Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials

by UBI Soft

Product Features

• Picking up where Splinter Cell Double Agent ends, the game also takes players back to Fisher's early days as a Navy SEAL
• Both new and classic levels are available, with all the popular weapons and gadgets from the Splinter Cell franchise
• Practice your skills in wireless multiplayer modes, challenging friends in Spy vs. Spy Deathmatch

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000E0L424
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 21, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,933 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials takes players deep into the Splinter Cell saga. Experience all-new missions and objectives exclusive to the PSP, and discover the untold story of Sam Fisher through flashbacks to various missions from the entire Splinter Cell franchise.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Game of Surprises, March 23, 2006

By 

IT SuperFreak (San Diego, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials (Video Game)

Picked up the game yesterday at a local Gamestop. Here are some initial impressions after the first hour of play.

Gameplay (7/10)

This is probably the most important department, and SC disappoints. It was clear from the start that developers had trouble mapping all the controls for Fisher onto the PSP due to the absence of a second analog stick, as well as the two fewer shoulder buttons (L2/R2). Movement is severely hampered by this physical limitation. You cannot rotate the camera while moving, which severely limits your ability to get a feel for your surroundings. In order to rotate the camera, you must come to a complete stop, hold the "O" button, and pan using the analog stick. On the positive side, Fisher has all of the classic moves from jumping, rolling, split jump, SWAT move, and more. I haven't tried all the moves but most seem to be there. Knife attack is also included. Another positive is that you can save anywhere; no need to wait till you reach a checkpoint. For some reason, there are no maps for you to follow, which forces you to run around quite a bit especially in dark areas.

Graphics (6/10)

The graphics were also disappointing, seeing how Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (SC:DM) was able to leverage the PSP so effectively. In the initial levels, the environment is really, really dark, so dark that it forces you to use the night vision goggles, which is fine except this view is extremely grainy (almost PS1 quality!) and does not enhance your vision much at all. Even at the highest brightness setting (PSP setting, not game; game does not provide brightness adjustment), it is STILL very dark. I cannot imagine playing this game in a bright room. I was in a relatively dark room, and had issues seeing most elements without using NV goggles.

There is noticeable tearing of the graphical elements such as walls; if Fisher moves too close to a wall, sometimes you can see right through it. In certain positions, you can even see through the back of Fisher's head and see his eyes! This was quite a surprise. I know a 6 out of 10 is harsh, but this is a Splinter Cell title; we have come to expect more than this!

Story (?)

Story in SC series has never been all that important or logical. This one is a bit different in that it takes place in the past when Fisher was a Navy Seal. I have not completed enough of the game to see the rest of the story line just yet.

Sound (8/10)

There was little music in the levels I have played so far; I expect it will improve. The sound volume seemed to be a bit low. The enemies whistle the same tunes that were heard in SC Chaos Theory or Pandora Tomorrow, which irritated me. I know this is a pseudo port to the PSP, but some new tunes would have been a nice change.

Replayability/Online (6/10)

As far as I am aware, there are no unlockables such as SC:DM offers, which limits replayability. There are 3 "bonus missions" in the main menu, but I have not tried these yet; these may require completion of standard missions first. Multiplayer is limited to ad-hoc only, and I do not expect to find much fun in this mode due to the quirkiness of the controls.

Final Score (7/10)

To sum up, this title failed to meet its potential. The SC series had set a high bar for the gaming industry, but this title failed miserably to meet its own standards. Do not get me wrong; there is much fun to be had here, despite the fact that the game feels rushed to market, is very much unpolished, and includes so many annoyances discussed previously. When compared to other action/shooter PSP titles in the market today, such as SOCOM and Syphon Filter, it simply does not compete. The absence of a playable demo also reinforced my original suspicion that this title was not quite ready for prime time.

Buy or Rent? First time fans should definitely opt for Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror instead. Long-time fans and/or SF:DM owners may consider renting first (if you can find it), or buying/selling after beating it/reaching end of patience with the bugs.

Update from March 27
After 3 or 4 hours, this game surprises you by getting much better. Once you get past the control issue, the game sucks you in with a high production value. I shall upgrade my rating to 8/10. A nice addition to the PSP collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Splinter Cell is still Splinter Cell, March 4, 2007

By 

Zach - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials (Video Game)

Sam Fisher's PSP outing may not be perfect, but for a fan of the series, it's just what the doctor ordered. While it may feel unpolished in some places and ancient in others (it brings back things like the "3 alarms and you're out" rule) it's still fairly solid portable Splinter Cell action and who can complain about that!?

So basically, Sam is being interrogated by the FBI and as they bring up old missions he's done, you play 'em. It basically a BS story, but it works alright and the graphic-novel-esque quality to the cut scenes was the right choice for the PSP.

If you've read other reviews about this game, then I'm sure you're wary of the controls... DON'T BE! They are annoying for the first level or two, but once you get used to them, you'll be sneaking, knifing, and sniping just like in the console versions (albeit a bit slower).

As far as the graphics are concerned, they're up to par. The dynamic light system is here as are the vision modes and all the great animations are present as well. It's generally a good looking game, although others on the PSP have since surpassed it.

The gameplay is almost as good as the console versions as you can sneak, jump, interrogate, hide bodies, knife people, etc. At times, it gets a little tedious, as the game throws at you situations where sneaking is VERY hard to do. Yet there are still enough exciting moments to keep this game fun.

For those of you who are too lazy to really read what I've written above (or those who just want to get the facts), I've put together this handy guide.

THE GOOD
-Carries pretty much everything over from the console SCs.
-Brings in knifing and knocking out from Chaos Theory.
-Graphically impressive, for the PSP.
-It's SC, but portable!
-3 extra levels from Pandora Tomorrow including the train level and the
Television Station level.
-Sound quality is excellent, with voiceovers carried over as well.

THE BAD
-Controls are a pain for awhile, but they get better.
-Level choices is terrible (the oil rig from SC1, the NY mission from CT)
It could've been better.
-Sometimes feels too much like SC:PT, which is not a good thing.
-Story is stupid (although it works)
-Some pieces feel a bit unpolished
-Tedious at times and too action-y at times (you shouldn't have to pull
out your gun and mow people down.

THE UGLY
-They got the action for killing someone and knocking them out after
grabbing them wrong (how could they miss that?!).
-No Shadows (except in like three parts, which is teasing)
-No real OCP, despite what manual says (really teasing)
-You can only walk too speeds, the slowest of which is not faster than
enemies, so grabbing them is a pain.
-When you knife bad guys from the front, they shoot you as they go down,
harming you or possibly killing you (why, ubi, why?).
-Loading times suck, but if you don't think about them, it's not too noticeable.

Overall, it's a fun, portable, Splinter Cell experience, but it could've probably used a little more time in development to polish it up more. If you're a SC fan, it's worth the 40 bucks. If not, then I'd wait until the price drops 10-15 dollars before considering it and just going for a console version instead.
7.5/10

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best games available for PSP, August 26, 2006

By 

He who has no name (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials (Video Game)

Splinter Cell: Essentials is exactly what the title says. Splinter Cell veterans (such as myself) will be dissapointed if they expect this game to be Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory all over again. However, if you think of this game as Splinter Cell 1 for the PSP, you will be pleasantly suprised. And, of course, this game is 100% Splinter Cell, so rookies looking for a fun game will also be happy with this.

Gameplay- 9/10
The gameplay isn't perfect, but it isn't in any of the splinter cell games. The lack of an extra analog stick makes your reaction time in tight situations a little slower than in the Xbox or PS2 versions. Some of the 'flashback' missions are almost exact duplicates of SC1 missions, but with added CT features (like knife attack, upside down shooting, etc). SC:E definintly has the feel of Splinter Cell 1, with many of the things that were improved on in the later games (for example, there is the noise meter, which is even better than in chaos theory- the noise you make is more realistic. Also, the way you use a medkit is more realistic as well.)

Controls- 6/10
This is where SC:E dissapoints most. Although the controls are tolerable once you get used to them, they could have obviously been more cleverly designed. The analog stick on the PSP is much less precise than on the Xbox or PS2, and the game doesn't compensate for that. Shooting is much harder to do, because of the less accurate analog stick. Nevertheless, once you get used to it, the controls are definintly tolerable.

Graphics- 7/10
Although not the best I've seen in PSP games, the graphics are definintly good. The lighting is beautiful, and although night and thermal vision are less accurate than on the console versions (night vision doesn't glare in lit up areas), the graphics get the job dones.

Sound- 6/10
I'vce never cared about sound much in Splinter Cell games. The music (like when in a battle) is good, especially when you attack someone, and the music breifly plays. The guards all whistle the same tune, though, which gets annoying. And gone is the 'What was that?' and 'I think I heard something' that was so well done in Chaos theory.

Overall, Splinter Cell: Essentials, although it has some flaws, is a game definintly worth owning for PSP.

Note: After beating the game, and playing other PSP games like SF:DM, I realized that this game's flaws really do affect the overall game experience. I am changing my review from 5 stars in each catagory, to 4.