Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

Everyone run, Sam’s got a knife!

Tags: Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews

Posted by David Hinkle on Apr 15th, 2005

Title Players
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (title page) 1 - 4
Developer Publisher Genre Online
Stealth Action Yes


Finally, those of us who love stealth gameplay can wet our beaks again with the latest installment of Sam Fisher’s exploits, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. With the two best stealth-based games (arguable, of course) preceding it, Chaos Theory has some big shoes to fill. Seeing as how it’s been only a year since the release of Pandora Tomorrow, has UbiSoft had enough time to create a title that does the franchise justice? Yes, but it hasn’t particularly taken it to the next level either.


You’ll notice before even inserting the disc into your PS2’s tray that Chaos Theory has a ‘Mature’ rating. Personally, I can’t see why this is even the case, as there isn’t any quantity of violence or blood in excess of the last two installments. This then causes me to wonder why the previous two titles weren’t given ‘Mature’ ratings. I mean, you are killing a lot of people throughout your missions.


Something else new to the mix is the inclusion of a combat knife to Sam’s arsenal. This, which is so prominently displayed on the cover (barring Collector’s Edition, naturally), affects gameplay somewhat for the worse. If you’re a veteran of the series (which, if you aren’t, you should be), you may recall it took two of Sam’s elbow blows to knock someone out. This has been “upgraded” to a one-hit-kill from Sam’s knife, which makes each level that much easier to go through without firing a single shot. While the previous titles weren’t exactly known for difficulty, this just makes the game way too easy. The knife also allows you to break locks now, a quicker, yet noisier, solution to those pesky locked doors.


You’ll also notice throughout the single-player campaign that your pistol and SC-20K have been tweaked a bit. Your pistol now has a secondary fire that jams electronics and magically disables lighting for a brief period of time. While it’s rather confusing when you use it for the first time to disable a florescent light, only to have said light brighten back up a few moments later of its own accord, it’s a more effective tool than just using all your ammo up on your pistol. The SC-20K comes with a foregrip that you may equip at your convenience, and has far less recoil than in the previous titles. There are also shotgun and sniper attachments you receive later in the game. All the other things such as the sticky camera and airfoil rounds come along for the ride, yet are much more customizable thanks to the ability to now personalize what gear you take before each mission.


The story of the campaign itself, and included missions, revolve around the United States, South Korea, and Japan. The story is what you would expect from a Tom Clancy name, full of technological espionage and shady characters. I wouldn’t want to reveal too much since the campaign is a lot shorter than in the previous titles, but I can say that it doesn’t have the content and appeal of Pandora Tomorrow. This is in part due to how the story is told, mostly in dryly-narrated text from each member of Sam’s team pre-mission and com-link banter between Sam and the others in-mission. Sure, there are cutscenes, but only those of mock news broadcasts about the happenings of whichever area Sam just visited between missions.


These locales are pretty lackluster, compared to some of the places visited in the past. While there are still the generic labs and facility-looking areas that sparsely littered the last two titles, Chaos Theory presents them much more. Where are the speeding trains, police stations, and streets of Jerusalem? Instead here we get ships, banks, and bathhouses. Still, the gameplay is as sound as it ever has been, so while the locations don’t have the variety of the previous titles at least they are still fun to play.


You’ll now find that your progress through the campaign is a lot less bogged down by some of the things that would cause you to lose in the previous Splinter Cells. These things, such as not killing any enemies or being discovered a certain number of times, have all been tossed out the window. Guess these guys don’t mind killing so much anymore, as you’ll be able to now just slaughter everyone in your path from point A to point B to complete each mission. Combined with the ease of close-quarter killing brought on by the combat knife, this apathy towards enemy life just adds more ease to the game. Also new are the optional objectives during each mission, which are usually ’scan this’ or ‘tag that.’ These aren’t really anything special, but likely things completionists will enjoy.


The last new addition comes in the form of Chaos Theory’s cooperative play. Through this you and a friend may play through 5 missions (well 4 really, one is a training course) as spies. This mode is a blast overall, as it’s a lot of fun double-teaming unsuspecting foes and working in unison with another spy. While it would have been nice to have more missions available, and less framerate inconsistencies, this is enough for a first go at it. If we’re here talking about 5 co-op missions in the next Splinter Cell, or even worse none at all, then we’ll have a problem. This mode is very promising and shows a fun new step this franchise can take in the future.


Last of the playable modes is the famed multiplayer, which has Shadowcat spies and ARGUS mercenaries duking it out in various maps and gametypes. While this was mindblowing when first played in Pandora Tomorrow, it’s pretty much the exact same thing here, excluding a couple new maps and updated looks for each side. Supposedly, the PS2 version is missing a large slice of the multiplayer pie those that have the Xbox and PC are enjoying (I wouldn’t know, haven’t tried either multiplayer yet). Regardless, all you’re going to get here is a handful of maps from Pandora Tomorrow (which have been slightly changed) and a handful of brand new maps. Anyone who has yet to play the multiplayer is going to be in for one learning experience.


Graphically, the game looks exactly like Pandora Tomorrow for the PS2. Those of you who have read our review of Pandora Tomorrow will have an idea of what I mean here. The lighting is just plain bad, and compared to Pandora Tomorrow on the Xbox, atrocious. Aside from that, Sam seems more sharper than before, with a lot of blocky polygons (most notable in his hip when crouched). This all translates to the multiplayer experience as well, which itself becomes rather sluggish during those times of high activity.


The sound of Chaos Theory holds true to the great sound of the previous titles. All the voice actors return, including Michael Ironside as Sam Fisher, and do a wonderful job. The music of the game is much more thumping than before, also going through greater lengths to spring to life during play. I found myself during the first couple levels just firing off into the distance just to cue the level track, I enjoyed them so much. It’ll also pipe up when Sam is seen, as before, and during certain times the story is progressed.


Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory gives fans of the series everything they could possibly want. More single-player action, a new cooperative play mode, and new maps to an already very competent co-op mode. What this game lacks is the hardware power to back it up, thus resulting in the lackluster port the PS2 has received. Still, for a system that is nearly 5 years old, UbiSoft has managed to suck every single ounce of power dry to bring this to the PS2. Still, it can’t hold a candle to it’s Xbox and PC cousins.

What Works Score
+ Same great stealth play
+ New co-op mode
+ Same great multiplayer mode
+ Good voice-acting and music 		8.3
What Doesn't
- A lot easier
- Trimmed multiplayer
- Lighting is just plain bad
Under the Shrink-wrap
If all you own is a PS2, then you should get this game. For those who are priveledged enough to also own a Xbox and/or PC, then try those versions instead.
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