This review was written a looong time ago (last year to be exact), and I feel I should share it with you. Because I can. So here it is.
Sneaking is never a thing I like to do. If I'm given a gun, I run in and blast shit up. I am so not going to crawl around waiting for JUST the right moment to grab someone and knock him out. Shame then, that I've been playing the latest Splinter Cell.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent starts in the usual way, with Sam Fisher, the series' hero, going off to do a recon mission. Turns out there's a bomb, and his partner gets killed. With the bomb defused and everyone happy, Sam gets on a copter to be told that his daughters been run over. Driven almost insane, Sam feels he has nothing to lose and takes on a mission to infiltrate a terrorist organisation, the JBA (I think it stands for John Browns Army, I've forgotten). Thus ensues a lot of sneaking and stuff.
If you've played any of the previous Splinter Cells then you'll know what to expect. Sneaking is the order of the day, and being caught is usually a Very Bad Thing. I'll be honest, I've only played the original in a way that allows me to compare, and it seems that the series has gotten a lot more lenient since Sam's first outing. I mean, back then setting off an alarm meant game over. Now it just means the NSA gets a bit annoyed and you dont get some useless upgrade.
During the game you have to keep your trust levels up on both sides of the fence. If either the NSA or the JBA lose all trust, it's game over. To keep trust up, you perform certain objectives for both sides. Sadly, there's about one objective where doing said objective annoys one side and pleases the other, so trust is simple to keep up. I'm playing on Easy, but the punishment should be a little higher, even on my setting (NOTE: I did eventually complete it on Hard, and it's just as easy).
There's also the typical array of gadgets and gizmos, and some guns as well. It's all your standard stealth affair, and it's pulled off in the usual awesomeness.
Graphically the game excels. I'm playing on the Xbox 360, and the graphics never let down from it's crisp and clean-ness, apart from the occasional pixelation when you stand too close to a wall with a light shining on you.
The music is tense and works well, and the voice acting is as slick as ever. All the sound effects work and fit, sound overall is good.
Multiplayer wise, the game couldn't stray further from the main game, unless it added cars. You can be a soldier or a spy, and either protect or hack a system filled with information depending on which side you are. It's hard, but fun if you've got a friend as inexperienced as you.
All in all, Splinter Cell: Double Agent is an enjoyable game that doesn't let you down in any department. I just don't like stealth games that much I guess. However, it's going extremely cheap these days, so if you see it, buy that sucker!
Sneaking is never a thing I like to do. If I'm given a gun, I run in and blast shit up. I am so not going to crawl around waiting for JUST the right moment to grab someone and knock him out. Shame then, that I've been playing the latest Splinter Cell.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent starts in the usual way, with Sam Fisher, the series' hero, going off to do a recon mission. Turns out there's a bomb, and his partner gets killed. With the bomb defused and everyone happy, Sam gets on a copter to be told that his daughters been run over. Driven almost insane, Sam feels he has nothing to lose and takes on a mission to infiltrate a terrorist organisation, the JBA (I think it stands for John Browns Army, I've forgotten). Thus ensues a lot of sneaking and stuff.
If you've played any of the previous Splinter Cells then you'll know what to expect. Sneaking is the order of the day, and being caught is usually a Very Bad Thing. I'll be honest, I've only played the original in a way that allows me to compare, and it seems that the series has gotten a lot more lenient since Sam's first outing. I mean, back then setting off an alarm meant game over. Now it just means the NSA gets a bit annoyed and you dont get some useless upgrade.
During the game you have to keep your trust levels up on both sides of the fence. If either the NSA or the JBA lose all trust, it's game over. To keep trust up, you perform certain objectives for both sides. Sadly, there's about one objective where doing said objective annoys one side and pleases the other, so trust is simple to keep up. I'm playing on Easy, but the punishment should be a little higher, even on my setting (NOTE: I did eventually complete it on Hard, and it's just as easy).
There's also the typical array of gadgets and gizmos, and some guns as well. It's all your standard stealth affair, and it's pulled off in the usual awesomeness.
Graphically the game excels. I'm playing on the Xbox 360, and the graphics never let down from it's crisp and clean-ness, apart from the occasional pixelation when you stand too close to a wall with a light shining on you.
The music is tense and works well, and the voice acting is as slick as ever. All the sound effects work and fit, sound overall is good.
Multiplayer wise, the game couldn't stray further from the main game, unless it added cars. You can be a soldier or a spy, and either protect or hack a system filled with information depending on which side you are. It's hard, but fun if you've got a friend as inexperienced as you.
All in all, Splinter Cell: Double Agent is an enjoyable game that doesn't let you down in any department. I just don't like stealth games that much I guess. However, it's going extremely cheap these days, so if you see it, buy that sucker!