Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Xbox)

Yearly updates are usually a trademark of an EA developed title: simply update some team rosters, throw in a few game play tweaks and fiddle with the graphics just enough to fool gamers into believing they need this year’s latest title. The simple truth is these games aren’t worth the full asking price they demand, but maybe a premium content download charge; or as it would be labeled on the PC, an expansion pack.

For all its brilliance the follow up to Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow was pretty much ‘more of the same.’ Not entirely a problem there however given that the original was an absolute master piece; the fact Ubisoft topped it off with a storming 2 v 2 multiplayer that proved to be every bit as polished and enjoyable as the single player was justification enough that it demanded your attention. Gamers were however rather concerned when news that a follow up to Pandora Tomorrow was expected to hit store shelves less than a year later. No one could deny the quality of the Splinter Cell franchise thus far but it could only go on so long before the franchise became stale.

Known for producing some of the best titles of this console generation, Ubisoft were not about to disappoint and the news soon broke that the third installment was actually in development long before Pandora Tomorrow had hit shelves. How? Ubisoft’s Montreal studio, developers of the original Splinter Cell had actually begun development of Chaos Theory during the same period that Ubisoft Shanghai were developing Pandora Tomorrow and thus the development time behind Chaos Theory had not been a matter of months but now years. Gamers were breathing a sigh of relief, inwardly excited as to how the original designers of Splinter Cell could improve upon one of the most highly regarded franchises in the market today. Splinter Cell was amazing; Pandora Tomorrow was brilliant but only marginally improved upon the original and Chaos Theory? Put simply Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory appears not just a step above the originals but an entire hardware generation.

It’s beginning to sound almost like a cliché now; over the past year I’ve lost count of how many times I could have been quoted as preaching “this game has the best graphics on Xbox bar none.” It has been true to a certain extent, at the time of writing they were, its just that developers have somehow consistently pushed the bar up further and further; it’s akin to watching the high jump record at the Olympic games being broken, only to be broken by the next jump and then right when you think ‘guy in spandex suit 1’ surely has it in the bag, along comes ‘guy in spandex suit 2’ and jumps even higher. Neverr the less; at this point I dare put my balls upon the chopping block again, standing high upon my soap box and state before thee; ‘Splinter Cell Chaos Theory is the best looking game on Xbox, bar none’ and believe surely a better looking game cannot come along. My manhood however quivers nervously at this prediction; but I remain quietly confident that upon the first viewing of SC: CT you too will attest that no developer could possibly top this.

SC: CT really makes its previous titles look dull. At one point you could confidently argue that the first two titles were among the best looking games on Xbox, SC: CT however makes them look last gen by comparison as Ubisoft have thrown absolutely every little trick in the book at Chaos Theory; normal mapping, dynamic lighting, bump mapping, environment mapping, rag doll physics and a host of other techno jargon that probably means nothing to mere mortals other than an orgasm for your visual senses.

Previous incarnations were largely criticised for skating and clipping issues. It wasn’t uncommon to see Sam Fisher ‘slide’ across the floor before picking up a body before placing the body in a position where any number of limbs would seemingly disappear into walls or other objects; with the new rag doll physics and all new animation system these problems are now virtually non-existent.

Rag doll physics, as bandied by titles like Half Life 2 enable a character to bend, contort and interact with objects in their pseudo physical environment. Rather than an a body falling back against a wall and having a limb disappear through it, characters now slump against a wall, their limps bending and collapsing according to the physical laws that prohibit one solid object from passing through another. Effectively, this gives the game world a more physical and life like appearance, an illusion that the objects displayed on screen really are there and not just acting as a guideline of invisible barriers. Conversely the new animation system compliments the new physics engine. Sam’s movement feels more solid than in previous versions; he can’t face one direction and then suddenly appear facing the other without shuffling around into the desired direction. Subtle variations in Sam’s movement like altering his sneaking style while placing a hand over his combat knife when in close vicinity to a foe further add a level of depth and realism to the overall look and feel of Chaos Theory. Overall everything seems tighter and more refined, a theme carried through all other aspects of the game.

Moves that previously were used too little have been dropped while new ones that enable the player to seek other opportunistic methods have been added. New abilities include the uber cool ability to grab opponents from above a railing and pull them over the edge, hanging from a horizontal pipe and grabbing an enemy by the neck pulling them up (seen Aliens lately?), grabbing enemies through material that maybe torn or cut (Japanese homes; wafer thin) and new additions to Sam’s infamous goggles which now come standard with electromagnetic sensors and Wi-Fi compatibility enabling Sam to access computers from a distance as well as hacking retinal scanners, servers and assorted other military devices. Unlike previous installments of Splinter Cell all of these will be used quite consistently and depending on how you intend on playing Chaos Theory; some will prove more advantageous than others.

Chaos Theory is the first installment to truly attempt a non-linear approach to each mission with the inclusion of Secondary and Opportunity objectives; bypassing these non-essential objectives maybe a wise decision if the guards are aware Sam is within the area and things are getting a little heated. In these instances, heading straight for your primary objective avoiding unnecessary rooms and guards is the recommendation.

Players out there of the pedantic persuasion will no doubt attempt all objectives although doing so doesn’t necessarily mean you will come out of the mission with a high rating. Each mission now rates you according to how you performed during your mission; from number of enemies and civilians killed or knocked out, alarms set off, and times identified as an intruder. Those after a high rating will now find that simply getting from point of insertion to extraction simply isn’t enough; Sam must become a ghosts shadow if you want to have any hope of achieving that elusive 100% mark; even a silenced pistol shot to the head can be a big no no for your end of mission rating unless a primary objective demands the execution of a target figure. Those out there that like their stealth title to linger somewhere between Hitman and Rambo are always free to decide whether a character should live of die, just don’t expect top marks for it.

Essentially, going for the least actual kills is where the bulk of the game lies, each missions layout is so meticulously crafted and beautifully orchestrated it would be a crying shame to fly through each mission taking the immediately obvious route and gunning down whomever happens to be in your way as the Ubisoft team have clearly tried hard to ensure that the game leaves open room for a number of methods with which to approach each scenario. It’s exploring and exploiting this free design that makes Chaos Theory the truly great game that it is as those with patience preferring to seek alternate methods of mission completion will be rewarded not only at the end of mission rating but also by the genuinely well structured and designed play environment.

Xbox Live seems to be the new black these days and with Pandora Tomorrow’s critically acclaimed multiplayer its little surprise it has made the transition to Chaos Theory. Those accustomed to stealth of the rubber suited variety should know what to expect and will acclimitise rather quickly. What is new however is the inclusion of a splitscreen co op campaign. Two players are now able to tackle a number of exclusive campaign missions not found in the single player. Incorporating the tactics found in the Live multiplayer component of Chaos Theory co op proves itself to be every bit as in depth as the single player campaign as well as providing players with the ability to complete missions in ways that simply weren’t possible with only one spy on screen.

‘05 has gotten off to a flyer this year as a number of top-notch titles have been released. Despite the level of quality evident across all formats right now Chaos Theory has already been nominated for the honour of GOTY in many gamers minds and it’s easy to see why. Where sequels generally depreciate in quality with each passing title, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory stands as the pinnacle of not only the franchise but also the Stealth genre. Chaos Theory is both mind blowingly gorgeous to look at and so damn near perfect in refinement and game play it’s hard to imagine a better title being released on Xbox this year.

Graphics: 5/5 – If someone tops this I will eat my left foot

Sound: 5/5 – Crystal clear Dolby Digital 5.1 lets you know where an enemy is long before you can see them.

Gameplay: 5/5 – The pinnacle of the series. Maybe too slow for some, to those I say “you’re mad…”

Longevity: 5/5 – Single player isn’t all that long, thankfully there’s an entire co op campaign and Live multiplayer on top of that.

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