The first installment in the Splinter Cell series is a welcome addition to the stealth genre. However, its "redefinition" of stealth falls short of the greatness of Metal Gear Solid's gameplay and stealth experience.
Splinter Cell's stealth action experience is incredibly realistic. In the Metal Gear Solid series, you can get spotted, annihilate a small army, then run short on ammo and hide under a table for a few minutes, and eventually things will carry on as though you were never there. In Splinter Cell, if you're seen, your only option is to neutralize the enemy. And fast. They will alert other guards and raise the alarm stage (discussed later) in about a second, and the alarm level will not go down until you finish the mission. And if you hope to kill anyone, you better have good, fast aim because Fisher's enemies are bulletproof, taking as many as 7 shots to kill, and they'll be shooting at you all the while (it only takes them but 2 seconds to mow you down).
Is this a good thing? I think not. While it does do away with the unrealistic premise of MGS (if they lose track of you then they'll forget you were ever there), the alarm system is broken and unpolished. If you are caught on a security camera, the alarm stage increases. If you are spotted by ANYONE and they report your presence, the alarm stage increases. And the final and worst of all, if a body is found, your alarm stage increases.
How does the game check for bodies? I always thought that they'd have to be discovered by a patrolling guard. Not true. If so much as one pixel of a corpse is in a highly lit or in the way position, they will inevitably be found since the game's "body check" system sweeps for any bodies that are in certain areas, even if you drop them in a janitor's closet, sometimes they get found. Most of your time will be spent lugging around corpses, sighing in boredom.
Sam Fisher's moveset is so limited that it's almost retarded. Fisher's only close-quarters option is to repeatedly elbow his enemies in the face, and if they've so much as heard your footstep, they won't go down instantly. The only guaranteed KO is if you're behind them and silent, which is nearly impossible unless they're not moving. You might argue that a bullet is better, but I assure you it's just as bad. Sam Fisher has the aim of a 2 year old with a BB gun, and unless you're remaining perfectly still, you can't hope to hit anything. Furthermore, the only way to kill an enemy is a headshot. If you shoot anywhere else, they won't even flinch until you dump upwards of 10 shots into them, at which point they'll fall over dead.
The graphics are breathtaking. I never thought it possible to see such great lighting effects done on the PS2. The models are on the blocky side and the textures are nothing short of low-res, but that will only bother you if you're staring at them the whole time.
The voice acting deserves much credit, and Sam Fisher's team sounds professional and experienced. The enemies sound decent, but not spectacular.
I'd recommend you pick up Chaos Theory instead. You still get the core stealth experience from the first 2 games but with a refined system (as many alarms as you want, but enemies get tougher with each alarm stage) a brand new CQC system (knife) and an overall more enjoyable stealth experience.Get more detail about Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.
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