What if an algorithm could crash the stock markets, black out New York, and hijack ballistic missiles?

THIS IS 2007. THIS IS REALITY.

The one programmer who has the key to this algorithm has vanished. Find him at any cost. Bring the battle closer to the enemy - bring it to their soil before the chain of chaos becomes unstoppable.

You are Sam Fisher

You are a Splinter Cell

Tan's review:

One of my all-time favorite games, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory both improved on every aspect of it's predecessors while raising the bar for technical prowess on the Xbox. It's use of lighting and sound both push the Xbox consoles limits as well as bring an immersible experience to your living room. Ubisoft Montreal who took a break from the series by handing it over to Ubisoft's Shanghai studio for the second game, came back with a heavily modified unreal engine, improved physics, sound, voice-acting and level design.

Another major change for this, the third game in the series, was it's soundtrack. Amon Tobin a famed DJ and producer made an incredible soundtrack for the game by mixing and sampling several types of instruments and music in a way that makes harmony out of disarray. Also Jesper Kyd known for his work on the Hitman series, composed the music for the game's cinematic clips. These two combined brought an atmosphere of both intensity and danger to the game. During play when your character is in danger, the temp picks up and the music changes. It raises your alertness level and keeps you on edge until you're in a more safe area or averted the immediate crisis.

Since this is a stealth game, lighting and hiding are both important aspects of gameplay. Whether your hiding the body of a guard you just eliminated, sneaking through the streets of a city to remain undetected or shooting out a light in a hallway so you can get past the camera, lighting can be your bane or your friend. A pistol with an EMP pulse helps take care of the lights for a short period of time, or if you prefer a more permanent approach you can shoot out the bulbs. Sometimes though your forced to take risks because of protected lights you cannot destroy or roving searchlights you need to study patterns for. Sound also plays a vital role in gameplay. Remaining undetected is always the best approach but walking surfaces, hanging obstacles and other items you can bump into make that much harder. Also sound can be used to distract or lure enemies to you or two a spot you wish them to be. These combined make this game the equivalent of a 21st century ninja, alone, in the dark and uncredited.

The best part I find about the gameplay, besides those mentioned above, or the new gadgets or smarter AI, is the freedom. You have so many options on how you can play a level, what routes to take, lethal or non-lethal, guns blazing or a whisper in the night. It makes the game fun to play again and again as well as become a motivating factor to perfect your score by seeking the most effective, efficient ways to accomplish your in-game goals.

Online play also gives this game a lot of replay value and "bang for the buck". Spies versus Mercs modes, Co-op gameplay, disk hunting and more spread across 11 new maps that are interactive with multiple ways to sneak through them. Even now with the Xbox 360 in full force this game is still among the top played Xbox live games and this game is also compatible for use on the 360 via software emulation.

Where else online can you grab someone from behind and whisper into their ear using the Xbox headset over live while you carve them a new, bigger, happier smile from ear to ear? 8)

Tan's Overall score: 99%

Console	Reg.	Type	Title	Publisher	Year	Genre
Microsoft Xbox		S	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory	UbiSoft Nordic	2005	Action/Adventure
Microsoft Xbox		S	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory	UbiSoft Nordic	2005	Action/Adventure
Microsoft Xbox		S	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory	UbiSoft	2005	Action/Adventure
Microsoft Xbox		S	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory	Ubisoft	2005	Action/Adventure
Microsoft Xbox		S	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory	UbiSoft	2005	Action/Adventure
Microsoft Xbox		S	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory [Platinum Hits]	Ubisoft	2005	Action/Adventure

Console	Reg.	Type	Title	Publisher	Year	Genre
Microsoft Xbox		S	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell	Ubisoft	2002	Action/Adventure
Microsoft Xbox		S	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent	Ubisoft	2006	Action/Adventure
Microsoft Xbox		S	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow	Ubisoft	2004	Action/Adventure

• Awarded "Number 1 Xbox game of the year, 2005" by the Official Xbox Magazine.
• On Game Informer's "Top 50 Games of 2005" list
• Type "COOPA22COOL" without quotations marks as your profile name to play any level at any time without beating the game.
• Beat the game on any difficulty to unlock the "Elite" difficulty mode.

• Throughout the game references and wisecracks about Half-Life, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Rainbow Six can be heard.
• During the bank Level, you can steal a gold bar from the vault and use it to throw at enemies.
• In the factory, you can find a hidden path that will activate disco lights with confetti while cheesy 70's disco tunes play in the background.