By Russell Wildermuth

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is one of those games that you do not need to be familiar with the prequel to fully enjoy. As secret agent Sam Fisher, your objective is to take down some of the most notorious of people in a new type of warfare: electronic warfare. You are armed with some of the most sophisticated weaponry and advanced combat maneuvers. The game just couldn’t get any sweeter.

The graphics, from beginning to end, will knock you back over your couch and onto the cold floor of your gaming area. You will not want to miss a blinking second’s worth of the game’s detail. Fisher starts off his first mission along the shoreline, in a surreal atmosphere, some time in the middle of the night. He came in by boat, similar to the way James Bond would during one of his reconnaissance missions. Ubisoft certainly took advantage of Xbox’s ability to produce unmatched visualization.

The guns that Fisher has available to him are pleasantly realistic. There are no flashy, unrealistic guns, like those that you might find in a game such as Halo or Duke Nukem. The arsenal is helpful and provides you with everything that you need to creatively take down the baddies. Because this game revolves around a great deal of stealth, you aren’t given much ammo. At times, gamers will be frustrated as they run out of ammo and are denied the ability to pick up a downed opponents’ weapon. The limited amount of ammo forces you to be creative and careful in your shots. Headshots are encouraged. Now is possibly a good time to mention that this game is rated “Mature” and is considered suitable for ages 17 and older.

Sound in this type of game is very important. Some wonderful action games have been ruined by cheesy sounds that tend to ruin the realism and create a “Bugs Bunny” atmosphere. The music gets intense with the action and dims out when stealth and silence are required.

An exceptional feature of the game is the ability to choose how you want to open a door. You have the option to open the door regularly, as if you were walking into your grandparent’s house for a Thanksgiving feast. You could surprise your enemy and open the door silently; similar to the way Edward Norton acted in the beginning of American History X. For fun, you have the option to bash down the door and create a loud noise that is almost certain to attract attention. Sometimes you will come to a door that is locked-even at this point you have the option of smashing the lock or using a lock pick to proceed.

Here’s where it gets a bit tricky. If there is one doubt to this game, it is in the game play, which can be quite difficult to learn and master. We have come a long way since Nintendo, evolving from two simple buttons into a multicolored, futuristic controller that looks like something that could operate a real-life warship. For those unfamiliar with the complexities of the Xbox controller, it might take minutes of searching through the instruction booklet just to learn and remember the keys. Even when you have the keys down, it’s difficult to remember which is which when you are confronted with situations such as three enemies running in your direction, requiring a split-second decision on your part. Gamers that enjoy a simple game involving repetitive button bashing might want to stay away from this shooter. The game does offer a variety of training videos, which, although entertaining, are no replacement for a simplified training mode that would enable you to test out the controls at your own pace. However, this should not be looked at as a downfall to the game, because even if it is an intense pain to learn, two buttons would simply limit the maneuvers that Fisher could perform.

Overall, this game is one of the greatest out for its genre. It received a 9.9 rating from the Official Xbox Magazine and it deserves the same rating in this review. If you are not a big fan of single player games, then you still have the option to play co-op with your friends against the AI. If you have no gaming friends, then you can still pair up with someone over Xbox Live. The fun just doesn’t end.

Final Grade: A