Australian Gamer Review :: Splinter Cell Double Agent

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Splinter Cell Double Agent

Reviewed on: Xbox 360
Available on: PC, Playstation 2, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox

After giving the game a tough rundown I have finally found out that Ubisofts slightly different direction in making the game heavily focused on story and character development has been a wise decision for the series.

Players: 1 - 2 Players
Genre:
Release: 2006-10-19

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Distributor: Ubisoft

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After previewing Splinter Cell Double Agent a few months back I was eager to get my hands on the final build. After giving the game a tough rundown I have finally found out that Ubisoft�s slightly different direction in making the game heavily focused on story and character development has been a wise decision for the series.

For those who don�t know, Double Agent has taken a step forward from all the other Splinter Cell series and has been blessed with a solid story and player involvement. Instead of throwing separate generic missions at Sam to bundle a game, Shanghai Ubisoft has introduced a new feature to allow the gamer (that�s you) choices, choices which will either help turn Sam Fisher into a successful NSA (National Security Agent) Spy or into an underground Terrorist group known as the JBA (John Brown�s Army). Every action and objective you perform during Sam�s missions will help seal the fate you have chosen for him.

Lets not forget to mention this is the first next-gen Splinter Cell game to be released on the 360 (and soon to be released on the PS3 and Wii) so you can expect some very nice visuals and physics thanks to the Havok� Engine. Once again the HUD presentation has changed, but for the best, I might add. The Shanghai team has stripped back all the unnecessary displays on the screen such as the noise level detection and map display and has given you a crisp, clear, cinematic new feel to controlling Sam. The controls have been kept to the same style in all the previous Splinter Cell games, too. If you�re a new comer to the series, you�ll need a good 30 mins of practice before you can swiftly move over objects and slice all throats of those who step in your way.

I found the first two missions of Double Agent to be the warm up act to help jog the memories of those who played Splinter Cell 3 Chaos Theory and if you didn�t get a chance to play the third addition no need to worry as it clearly explains to you what happened so Sam can quickly pick up from there. To sum it all up Sam is reminded about his dead daughter and soon experiences the death of a close work colleague... so you can expect Fisher to be feeling pretty damn low at the moment.

To top it off, Sam�s thrown in Jail for an undercover job by the NSA to make friends with a young lad who is an important member of the John Brown Army, a terrorist organisation located in the heart of America. The third mission (and beyond) lives up to the whole �Double Agent� shebang as Sam is then given a list of choices of what to do inside the John Army�s hideout and other missions. You�re given primary objectives which must be completed for Sam to continue on but you are also given secondary and �other� missions to complete under your own free will. As I said before, each objective you complete will help gain the trust of the NSA or the JBA. Oh, did I mention in the hideout missions you must do all of this while under cover with a time limit? Yeah, it ain�t easy being a spy.

I�ll give you a quick example of some directive moments you will soon to expect with Double Agent, ye be warned! The following contains a little spoiler. Sam walks into the meeting room in the JBA hideout with a large TV front and centre. It�s a live video stream from a satellite of the passenger cruiser where Sam planted a bomb at a previous mission. Everyone from the JBA gathers into the room to watch the ship go kaboom! (heh, that rhymed). Emile, the main man behind the JBA organisation yells out �Now witness the power of the John Brown Army!� as he begins to shout a 5 second count down. At that time, Sam pulls out his watch and is given 3 options. 1) Blow the ship up, which will gain a ton of respect from the JBA and lose the equal of respect with NSA. 2) Intercept the remote signal detonation which will result in you getting the exact opposite from option 1 but a certain special friend will be killed. 3) Frame your �special friend� which will result in her getting killed and only gaining respect form the NSA.

That particular dramatic scene is what I like to call a sweaty palm experience. The loud count down, Sam�s heartbeat getting louder and the crowd cheering really puts the pressure on the player where nobody can afford to think twice. It�s done superbly, and you can bet your mother that you�ll experience more of these situations in the game, which adds even more enjoyment and emotion.

The level design in Double Agent is a huge improvement for the series. To those who have played the previous games, we all know that Sam has been bound to �one way� paths. For him to reach a certain objective there is only one way to take it. This no longer exists; Ubisoft has cleverly added secret and multiple paths for Sam to take. Some say they take the high road, some say they take the low road, and I say I take the very high road. Some of these paths will gain you access to hidden objectives, so be wise young Padawan.

The enemy AI is also a huge upgrade form Chaos Theory. Not only do these bastards shoot with higher accuracy and do higher damage but they also warn each other if something�s wrong and they attack in large swarms. So you may want to have second thoughts about using your gun next time.

After completing each mission you are given results in a tally board about your performance, trust rank and the objectives you completed. Complete secondary and bonus objectives to unlock new gadgets for Sam. You can easily play Double Agent from start to finish more than once, not only because the missions are damn cool but also to see the alternate endings and cut scenes. The menu presentation is one of the best I�ve seen for a while mainly because I love loading screens that interact with the player while they wait.

The multiplayer modes in Double Agent are straight forward and easily enjoyed. The LIVE menu is easy to use and very helpful getting you into a game as soon as possible. You have quick match which matches your rank skills and puts you into a 3vs3 Mercs and Spies session. In this mode the Mercenaries are protecting terminals which hold important data, the Spies missions are to sneak into the complex and hack these terminals remotely. There are up to 10 maps to play which can hold out for a fun weekend. There is also Co-op Challenges where you can play 3 maps which hold unique objectives with a mate over Live of System Link or a bot offline. For those who played Chaos Theory�s Co-op, you might be a little let down with DA�s co-op. You can tell not enough effort went into DA�s co-op and it was quickly thrown together as a �meh� project.

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Final Verdict

Tom Clancy�s Splinter Cell Double Agent is simply superb. Not only is it the best addition to the Splinter Cell Series but it has hit the next generation consoles looking, sounding and feeling better than ever. The choose your own adventure in single player works so damn well and feels natural; you�ll begin to wonder why they didn�t have this in the first place. This is a very solid game and I strongly recommend it to anyone who would enjoy a compelling story with some of the best action you�ll experience to date.

Pros
Very lengthy single player (up to 15 � 20 hours), beautiful visuals with fantastic lighting, great character build up, compelling story, action packed missions, Xbox Live and last but not least you get to decide if Fisher is a hero or a zero.
Cons
Characters in game have low speech volume which can ruin a few things because you couldn�t bloody hear them. Co-op could be better so it looks like Chaos Theory still holds the trophy to best co-op.