With the release of the latest Tom Clancy video game with The Division, it’s time to look at one of the earlier games to have the Tom Clancy name: Splinter Cell. Released in 2002 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PC, unlike other games that bare the Tom Clancy name, this game is actually not based off of any of Clancy’s novels but instead was given an endorsement from the famous spy author himself.

The game follows NSA agent Sam Fisher as he is assigned to investigate the assassination of the President of the Country of Georgia. During this assignment, it takes Sam though other plots and conspiracies that lead to things much greater than they seem taking Fisher to places around the globe and dealing with different government organizations.

Along the way, players step into the shoes of Fisher: a former Seal, former CIA agent, who is skilled in both stealth and weapons. The gameplay is also stealth based meaning players are not supposed to run into combat with no plan of action. Part of the way of doing this is by limiting the player’s weapons and tools thus making it more reasonable to sneak past enemies instead of engaging fights. The game also features stealth being realistic by allowing the player to see how much noise they are making and if the meter gets too high, enemy guards can be alerted and drawn to the player’s location. While Splinter Cell was not the first stealth game by any means, it was one of the first to incorporate elements such as this and was ground breaking when released.

Some player’s may thing that the game’s graphics also seem out of date by today’s standards but by 2002 standards the graphics were great. The game features detailed sceneries and buildings that were not in every game back in 2002. Due to it being a stealth game, there are many parts of the game that are shadowed so that players can hide and the way the game transitioned from well-lit areas to darkened areas was impressive for the technology at the time. When making the game, the developers actually experimented with lighting to get shadows being cast in the game to be accurate. Due to the stealth matter players also have to make sure they do not cast a shadow so not only did they have to render Fisher in the game, they constantly had to render his shadow to match up with him, something that was ahead of its time in terms of gaming. The game also received an HD remake in 2011 to make the graphics feel more in place for today’s consoles.

The game also features amazing sound with an original score, great sound effects, and a great performance from veteran voice actor Michael Ironside as Sam Fisher. Ironside manages to make Fisher’s tone and speech patterns match up with the tone of the game. He perfectly matches up the dramatic parts with a dramatic tone, helped out by the score of the game. And due to the game being a stealth game, background noises and sound effects are an important part of gameplay. If the player bumps into something then a noise will be made and could alert the guards. The game captures these sound effects in a great matter giving the player a more realistic feel to the game.

Splinter Cell is a great game for fans of the spy and stealth genre and after 14 years the game still provides entertainment for fans of either genre. It is highly recommended to players who are fans of the Metal Gear Solid video game series as well as the James Bond franchise.