Storyline - 4/5
Splinter Cell 3D takes place in Asia during Summer of the year 2007. Tensions are increasing between Japan, China, and both North and South Korea, because Japan has formed an Information Self Defense Force, or I-SDF. Because they view this as violating the Post-WWII Constitution statute forbidding the re-militarizing of Japan, China and North Korea make a blockade against Japanese shipping efforts.
Japan appeals to the United States for help, who respond by sending out its most powerful warship in an effort to get China and Korea to withdraw the blockade.
The game opens with stealth and espionage expert Sam Fisher being sent to locate an American computer programmer by the name of Bruce Morgenholt, who was captured by a separatist group from Peru called "The People's Voice", who are led by a man named Hugo Lacerda.
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| The darkness is a stealth expert's best friend. |
Now, if you're a Splinter Cell fan, all this should be sounding very familiar to you. Well, you're not crazy, because the game is a 3D remake of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, which originally came out on the Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube.
This game, being a remake of the original, doesn't tread any new waters as far as storyline goes. However, being of the Tom Clancy brand, the story is very well done, and still holds up to the test of time.
Graphics - 3/5
Graphically, the game is fairly impressive. The 3D abilities of the 3DS shine to their fullest, giving incredible depth to, well, everything. From the dizzying height of standing on top of a lighthouse to getting a true feel of how far away your enemy is to you as you line up a shot, the 3D is a feast for the eyes.
3D effects aside, all the character models have been faithfully re-created in just as much detail as their console counterparts. On top of that, the environments are also just as impressive and beautiful to look at, even by today's standards, animation is remarkably smooth for a handheld title.
Even the CG movies from the original console versions are all included, in all their glory.
Honestly, I could sometimes hardly tell I was even playing on a handheld system, instead of a console.
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| "My 5 o'clock shadow can beat Chuck Norris's beard anyday!" |
Unfortunately, the visuals, while awesome, are far from perfect. Sometimes you'll find an occasional framerate hiccup or graphical glitch, all of which could be found in the original console versions, which serve as a reminder that the game is more of a port than an actual remake.
Although admittedly, the graphics have been slightly downgraded from the original console versions, many who play the game won't be able to tell much difference.
Audio - 2/5
The audio is kind of a mixed bag. On the plus side, all of the music, sound effects, and voice acting from the console version has transitioned wonderfully to to the handheld platform. The downside is that almost none of it is particularly exciting.
The music is rarely ever heard, unless you get spotted or are in combat. When you DO hear it, it's mostly unremarkable and yawn-ish. It's almost gets to the point where you want to get caught on purpose to hear music, and then stand there and get shot to death when you want it to stop.
Sound effects are realistic enough, with gunfire, footsteps, and mechanical/electronic effects sounding like you'd expect from an action game that originally came out in 2005.
The saving grace of the audio is the voice acting. All of the voice acting in the original console versions has made it to the 3DS intact, and none of it has lost any of its impact or performance value.
Everyone, from Fisher, to Grimsdottir, to Lambert, and even the bad guys like Lacerda, Otomo, and the various terrorist underlings all deliver their vocal performances excellently, helping to create a more believable experience to an already well-done story.
Gameplay - 4/5
The gameplay is an interesting package. You move Sam around using the analog slider, which is remarkably easy to maintain a fast pace or a slow, quiet pace. Sneaking around has never felt so comfortable.
You use the face buttons (A, B, X, Y) to move the camera, and also to aim your currently equipped weapon. This can feel awkward to those who are too used to having a second analog stick to control the camera.
When it comes to melee combat, you get two choices: You can either use the L button to perform a non-lethal attack, perfect for when you're trying to get past civilians without harming them, or you can use the R button to use Sam's trusty knife to dispatch the bad guy. The same control scheme applies if you're holding onto an enemy or a civilian for interrogation.
Jumping and crouching is handled by pushing up and down on the D-pad, respectively, and the d-pad is also used to press up against the walls, aiding in stealth, or allowing you to slide by narrow passages. When aiming, the d-pad switches sides, moving the camera focus from one shoulder to the other, helping to peek around corners with your gun drawn.
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| STEALTH You're doing it wrong. |
Just about everything else is handled by the touch screen: Equipping guns, selecting what options to use with your assault rifle, choosing which grenade to use, and various context-sensitive actions, like opening doors, inputting codes on locked doors, and grabbing enemies and civilians to interrogate them.
Just about all of the controls are responsive and work very well. However, I would have liked an option to re-map the controls, as I find camera movement with the face buttons to be awkward, and would have preferred to use the d-pad for camera movement, and the face buttons for jumping, crouching, and pressing against the walls.
If you were a fan of having your objectives scrawled onto the environment in Splinter Cell: Conviction, there's good news: It's made a comeback in Splinter Cell 3D. Not a major game-changer, but a neat little feature that certainly helps.
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| "What was I supposed to do again? Crap! Why can't they just write it on the wall or something?" |
Probably the most disappointing is the lack of any multiplayer or online features. As a pseudo-launch title for the 3DS, it would have been great to have some sort of leaderboard, co-op, or some other component using the 3DS's Wi-Fi or StreetPass abilities.
That's all for my in-depth analysis, here's the Cliff's Notes version.
Storyline - 4/5 Even though anyone who likes the Tom Clancy brand has seen this
before, it's still an enjoyable, well-written tale, worthy of re-telling over and over again.
Graphics - 3/5 Slightly downgraded graphics, but not enough to diminish the overall quality of the visuals. Just about identical to the console version.
Audio - 2/5 "Meh" music that's almost nonexistant, and sub-par sound effects don't make for an exciting mix. Voice work is superb, though.
Gameplay - 4/5 Comfortable and responsive controls make sneaking around fairly hassle-free. Multiplayer and button customization would have been nice, however.
Total - 13/20
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3D is a very portable version of the PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox classic, boasting excellent length for a handheld title. It has flaws, but the most important part is that the game is genuinely fun to play.
If you like stealth games, or you enjoyed Chaos Theory and want to see a new 3D spin on it, then this would make a great start to your 3DS library. But if you're into a lot of action or are looking for something entirely new, then you should probably pass this one up in favor of something with a bit more speed.
Definitely not a bad game by any standard.
That's all for this review. As per my standard closing, you can send questions, commends, concerns, criticisms, or requests for a review to
grifsgamereviews(at)gmail(dot)com.
Thanks for sticking with me and reading my review. Look forward to the next one!
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