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Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Review
Cole Burton
April 11, 2010
This is a very big month for Splinter Cell. Conviction is finally nearing its release and to celebrate the occasion, four of us writers at GoozerNation.com will review the four main Splinter Cell games. Next month, you can expect us to have our review of Conviction up as well. So, lets get started.
My first experience with Splinter Cell was many years ago when I played the Chaos Theory demo. I used very little stealth because I wasn't playing the game the way it was meant to be played. It was a demo after all.
Skip forward to the release of the Conviction demo. I fell for it and loved the demo so much that I decided to go back and play the original. I requested and obtained Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory for only $5.00 on Goozex. I chose Chaos Theory because many say it's the best of the entire series so far. This time, I played it stealthy, and I loved it.
Being a long time fan of Metal Gear Solid, I never really bothered much with other stealth action, in my fan boy head, stealth action could only be worse than MGS. I still say MGS is better than SC but I have only finished one of the games so far and look forward to the rest. Besides, like I said, I am a complete fan boy. At least I will admit it though. How can I turn my back on the series that started me in gaming?
The story in Chaos Theory is pretty weak, but the actual missions themselves have some good objectives. Eventually, you will forget about the main story and focus on your mission objectives and the stories that come with them. However, there are some pretty good plot twists in the game.
The gameplay is great in my opinion. You are mainly sneaking, not gun fighting. That having been said, there are many clever stealth attacks, while throwing in okay gun play. I say okay because there are many times where I will pull a headshot, and the enemy will survive and an alarm will raise. That is why it is always better to take out your enemies with your fists rather than a gun, that is, when possible. You can also sneak up behind enemies and hold a knife to their throat. From there, you can interrogate them and knock them out or kill them. You can also use them as human shields. It is a little similar to the chokehold in Metal Gear Solid 3.
I do have one serious issue with the game: The bank level. Early in the game, you have to break into a bank. Here they throw in cameras, lasers, and even hackable computer terminals that if you fail, will cause alarms to raise. They throw way to much new stuff on us at once early on. However, you will adjust as the level goes on, and later you can replay the level and know what to expect.
The sneaking in the game works great. As long as you're in the dark, and at least a bit away from the enemies, you will not be spotted. However, this can be odd with the fact that there are three green lights on your head from your night vision goggles. When it is bright, you can turn off lights, blow out candles, and do much more. But beware, the enemies are smart, they will notice if a lit candle is later blown out, or a radio turned off. Basically, your best off to leave everything alone unless completely necessary.
Well, I tried to avoid spoilers in the plot and that made me not speak much of the story at all. However, it was worth it. Why play the game if it is ruined for you? I hope you guys will give this game a shot, yes it's old, but some of the last-gen treasures deserve a replay, or for the beginners, at least a try. I took a break from Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2 for this, and man was it worth it. I eagerly await the rest of the Splinter Cell series to arrive in the mail.
I hope you will stay tuned on GoozerNation for more reviews of the Splinter Cell series!
