A Review From Hidai Moya

Ubisoft’s 2002 ‘Splinter Cell’ got so many things right in its series debut that much of it still holds up well 17 years & 3 gaming generations later.
It has an outstanding atmospheric tone with its use of light & shadow, hilarious “Kafka”esque writing, a fantastic stoic main character in “Sam Fisher” who was perfectly voice cast, by Michael Ironside, & an interesting espionage story.
This is a serious stealth game that leaves no room for error and offers no forgiveness for any mistakes. You have to move & operate like an invisible ninja to defeat your target & obtain classified data. In many ways it’s like the best “Mission Impossible” game we never got.
That being said what has aged terribly is its very cumbersome platforming mechanics which require exact positioning & are often frustrating to pull off in the heat of the moment. Some of the unwritten rules of the game, that you can shoot lights off, don’t always apply either, leaving for some frustrating moments & sometimes the checkpoint systems can be terribly flawed.
In the end though its the execution of the concept that is still impressive. Very few things in gaming have the type of sex appeal as Fisher grabbing someone by the head and pulling them into the dark at the point of a gun.
Grade B