It was hard to put a finger on, but something about this edition of Splinter Cell just didn't feel quite right to me.
User Rating: 7 | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent PS3
I pretty much knew right away that something was wrong with SC:DA as soon as I started snooping around the menu screens. They were poorly set-up and sometimes empty. Worse yet they would lock up on me--keeping me there for sometimes 30 seconds before letting me go back to the previous menu screen. The other thing I noticed right away was the opening cut scene going into the training mission went all choppy, froze, and then went frame-by-frame (and no the disc wasn't dirty, as it was a brand new fresh out of the case disc). These were NOT deal-breaker situations for me at all! Let me be clear. But what they did show me was that I was about to get into a game that did not hold up to the usual Ubisoft standards. I'll make this review quick. I gave SC:DA a 7.0 because I am almost positive that for whatever reason, this game was rushed out. First of all I am NOT a graphics-whore. However when I am playing a Tom Clancy game put out by Ubisoft, I have expectations as far as how nice a game will look. I was let down. In many cases the lighting effects did not hold up to the same attention to detail that past Splinter Cells did. The backgrounds and level designs sometimes looked that of a PS2! Now I am not saying that the game on a whole looked like a PS2 game. However as far as I'm concerned any game with a budget as large as SC:DA shouldn't have ANY of the graphic gaffes that it had. For the most part this was a very decent game. There were moments that had me just as stressed out as past Spinter Cells. I liked some of the new moves that Sam can pull off. I think that the scope and aiming system was too forgiving at times! Never thought I'd say that. Seriously though, there were times when I KNOW that I didn't register a head-shot or shoot out the light bulb, but to my surprise I did. My only other knock is with the enemy A.I., at times it was too predictable and insanely unresponsive. I shot a desktop computer next to a guard (on accident) and the sucker did NOTHING because his back was to me. Those are my complaints. It's still a Splinter Cell and it's still fun as hell to play. Having to worry about keeping both sides happy all the while you're trying to stay alive makes for some great gameplay. Speaking of keeping the factions happy, in my opinion, this feature adds a good dose of replay to this title. Online multiplayer ends up being the gem of this game. There are some interesting "co-op" missions that left me wondering, "how in the hell is this co-op!?!?" But nothing that takes away from the game. All in all my final verdict is this: my knocks? I feel like Ubisoft fails to take any risks with Splinter Cell and this game feels too much like every other Splinter Cell. I'm talking about game mechanics and atmosphere people, obviously the storyline is a total 180°. My other knocks are that at times the graphics and polish look rushed. My positives? The storyline is awesome! I love playing both sides in the drama...I always knew Sam Fisher was a drama queen! The online multiplayer is off the hook. If this is your first time playing Splinter Cell then you're in for a treat. But if you're like me and you've played every single title in the franchise, you'll still enjoy this one, but certain parts of it will leave you wanting more. 
