or stay quiet. Totally up to you, and this is why I have fallen in love with this game. There are just so many options like this within missions.

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Also during the missions expect to experience very action-packed level scripting. In this map we were walking along the balconies with a perfect view of a clash happening between terrorist groups and the citizens. The screams and the gun fire make missions even harder for Sam as you quietly sneak along. Sam notices that you can cross the street by climbing the wires above you. As you slide down the wires a bus bomb suddenly goes off forcing the bus to get pushed from the force down the street, rolling on top of anyone in its way. This demonstrates the superb physics in the game.

I was shown another secret scene in the game but would rather keep it to myself as it may spoil some of the best storyline to hit any Tom Clancy game. Splinter Cell Double Agent truly is unique to the others, Ubisoft has done a great job so far taking the game in a new direction.