Splinter Cell Double Agent (Xbox 360) Review
Posted by Steve McHugh on 11.24.2006
Sam Fisher. Finally a bad ass.
To start this review I have a bit of a confession to make. I didn’t like the previous Splinter Cell games; I found them boring and felt a detachment to the stories that make me care little for what happened next.
I know technically they were great games, they looked great and played well but I just couldn’t bring myself to care.
When Splinter Cell Double Agent came out I couldn’t care then either. I saw the TV ads and yes it looked nice but so what? I didn’t care about the other games why would this one change my mind. In fact I only bought it out of curiosity as I had vouchers to spend and couldn’t think of any other game at the time I wanted to play. Turns out it was one of those truly inspired ideas.
This is the first game I’ve ever cared about the story as it’s the first time there seems to be a continuing plot that’s not broken off at each mission. You play Sam Fisher who after finding out his daughter has died decides to undertake a dangerous mission. You are placed in jail and have to help get a member of the JBA (John Brown’s Army) to escape. Turns out this gang are not very nice people and it’s your job to infiltrate them. It’s a great story that really lends itself to an immersive gaming experience, but we’ll get to that later.
Graphics
I’d had this game on for a few hours when my wife walked into the room and made the comment, ‘Wow that’s stunning.’ This is the sort of game you can show your friends just to show off. Ubisoft really have done an excellent job of making this game look ‘next-gen’. As you’d expect for a stealth game the lighting is superb.
This is especially true on the Shanghai level, which has you on top of a skyscraper at New Years Eve. It’s an amazing visual experience that really does show the way in which the developmental team could go for the next game. And it gets even better as you rappel down the front of the tower with a helicopter’s light chasing you.
In fact the game is full of wonderful visual set-pieces. The Congo level where a war is being waged all around you is one of the tensest gaming experiences I’ve had in ages and its all credit to the graphics that manage to convey the carnage and chaos of bombs going off and people shooting all around you.
There are problems though. The lack of real physics and destructible environments does detract from what is otherwise a fantastic graphical experience. You don’t really notice their absence too much but it would have gone a long way to have made this the most definitive Stealth game money can buy.
The other thing is just a little nit pick I have and that’s the shiny hair. Hair doesn’t move too much in this game but in certain parts you’ll be sneaking up being someone and you’ll see this incredibly shiny head. It looks like someone polished it up so you can see your face in it. I know this sounds absurd but it really does stand out when you come across it. It’s one thing to have shiny environments but not shiny people.
Pissing Sam off in this game is not a good idea.
Gameplay
Anyone familiar to the previous games is going to be right at home with this one. You still sneak around trying not to be seen by anyone and removing those who get in your way and then hiding their bodies so they don’t get found.
You still have all of the gadgets at your disposal you’ve had before. In fact by completing certain missions (they have a star next to them) you unlock more goodies. Some of which are not so useful, I never once used the shotgun stun thing but some are fantastic (color night vision is occasionally a lifesaver). In fact that’s probably the only problem. Most of the gadgets at your disposal I didn’t use once. So long as I had the silenced gun and occasional use of night-vision I didn’t really use anything else too much. Although it is nice to have all of that gear there, it was almost comforting.
That’s not to say nothing’s changed because big things are different in this game. To begin with once past the opening two training missions you will have joined JBA and will from then on have to deal with a trust meter. This is a wonderful idea that basically means if you do something that JBA doesn’t like, such as letting a target get away, you will loose trust with them. However on the other side is the NSA and if you do something they don’t like, like killing a target, you will lose trust with them. The idea is that you keep a happy medium by figuring out which objectives you can complete for each side whilst still maintaining a high trust level for each. Loose all of your trust and its game over so it’s vital to make sure you keep an eye on what you’re doing and for whom.
The trust meter comes into play during the quick decision moments throughout the game. At certain points you have to decide what to do very quickly with your actions having dire consequences for one of your trust meters. For example the first one has you having to decide to shoot someone. If you kill him your NSA meter will drop but refuse and your JBA meter will drop instead. These are incredibly tense moments as you quickly need to weigh up what the best thing to do will be. It doesn’t help that you get a nice close up of the man’s face as he pleads with you not to kill him. These are not for the faint of heart and are genuinely chilling. Three of these moments also have massive consequences on the ending you will get.
As well as your usual exploits you also have missions that take place inside the JBA HQ. After every 2 or so levels you will have a JBA level. Basically at the beginning of each one your NSA and JBA colleagues will give you a set of tasks to complete in a time limit. The JBA ones are usually stuff like finish a training course of build mines. But completing them will gain you large amounts of trust. The NSA objectives are a while different story. These require you to infiltrate the base and find info on various members of the JBA as well as figure out what they’re planning on doing. These are probably the best Stealth levels I’ve ever played in any game as you have no weapons and can’t hurt anyone you’re left up to using cover and a few gadgets to gain entry to sensitive areas to uncover the JBA plot. As much as I love the other levels of this game these HQ levels are great fun and incredibly tense when you have only a few minutes left to complete your objective and make it back to where your meant to be before you get found out.
All of this trust really does help you to identify with characters more and thus enjoy the story as it unfolds. This also helps build up to a fantastic last level. I won’t say anything more about it but pissing off Sam Fisher is the worst thing in the world to do.
I can’t really go one about the gameplay without mentioning the AI. On the whole it’s pretty good. If you get spotted or heard they will come to investigate and having a bunch of them trying to find you is a very unpleasant experience. However the one thing that still bugs me is that if you’re in shadow you can’t be seen at all. On one level I was at a computer terminal using it whilst standing next to an enemy and he never even noticed. This isn’t a one off occurrence as being in the dark seems to make you invisible no matter how close anyone else is to you. It would be nice if for the next game that was made a little bit more realistic.
Speaking of the A.I, taking out the enemy is even more fun this time round due to not only being able to drag people away and knock them out or kill them but because you can pull them out of windows and my personal favorite swim under the ice and break it around them. When they fall into the water Sam kills them with a quick stab. It’s fantastic to watch and really does make Sam out to be a very dangerous man. Some of the stealth kills or knock outs are also pretty cool to watch.
On a slightly different note I’ve heard and read that some people believe this game to be too hard. I’m not sure if we’ve played the same game but whilst this game is a challenge it’s not too hard at all. In fact I felt that this was set at the perfect difficulty level for the entire game with only a few bits causing me some serious frustration which was mostly down to me not being cautious enough then the actual game being unfair.
On top of the fantastic single-player you’ve got an excellent multi-player option. Firstly you’ve got the Merc Vs Spies option. In this game the Mercs must protect some terminals from Spies. Whilst the Mercs have all sorts of weapons the Spies have nothing. Sounds unfair until you realize that the Spies can run around like you wouldn’t believe and take out any Merc with a stealth kill. This is a lot of fun to play as either side and makes for some very tense gameplay. The more you experiment within the game the more you unlock, including new maps and skins. It’s a great way to keep the multi-player aspect fresh and exciting and promotes people to search for new routes and better ways to complete your tasks.
There’s also the co-op mode where you get to complete a series of three missions. Its good fun to play but it’s not a patch on the single player missions.
For all of the greatness there is one problem I can not ignore. Loading and saving the game takes forever, at least a minute to lead and maybe ten or so seconds to save. Considering this is on a console as powerful as the 360 that’s really not good enough. It’s very useful that you can save anywhere but it’s a pain to have to wait whilst the game takes forever to save anything. Hopefully something they can work on for next time.
Sound
As good as the graphics are story are they wouldn’t be half as convincing without good actors to back it up. Thankfully Michael Ironside voices Sam and he does a wonderful job. In fact all of the voices are excellent and really add to the whole tone of the game. The music is also very good as it changes tempo when an enemy gets close. The sound effects are also excellent, especially the fireworks in Shanghai.
It's not exactly the love boat
Lasting Appeal
Well there are 10 levels and first time through on normal this will take you about 10-12 hours. And you’ll want to play it again on hard just to prove you can. On top of that there are 3 endings, a bad, a so-so and a good ending. You’ll definitely want to see the good ending. You’ve also got your achievements most of which require at least a second play through as some are a little on the odd side (switch off 20 lights with your emp). However the reason you’ll keep coming back is the amazing multi-player which will keep people happy for a very long time indeed.
Knocking out armed guards is always fun.
Fun Factor
This is the first Splinter Cell game I’ve ever cared about the characters involved because in this one your actions result in consequences for those characters. That in itself makes it fun to play. Add in the superb level design and excellent multi-player and you’ll enjoy yourself every time this is switched on. Oh and there’s a stealth kill towards the end of the game that will have you smiling from ear to ear. You’ll know it when you see it. I played the level again just so I could see it.
The 411
This is how you do a Splinter Cell game. From start to finish this blows everything else out of the water with an excellent story, fantastic production values and wonderful gameplay. I can’t wait to see where they go from here but Solid Snake has some serious work to do to impress now.
Graphics
9.0
Wonderful to look at. Some of the set-pieces are outstanding.
Gameplay
9.0
Almost as good as it gets. This is the best Stealth I’ve played in any game. The A.I. needs a little work here and there and the loading times are way too long.
Sound
9.5
Amazing and totally suits the game. Fantastic voice acting.
Lasting Appeal
8.5
Single player is over too soon but the multi-player will keep you busy for ages.
Fun Factor
9.0
It’s hugely addictive and a joy to play all the way thorough
