In the Beginning

Take Metal Gear Solid and Escape from New York, throw in some cool gadgets and an awesome plot and you have the ingredients pound for pound for the best action adventure Game of the Year.



You are Sam Fisher, a no-nonsense NSA (National Security Administration) veteran. Fisher's been through it all and knows all the tricks. He is the first operative in the NSA's newest counter-terrorism unit called the Third Echelon. With a combination of stealth, sleek weaponry, and some nifty moves, your mission is to stop the countries of Georgia (located in Russia) and China from going to war with the United States.



Into the Character

In developing this game, producer Matthew Ferland made a giant leap away from the "team-based infantry squad" genre of the Tom Clancy hit Rainbow Six, and has engineered a solo, stealth and immersion type game. Fisher's look undergoes many types of changes, from the James Bond type of tuxedo to the more adjusted look of the Navy SEAL.



Fischer is outfitted with a number of very useful devices and weapons like; Heat and Night Vision, to sneak up on enemies in the dark; Fiber Optic Camera, to look under or through doors; and a Sticky Camera, that can be used to scope out areas from far away and knock out the enemy with gas when they close in. Bullets are kept at a minimum in order to add to the realism. Instead of mindless shooting, the player is forced to rely on stealth and cunning to accomplish his objectives. Darkness and shadows are your only friends, and using a visibility device that detects how revealed you are is one of your most useful tools.



There are several cool moves such as gliding silently through the game and onto unsuspecting soldiers, crouching, bouncing off walls, rappel, shooting from hanging positions and a split-jump between two walls.



Avoid the Light

As far as lighting goes, this game features some of the best lighting effects that I've ever seen in a game. The developers of Splinter Cell have raised the bar and expectations on future hits. The lighting design uses a combination of shadow buffers and projector systems to create an almost surreal display of natural lighting conditions. Your main deceptive is to stay hidden and almost all of the game is played through out the shadows. Instances where guards are face-to-face with you and still cannot see you, much less fathom the amount of pain they are about to endure, sure make for many heart pounding situations. Avoiding detection by scaling walls or hosting up polls are other methods to get the drop on unsuspecting creeps.



To sum it all up!

This is a very fun way to spend 20 hours. With all the ways to complete a level you'll find yourself doing tasks more then once just to get it right. And by encouraging you to take your time and move slowly through each section you take notice to the planning that goes into every move you make. This game is a definite buy for all those espionage-focused gamers with a good eye for quality