I enjoyed this game a lot. Despite the fact that it's quiet old, it is still fun to play. I really like the play of shadow and light; I think that none of the games (besides Chaost Theory and Thief) really tried to implement that mechanic so well? It is simple and it works and it makes sense stealth-wise. Sam cracks jokes with deadpan voice, the whole international spy setting is simply cool. Some action scenes where you actually have to shoot and stuff are clunky but otherwise that's a great game, even today.

Admirable, to a fault. Be highly wary of this: Painstakingly TOUGH detection minefields only achievable through heavy trial-and-error. F5 will be your greatest savior. Makes sneaking in Metal Gear feel like a walk in the park since SC trusts you to cross Fisher through strictly narrow hallways crammed with guards performing little to no-killing. A lot of the challenge comes by design flaws: Guards taking tricky, random turnarounds and horrid gunplay- Drunken accuracy that misdirects your shots ensuring one way to make hell rain all over you. That being said, the burdensome challenge is somewhat adorable for early blueprints of TPS stealth. A quasi-parkour mobility, lock-picking minigame tension and technological lookouts. It's a neat trendsetter of techno-noir. You're gonna shoot more lightbulbs than henchmen, and questioning guards in the dark provokes a badass cold-war dream come true. Charmingly pioneer, whilst feeling truly veteran in back-breaking difficulty even at it's easiest.

As a stealth system, it's much less uncomfortable than the one in both Metal Gears released for the PS2, but that's pretty much where its novelty ends. Way too straightforward and rigid for its own good, it stays more or less static for the whole playthrough and never escalates, with just a few set pieces where the game asks you to do different stuff. Gimmicky set pieces. It is also heavily reliant on trial and error. You act the same way at the end as you did at the start. A really, really narrow and straight hallway with nothing else to do. There isn't much else to say honestly, as it lacks any ambition whatsoever.

The story is as basic and post-9/11 as you can get. Terrorist threats, bombs, espionage, conspiracies. Pretty standard stuff. Still, it kept me engaged to binge it in like four days, but had it been a film, it would perfectly be the kind of movie you could find zapping on TV after dinner. The kind of movie you watch out of boredom and forget about it in a week. Using the darkness to your advantage is a neat idea, you make a lot of use of the couple of functions the goggles have and the gameplay never stops, which emphasizes the immersion, a necessary thing for a game like this, and the devs don't waste the opportunity to make some fun situations, but those are the only interesting things the game has going for it. One of the most aggressively average games ever made.

A solid stealth game for the time, but it's rough to play these days.

The atmosphere and lighting hold up better than everything else. This game still looks great for its age thanks to superb lighting.

The light and darkness mechanics are excellent to this day and I wish more stealth games copied them, but sometimes it can be a little finicky as you're often not hidden unless you're in total darkness. Enemy AI is extremely jumpy and often just moving a tiny fraction too fast, or not being in a perfect shadow, will result in an immediate alert. There is no moment of leeway between being seen by an enemy and the alarm being triggered, and enemies can go from unaware to whipping around and blasting your ass instantly.

The alarm system works really weirdly in this game, which is an absolute headache if you don't know about it before you start playing. You have to hide bodies perfectly or reaching checkpoints will trigger the alarm, even if realistically nobody would see the bodies. And three alarms will fail the mission.

The shooting in this game made me want to tear my hair out. It's horribly inaccurate on purpose. You can line up a perfect shot at a light and still miss and alert all the enemies nearby. I get that the game wants to discourage shooting your way through the levels, but it ends up completely blowing stealth and it's not the player's fault. Every time this happened I had zero shame reloading saves until trying to simply eliminate a light source didn't get me screwed by bullets exiting my gun sideways.

It seems that Ubisoft wasn't entirely confident in the stealth gameplay as the game includes some forced action and shootout sequences, which are definitely the worst part because the shooting mechanics are intentionally designed to make shooting difficult. The game shoots itself in the foot there.

This game was a promising start to the series, but its flaws are very noticeable, especially so many years later. Frankly without quick saves this game would suck because of the twitchy AI and unpredictable bullet trajectory. If you're really interested in the history of stealth games and you want to play through all of them, this game is worth a look. But if you're not a huge fan of the Splinter Cell series or playing through every stealth game out there, I suggest skipping to Chaos Theory.

This game is jankier than I remember. It's got good aspects to it but its certainly weak compared to some of the later games. Much like the Hitman games, you can see a clear concept here that isn't quite realized. The platforming is broken as hell and there's moments here that force you into combat and it's quite rough.

The story of Splinter Cell is something I care so little for as well. It's never well written, I'm basically only here for the gameplay lol.

This game sucks to play on PC, it took me atleast 30 minutes to get this in a playable state.

Anyway, all in all. I don't think I recommend it? It's not very fun, but it's still impressive and unique for the time. Though, I think stealth involving usage of shadows was perfected in the Thief games.

🇧🇷
"Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Stealth Action Redefined" faz exatamente oque diz

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell é um jogo feito para aquele cara que quando era criança se esgueirava pela casa com a luz apagada, esperando nos lugares mais escuros e sabendo todas as superfícies onde seus passos não fariam barulho no azulejo, sou eu, eu sou esse cara.

Splinter Cell tem um Stealth único, diferente na sua própria forma, ele é mais realista que os demais (tão realista quanto pode ser, pelo menos) e até um pouco tático, em nenhum outro jogo luz e sombras foi tão importante quanto aqui, as fases são claustrofóbicas com poucas chances de se livrar do inimigo, com você muitas vezes tendo que passar por entre eles na escuridão, essa imaginação de se esconder a plena vista é oque alimenta a gameplay de momento a momento, e o que o torna singular.

A história de Splinter é muito complicada e, ao mesmo tempo, tem pouca exposição, se você tentar entender algo além do quadro geral ficará confuso num conflito internacional político que envolve países demais, super armas nucleares e personagens secundários rasos, exceto por Sam Fisher e Lambert, mesmo tendo pouco tempo de fala se comparado a jogos futuros, Michael Ironside casou perfeitamente com Sam e o tornou icônico a primeiro momento, é uma daquelas atuações insubstituíveis, ele é para Sam Fisher oque James McCaffrey é para Max Payne.

As fases de Splinter Cell oferecem muitos momentos memoráveis, em uma fase você estará atravessando um pátio militar usando seus óculos de visão térmica para ver minas terrestres, no outro estará invadindo a sede da CIA para sequestrar um espião inimigo, porém, as fases são bastante lineares, oferecendo sempre uma única forma de atravessar o ambiente, também faltou mais variedade de locais, tirando alguns que se destacam como a refinaria de óleo e a embaixada chinesa há muitos cenários com escritórios que acabam se tornando difíceis de diferenciar, oque está a mostra é bom, mas podia ser bem melhor, ainda mais se comparado a jogos futuros.

Por causa dessa linearidade, o jogo acaba se apoiando bastante em tentativa e erro, esse tipo de coisa está presente em quase todo jogo Stealth, mas aqui a frustração pode ser demais até para fãs do gênero.

Como se passaram 22 anos desde que lançou, Splinter Cell hoje em dia é bastante datado, modelos de personagem são pouco detalhados e as fases falham em mascarar as limitações da época, porém, há vários detalhes que ainda impressionam, as sombras do jogo são exemplares até hoje, além de ter um sistema de som muito elogiado, os desenvolvedores tentaram adicionar muita interatividade em várias salas, Metal Gear Solid 2 podia ter cubos de gelo que derretiam em tempo real, mas Splinter Cell tinha aquários de peixe que, quando atirados, sugam a água pelo buraco de bala até que o nível da água estabilize.

Mesmo tendo vários problemas, era bom ter jogos inteiramente dedicados ao Stealth para se jogar, e é interessante ver como a franquia começou, alguns jogos do gênero podem ser melhores e mais inovadores, mas nenhum era como Splinter Cell, por isso digo que o subtítulo do jogo faz oque diz, a Ubisoft criou um novo estilo de Stealth, mais realista e com mais ênfase em luz e sombra, ele redefiniu o que era Stealth em 2002 e o que ele poderia ser.

Hoje em dia, stealth é apenas um elemento de vários jogos AAA, é raro ter jogos focados em querer passar despercebido ao invés de atirar neles, por isso é tão importante reconhecer as qualidades de Splinter Cell, quando você está colado na parede com apenas o suficiente de sombra para te esconder e há um guarda a um suspiro de distância, rezando para ele não te perceber, o jogo consegue criar um suspense que não se encontra em nenhum lugar a não ser talvez, em jogos de terror.

Splinter Cell pode dever sua existência a Metal Gear Solid, mas isso não o torna menos original.

O BOM
• Sombras e luz impressionantes para época
• Movimentação e mobilidade com profundidade
• Várias situações memoráveis e desafiadoras
• Personagem principal marcante


O RUIM
• Muita linearidade
• Datado em algumas áreas
• História desnecessariamente complicada
• Seções de combate obrigatórias

___________________________________________________________

🇺🇸
"Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Stealth Action Redefined" does exactly what it says.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is a game made for the guy who, as a kid, would sneak around the house with the lights off, waiting in the darkest places, knowing all the surfaces where his footsteps wouldn't make a sound on the tiles, that's me, I'm that guy.

Splinter Cell has a unique stealth system, different in its own way, it's more realistic than the others (as realistic as it can be, anyway) and even a little tactical, in no other game has light and shadow been as important as it is here, the stages are claustrophobic with few chances to get rid of the enemy, you often have to pass between them in the dark. This idea of hiding in plain sight is what makes the game so unique from moment to moment.

Splinter's story is very complicated and at the same time has little exposition, if you try to understand anything beyond the big picture you'll get lost in an international political conflict that involves too many countries, super nuclear weapons and shallow secondary characters, except for Sam Fisher and Lambert, even if he has little speaking time compared to future games, Michael Ironside married Sam perfectly and made him iconic at first, it's one of those irreplaceable performances, he is to Sam Fisher what James McCaffrey is to Max Payne.

The campaign offers many memorable moments, in one stage you'll be crossing a military courtyard using your thermal goggles to see landmines, in another you'll be breaking into CIA headquarters to kidnap an enemy spy, but the stages are fairly linear, and there's also a lack of variety in the locations, Apart from a few that stand out, such as the oil refinery and the Chinese embassy, there are many scenarios with offices that end up being difficult to distinguish from one another. What's on show is good, but it could be much better, even more so when compared to future games.

Because of this linearity, the game ends up relying a lot on trial and error, something that is present in almost every stealth game, but here the frustration can be too much even for fans of the genre.

Twenty-two years on from its original release, Splinter Cell has become a bit dated, with character models lacking detail and stages that fail to hide the limitations of the time, but there are some details that still stand out, and the game's shadows remain exemplary to this day. Metal Gear Solid 2 could have ice cubes that melted in real time, but Splinter Cell had fish tanks that, when shot, sucked water through the bullet hole until the water level stabilised.

Even though it had a lot of problems, it was good to have games that were entirely dedicated to stealth, and it's interesting to see how the franchise started, some games in the genre may be better and more innovative, but none were like Splinter Cell, that's why I say the subtitle of the game does what it says, Ubisoft created a new style of stealth, more replayable.

Even though it had a lot of problems, it was good to have games that were entirely dedicated to stealth, and it's interesting to see how the franchise started, some games in the genre may be better and more innovative, but none were like Splinter Cell, that's why I say the subtitle of the game does what it says, Ubisoft created a new style of stealth, more realistic and with more emphasis on light and shadow, it redefined what stealth was in 2002 and what it could be.

Nowadays, stealth is just one element of many AAA games, it's rare to have games that focus on trying to go unnoticed rather than shooting at you, which is why it's so important to recognise Splinter Cell's qualities. When you're pinned to a wall, with just enough shadow to hide you, and a guard a breath away, praying he doesn't notice you, the game manages to create a tension that you don't find anywhere else, except perhaps in horror games.

Splinter may owe its existence to Metal Gear Solid, but that doesn't make it any less original.

THE GOOD
- Impressive shadows and lighting for the time.
- Movement and mobility with depth
- Several memorable and challenging situations
- Outstanding main character


THE BAD
- Too much linearity
- Dated in some areas
- Unnecessarily complicated story
- Obligatory combat sections

This game is a flawed masterpiece, but when i say flawed, i mean really really flawed, janky controls, weird game design (bouncing between being completely cryptic and being completely idiotic), bugs, specially with guard detection, etc. The only thing preventing this game from being unplayable sometimes is the fact that the pc version has quicksaves.

Now to the good part, the atmosphere of this game is insane, and so are the options of how you can solve the game's challenges, several very interesting espionage weaponry and tools, but it doesn't help when the game design is commonly flawed, like when they force you into an action scene in a damn stealth game. But now that i'm writing that, i don't remember feeling the same way while playing metal gear, i guess it's because in this game, the weapons are designed to be used in stealth, so they are garbage in action moments, what creates a frustration that didn't come while playing other similar games.

Well, i guess the fact that i even finished the game means it was a worthwhile game, even if very frustrating sometimes.