Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Overall Rating:
Genre: Action
Christian Rating: 3 of 5
   (average)
Gameplay: 5 of 5
   (excellent)
Violence: 3 of 5
   (mild)
Adult Content: 4 of 5
   (barely present)

Introduction

Splinter Cell was first introduced in 2003. It was a stealth action game made by the people who had created the award winning Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon series. The first Splinter Cell was praised for its stealth game play. Some didn’t like the trial and error style of game play. In 2004 Ubisoft released Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. It was applauded for it’s enhanced graphics and revolutionary new multiplayer mode. Splinter Cell was becoming one of the biggest franchises in video games. In 2005 Ubisoft released Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Official Xbox Magazine called it “The Best Game Ever on Xbox!” Rewarding it with a 9.9 rating and the 2005 Game of the Year Award.

Gameplay
Unlike the previous two games in the Splinter Cell series, Chaos Theory allowed much more freedom when it came to accomplishing your goals. One of the most significant upgrades to the game play was the addition of a knife. No longer was Sam stuck with only being able to knock people out, he could now stab them. It may just sound like a more violent way to kill your enemies, but it really makes the game more fluid. I just don’t understand why it took Ubisoft so long to add the knife. Most of the missions still require you to infiltrate an enemy’s base and steal some sort of information. Other times you are freeing hostages or capturing someone to get them to talk. If you have the patience to sometimes restart the mission when you’re stuck, you will really enjoy the game. Just don’t expect to beat the game very easily. Even on normal it presents quite a challenge.

Graphics and Audio
The graphics and Chaos Theory might be the best on the Xbox. Right up there with Halo 2 and Doom 3. Every one and a while you’ll encounter some areas where the graphics get a little muddy. What I mean by muddy is that it looks like things are melting. If you want to see want I’m talking about play the first level and just stand in the rain for a while. You will notice Sam’s face starts to melt. While this doesn’t happen often, it does occur so it must be mentioned. Other than that the graphics are fantastic. I did have one other problem though. Sam looks different in this game. It’s really only his face. Maybe it’s just me, but it was kind of annoying. In the sound department Chaos Theory gets an A +. Everything from hearing the guards talk to the sound of thunder in the distance, this game is great. There’s really not much else to say about it other than it’s probably the best audio in any game ever. It’s that good.

Adult Content and Violence
As I stated earlier there is a knife now, which may make some parents turn away from letting their kids play this. Fortunately there is no blood. If you won’t to avoid using the knife there is a non-lethal attack that you can use as well. As in most games, you have a gun and you can shoot people with it. The difference between this and say Grand Theft Auto is that you are told to use stealth as your weapon. Your boss is constantly telling you this with an earpiece as your progress through each mission. So in Chaos Theory are rewarded for not using your weapons. As for adult content, there really isn’t any to speak of. There are about three or four times where you hear the d word, but you can always play without sound. Most of your enemies speak other languages such as Spanish and French so you most likely won’t understand what they are saying through most of the game. If you want to avoid hearing cussing don’t play this online. People swear in just about every sentence. Avoid Xbox Live at all costs.

Closing comments
So if you can handle a few swear words, which are avoidable if you play without sound, and a little bit of violence, then this game is okay. I say anyone 15 years or older should be allowed to play this. Hopefully this review was helpful to anyone debating if they should get this game or not.

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