Splinter Cell: Double Agent - Not Unexciting (Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (PS2))

Member Name: smooth_criminal_

Product:	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (PS2)
Date:	06/03/07 (537 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good graphics and voice acting, good replay value

Disadvantages: A poor attempt at innovation, needs something new

With Splinter Cell: Double Agent being the fourth incarnation of Ubi Soft's now well established stealth-based espionage franchise, the developers desperately needed to build on their previous success and inject some much needed innovation into the once groundbreaking series. There is no doubt that Ubi Soft tried to push the boundaries here, but, upon playing Double Agent and hoping for the best, I unfortunately came away feeling that Splinter Cell has become rather tired and overdone.

With a plot that makes some gestures towards depth but ultimately fails to excite, and a new but half-hearted trust-gauge mechanism, the basics of Splinter Cell remain untouched in Double Agent. Based more upon stealth, and, to some extent, strategy than full blown action, the game sees the player take on the role of Sam Fisher, an NSA operative specialising in espionage. While this is worth a go for the hardcore Splinter Cell fan or for anyone gripped by the stealth genre as a whole, the average gamer should look elsewhere for their New Year kicks.

Graphics

The interesting thing about Double Agent, and, in fact, all of the Splinter Cell games, is the connection between its graphics and its gameplay. As one would imagine, a significant aspect of stealth-based gameplay is remaining hidden from the enemy, and the game's lighting plays a crucial role here. In order to avoid detection, one cannot always rely on a handy crate or wall to hide behind, and shadows thus become the best alternative.

This dynamic means lighting specifically and the graphics in general are integral to the game, and this is clearly an area in which Double Agent excels. While, in broader terms, it is possible to find more attractive games on the PS2 if one looks hard enough, the lighting effects specifically in Double Agent remain unrivalled on the platform.

The character and environment design complement this well, with boxed hands and obscure faces a thing of the past and each level boasting admirable detail. The water effects, in particular, are nothing short of beautiful and cannot be faulted by even the most overzealous graphics enthusiast.

17/20 - At a high standard throughout the game and particularly impressive in places

Sound

Michael Ironside once again returns to the role of Sam Fisher and provides a characteristically impressive performance, capturing well the darker side of the character with his superb voice acting talent. Across the range of characters, the voice acting is also of a good standard.

Weapons sounds can occasionally sound a little lucklustre, but one should expect this given the nature of the game (it simply wouldn't do to have a noisy spy). The in-game music, however, adds well to the atmosphere of the game and responds admirably to whatever situation the player is in, with fast paced music in unfortunate and often deadly combat situations and a slower, more subtle pace for those typically Spinter Cell moments of tension.

On the whole, this works well, although some players might find the combat music a little irritating, especially when it seems to continue for some minutes after the combat finishes, and this is probably Double Agent's most significant downside in terms of sound.

16/20 - Voice acting superb, but music can get annoying

Gameplay

Splinter Cell: Double Agent, like all the other Splinter Cell titles before it, is, first and foremost, a game of stealth. This means that combat situations are rare, often detrimental to the player's health, and should, on the whole, be avoided. Having said this, weapons are certainly not non-existent in Double Agent, and Fisher still retains his usual silenced pistol and assault rifle complete with sniper and shotgun attachments. Unfortunately for any guards who stumble upon you, therefore, Fisher can quickly turn from shady operative to one-man army, although a fire-fight will inevitable increase the alert stage and thus make it more difficult for Fisher to fight and escape guards later on in the level.

Played from a third-person perspective, stealth remains key throughout, although there are times when the player is required to eliminate opponents. In order to stay hidden, the player must take advantage of any large objects available, walls, pipes, pools, and, above all, the shadows. Hiding from patrolling guards in a well placed pool or avoiding detection while hanging from a pipe on the ceiling can be particularly satisfying, although the positioning of such things throughout the levels can often make the experience feel a little too easy or obvious compared, for example, to the non-linear and adaptable environments of stealth rival, Metal Gear Solid 3.

The levels, unfortunately, can in themselves become a little predictable, creating a frustrating repetitiveness, particularly for those who have played previous instalments of the franchise. The train level, in particular, had been done before in Splinter Cell and really should not have reappeared, and the same can be said for the ship level. Despite this, some levels do have a sprinkle of originality, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience to run through a hotel routinely being pounded by artillery while trying to avoid numerous guards as the lights flicker on and off in time with the strikes.

The various gadgets that one can expect of a Splinter Cell game all make a welcome return, including the sticky camera, electric shocker, and optic cable. The split-jump and hanging dynamics also work well as impressively acrobatic moves for the ageing Fisher.

However, these have all been seen before and failed to set the new benchmarks crucial for a successful sequel. In order to remedy this, Ubi Soft have introduced an entirely new feature to the game in the form of the trust-gauge. This fits in neatly with the plot, as a darker Fisher goes undercover, completing competing and often contradictory objectives for both the NSA and a terrorist organisation, the JBA. The player, in each level, is faced with a variety of different objectives offered by both sides, and has to choose which ones to complete. Completing objectives for one side increases Fisher's trust within that organisation, but he loses the confidence of the other side as a result.

The trick is to achieve a balance between objectives for each side, otherwise the player could be denied useful equipment on the next mission. However, while this new feature certainly adds a twist to the game, it fails to make more than a superficial impact and is a notably half-heated attempt to inject innovation into a franchise in urgent need of something new. This, suffice to say, is not the answer, and it is clear that the developers need to go back to the drawing board for the next instalment. The multiplayer, focused on engagement between spies, in the traditional Splinter Cell style, and grunts, playing in a first-person perspective, is enjoyable but again no improvement on previous offerings. Overall, considering the persistent lack of new ideas in Double Agent, one cannot help but feel that it would be wiser to replay one of the earlier games than fork out for this sequel.

16/25 - Offers the traditional Splinter Cell experience, but needed some more substantial innovation to compete with other titles in the genre

Lifespan

Double Agent boasts reasonable replay value, with a number of the individual levels well worth revisiting upon completing the game. Furthermore, the multiplayer adds some extra longevity to the game that fails to appear in the rival sneaker MGS3, and a couple of added side missions are available on the PS2 version of the game, stretching the single player for an extra couple of hours.

Especially as the singleplayer levels become more challenging later in the game, the player will realise that Double Agent cannot be completed within just a couple of days, and will require a good week of gaming before one can approach the end. Whether more Double Agent is a good or a bad thing is purely subjective, of course.

23/25 - Fairly long, good replay value

Originality

The trust-gauge adds some originality to the game as a new addition to Splinter Cell and to the stealth genre as a whole. To some extent, this redeems the game from a horrific score in this department, but you would do well to remember that this is about the only thing that is new about this game.

5/10 - Originality is not, it is safe to say, Double Agent's main appeal

Overall

Being a loyal Splinter Cell fan, despite the series' shortcomings in comparison with the infinitely better and more innovative Metal Gear Solid, I did enjoy playing this game, and other Splinter Cell enthusiasts will probably feel the same way. However, it is about time the franchise did something new, and the trust-gauge was a poor attempt to address this issue.

I had hoped for better, but was not entirely surprised when Double Agent failed to deliver. It is clear that the game's developers lacked inspiration this time round, and they could certainly take some lessons from Hideo Kojima here. Rather than pumping out endless sequels (and a new Splinter Cell is, of course, on its way), Ubi Soft need to apply themselves, bring in some new talent, and transform Splinter Cell into the groundbreaking franchise that it should and could be.

77%

Key facts:

Price: £17.99 (from Amazon, November 06)

Certificate: 15

Summary: Not unexciting, but really needed something new