ic-games Review - Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

ic-games Review - Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii ic-games Review - Home - Review, Preview and Interview for PC, Xbox,Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Information
Reviewer: James Collins
Developer: Torus Games
Publisher: Gameloft
Reviewed: N-Gage
Genre: Stealth based
UK Release: 01st Apr 2005
Article Date: 28th Mar 2005
Difficulty: Hard
Retail Price: £25
Price Comparison:
0

Score Breakdown

Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:
Overall Score: 88%

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Pros

Great Graphics

Retains the magic

Its not side scrolling

Cons

Lots to take in

Screenshots

14 of 17

Gamelofts first attempt at the Splinter Cell universe was a little disappointing to say the least. Using a side scrolling engine to reflect the stealth of the console big brothers certainly didn’t sit that well with some N-Gage owners. As a rule of thumb, if you can’t replicate the atmosphere of the original - call it something else. Gameloft have obviously listened to the fans this time, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is almost identical in gameplay to the more powerful consoles version.

The graphics are pretty good for the N-Gage and certainly show enough detail so the player knows exactly what is going on. Players can do just about everything that can be pulled off in the console versions. Sam can interrogate, use SWAT moves, hang from poles, shimmy up pipes and of course shoot the crap out of all the terrorists. We especially liked the infra-red and night vision goggles which really did beef up the atmosphere when surrounded with multiple enemies.

The controls may take some getting used to but Gameloft have done everything possible to replicate the controls of the console versions. 3D movement is essentially controlled by the D-Pad as you would expect, but the camera can also be manipulated using the keypad (2,4,6,8). This is especially useful when in confined areas. When Sam approaches an object that can be interacted with an icon will appear on the screen, and depending on the action you wish to perform a simple press of the 7 key will produce a list that can be scrolled down using the D-Pad. Crouching is performed with the 9 key, weapon selection is performed with the 0 key and finally (and impressively) the 3 key will cycle between the thermal and and infra red goggles .

The single player story is as impressive as it gets on the N-Gage, missions are long and satisfying and you really do get plenty of opportunity to use the gadgets and weapons at Sam’s disposal. Obviously with the game heavily relying on stealth, your usual gung-ho tactics need to be replaced with patience – and the N-Gage deals with this particularly well. Slowdown was not evident, helped in large portions by the overall slow paced game design, but in no way did this compromise the gameplay. Four save points are available at preset times during the missions so an unfortunate death is never the end of the world.

The multiplayer Bluetooth features are also pretty addictive. Depending on how many fellow N-Gage users are around will decide on the type of game that you can setup. Two players can participate in the addictive multiplayer cooperative mode where you must work together to achieve a pre-set goal (steal a map for example). We would have liked to have seen a few more maps available but are assured more will be made available via the N-Gage Arena later. If you have four people available you can engage in some competitive teamplay (2v2) where the two teams must battle it out until a winner is announced. Both the cooperative and team based missions are highly enjoyable and if you have enough friends around with the title we can see the life of this game extended somewhat.

"If you own the N-Gage then it's time to show off what it can do."

Splinter Cell is certainly an ambitious project, but it was nothing more than the N-Gage needed right now. Of course the success of this title will be heightened due to its release side by side with the more powerful console versions, but it still more than deservers this position. Gameloft have done wonders for the N-Gage lately, really showcasing what the mobile phone can actually do. Simply put, if you own an N-Gage then it's time to really demonstrate what it can do, and we can't see many better ways than this.

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