Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is a third-person stealth-based video game developed and published by Ubiso
Gameplay
Released less than a year after the debute of the original Splinter Cell, the gameplay of Pandora Tomorrow is largely unchanged from the original game. Pandora Tomorrow features some moderate graphical improvements, as well as minor gameplay changes such as the fact that collectable health kits are no longer an inventory item, and the addition of a laser-sight to Sam's pistol that gives him perfect accuracy even when moving around.
Multiplayer
The most significant gameplay change in Pandora Tomorrow is the addition of a multiplayer component to the series in an attempt to take advantage of the features and popularity of Xbox Live. Both the PlayStation 2 and PC versions of the game also come with multiplayer; however, the GameCube version does not. The game pits heavily armed ARGUS mercenaries against stealthy SHADOWNET spies. The spies are played from a third-person viewpoint and control similarly to the main game's singleplayer mode, although they have their own unique moves and equipment. The mercenaries are played from a first-person viewpoint, and control more similarly to traditional first-person shooter characters. Although mercenaries have superior firepower, spies have the ability to hide in darkness and ambush or sneak past mercenaries in a number of ways. The total number of players in each multiplayer game is limited to 4.
Pandora Tomorrow features 3 multiplayer gametypes:
Neutralization — In Neutralization spies attempt to deactivate the virus devices, or ND133's. The mercenaries attempt to protect the devices.
Extraction — The extraction gametypes goal is to locate the ND133K, remove the tubes, then bring it to the extraction point.
Sabotage — In sabotage, the goal is to place a modem on a wall near an ND133K. When the timer on the modem stops the ND133K will be neutralized
Story
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
European cover for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora TomorrowThe main flashpoint in Pandora Tomorrow is Indonesia, in the year 2006, where the U.S. has established a military presence in the newly independent nation of East Timor to train that country's military forces in their fight against anti-separatist Indonesian guerilla militias. Foremost among these Indonesian militias is the Darah Dan Doa (Blood and Prayers), led by Suhadi Sadono.
Charismatic militia leader Sadono, once trained by the CIA to help fight Communist influences in the region, has grown resentful of the U.S. support of East Timor and its interference with his country's sovereignty. Sadono initiates an attack on the US Embassy to Dili, capturing a number of US military and diplomatic personnel including Douglas Shetland, an old friend and comrade of Splinter Cell Sam Fisher.
Fisher is sent to infilitrate the Embassy, rescue Shetland, and gather intelligence on the Darah Dan Doa. Fisher succeeds in his mission, and the U.S. Embassy is retaken by Delta Force. Sadono escapes, and the U.S. launches a military campaign on Indonesian soil in an attempt to hunt him down, much to the protests of the Indonesian government.
Fisher ultimately learns that Sadono has masterminded a scheme known as "Pandora Tomorrow", by placing a series of biological bombs equipped with the smallpox virus on American soil. Every 24 hours, Sadono makes encrypted phone calls to each of the bomb carriers to delay the release of the virus. If he is killed or detained, the virus is released and millions of Americans will die. Because Sadono is fighting on the front lines in the conflict, the U.S. cannot risk killing him, and is forced to withdraw its forces.
Fisher is sent to infiltrate Darah Dan Doa strongholds in order to learn the location of the smallpox bombs. He is assisted in this endeavor by Shetland and Shetland's PMC, Displace International. Fisher ultimately learns the location of the bombs, and SHADOWNET spies are sent in to neutralize them, bringing an end to Sadono's threat against the U.S.
Third Echelon decides to capture Sadono alive instead of merely assassinating him, due to the problems created when Fisher assassinated President Nikoladze.
Although Fisher manages to capture Sadono, Third Echelon learns that CIA Agent Norman Soth has acquired the last of the smallpox-armed ND133's, and intends to detonate it in Los Angeles' LAX airport. Soth cares nothing for Indonesia, but intends to get revenge on America for betraying him years earlier. Fisher infiltrates LAX, kills Soth, and prevents the detonation of the last smallpox bomb.