bdgamer's Full Review: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory for Win...
Before I start my review, I’d just like to set some things straight: I never played the previous Splinter Cell games and I never was a fan of the series or Tom Clancy games in particular. Chaos Theory, the third game in the stealth-action series, has changed that in just a few days of play.
Splinter Cell games have been very popular, starting with the series’ first outing during the November of 2002 on the Xbox. Ubisoft, the publisher of the game, quickly moved development of the second game to its Shanghai Studio from its Montreal Studio, producing Pandora Tomorrow. The sequel had a frustrating single-player mode, which was ousted by its popular, and addictive, multiplayer mode which pitted the mercenaries against spies. Ubi’s Montreal Studio started work on Chaos Theory almost immediately after the first Splinter Cell, and the time they took to develop and the polish the game is evident. Although I have only got second-hand experience of the previous Splinter Cells, Chaos Theory is by far the best game in the series, being a true sequel to the original than Pandora Tomorrow.
Being part of the “Tom Clancy” franchise, Chaos Theory features the typical Tom Clancy plot. Set in 2007, the story focuses on the strenuous relationship between the United States, North America and Japan, centering on electronic warfare and information. Sam Fisher is the man (again) as he is sent to silence ‘dangerous people’ and infiltrate enemy strongholds in various parts of the globe. The story is told through cutscenes, pre-mission bits of information (read: boring monologues) by the commanding officers and informants. However, the best parts of the story happen during the game, where Sam Fisher’s verbal exchanges, voiced by Michael Ironside (Starship Troopers, Total Recall), with his off-site crew are quite priceless and bring the game to life.
Sam Fisher, this time around, is equipped with a new knife and the SC-20K modular assault rifle, on which attachments can be used to allow it to function as a sniper rifle, shotgun, etc. He’s also learned a couple of new moves (couple of which can be attributed to the knife) which allows him to either knock the enemies unconscious or kill them outright. Not only has he learned new moves, the game has too – it’s become open-ended and lets players decide what to do in them. As witnessed in the previous Splinter Cell games, the player would be punished for being ‘discovered’ or having raised a number of alarms; stealth and being ‘invisible’ were the basis of the two previous games, which often created frustration in having to replay the mission again. Chaos Theory improves on the previous games by making the levels completely open-ended and focusing less on stealth tactics, letting the players decide how they want to complete the objectives. Sneaking up and snapping the necks of the enemies isn’t the only thing you can do now – the game also lets you pick up the more familiar, and fun, “run and gun” gameplay and go at it. However, it has its disadvantages, as the enemies will become more alert and don heavy armor, becoming harder to kill. Chaos Theory’s new scoring system also prefers stealth gameplay over the trigger-happy style, as it gives higher scores for stealthy play than it does to blasting your way to success. But both styles are acceptable and add to the replayability of the game.
Melee combat is also featured and is quite effective against the enemies, what with Sam’s new moves, letting him use single swift attacks to take down enemies. The game will let you select from three different gear load-outs to suit your style of play before each mission: stealth, assault or a mix of both designed specifically for the said level. Unlike previous Cell games, Chaos Theory features multiple ways to complete an objective. As said before, you can adopt the run-and-gun style or the stealth style – it’s all up to you. However, that’s not all the game has to offer, as the open-ended nature of the level design opens up multiple ways to do the same thing. For example, you could use the stealth approach to do something without even getting noticed or you can do it the hard way, killing everyone you see and reaching the objective. It’s up to you to create your own game experience…and it rocks!
Chaos Theory’s missions include breaking into a bank, infiltrating a high-tech high-rise, exploring a missile base and more. All the locales in the game are covered with darkness, putting the emphasis on stealth and playing a vital part in the gameplay mechanics. As with other stealth games, you can just sit still in a dark corner of the room and let guards pass by within inches of you without noticing that there’s a super-elite spy right beside him. Another stealth feature is the ambient sound meter, which shows the level of sound you’re making against the ambient noise level. If you’re making less sound than the ambient noise level then you won’t tip off enemies to your presence. This adds a nice touch to the game, and will go on to become a staple feature in all future stealth games. Since this is a Splinter Cell game, cool gadgets are a must, and Chaos Theory doesn’t disappoint. In addition to the familiar night, thermal and EMF vision modes, you now get a new mode which lets you see electronic devices that you can affect in the area; it can also detect hazards and act as a binocular. The best thing is that it will let you hack computers from a distance – just line yourself up to a computer and you’re done. The pistol’s secondary firing mode is also to be noted as it shoots an electronic beam that disables cameras, lights and other stuff, making it an indispensable item in Sam’s inventory.
It wouldn’t all be good if the AI wasn’t good enough. Fortunately, it is. Enemies examine doors you have opened, lights you have turned off, they provide back up if something goes awry (for them) – overall, they behave quite realistically. However, iffy AI is also present as mentioned before – enemies will walk right past you if you’re covered in darkness, yet when they become alerted somehow, they’ll shoot at you – accurately – even if you’re in a pitch-black spot. That’s the only bad thing I could say about the enemy AI, which is otherwise pretty good.
Multiplayer plays a huge role in Chaos Theory as it introduces a new mode of play – co-op, among others. The sad thing is, I could not play any multiplayer matches due to technical difficulties and so cannot comment on the multiplayer features.
Graphics have always been a major selling point in the Splinter Cell series, and Chaos Theory is no different. Sam Fisher is highly detailed, so are the enemies, whose facial effects will steal the show. Environments are gorgeous to look at, what with high-resolution textures and Splinter Cell’s trademark moody lighting. Real-time shadows are projected for every object in the game, adding not only to the mood, but also to the gameplay. Animation is top-notch, as Sam Fisher moves with lifelike grace, and his new moves are a treat to watch. My only gripe is that the characters look like plastic action figures rather than “real” people. Overall, Chaos Theory is a visually striking game that is only topped by the likes of Half-Life 2 and DOOM 3.
All parts of the game have been polished, as evident in the sound department. Unlike most games, which feature generic electronica, Chaos Theory uses an original soundtrack by electronica artist Amon Tobin, who punctuates the mood of the game through cue-specific music. For example, it’s all quiet when no one is alerted of your presence, then the music kicks in as you’re discovered. After disposing of the bad guys, the music fades out again. The music is great, if not terrific, to listen to, so are the ambient sounds and other sounds such as gunfire. If you have a 5.1 surround sound system then you’re in for a treat – Chaos Theory employs full surround sound to help you locate your enemies and immerse you into the game. It’s still quite a treat even if you don’t have a surround sound setup. Voice acting for the primary characters, especially Sam’s one is great, even if the rest of the cast aren’t. The voice of the enemies will noticeably change as they go from chatting with each other to fighting with you, adding to the game’s audio immersion qualities. Overall, Chaos Theory is a great sounding game, which can be used to fully showcase the power of your surround sound setup.
The single-player portion of the game has been nicely made, offering tons of replayability with its open-ended gameplay. However, it may not be for everyone, as the game can be quite frustrating at times due to it’s somewhat iffy AI and the fact that run-and-gun gameplay isn’t favored as much as stealth. Even with that, I’d whole-heartedly recommend this game to anyone who is even remotely interested in the franchise or would like to don the role of a super-spy.
In one sentence: Chaos Theory is a great looking, and sounding, game with excellent gameplay for both ends of the spectrum – stealth and action.
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