Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow for the PlayStation 2 isn't quite as good as its Xbox and PC counterparts but it's your best bet if you don't own either of those systems and want one of this year's best third-person stealth action experiences. The game has a few minor downfalls on the PS2 like checkpoints, moderately longer load times, and slightly less impressive graphics, but makes up for it with killer multiplayer and a few PlayStation 2 features.
But let's not but the cart before the horse - the PS2 version is just as excellent as it is on any other platform (save those minor caveats) and offers just about all the same content as the other games.
The game features virtually all the same content as its Xbox and PC siblings - mostly the same missions, gameplay, storylines, characters, etc. In Pandora Tomorrow players once again the shadowy persona of Sam Fisher, the lone wolf operative who's always waging a one-man war against some evil organization for one reason or another. In this particular game, Sam has set his sights on an Indonesian terrorist network, following the "rabbit" down the rabbit hole to unravel a plot that has more conspiracies than Watergate. Certainly Sam is up for whatever this group and the players that pull the strings.
Pandora Tomorrow is comprised of eight single-player missions that see players tracking down the presumed bad guy all over the globe and engaging him and his cohorts above and below board in locales like Paris, a military camp in the deepest parts of Indonesia, and many other places.
The game serves up a lot of varied terrain as well like lush jungles, interiors, courtyards, the inside of a train speeding through Paris, and a myriad of other indoor and outdoor environments. Players will be able to utilize the same amount of skills in this game that they could in the first title, though shooting out lighting for cover seems to be non-functional in the PlayStation 2 version of the game.
Sam does get a few single player perks in the PlayStation 2 version that can't be found in other versions like a new bomb-disabling mini-game similar to the lock-picking mini-game and an end-of-mission tally that gives statistics on all of Sam's actions during a given mission (which will also be available in the GameCube version). The single player missions are challenging and a lot of fun, but where the game really shines is multiplayer.
The core gameplay is pretty similar to the first Splinter Cell players will sneak, silence and avoid enemies and other troublesome NPCs while avoiding dangers like mines, alarms, trip wires, security systems, cameras, and more. Players will infiltrate well guarded areas, rescue hostages, extract information and eliminate targets when lethal force is allowed - in cases where it isn't knocking them out is the next best thing. The single-player is very linear and difficult at times because of check points and the load times between areas.
Sam will have his usual bag of tricks to help him accomplish each mission and the usual set of skills needed to stay alive and undetected. Sam's trusty SC20K assault rifle is good for general killing and diversionary tactics (camera smoke bombs, and incapacitating electrical rounds that work like a stun gun), as well as infrared and night vision goggles, a silenced pistol, and other nifty gadgets. Sam can also do usual assortment of skills including using enemies as human shields, interrogation, the ability to knock baddies out, and a variety of dexterous stealth skills like climbing, crawling, creeping, scaling, jumping, shimmying etc.
The single-player aspect of the game is good, but it proves to be a lot of trial and error, that can be dissatisfying when you factor in that load times and check pints can be a real pain in the butt. No one ever said saving the world was easy, but the gameplay is very linear, so following the path to glory can be a real cross to bear at times. Thankfully, and for the sake of replay value, players can return to any mission and use alternate paths to complete them – provided you made it through it in one piece the first time. Overall the single-player portion of the game is pretty cool, albeit short and sometimes difficult due to the caveats mention above.
But where Pandora Tomorrow really shines, and really serves up replayability is its multiplayer component. Tied loosely into the single-player campaign by its inclusion of a key group in the game called Shadownet (a shadowy espionage agency comprised of Sam Fisher like operatives) and the opposing force known as ARGUS. While Shadownet's members are stealthy and sneaky, ARGUS' members are heavily armed soldiers with lots of firepower at their disposal. The two groups, for the sake of gameplay, are diametrically opposed – ARGUS is charged with making Shadownet fail its secret objectives and are armed with all manner of anti-spy equipment, while Shadownet has its own set of stealthy skills and gadgets to infiltrate areas, assassinate and succeed in whatever objective they seek to accomplish.
