splinter cell: pandora tomorrow review

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Average Ratings

Addiction Level	9/10
Graphics	9.5/10
Value for Money	10/10
Overall rating	9.5/10

100% Recommended2 out of 2 Reviews

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By TOMLEECEE on 17th Feb 2005

TOMLEECEE's Ratings

Addiction Level	9/10
Graphics	10/10
Multi-player	Yes
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	10/10
TOMLEECEE's recommendation

Good Points

Incredible graphics
Lightsourcing
Enemy AI
Gadgets
Balanced learning curve

Bad Points

Controls can become confusing in the midst of a gun fight

General Comments

Wow! What a game! Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation set the benchmark for stealth 'em ups but Splinter Cell has picked up the baton and proceeded to run out of the arena and around the corner, leaving Metal Gear languishing in mediocrity.

In Pandora Tomorrow, you take control of gravel voiced bad-ass Sam Fisher - ex marine, intelligence operative and all round ball breaker. Now working for some high level government operation, Sam takes orders from various characters via his forearm based PDA. The missions are pretty open in that you can achieve your objectives however you like - either by sneaking past guards in the shadows or by pulling out one of the fantastic weapons and squeezing off a few rounds. Either way is satisfying, if only because of the outstanding enemy artificial intelligence.

The game is viewed from a third person perspective and you control Sam's direction with the left analogue stick, and the right stick manipulates the view. The abilities that Sam has are nothing short of genius. You can jump and grab most overhead object and shimmy past guards, or you can bring your legs up and move in a totally hidden manner. Even better, you can than silently hang down by your legs behind an unsuspecting enemy and take him out! Fantastic! Other moves include a new 'swat' turn where you can swiftly spin across gaps in walls unseen, and the new wall jump.

The game is heavily story driven and is written by political thriller author Tom Clancy (of Rainbow Six fame). The story, and graphics are totally flawless (you wont believe the shadows and detail in the locations), and the use of sound is great (just don't walk across broken glass!). If faced with an impassable section, you can actually create your own pools of light and dark by shooting out lights and thus manipulating the environment. The learning curve is totally fair throughout, although there are occasions where you'll be totally stumped as to what you have to do to avoid detection, which means a trial and error approach must be taken.

However, it never gets so annoyingly difficult that you want to destroy your joypad (like the first Splinter Cell did). If you buy Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, expect so be completely blown away by the experience. It truly is like being in a big budget Hollywood espionage thriller - all it's missing is Harrison Ford.

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