Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

"Chaos Theory: Definitely a "Game of the Year" Qualifier..."

As far as I can tell, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory has all the elements of a good game. You've got nice music , nice graphics, nice gameplay, and a not too shabby storyline...heck, some games these days don't get any of those right! Before I start with my actual review, I'd just like to say that if this game were 70 dollars, I'd still buy it.

Gameplay
I myself am a hater of stealth games. Never liked them, never will...wait a second. Oh, well I liked, I mean loved Chaos Theory...does that count? Personally I've never played any of the Splinter Cell series, although, I don't think I need to go back to them, since I'll be stuck playing this one. What people have told me is that the gameplay is similar to the previous, and specifically similar to Pandora Tomorrow. However I know that a handful may not have played the series, nor any stealth games. So I'll start of with an overview of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory's gameplay.

What is a stealth game? I'll point out a few examples: hide 'n' seek (from reality, of course), and that one part in Windwaker with the barrels (worst stealth maneuvering in a game ever). You may have seen some in games yourself, the mission being to keep quiet without anyone seeing you. Bottom line, I absolutely hate that kind of stuff, and I'm sure a lot of other people do. But wait, don't stop here! Chaos Theory doesn't exactly have strict rules. For instance, in one communication signal to Fisher, Fisher jokes around about how three alarms would end his mission. Nope, not anything like that. Chaos Theory gives you plenty options, and although setting off alarms wouldn't end your mission, if you didn't do anything about it, you just screwed yourself over.

So, yes, Chaos Theory is a stealth game. I basically told this to my friend about stealth-types: Be quiet. Be wary of your surroundings. Know your weapons. Get through the mission. Be quiet. Don't get caught.

There are exceptions to this though...in fact, you get a very hefty pack of arsenal for a stealth game. I also might add that frag grenades help a hell lot, if you know what I mean. So being quiet or not being seen aren't primary objectives to completing your mission, although it does help your score.

You'll be dropped in various settings that promote you to rely on your resources. What resources you may ask? Well, weapons are a given. You also have that tri-light thing on Fisher's head. You can access night vision (very helpful in dark areas), thermo-vision (useful for assessing the number of people in an area), and EEV, which detects any trace of electricity in the area you're looking at. Combining those three, you'll master slithering through guard-filled areas. But weapons and running around flipping your headgear around isn't exactly it. The whole point of "stealth" comes into play with your interaction with the setting. There are so many interactions that I'm just going to give you the gist of it.

Primarily, you can do mostly what a normal human could do: crouch down, slide close to a wall, grab a character, and choose what you want to do with the enemy. Do you want to knock him out, or kill him with a knife? Do you want to interrogate him, or take him inside a room as a hostage? Do you want to throw his body in an obscure place, or use it for the retinal scanners? And as I've said multiple times in this review, using your resources makes this game fun. Flipping a light switch and freaking out the guards isn't even the half of the crazy-fun gameplay. You can go hack computers (very confusing at first, but you'll get it), or go pick some locks, and even take out enormous bank vault doors with one detonator. Heck, I've gone back to levels and realized so many things that I missed the first time through.

All in all, the gameplay is magnificent. There are so many options that you can take and perform, that you can take sub-options along your process and either screw everything up, or make the game more fun than it already is.

Story
I'll have to admit that I really haven't read any of the Tom Clancy books. They look great, but I haven't gotten to them yet. I'll be short on this one though. Don't expect one of those deep and thrilling plots, like Final Fantasy or Resident Evil 4. The Chaos Theory game revolves around a very basic problem structure, so the game doesn't include too much depth with the characters and that kind of stuff. Although, the plot does include some interesting twists, with a lot of funny included, so you'll get some laughs in there.

Bottom line on the story, don't expect a thriller, but you'll find it to be pretty interesting.

Graphics/Sound
I'm surprised the whole game rating concept didn't add an '11' to the 1-10 rating scale, because just the graphics should have bumped this game over the top. Every detail was carefully put in, I'll tell you that. In fact, if you ever get a chance, look quickly on the back cover and take a look at that big picture. When I first looked at it, I thought it was a cut-scene. Take a look a bit closer down the image. See the words "Actual Screenshot"? Pretty nice graphics, huh? You'll be in for a blast in the lengthy cut-scenes between each mission as well. If you're the type of person that absolutely desires good graphics in a game, then Chaos Theory gives you exactly that...and then some.

But anyway, back to the in-game graphics, it's pretty amazing to see that if you interrogate an enemy, you can actually see their mouths moving to what their saying...or I could have just said voice-overs. Thinking of how long it takes to do those, especially in a game, is just brilliant in itself. The three different scopes you have (thermo, night, EEV) look real, too. My uncle walked into the room while I was playing Chaos Theory with my night vision on and he asked me where I placed the camera. It looks real!

Finally, I'd like to touch on the maps in versus mode. If you can consider maps as graphics, then I'd give Ubisoft an A+ for their designs. The maps have so much interaction in them that I could wander a map for 5 sessions and still find new stuff each time I played it.

For the music and sound, you're not going to get anything spectacular. You've got Dolby Digital as a supporter, but other than that, it's not an amazing soundtrack. The only thing that makes the sound upped in its ranking is how you can actually hear people having real conversations. Although sometimes the conversations repeat themselves when the guards see each other again. It's neat to hear some guy talking about his fear of storms, or some other guy calming his buddy down after hearing a sound. Another aspect of Chaos Theory that makes it an incredible game is how it makes small things appear big. Listening to conversations is one of them. It's amusing, interesting, and it gives you a break from sneaking around corners so much.

Play Time
For a 10+ hour game, I don't think there's too much to say. Although being stealthy does alter your time limit, expect around an hour's worth of time in each mission, maybe less, maybe more. Don't be afraid of a short game, if 10 hours is short to you. You'll have an expert mode to go back to, and bragging rights is important when you want to get all 100% on your missions.

I've gone back a few times, because these missions are absolutely fun to play. Remember how I said that you can try different paths every time? Going back is another chance to take a different route and see how you end up. After getting tired of being stealthy, I chose the Assault method (you can choose if you want to go Stealthy, Assault, or in the middle for each mission) and sniped, shot, and knifed all the enemies away. Not a first-person shooter, but it works.

If you somehow get tired of the solo mode, you can go into co-op or versus...two of the great features in Chaos Theory, which also includes Xbox live, so be prepared to have a blast with your friends. Co-op mode goes through a few missions, which you obviously complete with someone else. But remember that the missions completely differ from the solo missions. In co-op, you partner up with your buddy and do different tasks. You can do some more stuff in co-op as well, like using your buddy as a step to get onto high places, or use your buddy as a ladder and climb up onto ledges.

Versus mode includes a team effort as well. You can choose to be a merc or a spy, each with different arsenals of weapons. Game variants range from doing missions against the other team, or just going out for a killfest.

These two modes don't make the game, but you'll find it a popular item if you ever get to sign on. Although co-op has a great setup, the only thing that you should watch out for is its problem to point out where your partner went. You might be in one room while your partner is in another, and you wouldn't know where the other one is. There aren't any markers on top of their heads to designate where they are. But I guess that's what voice is for.

Final Recommendation
So does it sound like a good game? I definitely recommend buying this if you've got the cash. I'm positive it's a good investment and you'll spend a lot of time with it. Despite its M rating, I haven't seen too much gore, and the language is kept to a minimal. But, obviously, the violence is a big problem, although not to a mutilated extent. If you're worried about its M-rating, don't be. Once you buy the game, you'll forget about the rating...because you'll be having too much fun.

I'm also going to include what I thought of each aspect of the game deserved.

Gameplay//10
Story//9
Graphics//10
Sound//9
Play Time//10

It's not a perfect game, but I can assure you, it's pretty damn close.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/05