There's a great satisfaction in a job well done. I think more than anything that is the fantasy that Chaos Theory offers- to step into the shoes of a consummate professional instead of a macho action hero. Sam Fisher is no Arnold Schwarzenegger- he won't have his face on the cereal boxes no matter how many lives he saves. But that's ok, thats the quiet life he wants. Saving the world from the shadows is just how he earns his paychecks. This whole view clicked for me in the Displace International Headquarters mission. I had just infiltrated their server room in the top floors having swept through the whole building like a phantom, touching not a single hair on the head of any guard nor lingering long enough to even be a flash in the corner of someone's eye. I knocked out lights, hacked doors, shadowed guards, shimmied along pipes, all to reach my goal. And when I reached the end undetected, you know what Sam had to say? He forgot to do his laundry before he left. It was such a moment of mundane and relatable frustration that I laughed out loud. I miss games like this man. Competence porn is something I always associated with the stealth genre, and now that it's gone silent, so has specific sense of satisfaction.

But thats enough of that tangent, I need to talk about the game itself a little. Its incredible, if the 4 star rating at the top hadn't tipped you off. One of the best stealth games I've personally ever played. There is ALWAYS a way to ghost through levels, no matter how impossible it might seem at first glance. You always have the tools, routes, and abilities to get that perfect run. The sound and light based detection combined with your incredibly fine control over Sam's movements allow for pixel perfect control of your ability to infiltrate. At no point did I ever get caught through no fault of my own, it was always as a result of my own mistakes.

So the controls are perfect, how about the stages? Welllll, there's a reason this isn't a full five stars. The level set is a mixed bag. The opening stage is by FAR the worst level in the game, set on a completely linear path with no room for experimentation, exploration or clever play. This is immediately improved upon however by the next FIVE, all of which are some of the best stealth sandboxes I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Though sadly, the remaining five are a steady downward slope, growing more and more linear and less and less satisfying with each passing stage. The North Korean missile base is FINE, but compared to the amazing run of stages prior it doesn't hold up.

Ultimately however Chaos Theory is still an amazing stealth game 18 years later, and it set a benchmark of quality that few games following it were able to meet. Hopefully, if Sam Fisher ever comes out of retirement, his next outing is even a third as enjoyable as his heyday.