I continued along with Splinter Cell following my review of the game. The official review was accurate about it in terms of trial-error methods as the levels kept revealing as I went along. The first level at the Farm had proven challenging after entering the situation where live bodies were involved, but I got through that in fewer tries than the ones to come in the streets of T'Bilisi and its police station. I had not expected to find the MIA agents alive, which is why their corpses in the station's cell block morgue was not surprising for me. The suicide bomber was unexpected by the brief interrogation of him got me towards getting out alive. I knocked him out and hid him in the broom closet along with the silenced cops employed likely by Grinko or Nikoladze.

The seemingly unrelated missions follow an on-going manhunt for the rogue former president who dropped out of sight following the cyber attack prompted by your exposure of the military invasion planned for the neighboring Azerbaijan. The missions varied, but time and again, stealth remains the best weapon. The knockout/kill option comes only when absolutely necessary otherwise game over, death or mission failure, either way, you learn to be the silent operator through and through even if it annoys you (or in my case me). An original storyline for sure and my attraction to game in a way came from years of reading Tom Clancy novels. A bit humor was hearing things in the news cinematics about my exploits or sparring comments about international events. It made great relief when incidents were adverted due to my activies in the shadows especially the aborted exectuions, the adverted U.S.-China War (WWIII?), the death of Grinko, etc.

I took a bit pleasure out of killing Grinko as he killed Blaustein and Madison when nearly exposing his employer Nikoladze's military operations set for his neighbors. The game was rewarding when you could accomplish the objectives with fewest tries necessary, but the repeats could drive you nuts unless you stopped at a save for another day. I found this the better way to advance through the game. The American accented bad guys were odd, I mean you hear these floppy Russian, Georgian, and Chinese accented voices speaking English throughout though that was okay in the sense that if Fisher had to translate for you it would take longer on the dialogue. The newer tools were fun once you got them handled right especially the distraction cameras though the sticky shocks were cool too as they made a quieter stun K.O. if you had to take someone out who was a civilian non-combat or someone too far into the light. The non-lethal rounds were useful too and the sticky cams allow for views blocked by current hiding position. As of now I had gotten through over 90 percent of the game and eventually going onto the final mission to stop that mad Georgian's last foil at causing further chaos. I hardly expect it to be easy after all this especially the two embassy missions and the meat packing plant site.

However duty calls and I am in Splinter Cell, the shadow guise of Sam Fisher.