Best Splinter Cell to date.
Story has always in my opinion been the weakest link in Splinter Cell games basically culminating on taking down one terrorist group after another. In Double Agent there is still that aspect present, but this time it’s much more personal. Sam Fisher kind of loses it in the beginning of the game and gets locked up in jail. By escaping with a member of a terrorist group called John Brown’s Army (JBA) he then becomes as one of their ranks. This gives Fisher access to an information that the group is planning to do a terrorist attack by using a substance called Red Mercury. So it’s up to Fisher to balance between being loyal to his original mission and at the same time maintain a certain level of trust in the ranks of JBA. There are a handful of tough decisions to make and they will eventually affect the outcome of the game. Unfortunately that interesting premise in the story doesn’t last all the way through and the ending is pretty lame.
Graphics are not as good I would have hoped them to be, but on the positive side the frame rate stays constant even in a blizzard. Lighting is essential in stealth action games and in this respect Splinter Cell: Double Agent looks good. Environments are mostly indoors in tight corridors and the game proceeds in a linear way, but at times there are a few different paths to choose from. Sound is that familiar Splinter Cell stuff with Michael Ironside as Sam Fisher’s voice stealing the show again.
Gameplay is made good with just two things: a map and the ability to save your game at any time in multiple different save slots. There is still some trial an error gameplay present here, but the use of a map makes it a lot easier to think your strategy and the save system allows you to try new things and see what happens. Splinter Cell: Double Agent is not a frustrating experience and it plays much like other games in the series. You’ll have a lot of fun navigating through different environments and using many different hi-tech gadgets on the way. The bad thing is that there is no day time missions at all like there was in the Xbox360 version.
In co-op mode you play as two younger Splinter Cells who are working in the same areas as Fisher, but the level design is completely different. Missions are rather short and they center on working co-op and solving puzzles instead of putting you through hordes of guards. There are some weak points though: first you can’t decide yourself will the split-screen be horizontal or vertical and second you can’t load your previous save without killing both Splinter Cells first. And since the story follows the single player campaign it would be nice if both players have already played Sam Fisher’s part before starting to play co-op.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent is a must buy for any stealth action fan.