 | | Double Agent on the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube puts Splinter Cell more firmly back in touch with its roots. It ain't the most original game next to the 360's more innovative outing, but is arguably the more solid experience on the whole |
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Now this is a pleasant surprise. Turns out Ubi-soft have pulled another "GRAW" with Sam Fisher's latest adventure, and pretty much released entirely different versions across a variety of platforms. So while we originally got the flashy bump-mapped next-gen Double Agent on the
360 (with PC port on its way soon), now we also get a 100% entirely different adventure on the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube too. Heck, there's even a Wii version in the works.
Let me emphasise that for effect.
THIS GAME HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PC AND 360 VERSION. WEIRD, HUH? Sorry to shout, but this is important.
Actually, I take that back ever so slightly. The story does kinda remain similar between each version. Sam's daughter dies - boo-hoo - he hits rock bottom, and the NSA take the opportunity to conjure up a likkle scheme in which a broken Sam has apparently gone rogue. He hasn't, of course - he's simply working undercover - and thus begins Fisher's most daring mission yet as a two-timing secret agent super pimp.
Here's the thing though; the overall story may hit some of the same check-points as the 360's take, but most oddly of all, this version fleshes the whole thing out waaaay more successfully and articulately. It actually - gasp - makes sense, for one.
Cut-scenes are way more in abundance. There's tons more back-story. More interactions. More twists. More Enrica. Perhaps most importantly of all...there's just more Sam. I found the Ironside's presence distinctly lacking in the 360 game. Sure, he was there...but Sam proved oddly quiet a lot of the time. The bulk of the voice recording sessions seem to have gone into this version though, now Sam's a lot more vocal (which can only be a good thing). Even the terrorists and their tale seem to have a little more room to breathe this time out.
From a storytelling perspective, this results in a much more captivating ride in my book. As just one example, Lambert now radios you halfway through the opening mission with instructions to abort immediately, due to something happening with your daughter. Sam, naturally, goes ape-shit. That's frickin' cool! Why didn't the 360 game have more stuff like this? It's these little beats that pump up the emotion a fair bit more this time and get you sucked into the story.
Despite featuring something of an - ahem - Darth Vader homage, the ending is also far more impressive too, leading into the upcoming sequel considerably more pleasingly to boot. Although on the whole this still doesn't quite reach the dizzying heights of the ridiculously epic Splinter Cell plot I continually yearn to see, it is by far the most gripping the series has seen yet, and (at least in this area) shows the 360 version how it's done.
Redux
That's the story then, how about the gameplay? In terms of missions, we find a completely separate roster of outings next to the next-gen version. There is absolutely zero crossover between the two games, even on those missions that are set in the same locations. Take the prison break level for instance, in which Sam and Jamie escape Ellsworth together. Not only is this a completely different prison than we saw previously, now they actually break out of it, well,
together. Jamie's with you almost every step of the way like some sort of quasi-intelligent second player.
You'll boost each other over walls, open locked doors for each other, even take out armed prison wardens when the other guy's in trouble. At one point a copper spotted me from the other end of a corridor with nowhere to hide, resulting in a weapon-less Dig instantly crapping his panties. Thank god for Jamie though, who promptly capped the dude in the head with a pistol he'd scrounged earlier. This is all very cool, and once again, light years ahead of the rush-job seen in the 360's prison break level.
 | | This new rendition of DA features completely seperate missions, like this train job |
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Another mission that particularly stands out is the subway train heist. As a test for the JBA terrorists, Sam is tasked with robbing a cargo locomotive, in a pleasing twist on the old Pandora Tomorrow night train level. While it ain't as memorable as that beauty was back in its day, traversing from carriage to carriage, battling cops on the roof and laughing your arse off as passing scenery smacks 'em in the back of the head proves a true high point of the game. Awesome.
You may have seen glimpses of this level in a lot of the pre-publicity Double Agent trailers and screens seen over the past year actually. Playing the 360 game, many of us Splinter Cell fans wondered why this stuff had been cut out...but it's clear now this was all simply exclusive content only seen in this version. Crazy. The same can be said for that memorable trailer shot of Sam diving up from the snow to slit a fellow splinter cell's throat, as well as early screens of him abseiling down a cliff face alongside a buddy. All here. Not in the 360 game.
But while each and every other mission follows suit, showing us brand new outings we didn't get in the 360 version, not all of them so successfully better their next-gen counterparts though. The Kinshasa level for instance, does away with the beautiful, sunny outdoor GRAW-like feel seen on the 360, and instead sends Sam off to fiddle around in some hotel later that night. It's very mundane by comparison, lacking in excitement, and identical to a hundred other shadow-laden Splinter Cell levels we played to death in the previous games.
I guess in that regard, this game feels much more in tune with the tried and tested Splinter Cell traditions seen in the earlier titles. Pitch black missions with the same old gadgets and gizmos we're used to. It lacks the more original and unique spin found in the next-gen Double Agent - your Shanghai abseiling, your fancy new wall take-downs, even pretty much all your day time levels - but I guess whether that's a good thing or a bad thing ultimately boils down to you at the end of the day. Are you just after more of the same? Chaos Theory Part II? 'Cos if so, this is it....
...right down to the camera.
Two Timing
 | Your pitiful glass can't
stop The Fish |
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Even the much-hyped new double agent system proves to be less important here, with the JBA/NSA split not quite as pronounced as it was on the 360. The off-the-wall inter-mission compound levels are pretty much done away with for one. You
do still go off exploring the JBA base, but it's done in much more of a linear and traditional Splinter Cell style - avoiding cameras, shooting out lights, etc - and doesn't have that beautifully tense "oh my god someone's gonna walk in and catch me collecting their pubes" vibe anymore. Much like the prison level, the compound is even completely different to the 360 one as well...with far less character unfortunately. It's little more than a boring plethora of jet-black warehouses.
The trust meters are also pulled off differently here. Instead of two separate bars for each faction, you now one have single moral barometer with the JBA at one end, and the NSA the other. Your actions throughout the game result in the bar fluctuating from one side to the other...but unlike the 360 game, it seems to oddly matter not. I maxed out on NSA regularly, yet my cover with the terrorists was never blown for example, all that altered was some of the dialogue along with some very minor alterations to the cut-scenes. The game seems fairly linear in that regard, as even though there
are one or two specific moments where you get to pick between the two organisations, I never flat-out failed for favouring one more than the other.
One hopes further replays down the line will expose a little more freedom then, 'cos I never really saw much on my first play through.
What Are You Waiting For?!
In terms of the single player game then, this past-gen version improves in some ways, while regresses in others. Another key area where the two versions differ hugely though is in the multiplayer. Spies Vs Mercs is out, now it's Spies Vs Spies. Unfortunately with the advent of the 360, my old Xbox has been relegated to offline status, hence I can't test that sucker out. What I could test however, was the return of the amazing split-screen co-op campaign. My god, it's fucking fab too!
 | | After witnessing the popularity of Chaos Theory's amazing and original co-op mode, Ubi-soft have not only brought it back in style this time, but even inserted some of that same magic into the single player game too |
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Remember in Chaos Theory how the co-op was such a blast, but just seemed to end way too quickly? 4 meagre missions and a training course? Well here we get a mammoth
15 levels to dive into. Not only that, they're strung together in a far more compelling and sequential manner too. Yep, a genuine
story, one that ties in directly with the single player game. Lambert's with you every step of the way of course, sending you and a buddy off on various side missions that intersect with Sam's main adventure really rather brilliantly. You'll infiltrate that same prison while Sam attempts to break out for instance, providing off-screen support and an additional escape route.
To be fair, that 15 mission tally isn't
quite as impressive as it sounds. Some of these maps are pretty tiny and can be cranked out in 10 minutes or so, in stark contrast to the 45 minute long twisty-turny goodness on offer in the last game. On average though, they tend to last about half an hour each I'd say, and all prove fun and riveting in that same humorous and captivating way which made us all fall in
love with Chaos Theory. Considering the 360 version had nothing along these lines other than the simplistic and dumbed-down "co-op challenges", this is really a big plus point for the previous gen.
In particular, I really dug the additional new moves they added for this game. Now you and a buddy have this ace butt shuffle thang at your disposal in which you link arms back to back and traverse up sheer walls together. You also have some much improved interrogation techniques, where one agent'll grab a dude from behind, while the other threatens to beat him senseless. Hilarious stuff.
All in all this mode feels so well realised and presented, that it comes across like some kinda bonus second game. I'm kinda speechless how good it is in fact, and it alone is worth your money, let alone the single player mode. Contrary to early rumour, it's also fully playable over Live on the Xbox incarnation.
Jaggy Jaggy Vision
 | | The game doesn't look anything vaguely like this in the flesh. My god, it's rough |
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My single biggest gripe with this version of Double Agent then, is that visually, it's just a complete mess I'm afraid. This doesn't come from some rose-tinted specs, nor the fact I just came off playing high-def Sam Fisher on the 360...simply by the series' own standards, it's a bloody ugly game.
Even on the Xbox, 'tis a right beast in places, significantly worse off than Chaos Theory ever looked. If rumour is to be believed, this is due to the three previous gen systems all sharing the same baseline PS2 engine now, not individually tailored graphics specific to each machine's strengths as we saw previously. The result? Blocky shadows, low-resolution faces and jaggy looking models sharp enough to be used as some sort of weapon. It's cross-platform corner cutting on an epic scale, and it sucks.
Occasionally it'll try to stick its head out above from the murky toilet bowel in which it festers; the ice effects on the opening stage stand out as sorta gorgeous, and the animation and physics still impress for the most part. The rest of the time though? I exaggerate not, it literally looks like the PSP game from earlier this year. Big, huge bummer, this.
I get the feeling PS2 and Gamecube owners will care not for the quality of these visuals, as it's all they've known so far in this series. But for Xboxers who've traditionally enjoyed stunning looking Splinter Cells that rival the likes of Halo 2 and Riddick as the prettiest the system's ever seen, this megaton downgrade will break some hearts I fear.
Let us just hope the game follows its predecessor's history then and gets the full backwards compatibility treatment soon with a sweet HD upgrade. 'Cos my god...it sure as shit needs it.
The Good Old Days
If you can overlook these ball-smeared visuals though, old skool Double Agent is still pretty brilliant. I have no idea why Ubi are pushing the 360 game so prominently right now while barely mentioning this one, when it's just as good, if not better in my opinion. Even as the most die-hard of Splinter Cellers, I really had no idea it was such a drastic diversion from the next-gen version 'til I had the sucker in my hands, nor what awesome multiplayer shenanigans were contained within either. And where are the reviews? Other than Gamespot's well-earned
8.5, I've yet to see a single one at the time of writing. Craziness.
So really, it's double dip time I'm afraid. Each generation's take on Double Agent has its own strengths that make it worthy of a purchase, and more importantly they both provide an entirely different experience that you'll miss out on otherwise. Together they form the complete Double Agent package, from a storytelling, visual and playable standpoint, almost like you're watching some kinda crazed spy movie from multiple different perspectives.
The 360/PC version of Double Agent is a far more interesting game with all the new features and reinvention at its core, but ya know what? When playing that game you can't help but yearn for a little more of that classic Splinter Cell action at times...
The sticking to the shadows...
The perpetual night time...
The camera that works...
Due to this game, now we get the best of both worlds though. My only question is...what the hell will that Wii version end up like?
