Leisher 
Top 3%, yo.
Group: Super Administrators
Posts: 26651
Joined: May 2004
|
 |
Posted on: May 29 2015,10:18 |
|
  |
Multiing has been very dead lately, and I've been crazy busy traveling for work, so I was searching my Steam library for something to play. Stranger and I were just talking about how sometimes you have so many titles that you don't play anything because you don't know where to start. Well, something made me decide to go back and play Splinter Cell again, so I decided to run through the whole series.
I'm up to Blacklist, the final game to date, and it hasn't taken that long. Each game is only made up of 8 (or so) levels and each level can be knocked out quickly or take you an evening depending on how perfect you want to make your run.
The original Splinter Cell was reviewed, by me, http://www.dtman.com/cgi-bin....linter. If you want the nitty gritty, go read that review. I will sum up by saying it holds up. That game is as much fun to play now as it was then. One of the best games ever made. Highly, highly recommended for everyone.
I do want to make a note about these earlier games in the series. You know how a lot of games promise stealth, but it's bullshit and the game is essentially impossible to play in that style so you end up gunning your way through as it's MUCH easier? The opposite is true here. Stealth is your friend.
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is the second in the series, my previous review is here. I have nothing to add because I skipped this one. Steam doesn't care it for some reason, and I didn't want to break out the discs.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is this series' Empire Strikes Back. The story is tight and the game play is perfection. If you've read the other reviews, you know how this plays. It's an amazing game.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent is a HUGE leap forward in graphics, but a step backwards in story telling. They add a LOT of additional gadgets to the game, but they amount to nothing more than more interactive "collect all of these specific things hidden on the map" side quest stuff like you see in the Grand Theft Auto series. The main story line is ok, but really left a lot on the table. Every other mission has you returning to the main location of the game, and it's a timed mission, so it's not very fun. Clearly they were on a tight budget, and thus, reused the same location multiple times. It's still fun, but a letdown as a follow up to CT.
Splinter Cell: Conviction takes the game in a whole new direction. Remember what I said about stealth being not only viable, but the primary game style in the SC series? That's out the window here where action takes priority. Where the previous games rewarded you for stealth and not killing folks, they want you to straight up execute every person you come across here. This includes innocent people! In fact, there's a level where Sam has to infiltrate the HQ of the place he used to work (Third Echelon). You walk around and execute all these poor guards. WHY?! They're not in on the secret evil plot. They're just doing their jobs that they're probably been doing since you used to walk by them and probably wish them a good morning WHEN YOU WORKED THERE! Piss poor game design. While the stealth game play takes a back seat, the action game play is pretty fun, although expect to restart levels a lot. The story is pretty good too.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist I've only just started. I'll update this when I get done with it, but I have to point out that for this game they dropped Michael Ironside as the voice of Sam Fisher and replaced him with Eric Johnson. They also altered his look to make him seem younger, I guess? HUGE mistake. Here's a RETIRED black ops guy who fought in Desert Storm and has a grown up daughter, yet he looks and sounds like he's in his early 20s. Ditto for his good friend who had long gray hair in the previous game. They both looked and sounded tough previously, now they look and sound like wet behind the ear pussies.
I'll be back to finish reviewing Blacklist, but if you see these games on Steam, particularly at $5, you should buy them. Hell, just buy the first one and give it a go. You will not be disappointed.
|
