Customer Reviews

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When the first Splinter Cell game came out, I immediately bought it for it's blend of cool visuals, shadowy game play and cool spy moves. I didn't like it. I'm not a fan of trial and error gameplay and the game was completely filled with it. And, while realistic I'm sure, setting off alarms was too easy and unforgiving.

Splinter Cell 2 did a better job of smoothing out the problems of the first while including a cool online portion but it still had trial and error gameplay that I couldn't get into.

Finally, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is out and it is grand.

When I first started to play the single player game, I was amazed at how much more forgiving the system was. Not to say it was dumbed down or easier, I still got my ass handed to me, but it was more fair. And if I made a mistake it didn't necessarily spell total disaster. Overall, it's still a lot of the same from before, except that in this case you are given much more freedom in how you want to go about your missions and you can, in fact, use those high-powered weapons you were given without worry.

Then there's the multi-player portion which is amazing. The co-op mode is fully fleshed out, allowing two people to play either split screen, system link or through Live. New moves are given for team attacks and for various ways of solving situations. Gameplay is fun and exciting, it's a natural extension of the single-player experience and makes me wonder why it took for the third game for them to include it. My only complaint is that there aren't many co-op levels but hopefully this will be remedied through downloads through Live.

As if those two modes aren't enough, there's the merc vs. spy multi-player from the second Splinter Cell. Maps from the second game and new ones are included. Very awesome. Nothing like going up against real people for a change.

Astoundingly, the graphics have been increased in this game. I didn't know how they could do it, but they did. Environments are more realistic, the shadows are better, everything is much much better. Audio is also stellar and if you have the ability for 5.1 you will be in for a treat.

I don't like repeating other reviewers out there so I don't think I can say much more. It's a fun game mostly, that incorporates some real cool moves. If you liked the original two but wanted more freedom in how you go about things, then this game is for you. It took three games but I am finally a Splinter Cell believer.

The Splinter Cell series has been truly amazing, and with #3 they have perfected it. The AI is great, the graphics are stunning, and gameplay is simply fun.

First, if you've never played the Splinter Cell theory, you really have to see these graphics. Curtains ripple in the wind. Candlelight gleams faintly. Streetlights fall through blinds in rippled patterns. It is gorgeous to watch.

The plot feels very real and current. You're a lone spy, sent in to get information and extract hostages. You learn more as you go through the game, finding out who to trust and who not to trust.

All the latest gadgets and techniques are here. You have to use your heat vision, night vision, electronic vision to scan for danger. You have a wireless device to scan laptops from nearby. You can shimmy along pipes, hang by your knees and grab people beneath you. You can slit holes in fabric curtains and grab people through them. You really begin to forget that this is "just" a game.

The enemies have become quite intelligent. If you turn off lights, they wonder who did that. If you open doors that should have been closed, they notice. You really couldn't ask for much more.

But then, it gets even better. The missions offer a number of ways to solve them. There isn't just "one path". And multiplayer is truly phenomonal. You could play multiplayer every day for months and never get bored.

Of course, it needs to be pointed out that, while you can aim for stealth as much as you wish, this is a game involving violence. You are snapping the necks of guards, watching hostages be killed in nasty ways, and generally dealing with adult dangers. This isn't a game for pre-teens.

But that being said, the game is amazingly immersive and does reward you for taking the stealthy way through the course. You get far more points for sneaking in and out of the enemy base, vs doing a Rambo and blasting away everything in sight.

Highly recommended!

Ive played and tremendously enjoyed the first two Splinter Cell series, but this one is far and away the best, in fact its the best game in its genre, no other tatical/action game comes close. These are the best graphics I've seen for the X-Box (and I have Doom 3, Halo 2 and Riddick). The textures look incredible and its incredibly immersive, this game sucks you right in. The enemy AI has drastically improved, the enemy responds to broken lightbulbs and locks the added all round intelligence makes the game extremely believable. The only feature that marred the last 2 Splinter Cells' was the enemies lack of intelligence and common sense, most of this has been corrected.
The 5.1 mix of this game is perhaps the best that I own, you are put right in the middle of the environment, guards walk and talk behind you and sounds swirl around you with great effect, and the ambient sounds are fantastic. Sometimes when dogs are barking or birds chirping, I actually have to put the sound on mute to check if its coming from the game or outside, its that good!
All in all, this is the best game for X-box I've ever played. You wouldnt be disappointed.

Sam Fisher is back once again. This time he must find the source of the barrage of information attacks causing blackouts and unexplained attacks on US targets.

The first thing you will notice about this game is that it is huge compared to the first two splinter cell's. Look at the manual and you will notice it is unbelievably thick. This is because there is so much things that Sam can do. All of Sam's tools and gadgets carry over to CT, but he now has some new ones. He can use his pistol to disrupt the functionality of most electrical components. No more having to fire your pistol to shoot out lights and making a lot of noise as the glass breaks. With the EV, Sam can just shoot a laser at the light and the light will flicker off within a few seconds. He can also do the same to computer screens, TV's and radios, which drives the enemies mad. Perhaps that coolest new thing he can do in this area is that he can wirelessly hack into PC's even while someone is sitting at the desk. Now is that cool or what?

Sam's SCK-20 has a few upgrades that allow you to use different attachments. In addition to the launcher attachment that allows you to fire camera, shockers, grenades, etc, there is also foregrip, sniper and shotgun attachments. The Foregrip allows Sam to aim the SCK-20 with more accuracy. The sniper attachment turns the gun into a Sniper rifle. I haven't used it yet, but will choose it on my next mission. Finally there is a shotgun attachment for the times when you just want to let the enemies know you mean business. Its very noisy, but if you get to point where you have to use it, you probably don't care anyway. The only drawback to these new attachments is that you can only choose one per mission. So you can't go into a mission with both the sniper and the shotgun. It kind of sucks, but I suppose it wouldn't be very realistic anyway.

Sam this time now has a lot of lethal moves in addition to his non-lethal attacks. When you grab and enemy from behind, you can elect to choke them until they are unconscious, or perform a lethal, like ramming a combat knife into his back or push them off a balcony sending them to their death. Sam can also perform attacks without having to grab an enemy, you can kill them by slitting their throats or stab them in the heart. Or you can elect to knock them out by hitting them in the head or kicking them. I recall one level where I kicked this guy so hard he went flying head first into a nearby fire extinguisher causing it to go off. Yes Sam is RAW in this game. If this wasn't enough you can also kill (by breaking their neck) or knock out enemies while you are hanging upside down from a pipe!! One of my favorite things to do however is while Sam's hanging off of a cliff or balcony, he can reach up and grab an enemy and toss him over the railing sending him to his death! I think UBISOFT got a lot of requests from SC players requesting more lethal attacks and they responded brilliantly. Sam's demeanor has also changed, in judging from his conversations with Lambert. However you don't HAVE to kill to advance in this game. If you like you can go through most of the game without killing anyone, so the stealth aspect is still there and is still encouraged in many levels. I still prefer stealth, but will occasionally kill depending what kind of mood I'm in. I like the fact that UBISOFT now gives players a choice. One thing I forgot to mention is that Sam can now also bash a door in, almost certainly knocking out the person on the other side.

The graphics in this game are much crisper than Pandora tomorrow and look a lot better than the graphics on the original SC. The environment movements are so life like, it's almost scary. The lighting is once again done brilliantly, allowing you to still be able to look at shadows to estimate where the enemy is standing just around the corner.

The sound is also a step above the previous two installments. Depending on what country you are in, the locals and enemies accents will change. The environment sounds are also very lifelike. On certain levels, you can hear the annoying sound of mosquitoes and flies buzzing around your head. High pitched buzzing from flies and mosquitoes always makes my nose itch, and when I heard those sounds while playing the game I, had to constantly pause the game and rub my nose. I was glad to get off that level!

The story this time around is better than PT, but still seems to jump around a lot and is kind of hard to follow. I still think the original SC had the best story line. With that being said, the story line is still very good, and I like the fact that UBISOFT went back to full news broadcasts, instead of cutting them off constantly like they did in PT.

There is also a Co-op mode in this game which allows you to play story mode with someone else simultaneously. That's right two "Sams" on the same mission at the same time. After I finish single player, I'll try to convince the wife to play Co-op with me. If you are unable to find anyone to play with you in person, there is also XBOX Live. I cancelled my XBOX Live account 3 months ago, so there is no need for me to review that potion of the game.

My disappointments in the game are as follows. 1) The manual doesn't do a very good job in telling you how to use your new weapons and moves. I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to use the shotgun attachment, until finally I went online and asked somebody. The manual did not mention how to do this it all! In addition it does not tell you how to use the laser mic. I will be going online to figure out how to use this as well. A training mission would have been perfect, but for some reason, UBISOFT felt that it they didn't need to include it this time. I feel sorry for the person who never played SC before; they will almost certainly be lost and confused. 2). While some comical dialog is welcome in some aspects of the game, sometimes it just goes too far and ends up being corny. For instance, the enemies that have no problem killing you at a moments notice turn into complete p****** when you grab and interrogate them, they whine entirely too much saying there going to piss their pants, or they should have stayed in bed this morning. It would have been cool if some people did that, but it seems that every guy you grab and interrogate does the same thing.

One thing I must mention is that UBISOFT got rid of the checkpoint system! FINALLY! You can now Save your game whenever you want. No more redoing a section over and over and over again just because you got killed 2 feet from the checkpoint. This is a welcome addition by myself and I can imagine many more gamers. If they do the same in the new RS3, then I will be doubly happy!!

Overall, this game is very good being ALMOST as good as the original. While this game improved in all aspects from the previous two installments, I can't play it for very long periods of time. Don't get me wrong, this game is fun, but I just can't play it as long as I could with the first SC. Maybe I am just getting old. I generally don't give 5 stars unless the game is 99% perfect, but because I want to distinguish this from PT which I gave 4 stars (rounded up from 3.8). Had this been a 10 scale rating system, this game would easily get a 9.5. But because it's only a five scale system, I have no choice but to give this game all five stars.

There is not enough you can say about this game. If you've seen the previews, then I should stop there, because the graphics are the best I've ever seen. Great reflections, lighting, and overall effect. And the animation is very smooth and realistic. The sound and music are exelent as in any Splinter Cell game. But they managed to surpass that of it's predacessors. The music is very cool and fits well. The gunshots, water, running all sounded so real. The gameplay is much less linear now. The game is built around playing it your way. You can shoot your way through, go stealth, ot's awesome. The replayablity is improved as well. I'm on my third time through. You can snap people's neck from pipes, and you get a knife, which can be used to cut throats, cut material, and bypass curcuts. The multyplayer has returned and is better then ever. As a merc this time, you can get an SMG, assualt rifle, or shotgun. You also get tons more devices as a merc and spy. Like a camo suit for spies and poisen mines for mercs. That is only small compared to what you get altogether. The new maps are also great fun, and they've got some old maps to. The plot is much better. I won't say anything, but there are a few plot twiwsts. The A.I. is the best I've ever encountered. The guards will shine their flashlights where you were and where they think you are. They'll talk to each other to find you. And this time they don't forget abount you. They won't stop for a good while. I'll break down everything here:

GRAPHICS: 10 OUT OF 10

GAMEPLAY: 10 OUT OF 10

PLOT: 9 OUT OF 10

A.I.: 10 OUT OF 10

MULTYPLAYER: 10 OUT OF 10

REPLAYABILITY: 9 OUT OF 10

SOUND: 10 OUT OF 10

Over all, the best game I've ever played. I urge you to get it ASAP.

When I played SC 1 I really felt it was a wasted opportunity... Yes it had amazing graphics and was the stealth-based 'spy' game to own but its amazing shadowy look was also matched by its ultra-unforgiving realism. Trip one alarm too many - game over. Use a weapon you're not allowed to - game over. Kill someone - game over etc.

With Chaos Theory that frustrating aspect of gameplay has almost all been removed. With each successive trip of an alarm your enemies don armor or get out more powerful weapons and become more prepared and aware of your presence. Much more preferable to 'mission failed' start the level again style of gameplay.

Additionally, Xbox owners can now save at any point. This is radical especially on for a console game, and increases the enjoyment factor ten-fold. It allows you to experiment without fear of going back to the start and thankfully load and save times are very quick.

The new toys, moves and especially the intelligent AI is also a welcome addition to the game franchise. Enemies converse with each other, share info and plan flanking moves extremely realistically. Add to that environment affected ragdoll physics and the game starts to *feel* real. Levels are cunningly designed for multiple game styles - want to go in guns blazing, then go for it, want to subdue and interrogate guards as you go or even avoid them completely - again that's up to you.

Graphically, it's stunning. The mathematics and visuals integrate tightly to offer a truly unique looking game. Cloth and drapes are affected by wind and light. Water is a factor as is sound and ambient noise. Granted you'll be spending a lot of time seeing the game through Sam Fisher's night vision scope or waiting in some pitch black corner, but where the game is bright enough you can be awed by how far gamegraphics not only has come, but also how much they're part of the gameplay.

Sure they are some points I didn't like. I personally hate games that have time limits and SC:CT has a parts of of some levels where you have minutes or even seconds to perform some task. I like to slowly plan my next move without fear of a 'time up'. I want to play the game at my own pace. Thankfully there's only a couple of levels that do this.

Chaos Theory is the game I wanted the original Splinter Cell to be. At this pricepoint you shouldn't miss this one.

I'm not a big fan for 1-player games because my brother and I always have friends over. I had played a demo for the orginal Splinter Cell on Gamecube and I loved it. I was in the process of deciding on getting Pandora Tomorrow until I read an article in a magazine that Chaos Theory was going to have a co-op mode(I'm a big fan of co-op). I knew that was the thing for me and decided to skip getting Pandora Tomorrow.

So I rented the game and played it with my brother. The first mission is a training mode which only shows a few of the literally dozens of moves a splinter cell can pull off. The next missions are fun and very intriging. They make you think like a spy. Which route should I take? Where are the enemies located? What is the best and most quiet way to take them out? You have to think about all these before advancing through the level. This game makes you think.

Not only that but the graphics are top-notch too. YOu can see the texture of Sma Fishers clothes which is a scary though because this is an Xbox game.

A key aspect of the game is sound. Especially online when your using a mic to communicate with your partner. If your too loud then the enemies will detect which makes this game even more realistic.

Reading this should make you want to buy this game or at least try it out. Still not convinced? It's only $20!!!

This is seriously the best splinter cell game Ubisoft has produced. The graphics were improved, the sound was better, and the gameplay totally owned the other previous games. Single Player is quite enjoyable and I am always replaying select levels just because how incerdibley fun they are. Co-op is like wise very well done and requires a large amount of teamwork. I haven't had the opportunity to play in hostile multiplayer but I heard it's awesome.
The best addition to the game has got to be the knife. Quiet, deadly, kill-in-an-instant type weapon that you just press right trigger to use on enemies. It's very fun to beat the game and only kill with the knife (and very challenging). The second best addition is the inverted hang/neck twist. when you're on a pipe and an enemy is below you, press right trigger and Sam will hang by his legs, grab the guy by the head and twist. Crunch, his neck is broken. Thirdly is the interchangable SC-20k. In later missions, Sam's gun can have the 5.56mm standard rifle and a launcher, .12 gauge shotgun, or 20mm sniper rifle. lightly tap the white button to change the modes. Lastly are the blue-tooth binoculars. click the right thumbstick down and you get binocs with a square reticle in the center. aim the square over a computer and you can hack some of them right there, without having to go to the computer yourself. Very cool.
this is my favorite game on my Xbox. I highly recommend this. Rated M mainly for swearing, but it's not anywhere near what you hear at school. There's also violence, but it's mainly bodies being thrown across the room by shotgun or explosive. The goriest part that I recall is when some guy gets killed by a laser trip mine and his body is on fire for a few seconds.

I never got in to the first two Splinter Cell games, so you don't have to be a veteran of the series to enjoy this third installment. I'll start with my 2 favorite things about this game. In Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, you can pause the game at ANY moment while playing and save your progress EXACTLY where you're standing. When you load your game from a saved file, you start exactly at the spot where you saved, NOT way back at the beginning of the level, NOT at some prior checkpoint, but right where you were at that moment you saved your game. When you know you're about to walk into a tricky situation, take a moment to save, then proceeed. If you botch the job, re-load your saved game and try again from the exact point you saved at without having to restart the whole level all over again. I LOVE THIS! EVERY game should have this "instant save anytime" feature! The other great thing about this game that EVERY game should have is 360-degree camera control: you use the controller's right thumbstick to move the camera anywhere you want to get the view you need of your environment. Snapshot saving and total camera control make SUCH a BIG difference in eliminating the frustration that comes with so many other games.

This is a game about espionage set in the fictitious near future. You play a stealthy field operative for a top secret arm of the U. S. government, running covert operations that the government cannot legally acknowledge. Each mission consists of a set of objectives like "find out who is providing arms to these rebel guerillas" or "hack these systems and plant some decoy files." You gather information by observing the environment, eavesdropping on conversations, interrogating people, searching file cabinets, and accessing computer terminals. You spend most of your time sticking to the shadows to stay out-of-sight and keeping silent to avoid detection.

You must complete your primary objectives to progress to the next mission. You are scored a success percentage at the end of every mission, but score doesn't count for anything except personal satisfaction. You achieve high scores by not alerting anyone to your presence and not killing anyone, rendering enemies unconscious in a variety of ways (except when your objective is to eliminate a particular target). When you see people in your path, you can either find a way to sneak around them or you can sneak up and grab them from behind to interrogate them, then choke them unconscious to remove them as threats (be sure to hide the bodies so others don't notice your handiwork). Stealth and low body-counts are encouraged, but you can still progress through the game if you don't score highly on your stealth tactics. You can tear through the game with guns blazing killing everyone if you want (except for the missions where your objective is to NOT kill anyone). But I get a kick out of sneaking aboard an ocean freighter, creeping unnoticed through over 30 armed guards, planting tracking devices on crates of illegal weapons, and escaping without anyone having a clue that I was ever there.

This is definitely NOT a fast-paced action game. It's methodical and quiet, requiring patience and a little planning. It doesn't require lightning-fast reflexes. It's not insanely difficult, but it's a good challenge. The graphics and sound are very good (but the music is funky). The controls are easy to get the hang of. You can access an in-game map of your terrain from the pause menu (another feature that EVERY game should have), which helps to keep on track and avoid getting lost. The game has somewhat of a realistic feel to it, so don't count on arcade-like fantasy stuff like being able to double-jump 3 stories into the air or pick up power-ups that make you invincible for a short time. The story is engaging, and you're equipped with some pretty cool spy gadgets. This is a very well-put-together game. It feels a bit like watching a "Mission Impossible" type of spy movie.

The missions are very fun and if you have the patience, you can definatly complete them. I've played many games in the past where I quit because I get stumped. This one is very capable of changing your stradegy to find another way to beat a level. Also, th versus mode is like playing another game completely. I have so much fun with my game clan. We laugh at one another because we choke each other or blow one another up. Its so much fun. The co-op is awesome also! I suggest that you get this game. I almost didn't get it, but my friends reccomended it and I don't regret it. It will take some time to get used to the contrils though, but don't give up.
The graphics are so realistic that you can see the fear in the eyes of your opponet. You don't have it, get it! You won't regret it!