Splinter Cell

Richard tells us how Sam fares on his port to the PC

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When glancing over the promotional pamphlet that came with the PC version of Splinter Cell it is clear how big of an impact that Rainbow Six has had on the industry. Ubisoft have put a lot of effort into this game style of pseudo realistic action and their current line up of titles is very strong consisting of: Raven Shield; Ghost Recon; Splinter Cell and The Sum of All Fears. It seems that even when we escape into the world of gaming some anchors of reality help us lose ourselves with greater ease. Splinter Cell differs from those other titles in that you play through the game as a solitary figure with no team mates to back you up should you stumble. Such a game style is well suited for console gaming which of course is where Splinter Cell debuted before coming to the PC. Those other titles have travelled in the other direction and have been ported to the console market, while arguably still pretty good games the original target PC platform still made for the better gaming experience. In this regard I was very pleased to find that the PC version of Splinter Cell has not suffered greatly in the move from the Xbox. Moreover I found that on the PC it is generally a more enjoyable game.

I have to confess I didn't really like Splinter Cell very much on the Xbox. For whatever graphical prowess it possessed I found it a chore to get through. When I previewed the PC version a few months ago it seemed as if little was going to change that experience. Obviously since then some of the technical issues have been ironed out. The game runs a lot smoother on a mid range system although I would recommend you have a decent graphics card to cope with all the gorgeous lighting effects. The controls have been honed a little and the move from an analogue controller to a mouse and keyboard has actually provided a few subtle benefits. There are two additions though that basically just makes the game more fun, a quickload and a quicksave. Gone are the tedious repetitions of hiding bodies. Gone are the moments of despair when you use up all your ammo shooting out one light. Gone are the fist punching, curse inducing, controller slamming, missed guards that will shoot you at a crucial point while you reload. The save system also gives you more room to experiment and try out different approaches for certain situations, safe in the knowledge that you can quickly go back should it all go horribly wrong. Some might say that it makes the game too easy. Well you can save it as much or as little as you like. Personally I just want to have fun.

For those of you unfamiliar with the premise you take the role of an operative from 'Third Echelon' called Sam Fisher, who is voiced by Michael Ironside. Third Echelon is a secret government agency (as if there is any other kind?) whose mandate is one of counter terrorism. They are authorised to use a so called fifth right that basically allows them to ride rough shot over those pesky civil liberties. The story about a rogue General and a high-tech war being waged provides an interesting back drop to the proceedings. The script has a wry humour which I very much enjoyed, with lines such as "you haven't laughed since the Reagan administration". The voice acting is well done, the soundtrack is good, the cut scenes are polished, as a production it is all very slick - right on down to the packaging of the game itself.