I really thought this could have been as good as Syphon Filter
User Rating: 4.3 | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials PSP
Having never played the Splinter Cell series, I went in thinking Essentials would be a great way to get into the story line and perhaps gain a liking for the series and go back and purchase the rest of the games. I was amazed at how beautiful the game looked for a handheld, and the instruction booklet boasted a great many manuvers and weapons. Then I started playing. Got through the intro/basic movement tutorial...with some control issues...then moved on to the first mission. That's where it lost me. The controls were so clumsy, clunky, and downright awful I died 3 times falling off the same cliff. I knew it was there but couldn't control the camera the way I wanted to so I could see where I was going. They really should take notes from some of the other 3rd person action games on the market about how to control a camera. Some will say Splinter Cell is all about taking your time and finding the best route to the objective. I don't think the best route is to argue with the controls (which should be customizable and they aren't) and you shouldn't have to "get used to a control scheme" for it to work. 
