Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (PS2)

Splinter Cell continues to follow the capers of Sam Fisher (cant spell his surname!)whilst he trys to stop a massive information war from breaking into world war 3.

The graphics for this game are incredible. The lighting is always dramatic and the enemies seem even more realistic than previous encounters. There are a wider range of locations, including a boat (reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid 2)a bank (where Sam steals 50,000,000 in bonds and then gets a 25 cent an hour raise!) however thats just a cover up for what he is really after.

The gameplay is what stands out. In the first two, the alarm system could be really annoying. Sometimes, bodies would be found even when hidden in total darkness. There is no more of this, 3 alarms and your out! Rather, instead, a load of enemies come after you. This is surprisingly, less annoying and far more enjoyable. Secondly, you can save anywhere in a level and start from that point if you die or want to restart. This saves having to redo entire sections in order to get to the difficult bit and die from the previous 2. Third is his close combat skills. Sam is now armed with a knife (you can chose either a fatal or a non-fatal attack depending on the level.) This means you no longer have to come up behind them or drop on them from above, but if you creep up to them in the dark, you can just attack from the front! Finally there are stealth ratings at the end of the level, and there are also secondary and opportunity objectives which are also added, a nice touch by ubi-soft.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Sams third game is by far his best. If you buy one game this year, make it this!

Waiting in the shadows, eying the situation from only a few centimetres away from what is to surely be your next victim. Each move has to be carefully calculated to ensure complete stealth and success of the mission. Your gun is your weakest weapon, stealth, shadows and your knife will become your new best friends.

There's no longer the threat of mission failed if you set off an alarm.. as said in the game 'This is no video game, Sam'. Sam has an array of new weaponry at his disposal, for instance the new add on for the pistol which allows you to disable electronic hardware such as but not limited to; hanging lamps and computers. This helps keeping hidden from the enemy.

This game now has a 2 player co-op mode which is simply fantastic, imagine real time communication, having another persons eyes and ears for backup, someone to revive you with
an injection of adrenaline if/when you go down in battle and someone to help you perform the array of breath taking moves co-operative play has to offer, for instance being thrown
into your opponent.

Then if that's not enough there's online play, very similar to 'Splinter Cell Pandoras Tomorrow' you either play as a mercenary or a shadownet operative. The aim of the mercenary is to hunt down the shadownet team members in 'First person view' and protect any cells you possess. If you're a shadownet operative the object is to retrieve or denonate these cells or neutralize the mercenaries. If you're a shadownet operative you play in 3rd person.

Overall if you loved the previous offerings Splinter Cell had to offer then you will undoubtly love this one even more. If you're new to Splinter Cell but love games which involve calculative moves, stealth and overall brain usage then you'll love this one too. This title has alot to offer and I'm sure anyone who is lucky enough to own it will tell you the same thing.

[Warning : Not suitable for those with a nervous disposition]
[Nerve stimulants sold seperately, counselling is also]