sci
04-03-2005, 12:30 PM
Xbox version reviewed.
What an incredible game. One of the best title I played in years. You would think that being the third game in the series *in the span of the same generation*, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory would be a cheap effort, but it isnt.
A whole new engine, 12 single player missions, 4 coops and about 12 Versus maps (5 of them being remixes of the most popular maps from Splinter Cell 2), this game totally delivers.
The single player aspect is now more accessible to mainstream gamers, but it managed to keep things complicated enough for veterans of the franchise. You still have access to the same bunch of gadgets, who are still very useful. The single player aspect is incredibly solid, with each missions taking more than a hour on the first playtrought. The replay value is strong as there is now 3 level of difficulty with different rules and features. Your performance gets rated at the end of each map, to give you an idea on how well you did. Being stealth and not killing anyone is prefered in this game!
The game really shines in multiplayer. Finally you can play Coop with a friend in 4 really hard (it took us several tries and about 2 hours total to beat the Panama level the first time, and we ended up going against the rules; totally rambo on the ennemies!). You can now take the fight online on xbox live. The xbox version suffered some minute framerate drop sadly, as the poor machine is being exploited at its limits.
the Versus mode is a blast. 4 players max, the versus mode is pretty much like the single player mode except for the fact that 2 players are the spies, the other 2 players are mercenaries who have to prevent the spies from accessing confidential data. Each side has access to various gadgets to help them find and track the other side. Spies can use various tools to listen to mercenaries conversations, blind them, and just outsmarting them. The mercenaries have access to firepower, motion tracking googles, gaz masks, and so on.
I never had such a stressful experience than what I experienced on my first game. I was on the mercenaries side and had to defend a warehouse while the spies had to capture data contained in computers. Me and my partner were patrolling around, using motion trackers and flashlights to monitor and expect the shadows. Suddenly the lights were cut, one of the spies takes my partner hostages and starts shooting me while using my friend has a body shield. As he was dragging my friend toward the door, my freind was screaming to shoot him while the spy was telling us to let him go. I manage to crouch and use the zoom on my rifle to shoot the spy in the head! As his body was falling to the floor, another spy falls right behind me, grabs me and snap my neck! Holy **** that was awesome!
SC3 is really a great overall package, nothing was half done, the game just delivers.
On a side note, I also noticed advertising for various products thru the whole game. Some computers have Nokia screensavers, there's various bottles of AXE body lotions in bathrooms, and so on. It was pretty funny to notice those things.
What an incredible game. One of the best title I played in years. You would think that being the third game in the series *in the span of the same generation*, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory would be a cheap effort, but it isnt.
A whole new engine, 12 single player missions, 4 coops and about 12 Versus maps (5 of them being remixes of the most popular maps from Splinter Cell 2), this game totally delivers.
The single player aspect is now more accessible to mainstream gamers, but it managed to keep things complicated enough for veterans of the franchise. You still have access to the same bunch of gadgets, who are still very useful. The single player aspect is incredibly solid, with each missions taking more than a hour on the first playtrought. The replay value is strong as there is now 3 level of difficulty with different rules and features. Your performance gets rated at the end of each map, to give you an idea on how well you did. Being stealth and not killing anyone is prefered in this game!
The game really shines in multiplayer. Finally you can play Coop with a friend in 4 really hard (it took us several tries and about 2 hours total to beat the Panama level the first time, and we ended up going against the rules; totally rambo on the ennemies!). You can now take the fight online on xbox live. The xbox version suffered some minute framerate drop sadly, as the poor machine is being exploited at its limits.
the Versus mode is a blast. 4 players max, the versus mode is pretty much like the single player mode except for the fact that 2 players are the spies, the other 2 players are mercenaries who have to prevent the spies from accessing confidential data. Each side has access to various gadgets to help them find and track the other side. Spies can use various tools to listen to mercenaries conversations, blind them, and just outsmarting them. The mercenaries have access to firepower, motion tracking googles, gaz masks, and so on.
I never had such a stressful experience than what I experienced on my first game. I was on the mercenaries side and had to defend a warehouse while the spies had to capture data contained in computers. Me and my partner were patrolling around, using motion trackers and flashlights to monitor and expect the shadows. Suddenly the lights were cut, one of the spies takes my partner hostages and starts shooting me while using my friend has a body shield. As he was dragging my friend toward the door, my freind was screaming to shoot him while the spy was telling us to let him go. I manage to crouch and use the zoom on my rifle to shoot the spy in the head! As his body was falling to the floor, another spy falls right behind me, grabs me and snap my neck! Holy **** that was awesome!
SC3 is really a great overall package, nothing was half done, the game just delivers.
On a side note, I also noticed advertising for various products thru the whole game. Some computers have Nokia screensavers, there's various bottles of AXE body lotions in bathrooms, and so on. It was pretty funny to notice those things.