Splinter Cell series
Tom Clancy, the renowned author of political action thriller novels, has carved out quite a little niche for himself in the world of computer gaming, most of his work being distributed by Ubisoft. From Rainbow Six and its many spinoffs (Ghost Recon, Vegas, Raven Shield), tactical first-person shooters; to HAWX and its sequel, arcade-style flight simulators, to R.U.S.E., voice-activated real-time strategy; to probably the most polarizing of his series, that of Splinter Cell.
Ups and downs seem to plague this series, both in storyline and gameplay. At times the stealth action can get downright sublime; though with the later installments, harder action sequences come into play which bring down the games a little in my opinion. Still, if you want a series of interactive thrillers and some excellent action all around, I recommend checking these out.
Sam Fisher is a pretty old guy, about middle-age, but he has a history working for the NSA and other covert organizations that keeps him sharp even as his body gets rusty. In this saga that runs the gamut from pure stealth to full-on action to an odd combination of both, you control this government agent who, at least at first, works for Third Echelon, the branch of the NSA that commands the Splinter Cells, individuals who have the Fifth Freedom; basically, it’s the NSA’s License to Kill.
The first game in the series, after a dozen or so levels, eventually led to a confrontation with the breakaway Republic of Georgia’s corrupt President Kombayn Nikoladze, who seized power in a so-called bloodless coup and had a concealed hatred of America; Fisher dutifully put him down, hopefully without being seen in the process.
The second, Pandora Tomorrow, dealt with a horrific threat involving American ex-military Norman Soth, who had acquired a large amount of weaponized smallpox and intended to revenge himself upon the United States for supposed negligence, and use a combined component to distribute the smallpox in various major cities. Sam stopped the evil plot, killed Soth and made the world a bit safer.
The third, Chaos Theory, dealt with weaponized computer algorithms designed to throw the world’s computer systems into disarray after the Japanese, including Admiral Toshiro Otomo leading the I-SDF (Information Self Defense Force) violate their agreement after World War II to not build up their military forces. Sam sabotages the deployment of the protocols, neutralizes the major players including Otomo, and stops yet another major international incident.
The fourth, Double Agent, starts with a major blow to Fisher; his daughter Sarah was hit and killed by a drunk driver! Totally broken and disillusioned with life, he nonetheless accepts a mission that sees him supposedly go rogue, enter a hardcore prison and make contact with the leader of a radical nationalist group, John Brown’s Army. Working for them, he must carefully weigh his actions to avoid angering the JBA as well as his handlers, the NSA, too much. There is another major blow before the game is done…
The fifth (and so far, last), Conviction, deals with the ever-downward spiral Fisher experiences as he investigates the death of his daughter, which he insists is not random! He’s right; as narrated by Fisher’s old war buddy Victor Costa, we see him catch up with his daughter’s supposed killer, Andriy Kobin, but as we find out, there is much more to this puzzle than initially meets the eye…
I will go ahead and give 5, 5, 5, 4, and 4 stars to the games, respectively, for the issues I’ve discussed before. They’re very wonderful games nonetheless, and I urge you to try them.