Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
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| Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent | |
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| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Shanghai (Version 1), Ubisoft Montreal (Version 2), Ubisoft Annecy & Milan (multiplayer & Challenge Mode) |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Chris Smith (Single Player Xbox 360 and PC), Hugues Martel, Julian Gerighty, Daniel Roy, Mathieu Ferland |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 2.5 |
| Latest version | 1.02 (December 7, 2006) |
| Release date(s) | Xbox 360:
PC: Wii: PS3: |
| Genre(s) | Steath-based |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) OFLC: MA 15+ BBFC: 15 PEGI 18+ |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Gamecube, Xbox, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Mobile |
| Media | DVD, DVD-DL, Blu-ray Disc |
| System requirements | Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz or equivalent CPU, 1 GB RAM, 10 GB hard disk,DirectX 9.0c, Shader 3.0 enabled 128 MB video card (256 recommended) |
| Input | Gamepad, keyboard, mouse, joystick |
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent is the fourth installment in the Splinter Cell series of video games developed and published by Ubisoft. The series, created by American author Tom Clancy, follows the character Sam Fisher, a "Splinter Cell" employed by a black-ops division of the National Security Agency, dubbed Third Echelon.
Originally the game was set for a March 2006 release, but Ubisoft moved the release date to September 2006 in order to have more development time. Ubisoft then released their fiscal quarter results for Q1 2006 and announced that Splinter Cell Double Agent would be put back at least 1 month in order to boost Q3 2006 income.
There are actually two separate versions of "Double Agent". One version (Version 1) was made by Ubisoft Shanghai, who developed Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and was released on the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3. The other version (Version 2) was made by Ubisoft Montreal (Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory) and was released for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version features a completely custom engine while the PS2/Xbox/Wii/PC version plays more like the classic Splinter Cell games. The games share the same general plot but each one features different story lines, plot twists, and levels. Even the levels they share have completely different level designs. They do however, share the same background music and share a few cut scenes.
"Double Agent" was released for the Xbox 360 on October 19. The PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions were released on October 26, 2006. The PC version was released on November 17 and the Wii version on November 28. A PlayStation 3 version was released on March 27, 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
[edit] Version 1
The game begins in September 2007, shortly after the events of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory as Sam Fisher is being flown to Iceland to investigate suspicious activities at a geothermal plant. He is teamed up with a headstrong rookie named John Hodge who eventually gets himself killed during the mission. When he is extracted via Osprey from the facility after averting a missile strike, Colonel Irving Lambert is aboard to deliver bad news to his longtime friend. Sarah Fisher, Sam's only daughter, has been killed by a drunk driver while he was away. Overcome with depression, he is unable to concentrate on his work and is pulled out of active service by his superior.
After a few months, in mid-2008, Lambert approaches Fisher and offers him the rank of a NOC (nonofficial cover) agent in the hopes that this will help him refocus. These are operatives with backgrounds from both the CIA and the NSA, trained to infiltrate organized crime and are used for HUMINT purposes. As with similar organizations, the US Government denies any involvement in their activities. The NSA turns Fisher into a notorious criminal by staging multiple bank robberies and a mock body count. This is to prepare Fisher for his work in infiltrating John Brown's Army (JBA), a domestic terror organization that has come to the attention of Third Echelon. Fisher is sent to Ellsworth Prison in Kansas where he is placed in the same cell as Jamie Washington, a JBA member, and with his cooperation they formulate a plan to break out of prison by starting a riot. [1]. After the daring escape, Jamie offers Fisher an invitation into the JBA that Sam accepts.
At the JBA compound, Emile Dufraisne, the leader of the JBA, gives Sam the order to shoot Cole Yeagher. If Fisher kills him, than he will earn JBA trust, but if he misses his shot on purpose, Jamie will kill Cole instead and Emile won't be too happy. Fisher is then sent on an impromptu mission to a glacier in the Sea of Okhotsk, where a stranded Russian supertanker has lodged itself in the ice shelf. Enrica Villablanca assumes command of the mission but is soon replaced by Carson Moss who orders Fisher to forcefully eliminate the mercenary crew, including the captain, to make way for Massoud's men to take over the ship.
As soon as Fisher is finished with the supertanker mission, he is extracted and quickly flown to the Jin Mao Hotel in Shanghai. During the flight, the pilot mysteriously passes out and Fisher must pilot the helicopter himself to the hotel rooftop. After he lands safely, Sam is ordered to record a meeting between Emile Dufraisne, associates of the JBA and a Pakistani Nuclear scientist, Dr. Aswat. During the meeting, Dr. Aswat mentions 'Red mercury', a fictional ballotechnic fissionable material. News of this sends Third Echelon into red alert and Fisher is told to collect a sample of this substance. Whilst Fisher is stealing a sample of the Red Mercury, Carson Moss radios in and orders Fisher to steal operational notes in Aswat's hotel room. The meeting then concludes with the purchase of several kilograms of Red Mercury. The NSA then orders the assassination of Dr. Aswat at the same time as Dufraisne and the JBA orders Fisher to exfiltrate via helicopter. Either way, Fisher is withdrawn from Aswat's room, notes in hand.
With both the Red Mercury and Dr. Aswat's notes, the JBA constructs a Red Mercury bomb. Emile Dufraisne is quick to demand a test of such a device, but Enrica Villablanca warns him of the risk of it escalating into a fusion reaction and causing a nuclear explosion. Nevertheless, Emile sends Fisher to Cozumel to arm the bomb aboard a luxury cruise liner which is docked at the island. The success of the bomb is determined by the player and is therefore the first of the three major events. Fisher can choose to either let the bomb detonate, maintaining his cover with the JBA, or he can prevent the explosion by jamming the signal or using Enrica's disarm code. Preventing the explosion causes Dufraisne to execute Enrica in a fit of anger.
When Fisher returns back to the JBA headquarters, Emile has already begun preparing for the second meeting, which is being held in a specially built safe room in Kinshasa. Emile informs him that two of the JBA's allies, Allejandro Tawkfir and Massoud Ibn-Yussif will attend, and that Fisher will be ordered to kill both of them should anything go wrong. Fisher bugs the meeting and it is revealed that three separate Red Mercury bombs are in the possession of the three terrorist masterminds. They have planned to destroy Mexico City, Los Angeles and New York utilizing the bombs. During the meeting it is revealed that there is a mole in Massoud's organization, in the form of Hisham Hamza, who has been discovered to be a CIA agent.
Emile orders Fisher to intercept Hisham, who has fled to the Congolese presidential palace in Kinshasa, and terminate Hisham from the top of a radio tower with a sniper rifle. Fisher may shoot Hisham, but if he spares the agent's life, he will extract him safely from the ruined palace, where he is held hostage by rebels.
With critical information on the terrorist organization's plans, Fisher returns to the JBA's HQ where he is ordered to shoot Irving Lambert, Fisher's NSA handler, who has recently been captured near the complex while keeping watch on Fisher. The player can decide to either shoot Lambert or Jamie Washington. Shooting Lambert will maintain the JBA's trust a little longer, while shooting Washington will be caught by a security camera and will send the JBA into high alert and reveal Fisher as a traitor. Enrica Villablanca, if she is still alive, discovers Fisher's NOC status but allows him to pass into the labs underneath the HQ. It's possible to make it throught the level without killing Emile, Dayton, or Jamie.
A SWAT team then storms the compound, crashing in through the ceiling. If the player has a high level of NSA trust and saved at least two of the targets that the JBA wanted dead, Sam knocks knocks out a SWAT member and steals his uniform to chase Moss and the remaining bomb. Otherwise, SWAT arrests Sam, but he escapes. In either ending, Sam ends up on the run from the NSA.
[edit] Version 2
The game begins shortly after the events of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory as Sam is flown to Iceland to investigate suspicious activities at a geothermal plant there. The mission is a joint operation with the CIA, and thus Fisher is aided by CIA agent Hisham Hamza. During the mission Sam can overhear a conversation featuring a character named Emile Dufraisne, whom Sam will later meet. However, the mission was aborted pre-maturely, with Lambert activating a Splinter Cell Co-op double team to destroy the plant shortly after evacuation. Lambert tells Sam about his daughter Sarah's death, with Sam being depressed and picking random fights. During the gap of time, Sam agrees to pose as a double agent while infiltrating the John Brown's Army (JBA), a domestic terror organization that has come to the attention of Third Echelon. Sam is sent to Ellsworth Prison where he is placed in the same cell as a JBA member, named Jamie Washington, and with his cooperation and an indirect assistance from a Splinter Cell Co-op double team, they formulate a plan to break out of prison. [2]. After the daring escape, Jamie offers Sam an invitation into the JBA that Sam accepts.
While at the JBA HQ, Sam finds an e-mail written by JBA member Cole Yeagher. If he chooses to send this information to the NSA, they will extract him for interrogation; if he chooses to send it to the JBA, Emile will send a message on the PA, asking for Yeagher to come to his office, where he is murdered and then dumped in a river.
Sam is then sent to hijack a train carrying a large sum of paper money, gold, and valuable jewelry. Because Lambert pretends to be an arms dealer to the JBA, Sam will have access to his SC-20K and various other NSA equipment. Sam successfully makes his way to the train and moves via the interior of the cars and eventually the roof from the back of the train to the front. He disables the communication systems during his way to the front of the train. Once at the front, he hijacks the train as Jamie Washington switches the tracks. Sam crashes the train, causing it to derail and fall onto its side. The JBA then begin to steal money from the train to purchase Red Mercury.
To test the Red Mercury, Emile decides to detonate it on a Cruise Liner off the coast of Mexico. During this mission, one of the three choices which affects the ending occurs. If the player chooses to sabotage the bomb detonation, then a cutscene shows him and Enrica being severely beaten.
Sam is then sent to Russia to commandeer an oil tanker locked in the ice, during which the captain insanely tries to kill both Sam and himself by arming four bombs within the engine room. Two computers on the tanker have an e-mail to Emile from an anonymous sender who intends to blow Lambert's cover as an arms dealer.
When Emile goes to Kinshasa, Congo to have a meeting concerning purchasing more Red Mercury, he brings along Sam as security. During the course of the mission, the player meets Hisham, and has to choose whether to kill him, or let him go. If the player lets him go, he will receive an adrenaline syringe, which doesn't make an appearance for the rest of the game. One of the opportunity objectives in which Fisher accomplishes up helps set up a mission for a Splinter Cell co-op double team to sabotage a chemical bunker owned by Tafkir. An e-mail on Massoud's computer reveals that there is a mole inside the NSA.
While in the JBA HQ, Sam discovers that the JBA have taken Lambert hostage, and are about to send off the Red Mercury. During this mission, Sam has to choose whether to place false information on the JBA Server backing up Lambert's cover, or plant real information that proves he is with the NSA. He can also choose to disable two of the red mercury bombs to help achieve a better ending. At the end of the mission, Director Williams seems strangely indifferent to the death of Lambert, if the player chooses that route. It can be assumed that Sam did not defuse these bombs, because the Co-op team later has to disable the bomb to Los Angeles on the tanker.
Unlike the other version, regardless of whether you save Lambert or not, the mission starts with the JBA discovering that Sam is a spy, and so he has to kill all the characters in the level, including the higher ranking JBA members. During the mission, Sam meets Enrica, but she is unable to kill him, and even helps him by setting off the sprinklers in one room. At the end of a Boss style gun fight with Emile, during which Sam kills him and disables the last bomb, Enrica comes looking for Sam, and is shot by a Splinter Cell agent. As a result, Sam kills the agent and removes his subdermal for his cochlear implant. Sam then accuses Williams of murdering Enrica, and vows revenge, and that the NSA won't find him.
[edit] Endings
[edit] Version 1
Best - If Sam stops the destruction of the cruise ship, saves the CIA Agent Hisham, and saves Lambert / shoots Jamie Washington, or only two of these with NSA trust above 33%, then Sam evades capture by the NYPD (who are unaware of Fisher's NOC status, along with the rest of America's agencies) and escapes the compound, incapacitating a SWAT officer and donning his stolen suit. A news report at the ending credits stated that Massoud Ibn-Yussif was arrested by FBI agents at a harbor in New York. It is assumed that Allejandro Tawkfir was also arrested since the news report stated that everyone who masterminded the bomb plot was secured. The NYPD pursues Fisher through New York, but he evades capture and jumps into the sea, where he swims to a stolen United States Coast Guard vessel commandeered by Carson Moss along with Massoud ibn-Yussif's Red Mercury bomb. Fisher kills Carson, disarms the bomb and escapes the boat seconds before it is destroyed. This ending is seen as the most canonical as it is the only ending which concludes with a 'To be continued...'
Bad - If Sam kills/destroys two of the three targets or saves all three with NSA trust below 33%, Sam is captured by the NYPD. He is charged with murder, and conspiracy to commit terrorism. To this, he pleads 'not guilty'. Before his trial begins, however, Sam breaks out of prison and is on the run. Fisher doesn't stop the bomb Moss blows up, and according to radio reports many innocent lives are lost in New York.
Worst - If Sam kills/destroys all three targets (alternatively, kills/destroys two targets but trust with the NSA is below 33%), he is initially captured by the NYPD, however, utilising a smoke grenade during his arrest, he escapes. Nothing is known about what happens to Moss.
[edit] Version 2
Note that they are essentially the same thing, but the newscast at the end credits is different.
Best - If Sam disarms both of the bombs (Nashville and Los Angeles) in the penultimate level, then the end newscast will say that a potential terrorist attack has been stopped.
Bad - If one of the bombs is disarmed, then the newscast will report on a bomb (whichever one was not disarmed) exploding and killing many.
Worst - If neither of the bombs are disarmed, the newscast will say that two bombs have gone off in Nashville and Los Angeles, killing many people.
If Nashville is destroyed, it is also noted that the President has been killed due to a visit to said city. He is succeeded by his VP.
[edit] New features
[edit] Both versions
- Fisher is given objectives from two separate parties, the JBA and NSA, forcing the player to compromise in order to progress.
- Due to the fact he is "working" for two different organizations, Sam is faced with several choices in the game that affect his trust with the JBA and the NSA, represented by the "trust meter". Trust on either side affects Sam's weapon arsenal: pleasing the NSA will supply him with a non-lethal arsenal, while pleasing the JBA will supply him with a lethal arsenal.
- A non-linear storyline that changes based on the objectives the player completes (those of the JBA or NSA).
- Multiple endings are introduced.
[edit] Version 1
- Two alternate single-player missions, eight all-new merged versus and co-op maps and interactive cutscenes.
- Daylight missions, in which Sam does not have his goggles. Also, in the regular areas of the JBA HQ, Sam's only maneuver is walk. (This is absent in the current-gen versions)
- Regenerating health (a similar element introduced in Call of Duty 2, although Double Agent has no visible health bar) and a simple three-state (hidden/exposed/alert) stealth meter, as opposed to the past light and sound meters.
- The Playstation 3 version includes an, as of yet, unnamed female Splinter Cell; in the Xbox 360 version, she will be available in a download by Xbox Live.
- The computer hacking and lock-pick mini-games return, and new mini-games are featured that let you decrypt e-mails, put together mines, and defuse bombs.
- A new type of level, where Sam has a little less than a half-an-hour to complete multiple objectives. He can choose what order to do them, and does not have to do all of them. The more you do for one side (or both sides), the more trust you can receive.
- Completing certain missions (Usually involving beating the level without setting an alarm) will give you a bonus weapon, including wall mine upgrades, and even devices that allow you to bypass lock picking and computer hacking.
[edit] Version 2
- The game's plot is told as a huge "flashback" of Sam re-iterating what happened to NSA Director Williams. Version 1 takes place in the present.
- An additional single-player mission with alternate ending, a new Spies vs. Spies online mode, an extended co-op mode and LAN. The story has also been altered almost completely in these versions of the game; one change of note is inclusion of a HUD very similar to Chaos Theory's.
- The lock-picking mini-game returns and a new bomb defusing game is introduced.
- The player receives the SC-303 Compact Launcher in a few missions, which shoots only non-lethal rounds.
- The PS2 version includes two exclusive "flashback" missions: one mission has Sam rescuing his daughter from a cargo ship (the level design is borrowed from the Yugoslavia mission in Splinter Cell: Essentials), and the other has Sam escaping captivity from a German bunker (level design borrowed from the SEALs mission in Essentials). The Playstation 2 version featuring exclusive levels is not new to the series.
[edit] Gameplay
As part of the JBA, Sam must complete objectives set by them to gain their trust as well as complete objectives from the NSA. The decisions he has to make will become increasingly difficult as he progresses through the game. Earlier decisions, such as deciding whether or not to free all of the prisoners during the prison breakout, will just affect his score, but as the game progresses, Sam is faced with serious choices that could kill thousands if made wrong, but may blow his cover if he doesn't do it.
Despite this, Sam must make the JBA trust him, in order to gain access to the restricted areas of their base and complete NSA objectives. If he is seen in restricted areas before he is allowed to go there, it will dramatically effect his trust with the JBA. Similarly, if he is caught using an NSA gadget or picking a lock in JBA HQ, he will be killed on sight.
He is also watched by the JBA in most of his missions, if he is seen completing NSA objectives or is thought to be doing something out of the ordinary, his trust will go down. Killing people apart from those ordered to be taken out will affect his NSA trust in the same way.
[edit] Trivia
- Anna Grimsdottir, who has appeared in every Splinter Cell game to date, does not appear in this game, except in the training mission in Xbox 360 and PC version.
- Splinter Cell "mega-fan" Chris Gumble was honored by Ubisoft in the game by having his name written on the wall above Sam's bed in the Prison level and above his bed at the JBA headquarters.
- In the Xbox, PlayStation 2, Gamecube, and Wii versions the load screen for the fourth mission says that it takes place on "November 31", 2008, despite the fact that there are only 30 days in November.
- This is the first Tom Clancy game in which all of the major characters are of the same nationality.
- Many members of the JBA, or John Brown's Army, are Southern. This makes the organization's name somewhat peculiar, considering that John Brown was an outspoken abolitionist and was hated across the South. Especially Carson Moss, who was racially motivated to attack and beat up people. It could be a nod to their hatred of John Brown, or possibly their respect for him. It is also somewhat peculiar that all members of the JBA happen to be Caucasian and have shaved heads (with the exception of some high-ranking members who don't have shaved heads). In the version 2 of the game, it is possible to hack a computer that reveals Enrica's background, including her environmental causes and "lefty" politics. However, the group's politics are not discussed beyond this.
- In the wanted posters that appear during the "Outro" cinematics,the number is always F1SHER.
- In the Xbox 360 and PC versions, in the JBA HQ Part 2 level, Enrica asks you to dispose of the pilot's body who mysteriously died in the Shanghai level. However, if you look closely at the body, his head moves a little bit which means that he's still alive!
- On the Cruise Ship half way there is a guard who can be heard saying "The rooms belong to a Mr. and Mrs. Clancy".
- In the Xbox 360 and PC version of the Iceland mission,on one PC there is an e-mail.The Person's name who got the e-mail is "Hassan Muhammed".This is a reference to the professional wrestler Muhammad Hassan
- The Playstation 3 version of the game suffered a very low framerate drop in the beginning.
[edit] Soundtrack
Michael McCann (under the alias Behavior) was lead composer for the game's soundtrack. For Version 1, McCann composed all music, except the Main Theme, which was composed by veterans Cris Velasco and Sascha Dikiciyan. For Version 2, McCann handled all music except the cinematics, which were composed by Cris Velasco and Sascha Dikiciyan.
[edit] Multiplayer
[edit] Version 1
Upon joining the game, the player selects one of two sides: The Spies of Third Echelon or the Mercenaries of Upsilon Force. The choice of side affects the player's mission objectives, equipment, and overall playstyle.
[edit] The Spies of Third Echelon
The spies of Third Echelon are extremely fast and agile, much more so than the Mercenaries. The Spies have a variety of almost superhuman acrobatic maneuvers that allow them to navigate the map and infiltrate areas that their opponents cannot reach on foot.
[edit] Mission objective
The mission objective of the spies is to retrieve two encrypted files from four terminals scattered around the map. The spies use their wrist computer (see below) to hack the terminal. The closer the spy is to the terminal, the faster it can be hacked. After a period of time, the terminal will be considered hacked and the spy will obtain the file. All progress made whilst hacking any terminal is cumulative for that particular spy until he is killed, when the information will be lost. To win the game, the spy team must retrieve 2 files and return them to their starting point. The spy team can also win by killing all of the Upsilon Force members, but this method is risky and not advised. The whole mission takes place in less than 20 minutes, otherwise Upsilon wins the match.
[edit] Equipment
- Wrist Computer - The Spies have a powerful wrist computer which they can use to manipulate their environment remotely. The wrist computer has a range of ten meters and the spies will remain locked on the objective whilst hacking. While hacking, Spies enter a first-person view and can only change the direction in which they are looking, and walk. The wrist computer is capable of all of the following:
- Turning off most lights in a level (there are some lights which cannot be shut off).
- Breaking glass.
- Opening security doors.
- Turning off the main generator on some levels, which will knock out most lights and open all doors. The generator can be restarted by the Mercenaries.
- Hacking security terminals to retrieve the encrypted files and complete the mission objectives.
- Hacking the Mercenaries themselves. This causes the afflicted Mercenary's torchlight to malfunction and turn on and off, their drones to fail to work properly, and their EM vision mode to be full of static, effectively useless.
- Vision Modes - The spies have two vision modes:
- Night vision, a monochrome vision mode which allows the Spy to see in total darkness. Well-lit areas and bright light sources appear washed out when in this vision mode.
- Thermal vision, which allows the Spy to see warm objects (such as Mercenaries, or their footprints if they have been in the area recently).
- Gadgets - The spies are allowed to choose one gadget from the following selection of four:
- The syringe restores the health of the Spy or his teammates.
- Flashbang grenades blind any Mercenary who sees them for a short time.
- Smoke grenades create a thick cloud of smoke that impairs the Mercenary's movement and vision. The cloud will briefly knock out a Mercenary if he stays in it for too long.
- The jammer, which can be dropped on the ground and creates a fake presence on the Mercenary's proximity detector.
- Close Combat - Spies have limited means to permanently dispose of an Upsilon guard:
- The spy can break an enemy's neck if he or she is able to get behind and grab him.
- The spy can jump from an elevated area and land on an Upsilon guard's head to cause temporary unconciousness. A guard knocked out twice in this manner will die.
- The spy can hang from a balconies with safety rails and grab Upsilon guards near the rail. This move is as lethal as the neck break, as the guard will be pulled from the rail and land upside-down on his head.
[edit] The Mercenaries of Upsilon Force
The Mercenaries of Upsilon Force are heavily armed with a variety of ways to neutralize intruders. They have a close-in melee attack that knocks their opponents to the ground and temporarily stuns them. They have the ability to sprint for a limited period of time; however their turning and aiming accuracy is severely reduced while sprinting. Mercenaries can also sprint into a spy; knocking them down and stunning them temporarily. Mercenaries can rappel down certain surfaces; this allows them to move to lower floors quickly.
[edit] Mission objective
The mission objective of the Mercenaries is to defend the four terminals from attack by the Spies. The Mercenaries win when they kill all of the Spies or when the timer runs out before the Spies can successfully return two files. Mercenaries receive an audio and visual alert whenever a terminal is being hacked and also can see which Spy is currently hacking and how much of the file has been retrieved.
[edit] Equipment
- Rifle - The Mercenaries have an assault rifle capable of fully automatic fire. The rifle has unlimited magazines and each magazine contains 40 bullets. The rifle has a scope capable of 4x optical zoom for sniping.
- Vision Modes - The Mercenaries have two vision modes and one special vision "gadget":
- EMF Vision allows the Mercenary to see all electrically-active devices in the area. This includes spies that are hacking. EMF vision works through walls and thus is very effective. However, it is balanced by the fact that the Mercenary using it must move very slowly or stand still, otherwise the range of EMF vision is extremely short.
- The Motion Sensor will outline any fast-moving Spy in white. The spy must be upright and running to activate the motion sensor. This vision mode is always active.
- The Torchlight is a flashlight attached to the Mercenary's rifle. It has an adjustable beam that can vary between being very focused with a long range or spread out with a short range.
- Grenades are launched from the Mercenary's rifle. They fly out in an arc and thus can be banked around corners or into vents. A Mercenary gets three grenades and can replenish their stock at their command center within their area of operation.
- Drones are remote-controlled cameras that can be deployed by Mercenaries. They are dirigible-style, relatively slow-moving crafts with a built-in spotlight. Drones can only move approximately 30 meters from the Mercenary before losing signal and deactivating. A button-press can cause the drone to explode with the force of a grenade after a 3 second countdown. A Mercenary gets two drones and can replenish them at their command center.
- The Proximity Detector detects the presence of a Spy within 10 meters of a Mercenary. The detector gives off a "heartbeat" style noise that gets faster as the Mercenary gets closer to the Spy. Spies can hear the Proximity detector as well and thus know when they have been detected. The Proximity Detector is always active.
[edit] Version 2
The other consoles have a Spy vs. Spy mode, with players able to play as Third Echelon or the Upsilon Force spies, and also has a Co-op mode that helps intertwine with the single player portion of the game.
There are six Game Modes in these Spy vs. Spy matches: Team Hack, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Key Run, Sam Vs. All, and Countdown.
Team Hack has players trying to retrieve data by hacking into enemies computers and securing their own computers, similar to "Capture The Flag."
Deathmatch and Team Deathmatches pit players against each other.
Key Run is similar to Team Hack, except retrieving a Key to hack into the other team's computer is the main item to capture.
Sam Vs. All is reminiscent to Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence's Sneaking Mission game mode, in which one player who is Sam Fisher must play as a lone wolf and hack into computers defended by an Upsilon spy team. However, the key difference is that Fisher lacks the equipment from the single-player mode, and is nearly identical to normal spies.
Countdown is similar to Deathmatch, except players must outlast each other by getting more kills to extend their gametime.
[edit] Co-op
14 Co-operative missions are available and tie in directly to the storyline. A few examples have the Co-op duo take out the plant in Iceland shortly after Sam Fisher's extraction, as well has having the duo instigate a prison riot in the Ellsworth prison.
4 missions are dedicated to the Iceland area of operations, with the Splinter Cell duo tying up the loose ends left by Sam Fisher.
5 missions are dedicated to the Ellsworth Penitentiary, with the Splinter Cell duo instigating a riot to help facilitate Sam Fisher's escape with Jamie Washington.
4 missions are dedicated to Kinshasa, thanks to intel provided by Sam Fisher, the Splinter Cell duo sabotages the chemical bunker owned by Tafkir and Massoud, as well as getting valuable intel.
The last mission happens in conjunction with Sam Fisher taking down the J.B.A., with the Splinter Cell duo, under the command of Assistant Director Williams, sabotaging the Red Mercury bombs on a cargo ship heading for Los Angeles.
[edit] Reception
In its November 2006 issue, the United Kingdom Official Xbox Magazine gave the Xbox 360 edition of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent a score card of 8 out of 10. It stated: "Rupturing quality and oozing tension, this is stealth gaming of the highest calibre, full of imagination and augmented by an excellent two-way Trust system that leaves you pondering every choice you make and then having to deal with the consequences."
In its December issue, the United Kingdom Official PlayStation Magazine gave the PlayStation 2 edition a 8/10.
The American OXM gave the same 9/10 score to the game on its December 2006 issue (page 70), and the Australian issue of OXM also gave it a 9/10.
IGN has given Splinter Cell: Double Agent an "Outstanding" 9.0 out of 10 while TeamXbox.com rated it 9.1/10, USA Today rated it 9/10, GameTrailers.com gave it an 8.9/10 score card, and 1up.com gave the game a "Dynamite" 8/10.
Nintendo Power gave the GCN version 4.5/10 and the Wii version 6.0/10.
GameSpot reviewed each version separately. The scores are as follows: 8.5 "Great" for Xbox and Xbox 360, 8.0 "Great" for the Personal Computer, 8.2 "Great" for the Sony PlayStation 2, 6.2 "Fair" for the Wii, and 6.1 "Fair" for the Nintendo Gamecube.
GameSpy gave the PC version 2.5/5 stars. The low score comes from the many bugs and steep system requirements. [3]
IGN had again given a rating on the game this time in the Playstation 3 version, it was given 7.9 because of the low framerate drop and degraded details.
[edit] Awards
- Received IGN's award for Best Xbox Action Game of 2006 [4].
- Received IGN's award for "Best Original Score of 2006" for the XBOX 360 [5].
- Nominated by the AIAS for "Best Action/Adventure Game", "Best Male Performance", "Best Sound Design" and "Best Original Music" of 2006 [6].
- Won TeamXbox's "Best Action Game" and "Game of the Year" for the XBOX version.
- Won Gamespy's "Game of the Year" and "Best Action Game" for the XBOX version.
- Won Official XBox Magazine's Action-Adventure Game of the Year - February 2007
- Won Official XBox Magazine's Co-op Game of the Year - February 2007
[edit] External links
- Official Splinter Cell Site
- Official Splinter Cell: Double Agent Site
- Official Splinter Cell: Double Agent mobile game site
- Game Review
| Rainbow Six: | Rainbow Six • Rogue Spear • Raven Shield (Black Arrow) • Lockdown • Critical Hour • Vegas |
|---|---|
| Ghost Recon: | Ghost Recon (Island Thunder) • Ghost Recon 2 (Summit Strike) • Advanced Warfighter • Advanced Warfighter 2 |
| Splinter Cell: | Splinter Cell • Pandora Tomorrow • Chaos Theory • Essentials • Double Agent • Conviction |
| Other: | The Hunt for Red October • SSN • Politika • ruthless.com • Shadow Watch • The Sum of All Fears |
