Score
Gameplay:	10
Graphics:	9
Sound:	7
FunFactor:	10
PlasmaFactor:	7
Overall:	8.6

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow Review
July 17, 2004 by Brian Callam

by Brian - July 17, 2004

As the sequel to one of the best games of 2002, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow has a lot to live up to. The original combined stunning graphics, excellent controls, a compelling story, and some of the best lighting effects seen to date. Pandora Tomorrow adds a new campaign, an innovative new multiplayer component (Unfortunately absent from the GameCube version), better AI, and much more. Even with all of these new features, is it evidence that the franchise is here to stay, or is it nothing more than a glorified expansion pack?

Its here to stay

Once again, you are Sam Fisher, agent of the U.S. Government with a license to kill, steal, spy, and destroy in order to protect the freedoms of Americans. If discovered, the government will disavow all knowledge of your existence. You are a Splinter Cell. The story in Pandora Tomorrow is simple enough. There is widespread and passionate resistance to the new U.S. Military base in East Timor, the world�s newest democracy. Suhadi Sadono, guerilla militia leader, formulates an attack on the United States Embassy and captures it taking many American citizens hostage. You must help the military in eradicating the guerillas and their leader. You will be sent all over the globe, from Indonesia, to France, to Israel, and even to LAX Airport in Los Angeles California.

It really isn�t necessary to have played the first game to get into this one. The first level serves as a tutorial and begins the story. Throughout the game you will have various obstacles to overcome whether they be guard patrol, searchlights, cameras, or motion detectors. Unlike the original, being seen will not automatically make you abort the mission. Well, in most missions it won�t. Instead there is a three-tiered alert system. The first time you are seen, the guards will don flack jackets. The second time they will put on helmets making it even harder for you to kill them. The third alert will lose the mission. This makes the game a little easier than its predecessor, which to a lot of fans will be seen as a good thing.

Another thing I loved about this game were the gadgets you get to use. Although they aren�t new, I still enjoy using the sticky shocker to electrify my enemies and the distraction camera is a blast to use. Of course, there is also the night vision and thermovision goggles that you will be using a lot. Shooting out the lights and putting on night vision to sneak up on an unsuspecting enemy is also pretty cool.

Stay in the Shadows

Although not as good as the Xbox graphics, the graphics on Pandora Tomorrow for GameCube are still some of the best I�ve seen. The lighting is simply astounding. The games environments are highly detailed and immersive. One mission was especially good looking. It was in the jungle and so there is a lot of tall grass. Needless to say, the way the grass sways in the wind and as you crawl through looks amazing.

However, the cinematics were not the best I�ve seen. In fact, I�ve seen much better. They aren�t bad per se, but I was disappointed considering how great the in game graphics are. Thankfully, there aren�t many cinematics in the game that matter so its not a big deal.

So in 2006 everyone has American accents?

The voiceover work done in Pandora Tomorrow is very hit and miss. It hits with Sam Fisher�s and his commanding officers� voiceovers. Michael Ironside returns to accent Sam�s rough sounding voice. The exchanges between Fisher and the rest of the crew are very well done both in game and in the cut-scenes. The problems arise with the guards and other NPCs you will meet in the game. One thing that really bugged me was that, in one mission in Paris, France, the guards are having an exchange, and mention that they are French, but they speak perfect English and have American accents. It�s the same deal with almost everyone in the game whether you are in Indonesia or Israel.

The sound design in the game is top notch, however. There is plenty of well done ambient noise, audible footsteps, and other noises you will likely notice when playing the game. The musical score is also well done. It fits the theme of the game very well with its tense sounding tunes. A few of them don�t loop very well, but that isn�t a huge deal.

Linear mission can be fun.

If you liked Splinter Cell 1, you will have a lot of fun with this one as well because it doesn�t deviate from its original formula very much. The missions are still pretty linear, although the GameCube version has a few extra ways to go about each mission than the Xbox version. The game�s gadgets are always fun and cool to use, and some of the missions are just a blast. One mission puts you on a train trying to get information from a corrupt CIA agent. You will be on top of, below, and even hanging from the side of the train as another train passes by on the next track. If you don�t think that�s fun, than you may have something wrong with you.

Missing Multiplayer

If you don�t have a Live enabled Xbox or a Playstation 2 with online capability, than the GameCube version of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is the only way to go. It doesn�t have the innovative and incredibly fun multiplayer mode that the other two have, but it does have an extra jungle mission, and more ways to complete each mission than the extremely linear Xbox version. If all you are looking for is the singleplayer experience, than this is the version you want. Still, those additions don�t make up for the lack of multiplayer. Its too bad GameCube doesn�t have online capability because the multiplayer just wouldn�t work at all on a split-screen setup.

 

Conclusion

If you liked the original, this is a must have. It is better on so many levels. However, if you have Xbox live you may want to get it for that system instead of the GameCube so that you can enjoy the multiplayer experience. All in all, this is a solid game from an excellent developer. If you enjoy stealth action games, you have to check this game out because it is probably the best one out on the market right now.