Splinter Cell: Double Agent review

Sam crawls from the shadows and into the light of the Wii.

Review written by
Splintercell4ever

Now in the fourth game of the series, Sam Fisher has taught us one very important lesson: It takes more than guns to save the world. Splinter Cell has been dubbed one of the most realistic games in the video game industry. The problem? The games on the Nintendo systems have been half-assed and missing key features. Will Double Agent be any different?

Double Agent starts off not too far from the end of Chaos Theory, where you will be put in another ubiquitous plot that only Tom Clancy would understand. Sam has his usual multifarious arsenal of weapons including the SC Pistol, the SC-20K and the newfound favorite: knife.

After Sam escapes prison, the game completely takes off into a new direction for the series: becoming a double agent. As a double agent, you will be given objectives by two organizations, the NSA and JBA, and must decide which to follow. A trust meter displays the two groups' feelings toward Sam, where the goal is for you to keep the bar near the center.

Sam will often be faced with tough choices, such as letting thousands die to save his ass. This proves that Sam is a true hero, and is not some snake eating psycho who accepts invitations to other video games (cough cough Super Smash Bros).

Since everybody is wondering about the inclusion of the motion sensor controls (if anyone is going to read this review) they consist of three things. Just three. They include raising the nunchuck to jump, twisting the nunchuck to make Sam lean against walls, and using the wiimote for lock-picking.

It is disappointing that it was not utilized as the knife for slitting throats and defusing bombs. This is where Nintendo really dropped the bomb, because the controls could have been the saving grace.

Graphically, the game could have been done better. The textures and lighting effects are better than the Gamecube's, but nowhere near the other current consoles. However, graphics during the cutscenes are very well done.

Fisher is voiced once again by Michael Ironside, who does an excellent job of developing him. This time around, Fisher has a love interest part of the JBA, which often causes Sam to think she said something suggestive, while it was simply to plant a charge.

Co-op is back, where you will play as Special Agent Bob and Secret Agent Steve, two of the finest official or unofficial splinter cell agents. A few new Co-op moves have been introduced, such as the Emperor's New Groove influenced back-to-back climb. The Co-op missions themselves are much longer than the ones in CT.

Much to the anger of many, vs. mode was scraped from the game. This was perhaps done due to the Wii's current absence of online play, but they still could have simplified it to 2 on 2. The absence of vs. mode made CT a lot less innovative than it was on the other consoles, and should have been a must for the Wii.

You will probably finish the game faster than you did in Chaos Theory, making the loss of vs. mode a colossal crush. However, the game will still deliver the great experience you expect from a Tom Clancy game.

If Nintendo wants to make the Splinter Cell series become a staple in its lineup, it has to make sure Ubisoft includes all the key features, as well make good use of the Wii controller. Until then, the series on the Big N will be slightly below average to its competitors.