Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory playtest

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[b]Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory playtest[/b]

We infiltrated Ubisoft\'s Sydney office recently to get some solid hands on time with the third installment in the French publisher\'s blockbusting action stealth series, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. In light of the spectacular original game and subsequently superb sequel Pandora Tomorrow, we expected to find the game as merely being excellent. We were wrong.

Beautiful darkness

While Pandora Tomorrow certainly paid no disservice to the stellar Splinter Cell reputation, adding a well designed and thoroughly-addictive-once-you-got-into-it multiplayer online mode, neither the gameplay nor the graphics of the offline campaign were significantly improved over the original stealth classic. Chaos Theory on the other hand, is an entirely new beast set to emerge from the shadows with completely overhauled graphics, intelligent enemy AI, brand new additions to the online modes introduced in Pandora Tommorrow plus two player co-op missions and a swag of new moves and gadgets at Sam Fisher\'s disposal.

While it\'s easy to fall into the habit of keeping your nightvision goggles on permanently and playing the game bathed in an incandescent green glow throughout the Splinter Cell experience, we strongly suggest that when you pick up your copy of Chaos Theory you take more frequent looks at your surroundings with Fisher\'s naked eyes in order to really take in the beauty of the environments. True to the series, the lighting effects are simply stunning; from filtering shards of light through windows to the eery blue wash of moonlight in the outdoor levels, SC:CT makes you feel like a kid in an eye candy store from start to finish.

Even more impressive is the texturing. While bump-mapping (the texturing technique that makes flat surfaces appear 3D) is technically impossible to recreate with the PS2 hardware, somehow the evidently immensely talented designers at Ubisoft Montreal have achieved some sort of faux-bump mapping in SC:CT, and it\'s completely indistinguishable from the real thing. Stone walls in a rustic subterranean basement appeared jagged and slick with condensation, while wooden floorboards in the cabin above looked uneven and completely non-uniform thanks to a brand new texturing technology dubbed \'GeoTexturing\'.

But lets not get too technical. All you need to know is that Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is without question one of the greatest looking videogames on the PS2 console to date; and could possibly be one of the best we\'ll see this console generation, period.

New light on old concepts

Prior to each mission in SC:CT you now get a briefing from each of the major characters in the game, including series regulars like Lambert. You can choose to skip these briefings entirely, however each one will give you different hints as to how to successfully complete the mission ahead. After the briefings, and similar to another of Ubi\'s Tom Clancy series\' Rainbow Six, you can now select the weapons you wish to take with you based on the advice you received. It\'s up to you whether you pack your arsenal for an all out assault or take a few extra gadgets and play it a bit more stealthily, however there is an automated default setting to choose for each level if you just want to jump straight into it.

Sam Fisher, while looking great standing still thanks to the upgraded textures and poly count, is also brilliantly animated once again and now reaches behind his back menacingly for his knife when you creep closely behind an enemy; ready to slash their throats. The knife weapon isn\'t reserved for silent attacks either; and at one point during our playtest we took down an enemy charging towards us with a swift stab to the abdomen.

Aside from the knife attacks we witnessed a number of new stealth kills in Chaos Theory, ranging from smooth moves such as Sam breaking the neck of a soldier and catching his lifeless body before he hit the ground (to avoid detection by nearby guards), to our favourite move so far (and one that is exclusive to the PS2 version of the game); which saw Sam emerge from a pool of water to drag away an unsuspecting enemy and silently drown him. Callous, calculated and incredibly cool.

Ubisoft kept us in the dark with a number of the new gadgets, but we did find ourselves using the OCP quite regularly during our playtest. The OCP is an electronic device that allows you to silently turn out lights without shooting them with your pistol, thus avoiding the attention of guards. However, the OCP only has a temporary effect so you must be quick to make it to the next area otherwise you\'ll find yourself caught in the spotlight.

Not alone in the dark

While we were unable to test out the online modes in SC:CT, we did manage to have a go of the splitscreen co-op mode; which takes levels from the single player game and tweaks them to be more conducive to teamwork. Good teamwork relies on a number of moves exclusive to the co-op version of the game that range from simple boosts for your partner up to otherwise out of reach ledges or too-high fences, using your partner as a human ladder to scale up walls or even launching your buddy circus-style over unjumpable gaps, laser trip wires or even directly into enemies like a human torpedo!

Co-operating with your partner doesn\'t consist of mere acrobatics either, as you\'ll often have to activate switches simultaneously or work together to deactivate bombs, so good communication is the key to progressing through the co-op mode. If your partner is felled by an enemy or trap, you even have a brief period of time to rush to them and revive them, so it\'s important that you stick together and don\'t wander to far away from each other either.

Sam or Snake?

A debate that constantly dominates gaming internet forums is the (rather unfair) comparisons between the Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid series\'; which takes the mantle as the \'king of stealth\'? With the third chapters in each franchise set for release in Australia before the end of this month; the debate has never been more relevant. So which do you choose?

To us, it\'s like comparing apples with oranges. Sure, they\'re both delicious, er, fruits packed with a healthy mix of both stealth and action, but they are independently very unique gaming experiences that are simply too good to miss. On the one hand, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater features the innovative camouflage index to hide Solid Snake from enemies, a 1960\'s setting and plenty of cinematic boss confrontations that have been a pillar to the MGS series. On the other hand, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory features gameplay that relies on cutting edge gadgets and weaponry, superbly designed multiplayer modes both online and off and far less linear missions that facilitate numerous ways to progress through the game.

Undoubtedly they\'re both must have titles, and far too good to choose between if you\'re a fan of the stealth action genre. Both Snake and Fish(er) should be on your gaming menu this month - choose only one either way and you\'re missing out on one of the most intense gaming experiences of 2005.

See for yourself just how impressive Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is in the three videos below. The trailers are also indicative of the new level of humour used in SC:CT compared to the previous games.


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