Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

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Description

Set in the not too distant future, Japan creates the Information Self-Defense Force (I-SDF). The creation of this force is seen as a violation of international law and Japan's constitution, and it causes tensions to rise between Japan, China, and North Korea. In time, North Korea and China set up shipping blockades around Japan, and Japan calls on the United States for help, citing article nine of the Postwar Constitution. Throughout this time, Japan uncovers more and more information that the infamous Black Gold Day was caused by intentional information warfare attacks. As the U.S. prepares to launch the USS Clarence E. Walsh, Third Echelon sends the famous Sam Fisher on a mission that appears to be unrelated to the incident, but which may end up being the most important element of it all.

In Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, players take on the role of field operative Sam Fisher for a third outing. Fisher has some new moves this time around, and he also has a new weapon always at his disposal; a combat knife. Utilizing the knife, Sam can either kill his enemies, or simply knock them out. At the end of each mission, the player is given an overview of how they did. The more people that the player spares, the better the success score.

The single-player game is more open-ended than the past two Splinter Cell games. While players are still forced through some areas in a "tunnel" like fashion, with no choice of where to go, there are many instances where they can decide how they'd like to get there. For example, in the caverns, one can either kill two enemies and cross the bridge, or leave them alone, sneak along the side path, and climb a ladder at the end, bypassing the fight entirely, but still winding up in the same location.

Throughout the game many different locations are visited, such as a lighthouse, a Japanese tea house, Seoul, New York City during an East Coast blackout, and other such exotic locales.

The Spies-vs-Mercs multiplayer mode that appeared in the previous game has returned, with some new features. There are several new, large maps to play on, as well as updated versions from the past game. The PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions feature this mode.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "细胞分裂：混沌法则" -- Chinese spelling (simplified)
• "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory HD" -- PlayStation 3 title
• "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3D" -- 3DS title
• "Splinter Cell 3" -- Informal title

Part of the Following Groups

• 3D Engine: UnrealEngine2
• Gameplay feature: Lock picking
• Games with dynamic advertisements
• Game with Creator's name
• Middleware: Net-Z
• Physics Engine: Havok
• Setting: City - New York
• Setting: City - Tokyo
• Splinter Cell series
• Tom Clancy licensees

User Reviews

Intense, Stealthy, and Interactive

PlayStation 2

Aaron A. (59)

Critic Reviews

GameSpy	Xbox	Mar 24, 2005		100
Game industry News (GiN)	GameCube	2005		100
Computer Gaming World (CGW)	Windows	Jun, 2005		100
XBox Front	Xbox	Mar 28, 2005	93 out of 100	93
Fragland.net	Windows	Jan 16, 2005	91 out of 100	91
Jeuxvideo.com	Windows	Mar 29, 2005	18 out of 20	90
Eurogamer.net (UK)	Windows	Apr 08, 2005	8 out of 10	80
Detroit Free Press (Freep)	Xbox	Apr 17, 2005		75
Jeuxpo.com	Nintendo 3DS	2011	7 out of 10	70
Jeuxvideo.fr	Nintendo 3DS	Mar 31, 2011	4 out of 10	40

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Advertisement

The game features fairly prominent product placement during cutscenes, in loading screens and on the screensavers of in-game computers. For instance, there's a gratuitous closeup of a Wrigley's Airwaves pack of chewing gum in one cutscene; the Airwaves logo later shows up on a zeppelin seen in the background.

Amusingly, the advertising features both popular brands of PC CPUs; the main sponsor in Europe is the AMD 64 brand, whereas Intel logos adorn the North American version.

Knife

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory was the first game in the Splinter Cell series to feature a knife as a part of Sam Fisher's arsenal.

References

The game makes numerous references to Metal Gear Solid 2, the most obvious one being in a particular knife-to-throat interrogation: "It's not like you can shake me and make my ammo fall on the floor to pick up" -- which is of course something you can actually do in Metal Gear Solid 2.

Awards

• GameSpy
  • 2005 – #10 Game of the Year
  • 2005 – #2 Xbox Game of the Year
  • 2005 – Xbox Action Game of the Year
  • 2005 – #4 Online Multiplayer Game of the Year
  • 2005 – Xbox Multiplayer Game of the Year

Information also contributed by CrankyStorming and Kantokid

Related Web Sites

• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Official US game website)
• UHS Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Full solution in question and answer format)