Splinter Cell NON-DEMO Impressions

I think Splinter Cell is an amazing game.  I honestly believe it is a better game than MGS 2.

As far as I can see, people seem to be playing the game the wrong way.  You don\'t have to sneak past everyone, I found certain area\'s were easier to get past if I knocked out a few guards.  

For example, if there’s a few guards in a certain area, it might be easier to get past them if you take them out.  First I would take out the first guy (out of sight of any other guards), you can either sneak up behind them and clonk them on the head or shoot them as long as you are out of hearing distance from the other guards.

You can get accurate head shots if you allow him time to line up his shot.

As far as guards being on heightened sense of awareness, that’s because you have either been seen or heard.  The music changes if the guards are looking for something suspicious.

If all else fails and you alert the guards, simply kill them and move on to the next area.  You might want to hide the bodies.

By the way you don\'t have to read the data sticks, if you check your notes it summarises the important stuff like door lock codes, etc.

Cheers,

maindodi

[Bobs_Hardware]

Sorry, theomen.. I updated my latest game purchase with a little snippet.

I hated the game.  The linearity, the inconsitant (and just plain crappy) AI, a lot of moves just felt gimmicky and tacked on (mostly due to the linearity), the fact that there was so much \'magic\'.  

I went in expecting a whole heap of missions similar to the Tanker in MGS2, what I get what a whole heap of missions similar to the stealth missions in Syphon Filter.  

It just came off to me as feeling amateurish.  Well, at least to me.  Perhaps if I had given the game longer to impress.  I will most likely go pick it up again some time after christmas 2nd hand and give it another go.

Oh, it has very pretty graphics.

I traded it in for Mech Assault.  Which is a fantastic game.  Probably the best on XBox (and I don\'t even have XBL!)

Am I the only person that thought MGS 2 was a bit of a pain with the story.  In fact come to think about it, the story was crap from what I could understand of it.  Towards the end of the game I just gave up reading all the rubbish it kept on spitting out (boring).

Compared to MGS 2, I think Splinter Cell is similar with a better story, minus all the boring text messages, better graphics and enjoyable gameplay on a par with MGS 2.

MGS 2 Substance is coming out on the Xbox soon and I don\'t think I\'ll be getting it because it would be like a step backwards from Splinter Cell, and I\'ve already completed it on PS2.

MGS 2 is a great game and so is Splinter Cell, they are similar games and I find it hard to believe anyone can enjoy MGS 2 and hate Splinter Cell.

As for splinter Cell being linear.  All games are linear, you play the game from the first level to get to the end.  It\'s how you complete the level that makes it entertaining.  MGS 2 was exactly the same, if not more so.

I\'ll look forward to MGS 3, and Splinter Cell 2.

Maindoli: Substance is already out for Xbox and coming soon for PS2. Just letting ya know.

well looks like I\'ll go for Hitman 2 instead of Splinter Cell.  I loved codename 47, and the reviews say that HM2 is better in every way.

Thanks for the impressions BOB, and it does not get much better. I am about finished with it at this point, and there are a few spots where it is fun. Mostly when I can use my gun to go around killing without a mission end. Overall I can not see what\'s so great about it other than the lighting.

[Bobs_Hardware]

Maindodi - there is a reason why the only time I mentioned MGS2, was in referrence to the Taker episode

As for linearity, it\'s how you get from the start to the finish.  In MGS2  (Tanker episode) you had half a frickin ship to explore before you even progressed in the level.  This allowed for so much more fun -- the fact that you were actually exploring made the game much more worthwhile, and emersed you much further, gave you more things to do.  Rather than simply moving from one room to the next, going through one pre-set obstacle, having to perform one preset action.

But let\'s not get into a MGS2 vs. Splinter Cell debate here.

Blade - Maindodi probably doesn\'t live in USA.  

MGS2 was linear. Just because you had a large area to "explore" doesn\'t mean that it wasn\'t linear. There was only one set-path to beat the game. You couldn\'t perform one significant action before another.

Mario 64 was non-linear.
Zelda games are almost always non-linear.

[Bobs_Hardware]

You don\'t understand what I mean..

YOU GO TO HELL!!

YOU GO TO HELL AND YOU DIE!!!

theomen:  Hitman 2 is a great game, but is more stealth orientated than MGS 2 & Splinter Cell put together.  You are awarded items if you get a silent assassin.  Which basically means kill your target and not set of any alerts.  

There are some great ways to achieve your objectives, like wearing disguises or destroying fuse boxes so they are in the dark.

I found there is nothing more satisfying than sneaking up behind your target and choking him with wire and getting out without being spotted.  Some levels you can just walk around and the guards will ignore you if you are disguised.

One thing I did find annoying is, sneaking is really slow.  If a guard is walking away from you, you have no chance of catching him and if you try to walk behind him he will keep looking round and will probably get suspicious and start shooting you.

The other annoying thing is, allot of areas you can only walk.  If you start running the guards will start looking for a suspicious looking bald person.

With all that said it is still a great game, I thoroughly enjoyed trying to work out how to get to my target without getting spotted.  It took me a few levels before I worked out the best way to play the game.  Most levels you can kill your target without firing a single shot.

I\'d give it 89%

I don\'t think you can go wrong with whichever game you choose to buy, the ones you have mentioned are all pretty good.

Splinter Cell kicks ass, and is GOTY IMO, that\'s all I\'ll say. There are no flaws except some visual ones like when bodies go through walls. Pacing, AI, etc is all perfect, it\'s supposed to be more realistic, hence more tedious if you don\'t like a part, anyone not expecting this deserves disappointment. I wasn\'t bored once.

I agree.  It\'s a brilliant game and I\'m still enjoying playing it.  There are some great gadgets like the sticky cam\'s etc.  If some people don’t like it, maybe they just don’t like stealth games.