Right so time for a quick change from the movie reviews as this post will be on a video game and the one I've gone for is one of the Splinter Cell game series, Double Agent, which covers the adventures of stealth agent Sam Fisher who in this edition of the series goes rogue. So let's grab the night vision goggles and give it a look....
Well an interesting thing about Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (to use its full name!) is that on its release there were two different versions of the game with some variations on the plot as well as different levels. So the version I will cover is the Xbox 360 release version, as opposed to the PS2 version which features the alternate one. So to start with a look at the plot the story starts with Sam Fisher (voiced by Michael Ironside) who embarks on a mission with a rookie agent to Iceland to investigate suspicious activities at a geophermal plant. During the mission however, the rookie dies and Sam narrowly manages to avert a missile strike from being launched. After Sam is extracted he is told by his good friend and superior, Colonel Irving Lambert (Don Jordan) that Sam's only daughter was killed in a hit and run incident, leaving Sam overwhelmed with grief, he pulls out of active service.
Later on Lambert offers Sam as a way of getting back on track, an NOC post (non-official operative cover) where he get's Sam to infiltrate a terrorist organisation called John Browns Army (JBA). Sam is placed in Ellsworth prison in Kansas where he is put in a cell next to a member of the JBA, Jamie Washington. After a while in prison, Jamie offers Sam a place in the JBA if he can help them escape from the prison to which Sam agrees. Jamie causes a diversion as he and other prisoners create a rucus while Sam tunnels his way out of his cell and he eventually manages to access the prison's security systems and disables the prison cell door locks, after which the prisoners are released and a riot ensues. Sam then manages to get to the prison roof and along with Jamie he escapes as he jumps onto the news helicopter nearby. Sam is then taken to the JBA by Jamie where he meets their leader, Emile Dufraisne (voiced by Keith Szarabajka) who orders him to kill the pilot of the helicopter they hijacked to escape. This is where the gameplayer has to make the decision to either kill the pilot or not, if Sam does, he will gain the JBA's trust, if not then he will gain the NSA's trust and the JBA will lose a little trust in him. And from here Sam is utilised by Emile to go on different missions for the JBA where Sam has to make some tough choices in keeping his loyalties to the NSA while playing the JBA in order to try and bring them down from the inside should he choose to....
Splinter Cell Double Agent for me is one of the best of the game's series and it makes a nice change of pace in the franchise as although Sam is still working for the NSA he is working with them on a deep undercover basis. And the fact that there were two different versions released of the game also provides a different spin on things, as each version was for the different generation of video game consoles, e.g. the PS2 and the Nintendo Gamecube were generation six and the Xbox 360 and PS3 were generation seven. So naturally the later generation had a more customised and streamlined look to the game whereas the older generation game had a more traditional look to it as the previous Splinter Cell game did. The game also introduces a new option for gamers in which at key moments in the gameplay Sam must make a decision which will have consequences that will influence the ending of the game, as the game itself has three different endings. The trust theme also makes things more interesting as throughout the game Sam has to try and gain the trust of the JBA as well as try and keep on good terms with his superiors at the NSA, so in the end Sam is forced to play a tightrope act with both groups, which also adds to the game's suspense as well.
As for the actual gameplay, Double Agent is great and the movement and combat system is pretty straightforward. Sam can make all the usual moves such as run, jump, shimmy, crouch, sneak, slide up and down poles, use a rope to rappel down to the ground, and he can also dangle from the ceiling (as he does in one mission when he has to plant a bug in a room to record a meeting between Emile and terrorist leaders). A new addition to the movement however is now that Sam can while swimming underwater grab people and pull them under, and in some levels, such as in the mission where Sam tries to capture a Russian tanker, when Sam swims under ice, he can use his knife to stab at it and punch out a hole to pull down an enemy after which he can either stab them or break their neck (lovely!). Sam can also use his usual interrogative techniques to question enemies to get information out of them by grabbing them at knifepoint and from there he can either kill them or apply a chokehold to render them unconscious.
In regards to the game's weaponary and stealth equipment there are some new additions as well and with the new customisation menus, Sam can also access new gear which becomes unlocked as you complete missions. There are also the usual weapons available such as a silenced handgun, an assault rifle, as well as the add-ons for the rifle such as airfoil rounds and sticky shockers which Sam can use to make non-lethal takedowns. Sam can also use some customised NSA equipment in the levels which are based at the JBA base where Sam has to sneak about and gather intelligence on the JBA for the NSA, and he can use the gear to record voice and finger prints of the JBA members so he can access restricted areas. Sam also wears a device on his back which is a stealth meter when people are near by and it lights up red, yellow or green to rate the different levels of awareness (red being rumbled, green safe and yellow caution).
There is also a trust bar which shows the level of trust for JBA and the NSA and if you carry out drastic actions in the JBA base, such as use an NSA gadget you instantly lose their trust and the game is over (in fact this is good fun to do) or you could lost a small amount of trust if you are caught in a restricted area in the HQ. There are also missions based purely in the JBA HQ where Sam must carry out certain mission objectives such as cracking a safe for Emile, assembling mines, decrypting messages, as well as sneaking around to gather intel for the NSA, which can include hacking into the JBA's servers, sneaking into their offices to take a peek at personnel files.
And if you think the thermal vision goggles are gone well you are mistaken as while Sam no longer dons his black stealth suit, he does use googles in some missions, such as where he captures the Russian tanker and also where he goes to Shanghai and he sneaks in and tries to obtain a sample of red mercury (an explosive material that has potential power of a thermonuclear device on detonation) for the NSA. Sam also additionally has a computer wrist watch which is combined into the in-game menu where Sam can review his mission objectives. And lastly Sam also has access to smoke grenades, wall mines, and in the level where he escapes from prison he also briefly uses a non-lethal shotgun (although it only appears in that mission).
Graphics wise Double Agent looks great for its time as the Xbox 360 had been just out for a year by then in 2006 so the HD graphics in the game are still fairly impressive by today's standards even if the technology has moved on since then. The character models are also pretty good although perhaps not as sophisticated in comparison to the latest game releases for the Xbox One and PS4 as well as PC gaming. The evnironments in the game are also pretty varied as Sam travels to various locations in the world such as Iceland, Russia, Shanghai, Kinshasha, Cozumel in the Caribbean sea, as well as New Orleans were the JBA base is set.
Voice acting wise Double Agent is also excellent as the cast all put in very good performances starting with Michael Ironside who is perfect as the deep gravely voice of Sam Fisher and he delivers Sam's dialogue effortlessly well and he plays the part with the usual mix of menace and dry wit. Don Jordan is also excellent as Lambert, Sam's superior officer who places him in to infiltrate the JBA to gather intel and to eventually try and stop them. Keith Szarabajka also provides a sinister voice over for Emile Dufrainse, the leader of the JBA and he delivers some threatening lines well such as when you are exposed as being an agent and he says things such as "You betrayed the trust that was given to you, now you are out of chances!" and "Whatever I need you to do you aren't doing it! We're through, Fisher!". Dwight Schultz (who played Mad Murdock in the A-Team hit TV show) also provides a good turn as the JBA sub-leader, Carson Moss, who takes an instant disliking to Sam, and as Sam deliberately calls him "Moose" Moss snaps back "Its Moss! Get it right or pay the price!". And he get's some good quips such as later when he Moss argues with Jamie, Jamie calls Moss a jackass and Moss sarcastically replies "And they arrested you for being a dumb ass!". And lastly Rachel Reenstra is very good in her voice over role as Enrica Villablanca, one of the JBA team whom Sam becomes briefly involved with in a romantic way, as he seduces just as she catches him in her room, although Sam later has to choose to either frame her for jamming the bomb on the cruiser going off or let her off the hook.
Also briefly Michael McCann provides a fine music score for the game which is quite tense and atmospheric and suits the tone of the game perfectly and it neatly get's louder in the moments where Sam sneaks closely past his enemies. Although the only thing I'd say about the score is it is a bit more conventional than Amon Tobin's funky, dark and stylish score for Chaos Theory before it.
As for the game's flaws well there aren't that many that let's Double Agent down. Perhaps with the Xbox 360 version of Double Agent perhaps the cut scenes tend to generally skip over some of the details that are covered more so than in the PS2 and original Xbox versions and in that regard the two versions allow for some unwanted discrepancies in the plot. There are also one or two quirks in the game's AI such as where enemies can spot you way too easily at times, which can become quite frustrating, especially in the level where Sam goes after the Russian tanker, as he tries to not be spotted when he lands on a snowy mountain tops and later when he infiltrates the Russian's camp. Also some of the movement can be a bit quirky, such as when Sam knocks out an enemy when he picks them up and carries them on his back and then puts them down, rather than do it carefully, the body tends to just messily drop on the floor, which makes concealing the bodies a bit more tricky. The randon game saving checkpoints can also be a bit annoying as well on the Xbox 360 version as the gameplay stops temporarily while the game is saved, which stops the flow of the game in its tracks briefly and just long enough to irk your enjoyment in those moments. And perhaps one of the worst parts in any mission is the mine assembly which Sam does at JB army's HQ which is a real pain in the ass to get right as you have to assemble 10 mines on a machine, but you only get a max of 15 goes then if you mess up you start all over again! And lastly I also felt while the script is well written for the game, it does somewhat lack the level of wit and humour the previous Splinter cell games had and that for me is certainly one of the games negative points.
But apart from that Splinter Cell Double Agent is still one of the best games in the series as the stealth gameplay is a good as ever, the graphics are excellent for their time, the voice acting is top notch and it also has a tense and involving story. So if you haven't checked it out before now and like the series, its definitely worth playing.
And so I shall leave it there.
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