Review: Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory

Not every worthwhile game title involves headshots, big explosions, high speed racing, or athletic prowess. The stealth genre, which started to gain attention with the likes of Tenchu: Stealth Assassin, is now typified by the modern military series Splinter Cell. The newest title, Chaos Theory, improves on concepts introduced in previous games, continues to offer a unique multiplayer experience, and expands the gameplay in a few minor ways. All told, Splinter Cell : Chaos Theory is a worthy successor to the previous games in the series, and offers up familiar gameplay that never once feels stale.

• Title: Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
• Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
• Publisher: Ubisoft
• System: Xbox
• Reviewer: Zonk
• Score: 9/10

Splinter Cell titles center around the missions of Sam Fisher, an American military tool in the information warfare age. Chaos Theory, like the titles that preceded it, follow the exploits of Mr. Fisher as he moves from one mission to another. Events and characters that mimic real world analogues very closely fill the game, and despite some nonexistent devices to further gameplay (like hacking a computer from across a room), the impression you receive is that Sam Fisher's world is very much our own.

As such, the entire game is steeped in realism to preserve the flavour of the modern day experience. The graphics and lighting are gorgeous, and the fluidity of motion that the game's character portray is extremely impressive. The artificial intelligence of enemy opponents, while not perfect, is certainly better than many other titles in the stealth genre. This allows for some lovely emergent gameplay, as you can take actions in the game world and can plan on a logical reaction taking place. The first mission allows you a perfect opportunity to try this out, with two mercenaries patrolling near a tent. Taking out the merc outside the tent allows you access to the generator for a large lighting system nearby. By turning off the generator, you make the guard inside the tent curious...a vice which gets cats and guards in trouble.

The need for stealth in the game is paramount, but not as rigorously enforced as in previous titles. You can set off as many alarms as you like, and until you are slain the mission isn't over. This, and nearly every other, addition to the Splinter Cell gameplay library was made to make the game more accessible to players. The addition of a knife to Sam's arsenal allows him to take out enemies in a single thrust in near silence. Gunshots are noisy and attract attention, but laying out your opponents with deadly fire is an accepted way to complete a mission. The previous titles were extremely punishing of mistakes, and Chaos Theory counteracts that by allowing Sam to take on a more kick-ass take-names approach. If you've played the previous incarnations a great deal, you may find the going easier than you expect. Higher difficulty settings are provided to challenge the more skilled. This eased gameplay also allows for more than one way to complete a mission. Even if you decide to kill the captain of the cargo ship without interrogating him, you can still sweep the ship with your weapon drawn looking for your target. Arbitrariness and gameyness have been deliberately reduced.

That sense of realism is extended by the story and voice acting. The tale centers around a series of missions which take you from one end of the earth to the other. Each mission has a good deal of background to it, and the depth of the Chaos Theory story is entirely at your discretion as the mission briefings are entirely skippable. Each portion of the mission briefing is handled by one of the memorable non-player characters, each with their own area of expertise. The memorable nature of these characters is solely based on the quality of the dialogue writing, which comes off very natural and spiced with quality humor, and the skill with which the voice actors portray their roles. Fan favorite Don Jordan returns as Irving Lambert, and Michael Ironside returns to the tight fitting bodysuit of Sam Fisher.

The score, by Amon Tobin, nicely accentuates the mood and temp of the game with a modern vibe that never feels as though it was composed by software. Tobin's composition, his first for a videogame, is very promising. I hope to hear more from him in the future.

Like the previous title, Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory isn't something you have to enjoy alone. Multiplayer via Xbox Live is once again a unique experience. The four-player Mercenaries vs. Spies gameplay returns, with some tweaks and refinements. To ensure that you're briefed on the objectives of the multiplayer game, you are required to go through a training scenario. The maps allow you a range of several types of gameplay, including a deathmatch, a disk capture mode that is a variation on keep-away, and a new story mode. Story mode is probably the most interesting addition, forcing the mercs and spies to complete several missions in sequence and tying them all together with a workable plot. Chaos Theory has a lot of living room local multiplayer potential as well, with four cooperative levels available. There are several moves that two spies working together can accomplish, and the gameplay is accentuated by a story which works the co-op levels in as part of the backstory to the single player campaign.

Nothing is perfect, of course. While I enjoyed the game, my previous experience with Splinter Cell titles is limited. I found the game challenging on Normal mode, but players who have honed their skills on less forgiving titles may view the single player campaign as a cakewalk. The darkness mechanic can start to feel slightly contrived after a while, as you move through areas that wouldn't be as dark as the game allows them to be. The realism of other areas of the game makes it a jarring experience when you find a well guarded part of a bank in pitch blackness. The co-op mode, finally, could have been more fleshed out. Cooperative play is one of the most interesting aspects of modern gaming, and I would have liked to see a more developed co-op aspect for this title. Minor complaints, but the attention to detail that the game takes in all other areas makes weak points stand out.

For fans of the previous games, and players who enjoy modern tales, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is a perfect fit. It has a sensibility all its own, and the high praise it has garnered around the industry is well deserved. If you're looking for a stealth action title, Chaos Theory will fit your needs with military exacting precision.

Screenshots are from Microsoft's official Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Xbox site, ©2005 Microsoft and Ubisoft.

Comments

First

[Anonymous Coward]

FG - First time for graphics on slasdot?

Re:First

[kebes]

The inclusion of more relevant graphics on slashdot may be to discourage readers from blocking all images on slashdot pages (which would block some advertisements...)... in addition to graphics sometimes being very useful of course.

I'm basing this partially on this CmdrTaco comment. Am I reading it right?

Xbox only?

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought this game came out on all three systems (gamecube, ps2, xbox)?

Am i the only one..

[FinchWorld]

..who played the original and thought "Sure, I can sneak around, but I'm sure it would be quicker to shoot my way through".

Maybe I'm just to violent *Loads up Red Orchestra"

Re:Am i the only one..

[SharpFang]

That's one of the biggest problems with "Stealth Games".
I loved Hitman, and I loved to try to pass a level with the "professional" rating. But still it was usually easier to -silently- kill -everyone-, then proceed through the empty level, than to try to sneak. That is, kill quickly enough so that the enemy can't raise alarm, advance, kill again before the guards see the corpses, and so on. I'd even purposedly trigger "local alarms" just to empty guard rooms and kill the guards, securing my way of return.

Re:Am i the only one..

[Hogwash McFly]

You sound just like my ex-roommate, who would watch me hiding in the shadows in Thief and say 'I'd find that so boring'.

Heck, I'm not even as hardcore a player as some of us guys are. These folk can spend several hours on a small level, reloading every time an AI even thinks something is up. Infact, a good few play through without saving! Personally I stick to the code of killing nobody, and letting my blackjack do the talking. Even I can spend a lot of time on one section, darting in and out of the shadows with the timing of a gymnast.

While Thief may not be the first or most successful game of the genre, it is, as far as I'm concerned the the best execution of stealth. I've played the original Splinter Cell game, and while it allowed for a good manner of sneaking, it lacked that choking tense atmosphere I get when a member of the City Watch is walking past me with a huge sword on his hip.

While it's great that we all have different tastes, I can't help but think that if people gave the more cerebral and challenging games, Thief in particular, a chance they could come to enjoy it. But hey, if you definitely don't like it then that's fine by me. :)

Now that it's dark here I'm off to download a new fan mission and lose myself for a couple of hours.

Re:MGS

[ElVaquero]

I think it's probably a more direct connection between the stealth-kill, mission-based Tenchu with Splinter Cell than the story-driven actioner MGS.

Modern Co-Op?

[Khuffie]

Cooperative play is one of the most interesting aspects of modern gaming, and I would have liked to see a more developed co-op aspect for this title.

Excuse me? If I recall I was playing games co-op with my friends back in the NES and SNES days. In fact, a heck of a lot of games back then had some form of co-op. Only in 'modern gaming' has co-op taken a backseat to lots of run of the mill style deathmatch. So no, co-op isn't an aspect of modern gaming; modern gaming is finally reintroducting the co-op back into the game.

With that said, I find the co-op enjoyable. Two issues: needs a save function (there is one, but only while youre playing; if you quit and come back you have to restart the level). Could use more levels, oh, and less slowdown. Sometimes it gets downright awful.

Wha?

[hollismb]

The co-op mode, finally, could have been more fleshed out. Cooperative play is one of the most interesting aspects of modern gaming, and I would have liked to see a more developed co-op aspect for this title.

Were we playing the same game? The simple fact that these four HUGE levels (with more to come, eventually) were developed specifically for co-op and require you to work together directly with a teamate (or you can't pass the mission) demonstrates who incredibly well the co-op was designed. I don't thing I can even name another co-op game (aside from Phantasy Star Online) where it was impossible to get through a level without your teamate timing something with you perfectly. Each level has at least one moment where you and your teammate must do something simultaneously in order to get past it, like disarming bombs, mixing chemicals, etc. And several other places where you can't move on to the next area of the level without help from your teammate. On top of that, you can play through these huge levels differently every time if you so choose. Aside from some occasional disconnect and slowdown issues on co-op, I've never seen a better co-op mode in any game, ever, hand's down. Heck, even the simple fact that guards can hear the two of you talking is something special. A less-developed co-op would've been to simply give us the single-player levels and allow two people to play on them (which I'd gladly take as content download).

And admittedly, Zonk says he doesn't have a lot of previous Splinter Cell experience, but this one is hands-down easy if you want it to be. No more trial-and-error gameplay, alternate paths, added knife ability (which makes it really easy to kill armed people even after they've spotted you), more accurate guns (also easier to kill), and a handy save anywhere feature, this one is pretty easy to get through compared to the other two games. As a result, I've managed to get 100% ratings on a couple levels the first time through, without really even meaning to (which means not being detected, completing all objectives, and not killing anyone).

Startlingly original multiplayer

[Concern]

Tom Clancy's jingoistic pro-military, pro-police-state propaganda and lackluster dialogue aside, the game is beautiful and it really hits its stride when you plug into the internet and start testing out their multiplayer modes.

The co-op play is a real joy to behold, and the versus play is a really original take on multiplayer "shooters." You wouldn't think a 2v2 where one side has guns and the other side is devoted to stealth would work. It's not perfect, but it's surprisingly successful, noticeably balanced, and deep.

There is just nothing quite like sneaking up behind a merc as he saunters past you down a corridor, grabbing his neck, holding down the button and whispering something offensive into his ear before you snap his neck. Or for that matter, watching a spy do a 20 foot header through the air from a grenade you dropped right at his feet while he was trying to sneak past you.

When you see an alarm go off, and are rushing through some dark basement area towards it and think you catch something moving in the shadows, but it disappears when you shine your flashlight on it, you feel real fear. :D

Congrats to Ubisoft. No dobut they'll make the mint selling extras over the XBox live channel to boot...

Other reviews...

[xtracto]

First of all, let me tell you, I think you should let game reviews for other web pages, personally I like Metacritic a lot.

Secondly, although I have not played the game, after reading some user reviews from the above page I found someone who stated:

the no blood thing is terrible for a game like this. This is an Adult game so why no blood?

I can just say come on! why the heck there is no blood??

Also, if the bad guys spawn in predetermined places, as the same reviewer states "kind of like the first Super Mario Bros. [...], you know exactly when and where to move the second time around ( either dying and spawning over or just playing the game a second time all together )"
So, maybe the replayability levelfor this game is low, but anyway I a fan of the Hitman series, lets see if there is a new Hitman sequel and, how is it going.

Amon Tobin's Albums

[autosentry]

. . . are great. "Supermodified" is very catchy, but nowhere near as polished as "From Out of Nowhere." I have the soundtrack to Chaos Theory and I like it a lot, but it doesn't really show off how insanely detailed his compositions can get.

Chaos Theory not for the unfamiliar

[Pyrowolf]

For those who have never played any of the splinter cell games, Chaos Theory does not lend itself to the pick-up-and-go person without a little frustration along the way. I consider myself somewhat proficient at figuring stuff out with unfamilar games, but I actually had to *cough* break out the manual *cough* to figure out how to do most everything. I'm assuming the 'how-to' stuff is covered in previous games. The only other complaint is - what is with game developers not supporting at least 480p? Regardless, the game looks pretty good for not being any flavor of HD.

Once you get the hang of it, it's actually rather fun and a nice change of pace from the run-around-and-blow-everything-up type games that are generally prevalent.

Re:Chaos Theory not for the unfamiliar

[jkujath]

Single player and co-op are both 480p and widescreen.
Versus mode is 480p, no widescreen.
Sometimes that back of the game-case is wrong.
Game specs on teamxbox.com
Game specs on consolegold.com

Rationale?

[Evanisincontrol]

I don't really see your reasoning on that one. "Thief, The Dark Project" was released in 1998, and is more centered on using magic and other interesting extraordinary abilities to accomplish some number of goals.

"Metal Gear 1", on the other hand, was released in 1987, and is basically the epithome of the first stealth game. While I do see the whole "hide in the shadows" aspect of "Thief," it seems that sneaking around in MG1 with a knife, pistol, full-body suit, and pair of night vision goggles really defines "stealth game" to me a lot better.

Re:Rationale?

[nine-times]

I'm not claiming that "Thief" was the first game to employ any stealth techniques into the gameplay. Many games had some instances where the character could be hidden, or certain techniques that could be used to avoid triggering an enemy attack. However, as far as I can remember, "Thief" was the first game to do something comparable to "Splinter Cell". It put you into a 3D world with gameplay resembling a FPS or TPS, except the enemy AI had defined [semi-]realistic senses of sight and hearing which were limited in various ways by the environment and exploited for the sake of sneaking through the entire game unnoticed.

So was "Thief" the first game to allow the player to avoid the notice of enemy AI? No. Was it the origin of the modern First/Third-Person-Sneaker? I'd say yes. That it uses magic instead of night-vision-goggles is inconsequential. Think look-and-feel. Think gameplay conventions.

Re:Console

[FictionPimp]

This is what I do. I build a new bleeding edge pc and every other year I sell it to my friends for cost in new parts - 150.00. This usually gets me enough cash to build a new bleeding edge pc for 300-450.00.

I feel that 450.00 to play the newest games and do all my job functions as well as all the other things I do with my pc (game mods, internet browsing, programming, etc) is well worth it compared to the 200.00 I spent on my xbox.

That said, as keyboards and mice become more common for consoles, and as I get older and find myself playing less and less games, it makes sense to keep a older computer and just update the consoles. I find myself buying less and less games each year and renting more games.

So time will tell, but I suspect I'll soon be a slave to Microsoft in a different manner than a OS (Unless I'll be using GNU/Box sometime soon to play console games, but I dont see open source hardware taking off anytime soon).