Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Xbox)

Reviewed by JON MINIFIE

Herald rating: * * * *

This month marks the release of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, another creation from the seemingly inexhaustible mind of Tom Clancy.

The original Splinter Cell was a runaway hit for publishers Ubisoft, particularly on the Xbox. It struck a chord with gamers by providing all the action, espionage and stealth-based gameplay of Metal Gear Solid, without all the weird plot tangents and inane dialogue.

The sequel kicks off in East Timor where the US Embassy has been taken over by a terrorist faction. Once again, the graphics engine makes superb use of light and shadow. The levels are big (maze-like) with plenty of dark corners to conceal yourself.

Like the original, the gameplay is mainly stealth oriented, meaning you usually have to outsmart the guards, rather than outgun them. However, players will have numerous high-tech elements (night vision goggles, lock picks, gas and grenades, laser-sighted pistols, and nifty spy cameras) to help them along the way.

Sam Fisher has everything players could want in a lead character: he is insubordinate and hard-bitten, dressed in black, armed to the teeth and weighed down with Bond-like gadgetry. He is even voice-acted by Hollywood heavy Michael Ironside.

Working under cover of darkness, Fisher is something of a modern ninja. His range of movement borders on gymnastics as he runs, jumps, spins, rolls, shimmys, climbs up and rappels down walls — he can even do the splits and fire at targets while hanging upside down by his ankles.

Solid Snake, Gabe Logan and other rival protagonists seem almost physically challenged in comparison, but then controlling Sam can be fiddly. The game still requires you to control his movements and the camera simultaneously, which can be awkward if you're not used to it. Mercifully, the early levels ease you into the action, so you can bend to the configuration before the game gets too demanding.

It's fair to say that the Splinter Cell series was designed primarily with single-player missions in mind, but there are a number of new multiplayer options. The Xbox version comes with some cool Xbox Live options, including downloadable content (new missions, levels and weapons) and online play where players are divided into opposing two-man teams (ShadowNet Team versus Argus Corporation). The ShadowNet team has to move forward stealthily, achieving various victory objectives while the Argus mercenaries' goal is simply to track down and eliminate any threat from ShadowNet.

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is available on Xbox now with PC and PlayStation 2 versions to follow soon.

Price: $109.95

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