1P Start

Splinter Cell: Double Agent is Sam Fisher’s latest adventure in espionage on the Xbox 360.

Pros:
-Great story which differs depending on how you play
-Graphics are next-gen
-Use of double agent feature brings a deeper gameplay experience

Cons:
-Alot of research is required to understand what needs to be done in missions

Single-Player:

The game starts off with Sam Fisher deep in a mission, when at the end of the mission, you find out Sam’s daughter has been killed. Sam is so distraught with his daughter’s death that he accepts the most dangerous mission since he has nothing left to lose. His mission is to infiltrate the JBA (John Brown’s Army) which is a terrorist group bent on overthrowing the corrupt government and find out what their plans are.

There is only one way to properly describe the visuals in this game: jaw dropping. From the the cold arctic Iceland, to hanging from the side of a building while fireworks blast off in the distance in China, Splinter Cell: Double Agent will drop your jaw, no matter what you are doing.

Gameplay is very intuitive. Whenever you get close to something you can interact with, whether it be a light switch or if you sneak behind a guard and your getting ready to grab him, a little box will come up on the bottom of the screen describing what will be done. Press A and the action will be chosen. Another nice touch is a little light that’s located on your back shoulder that will let you know if you are well hidden (green), visible (yellow), or if you have been found (red). It really helps when your deep under cover to find out if you are hidden or visible.

One part of this game that always keeps you on your toes is the “Double Agent” meters. Basically they are little meters that can either fill up or empty depending on what you do. The point of the meters is you can’t let them empty out, or else you will automatically fail your mission. This adds depth to the gameplay since you are always thinking twice on what the right decision should be.

My one only problem with the single player game is that you have to do alot of research to know what your objective is, where it’s located, and how to properly perform without causing too much chaos. This is good and bad. Good because it requires you to use alot of thought on how to properly execute. Bad because casual gamers who are used having everything given to them on a silver platter will be turned off by it. For those casual gamers, I recommend that you try your best to sit down and play this game, because once you get the hang of how to play, it will be a great experience.

Multiplayer:

The multiplayer has almost the same play mechanics as the single-player, but it has a couple of rules that you need to know. Thankfully, in the multi-player screen, there is a “Help” area that you can access and learn the rules, buttons, and it even gives you tips in a video tutorial form. Very helpful since I really never got too in-depth with Splinter Cell’s past games.

In the multiplayer, you play as either the Spy or Epsilon force. The two gameplays vary. As a spy, your job is to infiltrate the area where the secure computers are located (you are able to see where they are in your mini-map on the top-left part of the screen), once you safely get to the area, your job is to download the secure files from the computer. When you do that, an alert goes out to the Epsilon forces that tells them which computer is being attacked. Should you encounter an Epsilon force, you can do one of three things. You can either hide and hope that they don’t find you, run away and attack another computer that isn’t being guarded, or, you can either knock them out by jumping on them, or get behind them, trash-talk a little, and then snap their neck. Once you have a complete file, then it’s a race back to the extraction point. One thing you must know as a spy is that if you make any fast movements (i.e. running, jumping from place to place) the Epsilon forces can pick that up in their HUDs and track you down, so I find it better to take it easy and creep my way back to the extraction point.

As an Epsilon force, your job is simple. Kill the spies and stop them at all costs from extracting the files from the computers. You are equipped with an assault rifle with an added grenade launcher, and you can also deploy a remote-controlled drone to find spies in places you normally couldn’t go. The drones have an added “Self-Destruct” button so if you happen to find any spies, you can erradicate them immediately. Another feature that helps is an ability to hook onto railings to get to the lower level via a rope. It really helps since overall, compared to the Spies the Epsilon forces aren’t as nimble and quick. But that’s what makes things more interesting since they are so powerful in their offensive attacks.

Conclusion:

I would say that if you are an Xbox 360 owner, you probably have this game already. BUT, if you are one of the few who don’t own it, I would HIGHLY recommend this game since it has great visuals, great gameplay, great story, great multiplayer…all in all, it’s just a great game.

Xbox 360, Splinter Cell Double Agent, Review