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PRE-GAME

The US Navy’s newest ship has just been sunk by a missile from North Korea. Now the world is on the brink of World War III. It’s up to Sam Fisher and Third Echelon to find who really launched the missile and prevent the war to end all wars.

EYE-SPY

THE HOOK: Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is the complete package. It serves up an incredible single player campaign, the highly sought after cooperative play, and a multiplayer mode that is truly unique. Being part of the Tom Clancy series of games doesn’t hurt either.

HOW IT LOOKS AND FEELS: Chaos Theory was originally being designed as a title for the next generation of consoles. Then they decided to release it for the current generation. All that means is that this is truly one of the most visually advanced games ever, and it’s most apparent on the Xbox. The amount of detail in this game is astounding. From the lighting and water effects to the character animations, this game looks like it shouldn’t be possible on current systems. This level of graphic beauty carries over to the coop mode as well. Multiplayer, while still very detailed and inventive, isn’t quite on par with the rest of the game.

The controls for this game will probably take about half an hour to get used to. As long as you can master the concept of moving with the right thumbstick and looking with the left one, you should be fine. You have to stop and pull out your weapon with the X button in order to fire, and while it’s out you can only move very slowly. Fire weapons with right trigger, and alt fire with left trigger. When you don’t have a weapon equipped you can melee attack with left or right trigger, right being lethal and left being non-lethal. B is crouch or stand, Y is jump, and A is the universal action button. The d-pad activates your various special goggles, including thermal and night vision, along with emf vision which allows you to see active electronics equipment. White button will switch your weapons between the two most recently equipped, and black button makes Sam whisper or whistle to draw the attention of enemies. The controls are changed up a bit for multiplayer, but for the most part they work the same.

HOW IT SOUNDS: Chaos Theory backs up its great visuals with fantastic sound. From top notch voice acting, to dead on sound effects, this game gets it all right. Sound is a very important of the Splinter Cell experience, as making too much will get you killed. Every surface will make a different type of sound when you walk on it. In addition, all your weapons make a realistic amount of noise that can also get you into trouble. Everything just sounds right.

The voice acting is of the highest caliber. Michael Ironside IS Sam Fisher, and he delivers a stellar performance. The rest of the cast is great as well. Everyone delivers their lines well, and even though all the foreign guys speak English with an accent, it doesn’t hurt the game in any way. Chaos Theory contains some really killer music tracks. For the most part the music is quiet, but it picks up during intense situations.

EXTRAS: Getting the Collectors Edition will net you a second disk full of extras, but I only got the standard version. The game includes some updated Pandora Tomorrow maps in multiplayer mode in addition to the new ones. There are also several training videos, as well as a trailer for the upcoming Splinter Cell movie, though it doesn’t have any real footage.

CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE: Yet another area where Chaos Theory excels. They cinemas look fantastic despite the plastic looking characters.

BEST PLAYER: It’s more fun to play the spies in multiplayer.

CHEAT CODE YOU NEED: Unlock all co-op mission levels: In the Profile Menu Enter: COOPA22COOL

CHEAT CODE YOU WANT: Infinite sticky shockers would be nice.

OH MAN! MOMENT: Your first multiplayer experience.

GLITCH ITCH: Aside from the occasional camera hiccup, I didn’t notice any problems with the game.

FAN SERVICE: At several points in the game you can hear characters talk about some popular current video games series, like Prince of Persia and Metal Gear Solid. They also poke fun at Halo in multiplayer by blocking the word from being used in a text message and calling it swearing. There’s also a commercial for Splinter Cell on a TV in one level.

END GAME:

If I could sum up Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory with just one word, that word would be “Wow.” This game does so much, and it does it well. Chaos Theory is easily one of the best games you’ll see this year.

It all starts in its fantastic single player campaign. The Splinter Cell series has always been known for it highly enjoyable stealth action, and this year they bring it to the next level. Each level is bigger, more detailed. There are multiple paths to accomplishing your goal, and often times you gain new objectives during the mission. This means you can play through a mission several times and never have it be the same experience.

Co-op play is introduced into the Splinter Cell world this year. In it, you and a friend take on the roles of two Splinter Cells in training. You’re tasked with accomplishing four missions by working together to achieve task impossible for one spy alone. There are only four co-op missions available, but each one is easily twice the size of any single player mission, and just as highly detailed. Don’t fret the lack of missions, though, as Ubisoft promises to release some more over Xbox live in the future.

Chaos Theory also features the return of Pandora Tomorrow’s highly enjoyable and totally unique multiplayer. In it you take on the role of either a spy or a mercenary. The spies are usually tasked with accomplishing a number of tasks, such as hacking a number of computers or collecting discs. The mercenaries’ job is to stop the spies from doing this. There’s also a new death match mode. The game feature several new maps, along with the return of some of Pandora Tomorrow’s maps, revamped for the Chaos Theory. There’s also talk of new maps being released over Live in the future.

Wow. There, I just had to say it. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory deserves it though. This game had the potential to be a stupendous failure, but instead it was a fantastic triumph. Easily one of the best games of the year already, it probably won’t be topped till Splinter Cell 4. Completely worth a purchase, even if you don’t play online.

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