Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Review (no fat)

by Ubisoft Platform: DS Genre: Act-Adv	ESRB Rating: Teen Release: 2005-06-28	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Features: Unique Touch screen features New DS specific surprises 1-4 players Action stealth gameplay
	Egamer's Rating: 6 / 10. Reviewed on: 2005-12-06

Game Description

World renowned Sam Fisher returns to the handheld in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory with the same attitude, stealth, and even more of the heart stopping surprises that made the original game a great hit.

The DS technology presents an easier format for players to follow, with the dual screen layout. Players can now feel less restricted than previous handheld releases, unleashing the same cunning of the console versions with absolute precision. While, challenging multiplayer modes with a cat and mouse element will test the skills of friends, up to 4 at a time.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Challenge

The heavyweight of tactical combat Tom Clancy takes on the Nintendo DS with surprising results, one being the capable conversion of multiplayer to the handheld format. With tons of goodies in the DS release and the anticipated integration of the touch screen technology, Splinter Cell is another unique trip for Nintendo’s library.

Finishers of the console versions will be happy to know that the DS version has been tweaked enough to allow for somewhat of a different adventure, so perhaps curious minds won’t feel as if they are playing the same game over again.

The overall feel of the game is a little deceiving, Tom Clancy games are known for the high level of difficulty and learning curve. Many nights are spent learning the ins and outs of his game, and the Splinter Cell franchise is no different. That is until it reached the Nintendo DS, which makes the more intricate stealth happenings in the game an annoying feature.

Gamers will encounter more repeated missions than normal Splinter Cell versions, due to the DS’s high necessity for stealth over open ended game play. Going gung-ho is never recommended in Splinter Cell, but as a last resort it was always nice to have that option. With the basis of this version being nothing more than ‘watch out, start over, watch out, and start over’, the playing time of the game becomes nothing more than a trial and error process. You will get caught by cameras, traps, and guards a lot more than you are supposed to.

This is not challenging, but more of a highly detailed version of minesweeper, which by the way came years before Splinter Cell.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Controls

The touchpad on the DS should’ve and could’ve made for an extremely cool feature, and for the most part it does just that. Unfortunately the execution is poor, the right ideas were put into it but not enough programming effort.

With the d-pad and buttons, players already have their hands full. With the included touch screen controls, the entire layout becomes a too little much. The bottom screen is used for radar, camera movement, as well as other key features. The smoothest directional control comes from the touch screen so it is a good idea to boot, but what could be a split second reaction for a console user becomes a thumb Macarena for the gamer.

The result is getting near the end of a level you have already played through 6 times, then having a poor control layout failing you a mission, to start all the way from the beginning again.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Graphics

An impressive 3-d engine is on display in this title, and shows off the superior graphics of Nintendo’s handheld. The DS shines in many moments, but suffers from PSP frame rate symptoms. Highly unusual for the handheld and definitely unexpected, but players will notice a constant slowdown, especially when performing necessary functions. It could simply be nothing more than the designers slowing down the game to fit the genre of Splinter Cell, but this type of slowdown really hurts game play with the already iffy controls.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Sound

Great voice acting has been replaced by text, nothing wrong with that except for the lengthiness of it all. Hearing someone say a few paragraphs is a lot easier than reading it onscreen.

The music and sound effects are pretty decent, and even with the lead characters role being downplayed, fans will still get the feeling they are in the shoes of the ultra cool Sam Fisher.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - Summing up

Surprisingly Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is a flop on the DS, and really disappoints even the diehard fans. The multiplayer mode is nothing to boast about, because it suffers from the same problems as single player. There are some really great features in this game, which could have easily made this up to par with the console versions. However, the end result doesn’t show much effort on part of the developers and the potential is all but squandered in mediocrity.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Cost

The game retails for $35.99, at the time of this review.