Review by Sam on Wednesday 04th of July 2007



Back in 2002 Sam Fisher burst into the gaming scene in the first Splinter Cell. It quickly became one of the biggest games for the original Xbox, and since then Splinter Cell has evolved, becoming even better. Double Agent is the first of the Splinter Cell series to reach Xbox 360, it has been highly anticipated, and therefore Ubisoft have had to up their game. It was released in October 2006; I got hold of my copy in November and was impressed from the beginning.

After a mission at the start of the game, Sam's partner is killed by the enemy; you see this from a platform above but calmly get on with the mission. In the scene after you complete the mission Sam gets into the rescue helicopter in a frantic state, the movie goes on and you find that Sam goes off the rails and is sent to prison. Now you're thinking, 'Wow Sam is now a convict?!' When you start the next mission you find out that Sam going to prison was just a ploy to get close to a target, James Washington. In prison you help James escape and from there you infiltrate James terrorist group, JBA (John Brown's Army).

The single-player mode in Double Agent still had some of the same flaws of the previous releases. You still feel like you're following a storyline with no sense of direction. It is sometimes boring to be doing the same things in each mission and whilst it's often fun to sneak up behind an enemy, grab him and break his neck, it becomes quite old as you can be doing this over 40 times in a mission. The shooting in the game is still as bland as ever, aiming still takes some skill and the often panic of pressing the wrong button to get your gun out under fire often fazes me. I must say it is much easier to use stealth to kill your enemy's although that is just an opinion. However, the game's well needed multiplayer component (which is like a whole separate game) has improved much since the previous games and has introduced a whole bunch of interesting changes.

Sam Fisher has always stood out as a great character, the powerful voice and cocky yet friendly attitude makes him one of the main Xbox protagonists's to date. The multiple endings the game has to offer are a key feature in the game. Knowing that you're actions can create different routes and ways in which to go in the game gives the player a sense of control and makes them want to keep playing. The JBA terrorists send you off on many missions, you will probably think, 'I'm Sam Fisher, why can't I just kill them all and be done?' Don't worry your patience wares off in an action packed finale, which once again, can be decided on the choices you make in game.

Gameplay wise, there isn't much new to Double Agent's single player mode. Each mission has an obvious similarity to the previous mission and is often quite boring. The same old frame rate problems also occur in the game and ruins many visuals. The good thing about Splinter Cell is that when you die, doing a lot of the mission again has never been a problem for me as the stealthy game play keeps you occupied. Although, even the stealth side of the game has some draw backs. When crouching and sneaking round an enemy you can be directly in front of him, and if the lights are dim he won't see you. This ruins some realism factors for the game as you can be seen very easily in real life in the same situation. Being able to turn off lights, throw things and whistle at your enemy is very effective and is a great distraction mechanism in Double Agent.

The controls in the game can be quite difficult to get used to, if you haven't used them before. Picking up an object or grabbing someone from behind can often present you with numerous options and can cause accidents like getting seen by the enemy. Opening a door often has 3 options, open normal, open stealthily and open with a bang (to startle your enemy). For the 360 the general control pad controls can also be a little confusing. A few training missions makes the learning curve a lot easier and you're finding it easy to use in no time.

A new interesting addition to the game is the Trust system. The trust system forces you to not make mistakes, like being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time or trying to open door's that you cannot access. Being spotted by enemies or even members of the NSA or JBA will cause either of them to lose a certain amount of trust in you, which can often affect the choices of that group leader or your own. Not only that, if both your trust meters run out, that's game over. When you're in the JBA base you are forced to walk normally, you cannot run. This is a good feature as it brings more realism to the game. When you enter restricted areas you are forced to crouch, whereas if you would run into it you could be caught almost instantly. Finding ways to slip through the JBA's security is somewhat rewarding and often makes you load saved games often until you find the correct route in which to take to evade being caught.

Sam's missions take him all over the globe from freezing cold ice covered Russia to war drenched African towns. Most outdoor missions take place in mid-day so it is interesting to find how many ways you can avoid being caught. This brings more skill to the stealth side of the game and often test's your patience. Sneaking past your enemies in a stealth frenzy is often your first choice in completing each mission as they are long and shooting to get through can be quite tricky as being hit by roughly 8 shots will result in death. The shooting in DA is exactly the same as in previous releases, Fisher cannot run and shoot and you often have to stand still in which to get perfect aim on your foe, meanwhile you could have took a handful of bullets to the chest resulting in death or high-impact injury. Although if you wait a few minutes and stay still your health will revive to full, on its own. This isn't very good for the realism factor in the game but it's handy.

Full completion of the single player mode can be achieved in roughly 10 hours if you are an average experienced gamer. The missions overall last almost the same amount of time as those of the previous releases. The multiplayer mode really makes up for many flaws in the single player mode and is well worth playing. The mode consists of two small teams; Spies and Mercenaries. The gameplay is much faster and less complicated than the previous versions and is entertaining to play. Not all maps are available for you to play at the start; an increase in your experience will unlock new maps. This gives you something to aim at. Each spy is now different; some move a lot quicker than Sam and have a number of their own animations and unique moves. Spies cannot withstand the powerful Mercenary machine gun and will often die instantly from a round of bullets but when you drop from the ceiling and snap a Mercenary's neck it is often extremely satisfying and even more so because you're on multiplayer mode.

The Splinter Cell games are beginning to focus more into the much improving multiplayer component although the single-player modes can be just as entertaining. People are starting to buy the Splinter Cell games for 2 reasons. One for the multiplayer mode or for the single-player mode, they, in themselves have become two big factors in the series. Double Agent is a tense thrill ride that will leave you wanting more. At times the frame rate can spoil the graphics but when you focus on the interiors you realise that the 360 has really polished a lot of the game and often makes it looks terrific. I recommend Double Agent for those players who love strategy and less action-packed shooting. I found the game at times very boring but it has many points which I remember well because of the great stealth moments that you can create. Splinter Cell updated Double Agent from previous games rather than bringing the game into a new era. Let's hope the next release is just as good.