User reviews

2 years after Sam Fisher became the undercover hero of defeating the Georgian Terrorist threat.

This time he's dealing with Indonesian Gureilla Terrorists. Who are planning to attack the USA with a virus under the code name: Pandora Tomorrow.

Sam Fisher is once again on new undercover missions to prevent losses of innocent civilians.

He must go from Indonesia to France and L.A.X. to confront and stop the enemy at all costs.

The game has the similar features from the first one, only newly improved here and there. Same weapons including some new ones for greater advantages. The game play is different, but you get use to it real quick as you play the game. The graphics are great as ever. And the voice acting is as super as it was in the first game. Contains the usual strategy/stealth action.

Those who liked the first one will like this sequel.

When I first played this game I loved it, most people think it has 9 missions when really it has only 8. Also people think this is the hardest one out of the Splinter Cell series, I haven't played the first one but I have played this, Chaos Theory and Double Agent and I find this the most easiest one out of the three. I'm on the last mission on Pandora Tomorrow, Double Agent I'm on the 5th or 6th mission and on Chaos Theory I only got as far as the 3rd mission. Chaos Theory is hardest in my opinion. This game had good graphics, very lush and beautiful almost making it real. The levels of the game are also designed so that you have to be stealthy. Some levels lethal attacks are allowed, most levels only non-lethal attacks are your option. 8/10 is my rating for this game.

To avoid confusion, this is a review of the PC version. You know how follow-ups, almost by definition, suck? And there's the lesser-known thing about sequels to stealth games being easier than the original, perhaps to broaden the appeal(stick with continuing to satisfy the core audience, please, we don't need everything to look alike). Don't you just hate that? I'd wager the good people of Ubisoft do, because they avoid both, and do so looking *fantastic*. If anything, this is slightly tougher, at points. There are still only two difficulty settings, and arguably no replay value, but if you're into this type of thing, then you probably loved the first, and you'll have the same response to this, I guarantee it. Not a single of the enticing cut-scenes are live-action, and when they can be this gorgeously fully rendered, why would they? They've built a brand new engine, and it is stunning. The graphics and animation is extremely smooth, far superior to that of the predecessor to this, and those were already amazing. This takes everything that made the first so marvelous and streamlines it, and it's almost invariably a positive. What little there was that needed aid, as far as controls go, is fixed. Now you can actually *see* how many, if any alarms you can afford/have already "used", and there is a genuine response by your foes, strike one, Kevlar comes on, two, helmet, three... you're outta there. The game-play is immensely entertaining, and a solid challenge. Leaping is improved majorly, and new moves and equipment is introduced. The Half-Split Jump that adds to maneuverability and the SWAT Turn *rock*. As far as additional ways to take out enemies(which, along with the nifty sneaking, is the best thing about this) goes, there's the Chaff Grenade that disables electronics in a small area, and the well-known Flashbang. And yes, this still has the best darn throwing system I've ever seen, and the "taking a deep breath before you fire"-thing, for the sniping, is also again magnificent. Your opponents now use Motion Detectors and Booby Traps, apart from all that they had access to in the first. Shooting is greater, and much more fun, than before. You again take on the role of Sam Fisher(cheer for him, people, he's finally learned how to open a door crouched, instead of standing up like a doofus and being a target, and he can Whistle, to attract attention, very useful), working for Third Echelon, on missions(the opening one serves as training, no tutorial this time) of infiltration, data retrieval, etc. Inbetween each, there are again clips of fake news broadcasts that add to the high realism that this, and anything else that Clancy(and he sure left his finger-print on this, it is a must for any fan of his) has enough creative control over that it be worth mentioning. They found a better balance between it and the enjoyability, this time around. The tone is spot-on, this never talks down to the player, and is rather mature and intelligent. That goes for the story, as well, which has surprising twists that hold up. The characters are credible and consistent. All of the writing is masterful, and there are next to no clichés in this. The dialog remains clever, if it does try a little hard in some places. This has an appropriate length, and doesn't overstay its welcome. The sensitivity to light and sound remain unbelievably incredible, and the strongest aspect to this, an inspiration for similar titles. AI, what can I say, it's stupendous. There are a few bugs and glitches, relating to that, among other things. Stability is beyond reproach. They basically drop the whole map thing entirely, and you do spend time trying to figure out where to go, but this is less frustrating and tedious than the first one(which wasn't all that bad). The objectives are varied and imaginative. I'd say the locations and situations are memorable and interesting(who knew "awesome" was spelled T-R-A-I-N?), with France and Jerusalem being on the list. The design of the levels(as well as everything else in this, frankly) is excellent. That does bring me to the only complaint about this(heck, the series, thus far), the continuing utter lack of freedom of movement. Maybe I've been ruined by the Hit-man games, and to an extent, also the Commandos ones... nevertheless, why is this so completely linear? You could also explore in those, and it was worthwhile to do so. After being told what you are to do, you got to decide how to, and then you proceed to do it, which, let's face it, is a big part of the coolness of these. As soon as you have figured out what the creators intended, here, you do get to that. I suppose it has to do with this being plot-driven to an extent not found in the aforementioned competitors. That doesn't completely excuse it. I'd say to try the first one before this, to have the ground-work laid out(not to mention, it's well worth the time), in all areas, since this doesn't retell everything. There is less of the silly humor. The music is astounding, as is the voice acting and all of the audio. This is very satisfying to play, and the ending is worth the effort. Plus, this has multi-player(!). It's Spies(similar to single-player, with abilities and non-lethal attacks) Vs. Mercenaries(like the terrorists you usually fight, run and gun), the goal is to conquer or to protect the canisters, respectively, and the modes are Neutralization(find and destroy them), Extraction(bring them back with you) and Sabotage(use modems to dispose of them). While I haven't had a chance to try it, it certainly sounds well thought up, inventive and fresh. This is for anyone who liked the first, the overall concept, and the novels(and all media outlets that have to do with them) of Tom, with all the thoroughly researched, precise military facts. I recommend this to anyone who thinks they'd be into it. 9/10

If you are thinking this is going to be the same as the original, you're wrong. Sure, you're still Sam Fisher, an expert spy who can infiltrate a factory without anyone know he's there. But there is one really big change. You're outdoors. Yep, you heard me. And boy do they make it look good. The environments are lush and beautiful. The bushes sway in the wind as you move past them. You still have to deal with industrial settings though. But even they can't match the beauty of the outdoors. Okay, enough of that. Lets go to gameplay. The AI is 100x approved over the original. Now enemies can grab a civilian and hold them hostage. Also, if they detect you, they don't have to run over to the alarm. Just one push of a button on their uniform, and that little baby will start sounding. And if you sound one alarm, every enemy will have a bullet proof vest on. Two alarms a helmet. Three alarms, I don't know, but it's not good. Which leads me to another thing. The game is hard. Really hard. It's impossible to beat a level on the first try. Even experts of the original will have a hard time getting through this. But even though it's hard, it's really short. There's only eight levels(the original had ten). But one thing will get you busy after you're done... The multiplayer. Here's how it is. A team of mercenaries try to get the spy. That's it. But it's fun trying to hunt down an almost invisible person. And it's fun killing unsuspecting mercenaries while you're almost invisible. So let me sum it up. The graphics are incredible, the AI is seamless, and the multiplayer is fun. Pandora Tomorrow gets a 5 out of 5.

I have all 4 Splinter cell Playstation 2 games and everyone rates a 10. Michael Ironside is one of my favorite actors. He has a very recognizable voice. I hope that they will produce another Splinter cell episode. I also have seen a lot of his movies and Would like to see him play the hero in a movie. Pandora tomorrow is as great as the previous two. Double agent is another fine work of gaming. Keep up the great work. I will be looking forward to a new splinter cell game in the future. Also it would be great to know if there is a fan club in Alberta. If there is I would like to know where it is and how I can join. Yours Truly Recyled Teenager

(Title: Splinter Cell Trilogy - remastered in HD) Console: Playstation 3 Genre: 3rd person stealth, espionage, shooter.

Setting: East Timor, Israel, L.A. international airport Story: There is a link to Australia in this game...Australia was prominent in providing peace keeping troops in East Timor, after it gained independence from Indonesia...which isn't in the game at all, but still. In favour of this franchise, you often get backstories to the missions which make clear that the U.S. has had close relations with the tyrants the person you play as - Sam Fisher - has to 'take care of'...in other words, some factual elements are included which don't show in the U.S. in a good light, as far as foreign policies go. Anyway, Fisher has to fight an Indonesian guerrilla who is against East Timor's independence. As 'insurance' against American intervention, this guerrilla leader - Suhadi Sadono - has the smallpox virus ready to release in America, should anyone attempt to thwart his plans.

Graphics: This game looks a lot nicer than the original game in HD...the early cutscenes especially are nice. In the first game, Sam Fisher looked a bit like George Clooney to me...in this game, from some angles, his angular head brings to mind Arnold Schwarzenneger.

Sound: Can have an odd quality to it, especially with non playable characters at times...they sound distant...maybe as if they are in a metal tank or something too (when they're in an office building!).

Good about the game: Improvements include...

* You can now open doors whilst carrying a body...no need to drop the body first...which saves time.

* Sam can now whistle...which is good to get enemies to come near you...so you can take them out.

* The trophies system has been improved from the first game...it's not perfect yet though...e.g. I got one for not dying more than 3 times during the game, but not the one for not dying at all...not sure how that works...again, it might be an issue of whether you reload from a quicksave or a normal save...perhaps the latter would have seen me get the trophy I missed...but I couldn't be stuffed waiting for the longer reload time save.

Bad about the game: Since the company has burned itself in my brain with my less than satisfactory experiences with them (especially for the Assassin's Creed games), I'll just list some more Ubisoft annoyances...

* Here Ubisoft re-invent...the square wheel. The quick save feature of Half Life on PS2 was terrific...Ubisoft's 'improvement' to this is...to make you often have to click this option twice.

• Same thing for Saves too...often you have to double click for this to work properly.

* I'm sure that there must have been games which came out before this game (even the original release) where you could have multiple save spots...and you could delete saves you didn't want. For some reason, Ubisoft makes it unintuitive to save how you want to...you are really forced to think about something you shouldn't have to think about...otherwise, you just keep adding new save spots...which you can't delete. Sheesh.

* At times your night vision becomes foggy...for no apparent reason. This starts from the Israel mission.

* All the enemies are 'Jewish', again...that's a joke...as in how there is that Jewish joke about how many Jews it takes to replace a lightbulb...I think that's the joke...punchline is the Jew says "That's alright, I'll be fine here in the dark". In other words, often shooting the lights out will help you, and the terrorists don't really react tot this suspicious occurrence. On the other hand, you do get that unrealistic aspect to the tougher fights...it will be pitch black, but the terrorists will be able to see you and shoot you from a long way off.

Misjudgements in the game: * Right at the very start of the game, you get your superior scalding you...for no apparent reason...seems that whatever you do, he will scald you...even when you try different actions to avoid this...that's on the section where you are at the jetty, about to start the East Timor mission.

* One mission sees all your enemies being clones of another...I think it was the Israel mission...every enemy had a beard.

* Sometimes you get hints in the game...after you had died...hints are probably more useful beforehand, yeah? * Found the equip system inferior to the original game.

* It's still hard to reliably grab enemies from behind...it would be better if you didn't have to alter your stalking speed so much...sneak to fast and they always hear you...sneak too slow and you can't catch them...and if you do catch them, you won't always be able to grab them...so you have to reload a lot to get this right...annoying.

* For some, this could be an issue...there is no tutorial as in the firs game, so you get a lot of hints in game on what to do.

General observations: This is rather dry series...if you liked the first, this is more of the same. There's no great story telling here...it's all episodic missions and I personally lost track of who the villains were and what they were trying to do. Having being 'trained' by the Metal Gear Solid games to not kill anyone during a mission (for a trophy like achievement), the Francois Coldeboeuf situation was a puzzle I couldn't solve...either he died, or I had to kill the terrorists...

...must say, I still find some of the logic of the game a bit (!) silly...e.g. the train mission...Sam's going stealth...on a commuter train...yuh!

I gotta say, out of all four Splinter Cell games: Pandora Tomorrow is my favorite. Splinter cell had the intro and the opening to introduce Fisher and his life as a covert opp., but lacked the grittiness and charisma of a Tom Clancy idea. Chaos Theory was for the hype, it had cool weapons, cool submission moves and environment interactions though. Double agent was just reaching too far. It's a next gen game, but it just failed to deliver on the character development of it's hype. But Pandora tomorrow: as true to Clancy as one of his novels. Gritty, suspenseful, and challenging. I liked the need for patience and timing in the game, and it had more levels with cinematic flare then the rest. The T.V. station level with the rain? Classic. The player has to change vision modes to avoid flash blindness by the lighting and time it to take out the guards around him. If there is ever a movie of Splinter cell, that level has to be a adapted for it.

Originally, I didn't like the original Splinter Cell, but it kinda grew on me, and it's now one of my favourite games. However, this second instalment fails to live up to the standards set by it's predecessor, despite adding some shiny new features.

When Ubisoft made the original, I don't think they thought it would turn out to be the acclaimed hit that it was, so they farmed out programming duties to a third party software house in China. However, once they realised there was money to made, they took this sequel in-house, and the entire programming effort was done at it's French HQ. And what a great job they did of botching up the efforts of the original Chinese team.

Fisher (again excellently voiced by Hollywood uber baddie Michael Ironside, and ably assisted by Mr Velvet Tonsils; Dennis Haysbert from "24") now has new moves and gadgets to his repertoire, such as:-

A red laser dot for his pistol The ability to whistle and attract guards The "Swat turn" (whilst peeking around a corner) The "half split jump" (replaces the multi-jump of the original to reach high places)

The game also features:- Online Multiplayer (apparently it IS excellent, if you have online capability)

And it must be said, the graphics are the best ever seen on the PS2, absolutely beautiful use of light, water effects, and that foliage ! Wow !

However, the main problem with the game is that it was originally designed to run solely on the more powerful Xbox, and so has had to be "dumbed down" for Sony's red-headed stepchild. Whereas the Xbox could cope with 4 or more NPC's in a room, the PS2 has to make do with two. Whereas on the Xbox, ALL light sources were breakable, on the PS2 they are not. So at many points in the game you are in these huge, yet empty environments with minimal opposition. It's not really bad programming, it's just that this game was designed for Xbox, and it shows.

Sounds easy huh ? However, take away the breakable light sources and it becomes stupidly hard sometimes. Coupled with moronic AI – Sam's Whistle feature; you stand one side of an open doorway and whistle at the NPC standing feet away on the other side – he doesn't hear it ! Stand just inside the doorway, whistle, and he does !! Grrrrrr !!

Where Mr Frenchy has messed up, is by tinkering with elements of the game that were not broken. The Meditkits from the original have been replaced by strategically placed wall mounted "Health Dispensers". These have an accompanying and tiresome animation when you use them, which is extremely annoying in an NPC walks around the corner and shoots you whilst the animation is playing.

Also the randomness of the left analogue stick for the lockpick has been modified so that the "sweet spot" is in the same place each time ! And don't mention the savepoints !! They are SO frequent ! And SO annoying !! The original just had checkpoints, but this time you are invited to save the game at a checkpoint, which results in 4 to 5 confirmation boxes coming up, and then the checkpoint notification STILL comes up and freezes gameplay for 5 seconds ! The game save is only a tiny 91k, but it seems to take much longer.

Also some familiar controller keys have been changed, reload is now longer L2, it is X (the manual doesn't state this !), Triangle now does things that circle used to do and vice versa. Sam doesn't slide down ladders on a circle press, and you have to suffer the tedium of climbing down them.

However, on a positive note, Sam CAN now open doors whilst carrying a body. Hooray !

What about the "story". Hmmmm, Pandora Tomorrow abandons the building interiors of the original, firstly for the jungle, as you track down Sadono the Indonesian rebel with a taste for releasing the smallpox virus. And also you get to travel to Jerusalem and Paris – the mission on TOP of a 200mph Eurostar train will make your fingers sweat ! Especially when Sam has to crawl under the train, and along the side of the carriages !

However, not being given enough info in your briefings often poses a problem, resulting in mission failures and restarts as you attack someone you apparently weren't supposed to. Quite often the game seems to abandon the premise of stealth altogether, forcing you into fire fights with the enemy. As your gun's aiming reticule moves at the pace of Iranian foreign policy you are often only an asthmatic's breath away from a body bag.

If you don't own a Splinter Cell game, then buy the original, at least that one was designed for the PS2, or wait for the third instalment which is due out anytime soon – surely it must be better than this one ?

I will agree that the environments and the AI were incredible and the graphics overall were second to none, but I feel that the single player mode was sacrificed in order to bring the multi-player mode to life. The game was far too short and I didn't feel the profile of Sadono was robust enough. In the original, you actually felt hate and anger towards Nickoladze because of the detail and time spent to develop that character. I am not saying that Pandora Tomorrow was bad, not at all. I am just hoping that they go back to formula with Chaos Theory and develop a new era for gaming, much like was done when Splinter Cell 1 was first released. I gave Pandora a 4 out of 5.

Part 2 of Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. This game makes you think and gives you a lot of options. This game is base on stealth and thinking before you make your move. Nothing has changed in this game and that's good because I like to take my time. Timing is the key in playing this game because one false move and it's mission over.

The levels has increased to 32 and each level has a certain feel to it. The storyline has changed also. This time your fighting a terrorist group called the Indonesian Guerrilla and the person in charge is Suhadi Sadono. The object of the game is to stop him at all cost if you want to survive.

What's in the game?

The game has a very good basic move system that allows you to move freely without being detected. But the only way you can do this is by playing the first game and practice to get the right feel because the controls are almost the same, but with more realism. Of course we know the basic moves like: climbing, manting, and zip line. The Advanced moves are important and very special to the game because with these moves, the terrorist group don't know what hit them. Just to name a few like: Drop Attack, when you can zip line and land on top of the person without setting the alarm, Rappelling while shooting, Hanging while shooting, and my favorite is Split Jump Shooting. Grabbing the person has been 50-50, to say the lease. This is why this game makes you think because you got to make the right decisions and if you make the right decision, good things will happen like: when you grab the person, you can do four things. 1. Knock him out, silently, 2. interrogating the person, 3. Forced cooperation on the person, and 4. uses him as a human shield. You will still take damage, but not as much. It has a new feature for the SC-20K (weapon). This weapon has a feature called a Multipurpose Lanucher were you can choose between 7 sub-weapons or gadgets. They are: Ring Airfoil Projectile, Sticky Camera, Sticky Shocker, Distraction Camera, Gas Grenade, Flashbang, and Chaff Grenade.

There's more in the game but I'm going to explain one weakness to the game and that's when you uses the SC-20K while using your binoculars to get a much better shot on the enemy, you get a sense of being mistreated. Let me explain.

If you go to any level in the game and you walk slowly to the next room, you spot a terrorist staring towards the front. In other words, the terrorist is looking right at you, but your not spotted yet. Here's the sad part. When you draw your SC-20K and your binoculars, the camera shakes and your accuracy decreases. If you try to shoot the terrorist, you'll miss every time and the mission will be over or you set off the first alert.

This is my review on this game and out of 0 to 10, My rating on this game is a 9 because it's a game that will keep you busy until Metal Gear 3 comes out and even if it has one weakness, it's still a great game.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me.

Undertaker55 was spoken. Good Day.