this was the first splinter cell game i played,and this game is one of the best games that has come out on the xbox
the graphics were unbelieveable and the gameplay was even better.you have more ways to tackle a mission and not one way like the other two.
another thing i liked was the knife!the knife was definatly a good additon,it sure,it gave the game a m rating but it's better than pistol whipping the bad guys like in the other two.even the uniform sam wears looks more cooler than the other two even though the gray one was used in pandora tommorow,just in black not grey.
the online multiplayer is good but i like the co-op mode better than it because you could play with a friend and double team a single enemy without him noticing.one player can get behind him with the knife and the other can shoot him with the pistol,gory but fun.as for the splinter cell vs mgs thing,there both great so im not saying anything