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Life & Arts

Covert tactics may bore gamers

BY JOHN-MICHAEL HAINES
THE DAILY COUGAR

Splinter Cell: Double Agent pushes the limits by putting Sam Fisher in situations he has never been in before. Alone in a maximum security prison cell, armed with only his strength, super-stealthy skills, and a sharp piece of glass, he has to rescue a partner from John Brown’s Army while still escaping unscathed.

This game stands out in a series that has seemed redundant since its debut. While most of the missions still include the famous gadgets, they weave an entirely different storyline. 

Due to the untimely death of his daughter, Fisher launches himself into work he has never done before. The double agent works for both the National Security Association and the JBA. Work for the NSA includes the usual standard of never getting caught and no casualties, while work for the JBA often involves killing and sabotage. 

The game includes a trust meter that measures your progress either for the NSA or JBA. Each mission has two different sets of objectives. Depending on which set the player follows the meter will shift. Unfortunately, the game forces you to keep the trust meter somewhere in the middle. A dramatic shift to the right or left will cause one of the organizations to no longer trust you resulting in the game ending. Small shifts in trust will only penalize you by losing a gadget or two.

While these double-sided missions add a breath of fresh air to the monotony, the gameplay is still very stealth based. Most of your time will be spent looking for ways to not get caught by the enemy. Even if you are following JBA based objectives getting caught will count against you. This requires a great amount of patience while making gameplay tedious. That tediousness comes through regardless of the better graphics and added features. 

If you enjoyed its previous installments, then you’ll love Splinter Cell: Double Agent. If not, the new environments, added features and improved graphics won’t seem much better to you. 

Verdict: Breath of Fresh Air

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