Sam Fisher is a busy man.  He has made an appearance in at least one game every year since the release of the original Splinter Cell in 2002.  Ports aside, that means there are now three full-fledged releases in the series.  While Ubisoft seems intent on grinding down their popular franchises by way of nonstop releases – Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, Prince of Persia, etc. – the Splinter Cell series has been least affected because of how much subsequent releases improve upon the original.  Given the two-year time span between Splinter Cell and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, it was of little surprise that fans were worried when Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory was announced to be released right around a year after the first sequel.  Whatever fears you may have should be put aside, because Chaos Theory has turned out to be an absolutely fantastic title.

In the world of stealth games, there have, to me, always been only three contenders: Thief, Metal Gear Solid, and Splinter Cell.  Other games – like Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay – have stealth elements, but they’re usually arbitrary.  That isn’t the case here.

Chaos Theory may very well be the pinnacle of the stealth genre.  The developers saw fit to not only make a title for fans who love being sneaky, but also for those who enjoy a little more gunplay with their espionage.  As a big fan of Metal Gear Solid’s action-oriented missions, I always had a lingering hope that Fisher would one day be able to let loose in Splinter Cell. That day is at hand, and this new approach is found throughout every aspect of the title.  Now when approaching a door, you can answer that gun-totting gent walking past your optic cable by opening the door in stealth mode, which is done slowly so that you may sneak past or up behind the guard; picking the lock, which is quiet but has to be done manually; breaking the lock, which is fast but can also bring unwanted attention if someone notices the damage; or just bashing it in.  Bashing doors in does a good amount of stun damage to guards – or friends, if you have someone so inclined to get pleasure from your pain – and adds a whole new element to how a situation can be approached.  Those who want more action can follow-up a surprise door to the face with extended firefights and additional explosives if they choose the Assault option of equipment layout.  Pre-mission setups now include, aside from the story sequence and objectives, the ability to go with a recommended, customized, or pre-made Stealth or Assault equipment layout. Of course, fans of the original style need not worry since situations can still be handled with the traditional sneak-in-and-snap-neck approach; nothing was taken away from the experience, only added, so that there are now even more options than before, which was already staggering due to ingenious level design.

The guards and environments have also been enhanced.  Patrolling troops will have their downtime chatting with comrades, but they will also seek out drier spots if they get caught in the rain; seek cover and assist others in firing at you; and gauge situations in a more appropriate manner, using caution when necessary.  Of course there will always be the random slipups, as in a guard not spotting something obvious, but by and large they now provide a better challenge. Also, by utilizing rag doll physics, guards will no longer clip through objects – though the tradeoff is better, seeing a human crumble like a pretzel is always a bit offsetting. Weather also plays a factor in how situations evolve.  With a dynamic weather system, winds and rains can be both a hindrance and a blessing: rain may cause you to drip and leave a trail while thunder disguises the sound of a round going off.  The lighting is also as vital, and gorgeous, as before.  The series continues to push improvements in both the look of the lighting and how it integrates into gameplay, keeping it well ahead of anything else out there.

As in previous titles, the level design is a high point.  Each individual mission has a number of hidden path and options, making them all entirely replayable.  There are now also objectives that carry over from one mission to another: if you failed to scan or identify someone in the previous mission, you will now have to do it in the current one. The difficulty also varies depending on how you approach the game.  If you want to take advantage of the assault approach, you will find the game markedly more difficult as alarms are more likely to go off, which means that the enemy troops will add more body armor thus making it harder to accomplish all of the objectives or see all of the story because, for instance, an interrogation was preempted by a bullet to the head – which will no doubt sting the completionists out there.  But fans of both the stealth and assault approaches will come to appreciate one of the more surprising additions: the knife. I dare say the knife is almost too effective, because with it Fisher can run rampant, dishing out an incredible amount of damage to anyone within striking distance. Now, an enemy who has been interrogated can either be knocked unconscious, have his neck broken or slashed, or used as a human shield, it’s all up to how you want to play it.  And, of course, it all looks very cool.

The biggest addition is co-op play.  Split-screen or system link, you and a friend can go through a different campaign that is as enjoyable as the single player game.  The usage feature – whereby players interact with objects by selecting actions via dropdown menus – remains effective, but it does stumble at times, and it is used heavily in co-op.  Doing moves that require both spies is actually fairly easy: one player normally initiates the move by selecting it from a menu or by doing the appropriate setup (example: kneeling with their back to the wall and pressing a color button) and then the other finishes the move by using a similar selection system.  If a ledge is too high, one player can toss another up; if a system in a room needs to be hacked, one can hold the rope while the other repels down; or one can act as a human ladder for the other to crawl up on.  One move that has become infamous involves one spy catapulting the other off of him by using the momentum of a half-roll, shooting the other one over a ledge or on top of a guard.  These also have all sorts of implications that don’t directly involve navigating a level, but just tackling random situations: tossing a friend on top of the roof of a truck or one acting as a decoy while the other comes from behind and knifes. Unfortunately the number of co-op missions is very small (four, plus a short training mission) and the map system is inadequate. The team system does wonders for online play, though.

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow really set the bar high in terms of Live play, and, by all accounts, Chaos Theory betters it.  The moves used in co-op can also be used online, along with a few new ones.  Spies can now – and all of this applies to off-line play as well – hang from a structure and snap someone’s neck; hang from the side of a ledge and pull someone off; or do one of the combo moves.  Being a merc, played out in the traditional first-person view, didn’t get any easier, but thankfully the knife isn’t brought into play online.  Spies who talk too loud over the headsets will also be overheard, which leads to the ever unpleasant situation of a merc switching through their multiple vision displays and then peppering the area with flares, grenades, or rounds from the assault rifle, submachine gun, or shotgun.  The maps, many carried over from Pandora Tomorrow, can be troublesome at first, with their large areas and multiple pathways, and the crowd that plays online does so frequently and tends to be extremely good, but I found the experience to be mostly pleasant.  Watching two people who are learning the ropes – Ryan and I, for example – isn’t pretty, but seeing how more experienced players operate in tandem makes the game seem very elegant.  Multiplayer is definitely something that is more delved into than dabbled in, but it is well worth it.

Fans of the series will know of all the more intricate details I’ve left out.  New players will be discombobulated by all the gadgets at their disposal.  Fisher’s gun, for example, can double as a sniper rifle (careful aiming requires Fisher to hold his breath for a moment) or as a disabling device, knocking out cameras temporarily.  He can also use secondary weapons, like chaff grenades and remote spy cameras.  Going beyond just their obvious uses, something like the camera can also be used to nock out foes with the poisonous gas conveniently stored inside it.  Going online, the mercenaries can be equally intimidating as they have multiple visions, weapon layouts, and random items – spy cameras that stick on spies and track them; trip mines; and protective gas masks that have to be equipped.  Each item goes towards the overall “multiple approach” design the game strives for, though you will most likely stick with the same basic moves that prove effective throughout.

Visually, I would rank Chaos Theory as one of the best looking Xbox games to date, easily up there with Doom 3 and Chronicles of Riddick.  The characters have a rich look to them, though the random objects scattered throughout aren’t quite so pretty, and the animations (rag doll aside) always come off as swift and cool.  The audio is also done well, with great voice-overs and a solid soundtrack and great effects.  There are so many little touches that can easily be overlooked because the game is so engrossing, but it is often worthwhile to stop for a moment just to check everything out. 

Controlling Sam (or a mercenary) has also proven to be smooth, aside from the random hiccups when a move isn’t initiated or you have to keep searching for the ‘sweet spot’ to prompt an action.  Considering what all can and has to be done, it is impressive that the game controls as well as it does. The camera is also free, only being confined in tight spaces, making it easier to check for guards or traps.

Overall: 9/10