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.

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Screenshots

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Xbox As it is with Splinter Cell games, normal vision will be nothing short of pitch black.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Xbox The new vision mode that lets you see the electricity current, the glowing things around you are computers, circuit breakers, and such.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Xbox You can disable the camera with your secondary pistol trigger, but only for a short period of time.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Xbox Dragging bodies to shadowy areas will keep alarms at bay and you'll breathe easier.

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Promo Images

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Screenshot

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Trailer

Alternate Titles

"湯姆克蘭西之縱橫諜海：混沌理論" -- Traditional Chinese spelling
"汤姆克兰西之细胞分裂：混沌理论" -- Simplified Chinese spelling
"Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory HD" -- PlayStation 3 title
"Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3D" -- 3DS title
"Splinter Cell 3" -- Informal title

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Part of the Following Groups

User Reviews

Intense, Stealthy, and Interactive	PlayStation 2	Aaron A. (58)

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Critic Reviews

Game Freaks 365	Xbox	2005	9.3 out of 10	93
GameSpot (Belgium/Netherlands)	Windows	Mar 30, 2005	91 out of 100	91
GamersMark	Xbox	Feb 15, 2006	9 out of 10	90
PAL Gaming Network (PALGN)	Xbox	Apr 18, 2005	9 out of 10	90
Factornews	Xbox	Apr 22, 2005	8 out of 10	80
UOL Jogos	PlayStation 2	Apr 18, 2005		80
Jeuxpo.com	Nintendo 3DS	2011	7 out of 10	70
Eurogamer.net (UK)	Nintendo 3DS	Apr 01, 2011	4 out of 10	40
Gameblog.fr	Nintendo 3DS	Mar 28, 2011		40
Gamekult	Nintendo 3DS	Mar 25, 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.

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

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