Since the first game came out, I have been a huge fan of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series. The games follow Sam Fisher, an elite agent of Third Echelon (until the two newest games), a subdivision on the NSA. Sam is the soldier who goes in before the troops to collect information, and sometimes perform an assassination, in order to prevent global conflicts. The games are third-person stealth-based titles, and players will notice that it is a lot more rewarding to stick to the shadows whenever possible, rather than try to run in guns blazing.
As much as I love this series, not all of the titles are equal. So today I will be ranking the Splinter Cell games from worst to best, based on originality, difficulty (we're looking for more difficult), and enjoyability. I am only going to be reviewing the games that came out on PC/consoles though, not the ones that were released on a handheld system. Also, I may slip up as I ramble about some of my favorite games, so be warned that there may be Mild Spoilers Below.
6. Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Splinter Cell: Blacklist is the newest title in the series, having been released in 2013. This title is still enjoyable, but has abandoned most of the originality that the early games thrived on, going as far as to have a first-person shooter segment. The story is pretty generic, terrorists hate America and want to destroy it, the same kind of dime-a-dozen story that we see in gaming and movies now. The game also follows the same kind of streamlined mechanics that were introduced in Splinter Cell: Conviction without really improving on much. It is the easiest of the games, though there are certainly some difficult sections. Between this one and Conviction, it just felt like they wanted to move further away from the hard core fans and appeal to a more massive audience. Also, this game replaced Michael Ironside as the voice of Sam Fisher, a first for the series, and they made him a great deal younger than we have seen in the other games. It's not that this game isn't enjoyable, but it does lack in originality and difficulty.
5. Conviction
As mentioned in the Blacklist section, this is where the streamlining began for the series. Mechanics were introduced to have the player snap to cover, auto-execute enemies, and perform more parkour-like actions. The story is a revenge plot, which meant a lot to me as a long-time player, but might not mean so much to newcomers. The game certainly has some difficult levels, but overall it's easier than its predecessors. One cool thing they had put in this game that wasn't in any of the prior games (or the game that followed it) were some pretty intense torture scenes where Sam would use the environment (stoves, mirrors, urinals) to beat people into giving him information. However, it broke a little too far from the excellent game play of the previous titles for me, again feeling like it was meant more to appeal to the masses.
4. Double Agent
In terms of a story, this is the best game of the series. Sam finds out that his daughter is has been killed while he was on a mission, and now he feels like he has nothing to live for. Because of this, Sam takes on the most dangerous mission of his life, infiltrating a terrorist group in order to learn about all of their operations and destroy them from the inside. The game had a balance system between Third Echelon and the terrorist group, as doing too much in favor of one would make the other one too suspicious. This game was one of the more difficult ones at a few different parts, especially when having to decide what action to take, because it could mean having to do a lot of work to balance the scales again. The game play continued what the previous games had put into place, with the more traditional mechanics. Despite how difficult the decisions can be, as well as the game play itself, this game is incredibly fun and rewarding.
3. Splinter Cell
This one is the game that stated it all. An original set of game play mechanics that other stealth games have based theirs off of, an interesting set of characters, and some amazing graphics for the time. This game wasn't too difficult until the last three levels, at which point it took some work and several attempts to get through the levels. The dialogue has a dry humor to it of people who have been in the business together for a while. The game is enjoyable, although more for a feeling of accomplishment than anything else. It may not be the most enjoyable or difficult of the games, but it is the most original, as it set the tone for the games to follow.
2. Pandora Tomorrow
The second game in the series, this one improved on just about every aspect of the first game. The levels were a bit more challenging, the story seemed a little more compelling, there were some more enjoyable and creative scenarios (like the last mission, where the enemies were slightly warmer than civilians, so the player has to check with thermal goggles before trying to take down an unsuspecting enemy), and just felt overall like the game had taken a step up. The game introduced a few new aspects, like firing from a corner's cover (something the first game really should have had), which didn't make the game much easier, but did add to the mechanics, and therefore the enjoyment factor.
1. Chaos Theory
I consider the third game to be the peak of this series. It still had a lot of the same mechanics, while adding a lot more of its own. Sam could now use a knife to cut cords, through tent walls, and enemies bodies. The addition of the knife (and a little extra language) brought this game up to the rating of "M", where as the first two were only rated "T". This game was also the most difficult by far for various reasons, from the enemy A.I. to the more dynamic maps. This was the only game I wasn't able to beat when it was first released, I had to play it again when I was a little older, which I appreciated, as games just aren't that difficult anymore (Dark Souls and Bloodborne aside). It was really enjoyable, and I feel like there were several moments in the game that really made the player feel like the ultimate in stealth-fighting, though those moments had to be worked for. Between the originality of the new mechanics, the incredible difficulty, and the sheer joy of what I consider to be the quintessential Splinter Cell experience, this game easily makes it to the top spot.
So that's where I rank these games. Do you agree? Should any of these be switched around? Let me know in the comments below.
Sincerely,
The Bored Enthusiast
All images above belong to their respective owners, not me
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