Customer Reviews

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've played every title in the Splinter Cell series, with the exception of the newest title, Conviction. This title is the fourth in the series, being preceded by Splinter Cell (SC1), SC: Pandora Tomorrow (SCPT/SC2), and SC: Chaos Theory (SCCT/SC3). This is my least favorite story/title in the series, but that doesn't make it a bad game. I would rate my order of preference as SC3, SC1, SC2, and then SC4. If you consider purchasing Chaos Theory (SC3/SCCT) however, be sure to read my review.

This title uses a modified version of the Unreal 2.5 engine, and can be a little taxing on some systems. On the plus side, I'm running Windows 7 64-bit beta, and this game runs just fine on that OS.

In this title you return to the scene as Samuel "Sam" Fisher, expert at stealth and espionage, star agent for the NSA's "Third Echelon". The game begins where Chaos Theory ends, and you start off being flown to an arctic facility where you are to investigate "suspicious activities". In this mission you are working with a rookie agent named John Hodge. This mission ends in a less-than-optimal fashion, and is quickly followed up with a cut-scene involving sad news on a personal level for our man Sam. After this the game REALLY begins. The story takes you through a fairly high energy ride involving professional and personal losses, prison break, secret agendas, betrayals, nuclear chemistry, and story defining decisions.

Double Agent adds a few new game-play mechanics to the series, and it is HIGHLY recommended that you utilize the training exercises before beginning the story, even if you're a veteran SC player. Like Chaos Theory before it, Double Agent provides cooperative two-player missions which make references to the single player storyline, and are also referenced BY the single player story. The multiplayer VERSUS version of this game restricts the spy player more that previous titles, and was not as widely accepted as the versions in SCPT or SCCT.

All in all this is a sound addition to the Splinter Cell series, and I highly recommend it.


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I agree with many reviewers of this game, the PC version bugs are frustrating, and UBISOFT doesn't seem interested in fixing them. Most other software sellers are eager to publish patches to fix bugs, but the available patches for this one simply don't help (single player version anyway). One or two levels are really interesting, but the rest are not, particularly the 4 levels at JBA headquarters, as they are repetitious and buggy beyond belief. Don't assume that if you enjoyed the first 3 Splinter Cell games that you will enjoy this one, since the story line and gameplay are such a dramatic departure from the first ones. I'm being generous to give it 3 stars only because of the eye-candy Shanghai level; otherwise I'd give it 1 star. After this experience I'm unlikely to buy the next in the series.

While I love the SC series, on vista 32 this has to be the buggiest game I've ever played. Save games save when they feel like so you may end up starting a section from scratch. Just annoying to have a section almost done and find you have to go back to the start to continue. Real thumbs down on this one.

As far as the game itself... fair. If this was my first SC I probably would never consider buying the other versions. The whole premise is just not working for me.

I had high anticipations of enjoying this game only to find out that it has a crash bug associated with it. I have installed all the updates required and suggested and it still does not work. I went as far as to try to run it in Windows XP compatibility mode...did not work! I suppose it's my fault for not recognizing the small print on the CD sleeve that was never visible to me that said "windows xp (only)"...duh!!?? Avoid this game if you have an OS other than Windows XP...chances are it will never work!

It is definitely a stealth game, but it is not a Splinter Cell Game. I played the original Splinter Cell and its two sequels, and I'm glad I didn't start with this one, some people may like it, its not a bad game, but its not the Splinter Cell I liked, and I am not very sure about Conviction.

Another issue that annoyed me, it comes with Starforce, so I bought the 360 version instead.

I don't know if it was just me, or the game, but I enjoyed all of the previous versions of Splinter Cell. This game was annoying and I couldn't find the patience to finish it.