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Pros: Great level design, you are the center of two plots Cons: Doesn't exactly advance the franchise to new heights
Concept: Undercover Spy |
Sam Fisher once set the tone for the “next generation” when he debuted on the original Xbox. Since then we have aided Fisher on numerous missions and become experts in political espionage. This time around the game isn't called Double Agent for nothing. Fisher is thrust into an undercover mission where you must complete two sets of objectives; one for the NSA and the other set for the terrorist organization you are infiltrating JBA.
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As I mentioned the Double Agent part of the game is something you are not really pressured to adapt to. Through the course of the game I do not think I looked at the gauges more than a couple of times. It was fairly easy to obtain 100% trust with both organizations and hold it until the very end of the game. In theory I was expecting far greater integration of this feature. I can’t even place my finger on exactly how it could have been implemented better, just that as is it doesn’t make a difference in the game.
Splinter Cell’s core gameplay remains unchanged though. You still navigate Sam Fisher through the shadows with plenty of gadgets, stealth and unique ways to subdue the enemy without triggering alarms.
While I have no doubt that Splinter Cell Double Agent will sell plenty of units, like any other Tom Clancy title, I do have a feeling some will share the feeling that the game isn’t fully next-gen. One of the newest features is ripped straight from the Metal Gear series where after a cut scene you are able to skydive out of a plane or land a helicopter after the pilot dies. While it is not exactly “next-gen” since it has been ripped from a PS2 title, Ubisoft did do a good job of making it all feel fluid.
Overall though the gameplay has stayed the same. This isn’t to say that is a bad thing though. Everytime a “next-gen” comes around we expect a lot from the games that are released as well. Splinter Cell’s main fault is that it was a blockbuster franchise on the Xbox and the Xbox 360’s Splinter Cell just feels like more of the same with flashier graphics.
While Double Agent’s single player gameplay doesn’t quite take the game to the next level, the multiplayer has made about the same size jump. Double Agent offers two multiplayer modes: versus and co-op. The stat-tracking is good, the maps are well designed and both character classes are still pretty deep. It's just by no means a leap in quality from Chaos Theory.
Though I cannot suggest Double Agent as the killer app for the next-gen platform, the game still kicks ass. With all the little flaws I can point to, in the end Double Agent offers the same solid gameplay we have all come to expect from the franchise. Hopefully their second journey to the next-gen of systems will provide us with more innovation we have come to expect rather than Double Agent’s more of the same. The problem with being a franchise that is constantly evolving is when you stop, we wonder if you are out of ideas.