The worst official review since...???
A brilliant PS2 game is always "not as good as the xbox/pc version"
But enough complaining about fanboyism.
I have played this game on ps2. It is incredible. The gloomy environments are probably because it is night time, and it is a stealth game. Bright environments would be annoying.
I don't understand how you got "shoddy frame rates"
There was not a speck of lag for me. It ran perfectly.
The saving takes all of 3 seconds and is worth it when you die (you die a fair bit in this game).
You play as Sam Fisher, a covert operative for Third Echelon, a fictional division of the National Security Agency (NSA).
You must navigate through many well-designed levels, sneaking past guards, gathering information and above all, not being caught.
It gets rid of that annoying "ZOMG YOU KILLED A CIVILIAN! EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TERRORIST BASE ABOUT TO KILL A MAN THAT COULD WIPE OUT 90% OF HUMANITY, YOU KILLED AN INNOCENT PERSON WHO TRIED TO SHOOT YOU SO GET THE HELL BACK HERE" mentality. Killing civilians is discouraged, but not forbidden.
An annoying part is firefights- if you get into one, you are dead.
The music can also be annoying at times.
A well deserved 9.5/10 for an excellent game. Yes, even though it is on the crappy ps2 which only got 127 million sales and everyone loves, it is excellent.
I have played this game on XBOX, it was not "technically superior" at all. It was the same.
FACE IT GAMESPOT, 9/10 times, the xbox and ps2 versions will be the same.
I bet you're having a field day with the superiority of 360 games. But just you wait...