“Prison. A hell of a place to save a mans life.”

Whilst on a, for Sam, simple and straightforward intelligence gathering assignment in Iceland. So simple, in fact, that Sam even has a rookie along for the ride with him. Sam Fisher, the first and undeniably best field agent for the NSAs Third Echelon, is abruptly called back. His mission aborted and as his handler, direct superior and one of his oldest friends, Irving Lambert, tells him that his little girl, Sarah, barely even twenty-three years old, is dead. A hit and run. And just like that, Sams whole world is gone.

After this fairly large introductory level we are shown a rather poignant cinematic of Sam going completely off the rails. Drinking, fighting…well, intentionally letting people beat the crap out of him actually, and tentatively pulling himself together enough to accept the toughest job of his career. Direct, deep cover infiltration of a terrorist organization calling itself the John Brown Army. Headed by one Emile Dufrainse, who has some weird amalgamation of a thick Texan and broad Brooklyn accent. He does this by being sent to Ellseworth Penitentiary as an inmate to make contact with one of Dufraisne’s leftenants. A physically unassuming, but nasty son-of-a-bitch called Jamie Washington. Stripped of all his usual accessories, the first real level of the game has Sam relying entirely on his rather formidable skills.

From here we are introduced to the rest of the JBA and spend some time performing various tasks around their main compound. An environment which you will return to for a total of four excursions. Each time, apart from the last, being given a series of tasks from both Third Echelon and the JBA. It’s a fairly small environment, and each but the final of the four times you will visit it is timed. But it’s quite an interesting little place, with a multitude of different stair ways and ladders and corridors all leading into and branching from each other. And each of the four visits will take you to a different section of the base that the previous doesn’t, which does a very good job of preventing it from becoming repeetitive. The rest of the places you will visit, Kinshasa in particular, are massive, apart from the post credits level, which is only available based on choices you make at three key points in the game.

The story is as solid as any of the Splinter Cell games, and this, more than any other, Humanises Sam. Whilst in the previous title, Chaos Theory, we were shown the best qualities of his personality. Particularly his conversation with a near homicidal Korean General (”they aren’t anybodies men, they’re just men. Husbands, Fathers, sons”) and an optional section where you can rescue two unconcious pilots against direct instruction from Lambert. Double Agent reminds us that Sam is not a nice man. And the one thing in his life that kept him grounded, his little girl, is gone. Sam is pissed. He’s angry, and it shows. His actions and his overall tone is much darker. The way he speaks to people, some of the things he does, show a much more sadistic attitude. As a parent myself (I have a five year old daughter) I found myself empathising with him. Yes, his actions are cruel, much violent than needed, but there is a certain catharsis in punishing the world. Taking back some sense of reparation, however sparing.

Initially I actually played this game on the Wii, because that was the only platform from the current generation I was interested in. My Playstation 3 and X-Box didn’t come until later. But I learned some time later that there are actually two versions of the game, so I picked up this one as well. And I can personally attest that there are some massive differences between the two. For a start, the Wii, Gamecube and Playstation 2 game, which was developed after the initial release, takes place as a series of flashbacks and telephone calls between Sam and the new head of Third Echelon, Tom Reed. Whilst the X-Box, Playstation 3 and PC version is all in real time. It’s worth picking up both, because whilst the basic plot, and even some of the dialogue, is the same, the whole feel of the game, and the specific events, are radically different.  The “low definition” version of the game also makes a little more sense. The end of the “high definition” version is very mcuh a “to be continued” moment, with a lot happening quite suddenly, and with almost no explanation. However, it’s pretty obvious from having played ConViction (but more on that later) that this is the start of, at the very least, a three part story. Not just a continuation of the Splinter Cell franchise, but an actual, sequential meta-plot, so to speak. Not just references to prior games, like the return of the Masse kernals and things like that.

The game is not without its flaws however. For some bizarre reason, Ubisoft opted for the UT2 engine, meaning that the game is, well, a little lacking graphically. Textures are flakey, and lots of things shine for no apparent reason at all. Yeah, I know, it’s nitpicking, and I personally don’t care too much about graphics. But when a radically weaker console is pulling out a much smoother, visually balanced version of the same game, then you know you’ve made a bit of a boo-boo. And don’t even get me started on the water. However, animations are extremely fluid, and not as slow and cumbersome as they once were. My largest complaint, I have to say, is the readdition of the interaction menu. For things like light switches, and computers and stuff like that, it’s useful for being able to differentiate one from another, so that you don’t accidentally set off an alarm when you just want to close a door. For trying to grab people you’ve sneaked up on…yeah, bit of a failing. The number of damned times I’ve failed to grab someone because the ruddy menu flicked off, or responded just that little bit too slowly so that they moved away. Not a good call there Ubi. Why they decided to put it back in now, after it being absent since the first chapter, is beyond me. Sometimes, y’all just baffle me.

Overall, however, this is another fine addition to one of the best video game series to date. The progression of Sams character from one title to the next never ceases to surprise, and believe me when I tell you ConViction adds even more. I missed having Grim whispering in my ear at times, but that’s mostly a personal bias. I like the character, and I have a bit of a soft spot for redheads. But, as always, I recommend you judge for yourself. These are just my impressions, and I’m an unashamed Splinter Cell fanboy.

Graphics: 7/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Audio/Music: 9/10
Plot/Scripting: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Final note : Yes, this has indeed been a long time in the coming. There have been a number of factors in my real life that have had to take priority for a while. One of them, I am almost ashamed to admit, is that I have actually been too busy playing games to write about them. But I also have a little girl (as I said above) who takes up a large chunk of my time. And three weeks ago, I finally finished writing my very first, original novel. But I’ll talk more about that another time. For now, I’m just glad to be back.

Sam is a badass: 10/10

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