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Splinter Cell: Double Agent!

So the time has come to review yet another installment in the tried but true Splinter Cell series, this time titled Splinter Cell: Double Agent. The back-story this time around has Sam Fisher giving up his life of stealth and shadows after his life is turned upside down by the death of his daughter. But when a new terrorist group called the John Brown Army surfaces, Sam is put back in action for one last mission.

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Same Ol' Same Ol': While the story is not very original it is done quite well through the voiceovers and acting, not to mention realistic gun blasts and sounds do not hurt either. Sams main objective is to infiltrate the JBA as a double agent and to gain the trust of the JBA leader Emile Dufraisne, as well as gather intelligence to report back to Third Echelon.

As far as gameplay goes, this game is an improvement upon previous installments, but not much of the core gameplay has changed much. It has you sneaking around the JBA camp at night, while lifting fingerprints off of objects, or grabbing a copy of a file with significant importance.

I Feel Like I've Done This Before: As you would expect, the control scheme from previous games have been carried over and improved on with the Xbox 360 controller. Along with that is a graphical overhaul. While the graphics are an improvement over other installments, the graphics could have been a little on the shinier side. There were better looking launch titles on the Xbox 360.

A Lot Of Slow Spies: Now lets get to the usually fun and entertaining multiplayer modes. Oh I forgot, that was in the old Splinter Cell titles. This time around, the multiplayer will make you want to burn your copy of Double Agent and run over the ashes with your car. When you are not faced with waiting up to 30 minutes to even find and join a game, you will be hit with the worst matchmaking I have ever witnessed.

You will be matched with pushovers one time, and commandos the next. I think Ubisoft should have taken the time to make an online community that is passable. Not to mention the up to 5 second lag when actually playing the game. By the time you try to run away, you could already by dead and not even know it due to the tremendous lag. Now, do not get me wrong, the single-player campaign is fantastic, but just do not log into Xbox Live with this game.

Rent vs. Buy: Even though the core gameplay has not changed much, and the multiplayer is horrendous, Sam Fisher still managed to pull out a pretty decent game again. I think that if you are a newcomer to the Splinter Cell universe, you should check it out via a rental. However, if you have been through this before with the previous installments, leave this game alone and wait for something new to change in the Splinter Cell games.

Report Card

Even though the core gameplay has not changed much, and the multiplayer is horrendous, Sam Fisher still managed to pull out a pretty decent game again. I think that if you are a newcomer to the Splinter Cell universe, you should check it out via a rental. However, if you have been through this before with the previous installments, leave this game alone and wait for something new to change in the Splinter Cell games. (Krakrabbit.com)

C


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