Up for it?

Splinter Cell is the very latest thing from UbiSoft. It's a third person perspective spy thriller based in the Tom Clancy universe - you know, the guy who brought you the Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon series of games, in addition to penning some of the very best military and spy thrillers ever released. One of the hottest games available on Xbox, PC owners are now able to get their grubby mitts on it and find out what all the fuss is about.

The general gist of the game, as already hinted at, is to control Sam (the super spy) throughout a series of missions. As you do so, the story (penned by Tom Clancy) will be revealed - and what a story it is! An excellent and exciting (if a little cliched) tale that eventually sees you saving the "world". The way it ties all of the action together is spectacular, forming a cohesion that, in addition to all the other stuff (which we will talk about in a minute), really pushes this game head and shoulders above anything previously encountered. This sucker is the full package!

The gameplay is virtually unique. Similar in style to games like Thief and, to a lesser extent, No One Lives Forever, it's different enough that only a jaded gaming journalist would spot the similarities. That said, on paper it sounds similar... just remember as you read this description that this game has it's own feel to it, like none that have come before it. Right, disclaimer over - let's get on with it.

You control Sam with a large number of controls - and yet it all still feels very natural and will not take any longer than the training mission to get to grips with. You can crouch, walk slowly, run, peek around corners, move the bodies of your victims around, use night vision / heat vision and interact with your environment - all through an easy interface. You can get past almost every bad guy in the game without killing anyone, without even being seen - if you are good enough. You can scale walls, scissor jump to hide in the ceilings, manipulate objects and confuse the enemy - all very intuitively.

Your enemies will behave in a manner that is very similar to how you would expect armed goons to behave - they are suspicious and trigger happy, so stay out of sight (you have a lightmeter which aids you in determining how well hidden you are) and stay quiet (use your ears!) if you want to survive. If you do get busted, you can shoot your way out or take an enemy as a human shield - the more important your shield, the less likely the goons will shoot through him to get to you. You can also sneak up on someone and force them to open a door for you or reveal important information - how you tackle this is up to you.