Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Format PlayStation 2

Developer Ubisoft

Publisher Ubisoft

Genre Action, Adventure

It was a long day. Four presentations in the morning and several hands-on gaming sessions in the afternoon. Yes, by the end of one cold Tuesday spent in Ubisoft's Montreal studio, we were all Splinter Cell'd out. We'd seen enough of the spectacular stealth sequel Chaos Theory to know that the French publisher has another imminent hit on its hands. All that was left to do now was return to our hotel rooms and scribble out our lingering latest impressions. Well, okay, after we'd had a big slap-up meal and a few pints of lemonade shandy first...

Hey good lookin'...Chaos in single player

During the presentation, the Ubisoft team was keen to highlight some major new advances in the series. Specifically for the PS2 version was the advent of new graphical techniques, such as the self-penned 'geotexturing', which creates some pretty phenomenal detailed 3D worlds. Add in the distortion of light (steamy air, glazed windows) plus some staggering water effects, and the PS2 development team was already confidently hailing it "the best looking game" on the format.

But Chaos Theory is far more than just snazzy graphics. Elsewhere across the board, Mr. Fisher gets new tricks to play with. He can attack with his knee, he can slice with his knife, he can hang over pipes, pull up adversaries and throttle them mid-air.

There is also a more entertaining range of spy gadgetry opening up new strategies. OCP guns, like the one featured in the underrated Mission Impossible: Operation Surma, enables you to disable electronic devices and security systems. Quietly disposing of lurking guards is also more achievable thanks to gas grenades and the sticky shockers, while monitoring their positions can be accomplished by launching sticky cameras onto nearby walls.

Choose your own adventure...

However, the biggest progression appeared to be the widening of the 'multipaths'. More than ever, there now appears to be a number of routes and tactics that can be followed and employed in reaching your goal. Take the cargo ship level for example. From what we saw and played, there were several different routes leading to your destination - crawling through air vents, climbing up to the top deck, entering the first available door.

Even then, the way you evade suspicion opens up new avenues. Do you defeat guards on a top ledge by hanging over a railing, sliding across and then pulling over into the darkness below? Do you create a diversion by shooting out lights and raising the guards' stress levels? Or do you cower in the darkness and noisily execute them with your sniper rifle attachment?

The choice is always yours, and the introduction of a 'save anywhere' feature means that you can work one strategy, and if that fails, you can explore other methods. Chaos Theory is the most open Splinter Cell yet. And it's still pretty damned challenging too.

Just the two of us... Co-op mode

You can't put a good partnership down. Batman and Robin, Hoddle and Waddle, and, um, Cannon and Ball - a list of duos, that let's face it, would probably have been less effective on their lonesome. Taking heed of such facts, Ubisoft has implemented an entirely separate co-operative story into its stealth-'em up favourite (using system link (not PS2) or split-screen). Here, you'll get to enjoy something very similar to the single-player game, but well, with a mate. And that means a lot of teamplay. A lot of covering each other's backs. A lot of two-man manoeuvres. And a lot of screaming X-rated profanity down your headset.

The most obvious difference is the new co-op moves. Each level has been designed to allow only couples to pass certain obstacles. For example, to break into a building, you might need to reach an impossibly high window. So one chappie cups his hands while the other springboards above. Alternatively, you might need to take advantage of the 'human catapult' in order to overcome a laser barrier. Or team-up to disable a security camera. Or transform into a human ladder. Basically, if your mate croaks it, you're gonna be stuck up poo creek without a paddle to steer.

Has anyone seen Steven Seagal?

The actual gameplay is remarkably tense too. One guy creeps ahead, while another keeps watch from atop a high vantage point; one spy creates a diversion while the other leaps out from darkness. One guy hoofs down a door, the other stands back, firing into the now-exposed room.

Everything is co-ordinated through your headset, and you find yourself whispering cautiously into the mic: "I see a guard, I see a guard, he's coming your way...shhhh" and "yeah man, you shot him!" Playing it yourself is great fun. Watching others fulfil the roles is much like viewing a dodgy Channel 5 action thriller, characterised by appalling acting. So the answer is play, don't watch. Although if you play with a crap partner, things can get very frustrating...

So with the co-operative adventure providing totally new thrills and events (they apparently run parallel to Sam Fisher's own mission), you're essentially getting two games for the price of one. Actually, make that three if you include the Versus Mode...

Next gen hide and seek - Versus mode

This is damn good fun is this. Like Pandora Tomorrow, two players take on the mantle of spying, two adversaries employ their skills in the art of terrorism. The results? Well, ever wondered what next-gen hide-and-seek plays like? You get Fisher-esque third-person if you play the former, but scintillating first-person action in the latter. It's much easier being a gung-ho, action fanatic, but far more rewarding spying.

Despite some new maps on each version, it's the revamped inventories that ultimately have the biggest impact on the experience. In the red corner, well okay, the spies corner, you can select from up-to-four goodies prior to missions. Amongst the new consumables are a heart sensor and a sticky camera, which can be projected onto walls to peek round corners.

The highlight though is the optic camo suit, which delivers temporary near-invisibility if you remain still. Yes, we know what you're thinking - very Die Another Day. But above all others, it is this device that is essential if you're to beat those patrolling mercenaries. You're certainly gonna need it if you want to get creep across an open floor without being spotted.

101 ways to kill... or be killed

As for terrorist scumbags, well, not everything is chucked in your enemies' favour. Tantalising your tastebuds is an entire camera network for building surveillance purposes, a spy tracker and poison mines, arguably the cheekiest spy trap on the market. The biggest advantage, however, is simply the ability to spin round and empty vast quantities of lead at will. What you choose beforehand is dependent on your preferred strategy - are you more interested in evasion, staying routed to the spot, or trailing your foes until the death?

Depending on what format you play, there is a range of different maps (some from Pandora Tomorrow, some new like the eerie orphanage and industrial factory) and modes. The Story Mode, which sets up scenarios and objectives for each team to complete (for example, stop a missile from being launched in a time limit), appears on all three formats. Likewise, the traditional Death Match is also ubiquitous, and challenges you to master your preferred form of execution - snapping someone's neck from behind, or blowing their guts across the floor with a handgun.

Beefing up the Xbox and PC experience however, is the additional 'Disk Hunt' mode (we played it! we played it!), where the aim is simply to find and collect a large number of computer disks without getting shot. If you're upended, then whatever you were carrying is returned to its original location, and you have to try and bag them again. Once again, it's another very compelling twist on the objective-led versus game, but don't feel too gutted if you're a PS2 player - there's enough in the other modes to get you excited.

All in all, this we reckon will be good. Very good indeed...

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory releases on Xbox, PS2, PC and GameCube this April...

Stephen Daultrey