Tom Clancey's Splinter Cell

Reviewed By: Christopher
VOLUNTEER GUEST REVIEWER

GAME TECH INFO

Computer Platform: Game Cube (Nintendo), XboX, PC, PS2
Produced by: Ubi-Soft
Price Range: $21-30
Learning curve time: 1-2 hrs.
Age level: Teen to Adult
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Genre: Action/adventure
Christian Rating: 4 of 5
   (slightly offensive)
Gameplay: 5 of 5
   (excellent)
Violence: 2 of 5
   (heavy)
Adult Content: 3 of 5
   (mild)

Splinter cell. Illustration copyrighted.

After the developers made Splinter Cell for the Xbox, it did so well they decided to make it for the PS2, PC, and the Gamecube. (I'm reviewing it on the Gamecube.)

Plot\Game play:
You?re Sam Fisher and, your mission is to do whatever it takes to insure the saftey of the United States. You are fully authorized to kill steal and destroy anything that stands in your way. When two agents disappeared, Sam Fisher was sent was to retrieve them. As you go further into the game the plot goes much deeper. I can't say much more if I say anything else the plot will be spoiled.

Animated

The most notable thing about this game is the stealth. Very nice. That?s what the whole game is based upon. There are some points in the game where you can't kill anyone, so most of the time when I snuck behind the enemy I found myself holding my breath. If the enemy sees you they will pull their machine guns or pistols out and shoot you full of lead. Once they have spotted you it makes it difficult to hide from them. But it makes it much more challenging when you confront a guard dog. You can't hide from it and you have to shoot and waste most of your bullets to keep from getting injured. And when the dog does get a hold of you your finished, you can't look at him fast enough to shoot him. When you take out your gun you can't run and shoot at the same time, which gets annoying after a while. Especially when the enemy is on your tail. The music gets a bit old after a couple of hours, but fortunately one can turn the music off. The sound effects are pretty good their not great but still good.

Violence:
Well… it's not really heavy and it's not really mild, somewhat in between. As I mentioned before there are some parts of the game where you can't shoot anyone. There is no blood except where you go to the morgue and two corpses that are covered with blankets are stained with blood. Oh…I almost forgot there is a cut scene where there are a bunch of dead bodies mangled up and the ground is all covered with blood. When you shoot someone no blood comes out of the wound, at least I haven?t seen anything. Another thing I wish to point out is the fact that the enemy can catch on fire and they scream and cry until they die.

Adult content:
I'm sad to say, as with most games their is a fair amount of swearing. Whenever you shoot at the enemy, they get startled and say, "What the h--l" throughout the entire game. One fellow who is mad at his men for not staying alert and guarding the facility says, "Wake up you Bas---ds." But its only used once, I think. Several other words such as d--n, d--nation, a--, and several misuses of the Lords name. There is no nudity or anything like that and there are only three female characters through out the game.

Overall:
This was a pretty good game and the nice thing is the fact that it's only about $29.00 at Wal-Mart. I would not suggest this game for young teens whose parents have a problem with offensive language. I was not aware that so many bad words were in this game myself. If your 15 and over and you don?t have a problem with any of this, then Splinter Cell is well worth you money.

Year of Release—2002

Negative—The rating is teen for blood, gore and violence. What the rating tag leaves off is profanity. For example, as you walk by a prisoner he asks "Who the H*&L are you?" and your team communications also use the Lords name and they are definately not praying. I did not get past the first game level because of this so I cannot comment on the majority of the game. My Ratings: [2/3]
—John Godwin, age 23

Negative—The producer of this game obviously has a thing for cursings. God's name is used often in the G.D. cursing. Christ is used as a curse word very frequently. I highly recommend not purchasing this gamne unless you play it in mute! But we all know that playing a game without sound is impossible! Don't buy it! My Ratings: [1 / 5]
—Barry Foy II, age 21

Positive—One of the best games I have ever played. The game is very hard and will take you a long time to beat. the violence is between heavy and extreme but no blood. you get a ton of neat weapons. It also has a great story. My Ratings: [3 / 5]
—Sam Powell, age 12

Positive—The best FPS game I've ever played in my life. Excellent graphics, story line. Life like stealth movements make me crave for more non stopping suspense. My Ratings: [3 / 5]
—M.Shah, age 31

Neutral—Splinter Cell is great game. The stealth gameplay really builds up a lot of tension. This really impresses me because many games can't build this level of tension without making it a horror game or something of the like.

There is a good amount of violence in this game. Since it is stealth a good amount of the violence is taking people down by either killing them or knocking them out when they aren't looking and aren't aware of your presence. The rating tag says blood and gore, but there is vitually none of it save for the first level in a morgue (two draped bodies have a small blood stain on the front.

Language is one thing the rating tag left out. The Lord's name is used in vain several times in team communications, and there is some pretty bad language at parts. However, the latter is mostly either a random event (not scripted so you won't always hear it) or in the data section on the pause screen (where not too many people will look at anyway.

Splinter Cell is a fantastic game in terms of gameplay and graphics (incredibly detailed environments and characters along with brilliant lighting effects). Morally-wise, it has some elements that are offensive to some, but they aren't a large problem overall. My Ratings: [3 / 5]
— Chris Sharp, age 14

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this Christian Spotlight review are those of the reviewer (both ratings and recommendations), and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Films for Christ or the Christian Answers Network.