Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent

excellent
key review info
  • Game: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
  • Platform: Playstation
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  • Gamepad support: N/a
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We all grew up watching James Bond movies and we all wished we could be part of the MI 6, at least for one day. Games are the only consolation for those secret agent-wannabes and they may be called Metal Gear Solid, Syphon Filter or Splinter Cell, but the purpose remains the same: infiltrate and destroy. This is the fourth Splinter Cell game of the series and we'll never get tired of seeing the same tough Sam Fisher, with his macho voice and unshaved face. Those who played the Xbox 360 version will be stunned by the fact that the producers made this version totally different from the original one. Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Playstation 2 is an entirely different game, but nevertheless a stealth game that takes the concept of covert operations to the next level.

Story Although Sam Fisher wanted to retire, he decided to do one last mission before taking some time off. While infiltrating a weapon factory in Iceland, things went a little wrong and Sam had to be extracted sooner, only to find out that his daughter had died. The cutscene that shows the precise moment when this happened is done very well and the producers insisted on the emotional side of the character. Agent Fisher went crazy after his daughter's death and started drinking, using forbidden substances and getting into fights.

After pulling it together he thought that he had nothing to lose and accepted an undercover mission that required him to be imprisoned. With Sarah gone, Fisher would have taken a suicide mission easily and his bosses knew that. However the NSA doesn't quite know about Sam's task, because they would consider it too risky and call it off instantly. The objective is simple: infiltrate JBA (John Brown Army) and get them to trust you, while finding out who got the new and deadly "Red Mercury". You team up with a man named Jamie and the game will offer you the possibility to choose the "dark side" and become part of the JBA if you want to. Being a double agent can be hell and getting terrorists to trust you will even require shooting another Splinter Cell agent. Remember: Sam has nothing to lose anymore!

Concept I was astonished by the amount of data required to save a game on the Playstation 2 memory card. Being a complex game, Double Agent eats up pretty much space and I bet that you will overwrite saves a lot, as saving three times is already too much for the standard card. Splinter Cell was never the type of game to play during the lunch break or while listening to music during a party. It's a game you'll play alone, with your senses focused on completing each task without being spotted. James Bond is so dead and all his gadgets seem like antiques compared to Fisher's arsenal.

The game has virtually any device that ever appeared in a secret agent movie. Grenades? Checked! Night vision goggles? Checked! Sticky cameras? Checked! And I could go on about this for hours. The jumpy gamers or shooter fans should approach this game carefully and understand that it's not about mindless shooting, stabbing or noisy agent action. It's a modern shooter as some describe it, but you can finish the game without firing one single bullet. At least that's what Ubisoft says, but you won't resist and probably start shooting when you're annoyed by the fact that you can't be as stealth as you'd like to. The game's missions are linear, but there's not one specific way to complete the tasks.

Each action requires a plan and you'd better inspect the surrounding area and then infiltrate. There are minigames you can play and I'm talking about lock-picking minigames that benefit of the analog sensitivity. You'll spin the left analog stick till you find a weak spot in the mechanism and insist on pushing the stick in that direction till the door is opened. The character and environment become one, because you must remain stealth at all times. Sam may not be a chameleon, but he can behave like one or sneak behind enemies, even crawl above their heads. There will be heart beats and drops of sweat that feature an adrenaline burst given by the enemy that thought he had heard something. You have a noise indicator that will move if you're stampeding instead of sneaking.

Analog sensitivity strikes back and you will have to gently push the stick in order to walk slowly past the terrorists. If you get caught, there is a still a millisecond in which you can silence the enemy by breaking his neck. You'll even have the chance to catch the terrorists before they fall to the ground and make noise. Also you'd better move corpses around, because if a guard notices a dead guy, he'll sound the alarm. Speaking of which, there are alarm levels that are triggered throughout the missions. Considering that you get rankings for completing your objectives, you'd better avoid setting on the alarm too often. There's also a body count and killing someone seems the worst thing you can do while infiltrating, at least in Double Agent. The PDA that Fisher has is very intuitive and it will help you a lot by displaying the objectives, a useful map, hints and the usual options. Interacting with the environment was OK in the PC version, but I didn't expect the PS 2 version to do so good in this field.

You can break the ice (literally), grab an enemy while hanging on a ledge at his feet or quickly strike him from underwater. Adjusting the shadow levels by messing with the video options is necessary, because there's no telling if the environment really is dark, or your TV is set badly. Starting from the prison mission, you'll realize what being a double agent really is. A trust meter will appear on-screen and show you whom you've sided with. For example, killing another secret agent makes you JBA's best friend, but sparing some innocent guards will increase NSA's trust in you. Fisher may be one sneaky fox, but making it to the end with both the agencies' trust in you is almost a fairytale. Even if you get used to the AI, it will be difficult to complete the game without getting at least one or two "mission failed" screens. Relax, because you'll be able to save anywhere and lots of checkpoints are available. The whole experience sums up to 10 hours of gameplay, which is pretty decent for a stealth action game.

Gameplay Any action that Sam does is anticipated by a series of options that give you very much freedom and stress, for that matter. I don't quite recall a game where opening a door was something that required some thinking and preparations. It's not like you slam the door open and greet the enemies with some grenades or bullets like you're the Terminator or something. The producers did an excellent job by making us use the secret agent side of our brains. You'll now have the chance to open a door quietly, having watched what's on the other side with an optic cable. Lock-pick the door and sneak through it, or if you've seen a guard that's close enough, you might want to hit him with the door and hurry to catch him in your "gentle" arms before he falls to the ground and makes noise. It's ten times better to stun an enemy in Double Agent, than to kill him. Light and noise are Fisher's primary enemies, because they equal detection and a possible shootout situation. The AI is something special, frustrating at times and there are always more than two ways to go past the guards.

I said that noise is your enemy and you'd better check out the noise meter at all times to make sure that you're walking quietly. Sometimes it's better to cause some distraction, by throwing objects in the guards' direction. They will go see what created the noise and allow you to sneak and reach the desired area. I mentioned James Bond, now let's talk about The Matrix, as Fisher can do a split jump, that's a very nice acrobatic move reminding me of the felines and their agility.

In the modern era, guards were easily replaced by cameras and laser sensors, so you'll thank God for having to deal with those instead of those pesky enemies. Use the so-called blue vision to spot any electrical gadgets in your surrounding and deactivate the cameras or laser beams with Sam's gun by using the secondary fire.

An electrical charge is enough to hear the pleasant buzzing sound that lets you know the area is cleared. I enjoyed becoming paranoid, thanks to Ubisoft's cleverly designed levels, with hidden cameras and sensors all over the place. The secret agent is a nocturnal animal, so night vision will be very useful while strolling through the enemy base. It feels good to change vision and play with any of the modes offered by Sam's trademark goggles. The most visually challenging of them is the heat seeking vision mode that shows you the heat sources around, human heat included. Would it be considered a pun if I said that fingerprints can come in handy? They really do, because our favorite agent will use ultraviolet rays and scan fingerprints, using them to unlock doors. Sam can also be some sort of hacker and get information from JBA's computers by using a gadget that allows him to connect to the PC-s without even touching them.

There are moments during gameplay when you could swear that you're stuck forever and the guards will get you. Luckily Ubisoft took care of everything and just when you think you're dead some new way of making it pops up. Descending from high above towards two angry guards speaking in Arabic is not something for the faint-hearted. What to do? The answer is a concept that makes Splinter Cell the gaming hit that it is. Simply shoot a sticky camera that will get stuck to the wall near the terrorists. You'll be able to control it and make noises to attract their attention. This is the climax of this whole little story: when they approach, the player has the option of spraying a lethal gas from the seemingly harmless device. How cool is that?

If you're the killer type of guy, there are many ways to dispose of your enemies, practically endless possibilities. Throw them from high above, snap their necks, stab them, shoot them, hit them in the head, stun them or poison them. However be careful with the noise and catch them when they fall or hide the dead bodies to avoid any unnecessary risks. Remember, you are not alone! Sam will cooperate with his teammate, while infiltrating the factory, or with Jamie, the JBA member, to help him escape from prison. You can give them orders, tell them to stay put, call them or ask for backup. There are also combined actions to do, like using the teammate as a ladder or allowing him to climb with your help.

Video If you've played the Xbox 360 version or the PC version before, you'll be extremely disappointed by the graphics in the PS 2 version. However, the beauty doesn't lie here and we really should be forgiving when judging Double Agent, because the PS 2 can't create the same details level as its newer competitors can. The cutscenes remain beautiful and very well done, delivering emotions and a feeling that you only get by watching good secret agent movies like Alias. Effects are pretty good, not great, but good, especially the fire in the prison level and the gas and smoke effects, that convinced me about the rioting in there. Shadows are Sam's friends and you'll be hunting for those, avoiding the lights. Our agent's moves are acrobatic and swift, also Ubisoft did a pretty good job with the physics part.

Deactivating electrical devices cause them to produce sparks, while the lasers look great when seen through the blue vision. The heat and night vision really made me feel like I was playing a movie, a stealth action one. This may not be Call of Duty, but getting hit by a grenade will have its consequences and you'll be stunned by the realism of this event, because Mister Fisher will suffer from temporary blindness, the vision will be blurred and the hearing won't do much good either. While playing the tutorial in Iceland, you'll see what the graphical engine can do by admiring the beautiful backgrounds, the way that the ice breaks and the realistic snow. The lock picking sequences look and feel nice, and by feeling I mean the vibration of the controller. You don't even have to play the game to start liking the graphics, because I started enjoying the experience first by seeing the attractive menu. Immediately after the first cutscene, you'll see the game's options and in the background various pieces of the game's cutscenes will be played accompanied by a superb soundtrack.

Sound A man whistles if he doesn't have a care in the world, or if he's Sam Fisher trying to distract some guards. I smiled when our favorite agent started whistling or whispering "psst!" towards the guards in prison. The foes usually fall for that and a mistake like that can be fatal for them. If you're patient, you might hear the terrorists talking, but don't worry, you won't understand anything, because it's not English. Footsteps can be heard, you may hope that they won't, because then, alarms will be heard and you'll meet the game over screen, being shot by a couple of angry fellows. Ubisoft could have made a crappy game, with lousy sounds and nobody would have been upset if they would have implemented the same brilliant soundtrack I listened to while playing Double Agent. The songs in the cutscenes will make you forget about skipping them and you probably won't, because they also look good. Headquarters will communicate with Fisher through, I quote, his "cochlear implant". Hmm, Metal Gear anyone? Sam's voice is as manly as ever, calm and cold, never losing the actor's touch. He'll even taunt his partner or engage in serious discussions with the NSA guys, unlike the flirting Snake in Metal Gear Solid.

Multiplayer Playstation 2 and multiplayer usually mean split screen and co-op modes. There are competitive missions and you might remember the spies versus mercenaries modes from the previous installments. Well, this is spies versus spies and there will be a lot of close combat to do when two agents meet each other. You also have the chance to play bonus missions that fit in the game's storyline and give you more information on the NSA and what's really happening inside the JBA. The Xbox version featured online play with up to 6 players online, but Double Agent for the PS 2 has the 4 players option. It's not a lack that will be felt, especially if you already played other versions of this title. There are many options regarding the type of game you'd like to play during the multiplayer session. They might not be called like that but they're deathmatch modes, team deatmatch, blitz, Sam versus all or countdown. The many maps will prolong the game's length and give you hours of quality entertainment. There are also two unique multiplayer modes, developed for the PS 2: Key Run and Disk Hunt.

Conclusion I was a die-hard Metal Gear Solid Fan. Notice the verb "was" and I used it for a reason, because this installment of Splinter Cell is superb. It's definitely a good game and a test of your skills, because you'll have to use your brain more than in any other action games out there. The fact that violence is optional shows that Ubisoft tried to reach the next gaming level, where the whole experience is looking for cheap adrenaline in a beautiful package, that looks and sounds good. Consider Double Agent the reason for another beat per minute added to your pulse after a couple of tense moments when you were almost caught.

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story 8
gameplay 9
concept 9
graphics 8
audio 10
multiplayer 8
final rating 9
Editor's review
excellent
 
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