review: Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

It's hard to believe that Splinter Cell only came out a year ago. When it first arrived on the scene I thought that the Tom Clancy license was being spread around too eagerly. The previous year saw two expansions for Ghost Recon, and a new Rainbow Six game was in the works for an early 2003 release. As a result I really didn't understand the place for this multiplatform title, or even how well the series would be accepted by gamers. When I heard about Pandora Tomorrow I feared the worst - with little over a year for development I didn't think many improvements could be made. I was glad to be proven wrong in some respects, though, as the multiplayer component has shown us what will work in future games to take on this theme.

In fact, today UbiSoft announced the development of Splinter Cell 3, which will most likely be shown this week at E3. The character models have taken on the fine sheen of say, plastic, but I'm sure these are just preliminary shots. Clearly a new engine is being developed because it appears some interface changes like "Grab NPC" have been slapped in. UbiSoft gives us an anticipated release of Q4 2004, putting at most nine months between it and Pandora Tomorrow. This would make sense, though, since Pandora Tomorrow was handled by UbiSoft Shanghai, and UbiSoft Montreal - the original game's developer - will be in charge of the next installment.

I was impressed enough with both demos for Pandora Tomorrow that it easily warranted the purchase. The “Train” level was the shortest level in the game, and I can see why it was selected to be the avatar for the single player campaign. On each side of this well designed level the plot spreads across the jungles of Indonesia, a top secret laboratory in France and LAX in the U.S. The story follows the uprising of terrorist leader Suhadi Sadono and his plans to unleash a biological weapon on U.S. soil codenamed "Pandora Tomorrow".

It was hard not to compare it to my time with Metal Gear Solid, but I like the fact that MGS has always had more of a focus on stealth than action by default. Not to disparage anything Splinter Cell has done for the genre, I just found that in many situations – even in the first game – if you’ve been given the Fifth Freedom you can pretty much snipe your way through entire levels as long as you're careful to hide the bodies. Furthermore, there are some sequences that actually "force" combat: you're essentially presented with an opposing force of guards that you must eliminate. Some gamers may prefer this method, but I find that there’s something far more rewarding in sneaking right past dim-witted guards, or have one wander over to the bush you're skulking in and have him take a leak right there. But maybe that's just me.

All the classic gadgets are back, and conveniently the Wire Camera is now an option when you approach a door or hatch. You also have some new moves, the most impressive being the "SWAT turn", which allows you to quickly move across small to medium gaps. As my game mostly involved dodging the eyes of guards, this move became invaluable. For those that found hiding bodies a problem in the first game, the light meter now tells you how well they are hidden. This became useful later on in the game where neutralizing guards was my only option. In some missions, you're even allowed up to three alarm warnings, although I didn't really notice any heightened awareness in the guards; they simply donned flak jackets and helmets.

As with the first game, the difficulty tended to increase rapidly. A mission where you must infiltrate the Terrorist base was extremely frustrating, if only because it took place at dusk. The shadows that in previous levels were almost certain to provide security may be nothing more than partial camouflage. Later on in the same level, the game's suspect AI shows its true nature when a guard mutters "I hear footsteps" in the midst of a shooting range where about five other terrorists are doing target practice with their AK-47s. The guards always seem to know where you are, regardless of the lighting. This I found most maddening of all, as nowhere in the instruction manual does it mention that the eyeballs of these particular terrorists have been grafted with night vision circuits.

My biggest complaint with the original still stands for Pandora Tomorrow - it's way too short. At only eight missions you're just getting into the groove when it ends. And what an anti-climactic ending it was. The ending to the first game clearly cut the path for a sequel, but Pandora Tomorrow finishes with such a thud I thought I was watching one of those made for TV action movies starring Daryl Hannah. It was really tough to accept when my heart had been pounding for eight missions straight.

Unfortunately for the MP demo, it pretty much turned the entire PC gaming crowd off of the game's interface. It's very cumbersome, and even bland in its design. Why is it that we have to select SP or MP from a main menu, and then have the game drop out and execute some hidden shortcut? This is a really stupid thing to nitpick, but when I have my Call of Duty SP and MP icons side by side, I'll give at least one of them a click if I feel like taking on the Wehrmacht. The keybindings are also different by default in the MP game, which was unnerving in my first few matches when I tried to use the SP controls.

There are eight maps in multiplayer mode, and all of them are manageable without being claustrophobic. I was lucky to find some good people to play with in the multiplayer demo, but now that people have the full game it's hard to find a fair battle where your ass isn't handed to you in less than 30 seconds. One of the single player game's shortcomings is evident here: the AI is not adaptive, so facing off against human opponents using the same tactics can be a bit intimidating. Still, unlike the first game there is longevity in playing these multiplayer missions.

I'd love to avoid using spoilers in this review but I can't, so anyone wanting to play the game with a clean slate may want to avoid this anecdote. There is a point in the game where you meet up with an outside operative stationed in Jerusalem. She brings you to the location in the city where a biological weapon is being stored for the use of a terror syndicate you've been asked to put an end to. Problem is, your boss gives you the order to kill this operative as soon as you get inside the underground hideout. This required a snap decision: do you obey your orders and kill a person that just helped you get inside your objective? Or do you ignore your superiors and let her live, possibly comprimising the mission? It's an exchange that takes all of 30 seconds - you'll know it when you get there - but it's probably the game's finest moment. The developers force you to make a moral choice, and having played so many games where filling entire rooms with bullets is second nature, being presented with a choice like that is extremely sobering.

With the frighteningly realistic stories these games have been based on, I'm surprised no one's picked this property up to make a movie out of it. The material is absolutely ripe with potential, and I would almost be brash enough to say that anyone could make a decent movie out of it. Well, anyone except Michael Bay. I think the greatest testament to this game is the fact that it remains challenging and entertaining even though very little has changed in the single player campaign since the original. Besides the lackluster ending, I am completely satisfied with the way Pandora Tomorrow turned out. Any fan of the original game will enjoy this, and it is a fine way for those that missed out on the original to give it a try. The added multiplayer content makes the initial cost for what first seems like a glorified expansion pack seem that much more reasonable.

some shot in the dark