by Mike Lanier - April 17, 2005

You round the corner and see a guard pacing under a florescent light. It would be easy enough to shoot him from here, but there�s a camera. Shooting the light out is an option, but that would make too much noise. You pull out your pistol, remembering it has an OCP attachment that could temporarily disable the camera, giving you enough time to take this guy down undetected. After switching your goggles from night vision to EMF you aim for the electric glow of the camera and fire the OCP. It shuts off and you slit the guard�s throat, exercising the Fifth Freedom. You�ve moved his body into a shadowy corner before the camera switches back on. You are Sam Fisher. Welcome to Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.

Playing With Life and Death

Anyone who played either of the first two Splinter Cell games will feel right at home with Chaos Theory. Sneaking through the shadows and taking enemies down silently remains the focus of the game. You�ll still be watching your visibility meter very carefully. You�ll still want to focus more on stealth than shooting. Fisher can still hang from pipes, shoot out lights, and do most anything you want him to. This stealth system has worked marvelously in the past two games, but that wasn�t good enough for Ubisoft. They have added new moves and gadgets and these aren�t just gimmicks to make you buy the game; they add to the strategy perfectly.

The two most interesting new gadgets in Chaos theory are the Optically Channeled Potentiator (OCP) and the Electronically Enhanced Vision (EEV). In situations where even firing a silenced pistol would make too much noise you can use the OCP. It is attached to your pistol and can cause all sorts of mischief. For instance, if a guard is near a computer you can fire the OCP at the screen, making it flicker. The only new noise in the room will be coming from the computer. The guard will likely move towards it and mutter something about technology and warranties, allowing you to take him down or sneak past. Aside from distracting guards you can also use the OCP to temporarily turn out lights, disable lasers or cameras, and (in one level) change the opacity of windows to better hide. With the EEV, you will be able to record conversations, scan images, and even wirelessly hack into computers. In one level in particular you must follow a man and hack into a laptop he is carrying. To do so you simply aim the EEV at the object you want to connect to (in this case a laptop), wait for a connection, and then get the information you need. This brings me to another great addition in Chaos Theory: the hacking system.

At several points in Chaos Theory you will need to get through a door with a keypad or retinal scanner controlling the lock, or hack into a computer. One solution to the first problem is to find a guard with the key code, or with retinal clearance. You could do that, or you could hack the door yourself. When you near a keypad, retinal scanner, or computer (sometimes) you have the option to hack. Choose to hack and you will see a list of several port addresses with a readout of randomly changing address fragments beneath it. At first this looks insanely confusing, but it gives way to a lot of fun and tense moments. The randomly changing fragments are divided into four parts. Whenever a number in one of the parts is part of the correct port address it will light up. You can hit the square button to lock that number and the list of port addresses above will shrink to addresses that contain the number you locked. Repeat this process until you narrow the list down, pick the correct port address, and you�re in. Hacking is a test of reflexes and recognition. It�s a great addition to gameplay, as it allows for some really tense moments. Someone can potentially attack you while you�re hacking and, should you pick the wrong port address, an alarm will sound. In addition to the new gadgets and hacking, Chaos theory also adds some cool new moves to the Splinter Cell formula.

If you�ve seen ads for Chaos Theory you�ve probably noticed Sam Fisher holding a knife. Not only is the knife a great new weapon, but is represents an increase Fisher�s deadliness. You can cut throats, stab people in the back, and even drown people. If you�re hanging from a ledge and a man walks by, you can reach up and pull him over, sending him towards death at high velocity. You can even hang upside down from pipes and break the neck of anyone beneath you. In short, you can play it as mean as you like; how brutal you are is up to you. In addition to cutting up guards, you can also use the knife to cut slits in rice paper walls, canvas tents, and any other fabric barring your path. This allows you to create new paths through levels and sneak up on people more creatively. Say a guard is in a tent watching the entrance. Simply cut yourself a back door and take him down. Herein lies the essence of what makes Chaos Theory�s gameplay so great: if you want to do it, you probably can. Rarely will you find a problem without multiple solutions. This isn�t just a game of shooting out lights and moving through darkness; it�s a game of strategy and silence. Add to this two multiplayer modes.

Online multiplayer is back and it�s still great. Ubisoft has fixed several bugs, reducing the cheapness factor and making this mode an absolute blast to play. For those who didn�t experience the multiplayer mode in Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, it breaks down like this: Two teams, one of mercenaries and one of spies, face off in several environments. What makes the multiplayer so fun is that each side sports an entirely different perspective and set of moves. For instance, spies play with a 3rd person view and have night vision, but mercs play in the 1st person and have flashlights. Mercs have guns, but spies can sneak up on them and incapacitate them silently. Each sides move set complements the other, giving multiplayer gameplay an intricate �rock, paper, scissors� feel. This mode really has to played to believe how fun it is. You could find yourself, as a mercenary, chasing a spy only to have his partner sneak up behind you and break your neck (or, in my case, singing R. Kelly lyrics). Or play as a spy and sneak up on a merc who�s using his flashlight to search the corner you were just in. The gameplay here is exquisitely balanced and will keep you occupied for a long time. New to Chaos Theory is an offline cooperative mode.

In the co-op mode you and a friend go through a campaign as splinter cells in training. You must rely on each other to get through situations one could not live through alone. This mode contains a bevy of new moves including the Tomoe Nage move (one agent throws the other over lasers, across gaps, or into an enemy), the ability to use your partner as a human ladder, and the option to lower your partner into a room Mission Impossible-style. The co-op campaign, though shorter than the single player one, is extremely fun. It is full of tense moments where you and a friend will have to save each other, simultaneously take down guards, and communicate carefully to get past turrets, lasers, and hovering sentry robots. Playing this mode will make you realize there is nothing quite as thrilling as accidentally being spotted by a guard, then watching your partner take him down.

Each of the three modes in Chaos Theory has different gameplay and (surprisingly) all three work very well. The sheer enormity of options throughout these modes is amazing and they all work fantastically. You really get three games in Chaos Theory, and they�re all great.

Blooming Lights and Shiny Tiles

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is a great looking PS2 game. It�s not full of dynamic shadows like its Xbox and PC brethren, but the attention to detail, ridiculously good animations, and consistently great texture-work make this one of the better looking titles on the system.

Every animation in Chaos Theory looks great. Guards will look around in the darkness, wave to other guards, and tiptoe towards noises with a scary amount of realism. Watching Fisher pull someone into a pool for a water kill or silently cutting a throat looks disturbingly brutal and believable. Shoot someone in the head and they will crumple realistically, thanks to a new rag-doll physics system. There are tons of tiny details in the animations as well. If you stop moving while walking down a hall containing enemies, Fisher will lean slightly toward the nearest wall to reduce his visibility. Also, as you approach an enemy while crouched, Fisher will slowly move his hand to his knife and shift his weight more carefully the closer you get. Details like this lend Chaos Theory a sense of realism that few games even come close to. That realism is carried through to the texture work.

Tiles glisten in the dark, light bounces off of polished wood, and every cable and gadget on Fisher�s body is shaded and textured lovingly. Chaos Theory uses bump-mapping, specular highlighting, and crisp textures to give the environments an extra pinch of believability that wasn�t present in previous Splinter Cell games. As you move through the many missions in Chaos Theory, you will see some of the best texture work ever to grace the PS2 platform. Unfortunately, the modeling in Chaos Theory isn�t quite as good.

In terms of raw processing power, the PS2 is the weakest of this generation�s consoles. As I�ve said before, the graphics in Chaos Theory are great on the PS2, but anyone who�s played the Xbox or PC versions will notice that dynamic shadows aren�t the only thing that has been stripped down for this version. The levels in the PS2 version feature less geometry and simpler architecture. Character models are well detailed, but geometrically pretty simple. The texture work, animations, and lighting do much to distract from the simplified geometry, but the fact remains that the geometry has been simplified. This is a minor gripe, though. As I just said, there are other facets of Chaos Theory�s graphical presentation that distract from this. Most impressive among these are the visor effects.

Try to use night vision in a bright room and every well-lit spot in view will blossom white and make it impossible to see clearly. Switch to thermal vision and you can watch a recently deceased enemy�s body gradually cool down. Infrared cameras will emit faint cones visibly only when using night vision, and the EMF setting will make electrical devices glow shifting white against purple darkness. All the different vision modes mean that at any given time there are four different ways of looking at your environment. This does more than keep Chaos Theory visually interesting. It drives the gameplay, but not as much as the lighting.

Lighting has always been a Splinter Cell specialty. Chaos Theory for the PS2 may not have as many dynamic shadows as the Xbox and PC iterations, but that doesn�t mean the lighting isn�t great. Disable a light with the OCP and it will flicker realistically, bathing the immediate area in several different shades before going out. Take of your goggles and you can watch Fisher walk into a shady corner, slowly merging with thick darkness. The lighting in Chaos Theory is very pretty and (more impressively) very functional. Merely looking into a room will let you gauge how visible you will be within it. This is a great accomplishment and works very well on the PS2. Even with the dynamic shadows almost completely absent, the lighting still looks and works quite well.

Overall, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is one of the best looking games on the PS2. The combination of spectacular animations, texture work, effects, and lighting make this a visual standout for the system. It�s not without its flaws, but Ubisoft has really worked magic porting this title to the PS2 with such faithfulness and attention to detail.

Shhhhh. . .This Sounds Awesome!

If you buy this game you must play with headphones or a surround sound system. The sound is that good. Chaos Theory�s sound will directly affect how you play and make you feel like you�re right there with Fisher.

Every footstep, flickering light, and dripping gutter sounds absolutely real. Enemy footsteps will allow you to gauge exactly where they are. Your own footsteps will produce different sounds on different surfaces and even more different noises depending on how quickly you�re moving. Fire a gun and you can hear the bullet ricochet. Walk into a ship�s engine room and you�ll be surrounded by a mechanical roar. In the Japanese countryside, ambient noise of moving water and crickets will mask the sound of your movement. Much like the lighting, the sound affects gameplay. In addition to your visibility meter you have a meter that shows the level of sound in the environment and the amount of noise you are making. The sound works so well that you can usually tell how loud you are very accurately without using the meter. On top of the superbly integrated surround sound and loads of great, real-world sounds is the voice work.

The voiceovers are well acted and led by the legendary Michael Ironside. Ironside voices Sam Fisher and brings a dry humor and cold professionalism to the character that has only gotten better with each Splinter Cell game. The dialogue is witty and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. A captured enemy will actually sound like he has a knife to his throat as he gives you information or confesses his own spinelessness. Scripted conversations between enemies deal with everything from ninja mythology to a discussion about how �bombs don�t want to kill you, it�s just statistical.� While these are funny, what�s more impressive are the conversations between enemies that stem from your actions. Make too much noise and an enemy will say something about hearing you. If someone else is nearby they might say they heard it too, or even argue that the first guy is hearing things. The voiceovers and sound effects blend perfectly and are backed by one of the most diverse soundtracks ever put in a video game.

Every mission in the single player campaign has a different soundtrack. Let that sink in. On top of that, each mission�s music changes dynamically according to the action. These two facts combined mean that you won�t just hear one beat every time the action amps up, but several different musical styles each with varying levels of inherent tension. The music (composed by Amon Tobin), besides being very cool and experimental, actually affects how you play the game. For instance, as you near enemies, or a crucial plot point the music will appropriately grow more frenzied or dramatic, letting you know something�s up.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is, quite possibly, the best sounding game on the PS2. Between the expertly integrated Pro Logic surround sound, voice talent, and diverse soundtrack, there isn�t anything more you could ask for from sound in a game. Chaos Theory raises the aural bar and other developers are going to have to work very hard to top Ubisoft in this department.

The Fifth Freedom is Fun

I�ve already praised Chaos Theory�s gameplay, graphics, and sound, but is it fun? Here�s a hint: the answer is one word and it rhymes with �yes.� Moving around in the darkness and coming up with different ways to silently incapacitate enemies is a blast. At times the multiplayer mode is almost too fun, presenting you with countless situations that will test your reflexes and wits. I will say that this game can be very challenging, but the learning curve is fair. Besides, challenge and fun go hand in hand. If you aren�t patient and prefer to run into a room guns blazing, this might not be your game, but you�ll probably still enjoy it. Chaos Theory rewards methodical strategy. That said, this game does allow for a little more run and gun gameplay than its predecessors; the emphasis is still on stealth, though.

If you like games that give you a lot of choices and let you use your brain, you will enjoy Chaos Theory. It carefully blends action, strategy, tension, and a sense of power that you won�t find in many games. Bottom line: this game is very fun if you like stealth and strategy, but will amuse action game fans as well, maybe just to a lesser degree.

I Saw Something in That Corner. It Looked Like. . .Plasma?

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is a gargantuan package of a game. It features high production values, three modes of play, and just tons to do. Everything works together perfectly in Chaos Theory making it a game with no weak links. Some parts have flaws, sure, but everything coalesces into a game you can truly sink your teeth into. This game represents video games at their best and will immerse players in a detailed and believable environment for countless hours of gaming bliss. Splinter Cell games have been consistently great, but this one raises the standard again and leaves us wondering why everybody doesn�t make games this well.

Requesting Confirmation: Should I Buy It?

In case I haven�t made it painfully obvious, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is a truly remarkable game. The single player and co-op campaigns will keep you occupied for awhile, but if you have the PS2 Ethernet Adaptor and an internet connection, the online multiplayer could keep you occupied for months. If you enjoyed the first two Splinter Cell games and are wondering if it�s worth it to buy this one the answer is yes. Ubisoft has polished and added to the gameplay to make Chaos Theory a substantially better game than the precious two. If you like stealth games at all this is a must-have. In short: buy this game if you like being challenged, using your brain, or simply like video games at all.