ew franchises have produced games at top-notch quality back to back to back quite like the Splinter Cell franchise. With a history like that, it’s hard not to get excited at the idea of playing another chapter in series, and Sam Fisher and friends have quite the story to tell this time around. We recently got our hands on a level of the Xbox 360 version and recorded several movies of our time with Ubisoft Shanghai’s biggest endeavor yet, Splinter Cell: Double Agent.
Sam Fisher has been busy in his time off from Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, having all kinds of crazy adventures creating the most in-depth story we have seen in the franchise. After his daughter dies in an accident, Sam is thrown way off and cannot be the super spy he once was. So taking whatever job he can get, he must go undercover and become a criminal to gain the trust of a vigilante justice group known as John Brown’s Army. Stripped of his usual gear and plunged into situations he normally could have stayed in the shadows for, Sam will be forced to make decisions we have yet to see in the Splinter Cell series. This creates the potential for a more compelling and interesting story than previous games in the series.
Dropped right into the heart of the war-torn city of Kinshasa, one of the biggest changes to the franchise was quite obvious: it was daytime. All of Sam’s familiar shadows and other places he used to sit and lurk in have been taken away in this environment. Although the final game will have many of the dark locations we are used to, the daytime proved to be a challenge to even the most experienced player. In the full game, Sam will have to face similar tests in a prison level where he has no weapons or gadgets or a snow level where everything is bright white.
My watch even features an indiglo light!
As destroyed and dilapidated as the city of Kinshasa is, it still looks darn pretty thanks to the fantastic textures. The power of the Xbox 360 has definitely been harnessed in Double Agent, and all of the cool next-gen tricks were thrown in. Sam was sweating under the heat of the sun, but played it cool with his aviator shades and manly face stubble. Kinshasa is also a lot louder than previous environments with gun chatter, yelling, and other battle sounds off in the distance. Random explosions and zinging gunfire take you off guard at critical times and create a new challenge in terms of staying stealthy.
Anyone who has played even one Splinter Cell game will feel at home in Double Agent. The mapping on the controller is nearly the same, and once my muscle memory set in it felt like riding a stealthy bike. But thankfully, not everything is exactly the same. One new maneuver allows Sam to put just his arm around corners for undercover pistol shots.
How will this end?
Running Sam through the demo level worked for the most part, but there was a definite controller lag any time he pulled out his gun to rock some fool in the head. This made it especially tough because of how much easier it is to get spotted and shot at. Ubisoft Shanghai still has time work this kink out and it’s not too much of a worry at this point.
Although our time with the Xbox 360 version of Splinter Cell was rather short, we are really excited to see what the future holds for Sam Fisher. The direction that Ubisoft Shanghai has gone with the series seems to be for the better, and adding a compelling storyline to an award winning gameplay style is nothing short of a great idea. Combine that with the planned multiplayer renovations and fan favorite co-op, and Splinter Cell: Double Agent may just add the final piece to the puzzle in creating a truly legendary series.