Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

I really disliked the first Splinter Cell game. It seemed to glorify everything that was wrong with the stealth genre, namely cheap AI, shallow techno-babble storytelling, and a reliance on gimmicks in order to mask linear level design. The demo of sequel Pandora Tomorrow proved that the multiplayer portion of that game was to be the crown jewel, as the sp was business as usual.

Chaos Theory on the other hand, just might be a big turaround for the series. Just maybe.

1) Better engine: Not just better in that it looks as good as anything else out there, but better in that it is actually more stable than Pandora Tomorrow. Its nice to actually see a developer take the time to optimize their PC games rather than do a quick and dirty Xbox port and call it a day. And those water effects... wow. I could stare at that one drain for twenty minutes.

2) More ways to kill: The original SC gave you few choices in how you dispatched enemies, and often wouldn't even let you kill them. This time around you can perform various maneuvers from pretty much any position. Chimneying between walls? You can kill 'em. Hanging on a pipe? Grab their neck and kill 'em. Hanging from a ledge? Grab their legs and throw them to their doom (see: kill 'em). Better than any of this however is the inclusion of the knife. Yes, Sam Fisher the super spy had to wait three games to get a simple knife. At least it actually lets you do one shot kills when an enemy rushes you. The demo also gave the impression that using lethal force is encouraged rather than something to try and avoid. Always a good thing, as you can now handle many situations that would cause a quick load in the previous SC games.

3) (Somewhat) better level design: The levels are obviously more detailed, but they also seem to be more... organic. Crates, bridges and other structures work together to create an environment that seems plausible in the real world, and they give you a few different options on how to tackle an area. There are also multiple paths at certain points, but they lead to the same thing and are rather small, meaning they don't make a huge difference.

Overall, I'm a lot less skeptical about this game. I'm still concerned about the poor control while using fireamrs, and I have a feeling the single player could be another quick, 10 hour romp, but it looks as if Ubisoft Montreal really is trying to improve the series' major flaws. It was actually fun to play this demo, and I'm interested in seeing where Chaos Theory stands when the game ships this spring.