Splinter Cell

[EnemaEms]

Yes, I know I am late to the party on this great game. I just picked this baby up this past weekend thanks to Toys R Us' Buy 1 get 1 Free deal. So far I have just played through the Trianing level and the 1st two missions. What I really dig about this game is the options you have at completing your mission. Kill guys, just go by them, knock them out...whatever. I also love using the fiber optic camera before I enter a new door. I have the technology, might as well use it so I dont get caught.

 

The developers really captured the realism in being a spy/secret agent. I know this game is constantly being compared to Metal Gear Solid and I love the 1st one, 2nd one was a big barrell of monkey shit, but that is a whole other thread. To me Splinter Cell already beats out Meatal Gear Solid and I haven't even got that far into Splinter Cell yet. For me it is because I feel like I am in a Spy movie.....not watching one. Plus, the difficulty is a bit harder than the Metal Gear games. I can breeze right through those, but Splinter Cell has me repeating things over. Mostly because I did not observe my area closely enough or was not patient enough.

 

I am looking forward to downloading the additional levels, but I won't touch those until I finish the game. Splinter Cell gets a way big thumbs up from me.

 

-Dean-

[Jason Merrick]

I couldn't agree with you more... Splinter Cell is the best game I have ever played... by far.

 

I tried Metal Gear Solid: Substance after finishing up Splinter Cell and I just couldn't get used to the camera (or lack of one). Gave up and sold it after a few plays.

[Chris]

Splinter Cell is just great. One of the things I've been looking forward to since hooking up to Live is downloading and playing the new mission.

[Sam P]

Yup, me too. I didn't play Splinter Cell till about 2 weeks ago. Been enjoying it so far. I'm just about done the CIA mission.

[JohnE]

Count me a big fan too. One of the few games in recent memory I've played through twice. Bring on the sequel!

[JFo]

Originally posted by JohnE:

Count me a big fan too. One of the few games in recent memory I've played through twice.

 

I can say the same thing. The funny thing about playing this game through the second time is that you can get through the levels in a completely different way than you did the first time, keeping it fresh and interesting.

 

Bring on the sequel!

 

Hell yeah! And bring on those two new downloadable levels!

[General Zot]

When do the two new level become available?

[Jason Merrick]

One in September and one in October...

[PoisonJam]

You know, it pains me to admit it but I never got into Splinter Cell. As with most big releases, I tracked the game for months beforehand, devouring hands-on previews, poring over screenshots, drooling at video, and playing through the OXM demo dozens of times. My wife got it for me for Xmas, and I don't think I've ever unwrapped a game as quickly as I did that one. I played through the training level and I was suitably impressed with the control options and graphics, but when the game actually started it kind of left me cold a bit. I played for a while, but it wasn't really grabbing me so I put it down. A few days later I felt like I had to give it another shot, so I really plowed through for about 45 minutes, but at the end of that time I still wasn't hooked. Now I look at it on the shelf and wonder where we went wrong.

 

I just know that one of these days I'm going to pick it up again and it will hit me all of a sudden, and then I'll be searching through the archives of this forum so I can update this very post with "I can't believe I said that!". But to date, Splinter Cell and Hitman 2 remain the only two games that I regret purchasing (or asking for as a gift, in SC's case).

[JohnE]

I know where your coming from PoisonJam. I can think of a couple of games that got great critical acclaim and that players seemed to love but for some reason just didn't click for me. Ocarina of Time and Deus Ex are the two big ones for me. I've tried both at least twice and just didn't get it.

 

I hang onto those games that everyone else loves and I don't, in the hope that someday I'll be sitting around bored and give 'em another try and will suddenly "get it". That's the plan anyway.

[Sam P]

To each their own, right guys?

 

I love both SC and Hitman 2, but Project Gotham Racing (though it received generally very good reviews) never did it for me. I'm very much a car / driving enthusiast outside the gaming world so "arcadey" racers generally don't impress me much at all. Gran Turismo, on the other hand, I can play all day long.

 

It's not that I don't "get" PGR, but I dislike it for my own reasons.

 

You've probably got your own reasons for the lack of enthusiasm for SC.

[Jason Merrick]

I am the same way with Hitman 2 and PGR. With Hitman 2 I just couldn't get used to the camera and I could never get the dude to successfully battle anyone close up -- I'd just end up running around my intended victim in circles. This was my experience on two different occasions separated by about 2 months. Then I traded it in.

 

PGR on the other hand I borrowed from my bro-in-law and just couldn't get into it. I had just finished playing Sega GT for 2 months straight and was bored stiff playing PGR... go figure!

 

But to say those things about Splinter Cell, that's just going too far... you're over the line now buddy!

[PoisonJam]

You've probably got your own reasons for the lack of enthusiasm for SC.

 

I wish I could pinpoint them. I mean, the graphics are fantastic, the sound is great, I generally like stealth-based games, the controls are spot-on, all of the pieces are right there, but it just doesn't come together for me.

 

I think part of it is the "platformy" aspect of it. Early on in the game you have to make your way through somebody's house and you end up on a balcony (my memory sucks, so I apologize for any inaccuracies). But there is no discernable way off the balcony...it appears to be a dead-end. I must have run back and forth, back through the house, back all the way to the starting point, retraced my steps back to the balcony, over and over again trying to figure out what to do before finally giving up and reading a walk-through. Oh, I was supposed to jump and and slide down a pole to get off the balcony. Okay. Next puzzle. How do I get from one balcony to the other? Oh, there's a spot where I can jump. Whoops, someone heard me, restart. Wait for him to clear. Jump, run around the corner, whoops someone spotted me, restart.

 

You could argue from the previous paragraph that perhaps I just sucked at the game (and I wouldn't disagree with you ) but it was that kind of stop-and-start, trial-and-error, what-the-bloody-hell-do-I-do-now stuff that turned me off. I guess I like my games a little more straight-forward. Like in Ghost Recon, there's never a question of where you need to go or what you need to do, just how you are going to do it. Same thing in Halo, and even Hitman 2 while we're on the subject. I just never really knew what the heck was going on in Splinter Cell.

 

Believe me, that's not a knock on the game itself. More of a knock on me, actually. Maybe I'm just not clever enough to be Sam Fisher.

[Brogan]

Splinter Cell is one of my favorites. I'm currently playing through it a second time, this time on the harder difficulty. I played through Kola Cell recently too, and I thought it was great.

 

I had the same experience with MGS2; I played it after Splinter Cell and though I loved the actual gameplay, I just really got sick of watching 40 minutes of confusing cinemas for every 10 minutes of play time. It didn't help, that compared to Splinter Cell, I thought it had really cheese dialouge and voice acting.

 

I'm playing Hitman II right now and really liking it. Seems a lot tougher than either SC or MGS2, and I'm only on the 6th level (14 more to go).

 

That being said, I can see why SC might not click with someone, but I think you'll find it really picks up after the first 45 minutes, so give it another shot.

 

Ironically, I've been meaning to do the same for Jet Set Radio Future. I loved Jet Grind Radio on the DC but on JSRF I just get lost and the goals don't seem to be clear at all to me, so I end up skating in circles for 45 minuted before I just turn it off. Also, not that I mind the music and this is probably blasphemy to many, but I really think a custom soundtrack would have went a long way for this game. But I'm willing to givie it another shot.

[EnemaEms]

OK, how about we do this.....

 

PoisonJam, you give Splinter Cell another shot and Brogan, you gove Jet Set Radio Future another shot. Why? Because both f these games are two of my favs for the X-box.

 

-Dean-

[PoisonJam]

Wow, this is funny--after I posted my last message, I thought about it for a while and I logged back into LCVG to post something thanking you guys for not jumping down my throat for daring to say that Splinter Cell didn't click with me. I was going to use the example of Jet Set, saying that I know if someone posted a message saying they didn't like JSRF, I don't know that I would be able to remain as objective and dispassionate as you guys were with me. And lo and behold, I get to put that very statement to the test!

 

Oh, and Brogan, something is very, very wrong with you for not liking JSRF, you game-hating psycho.

 

Kidding, of course. I can see where some of the objectives might be confusing, and the unique style definitely isn't for everyone. But, to object to the music? Obviously you have no taste, so go back to your Toby Keith or whatever and---er, sorry, sorry, I apologize again. Yes...ah...the music...might not be to...(swallow)...er, might not be to everyone's...liking...as well.......oh, I just can't do it. (breaks down in sobs)

 

Okay, I'm better now.

[Brogan]

I'm beginning to think something is "very, very wrong" with me for not getting into JSRF right off the bat. Especially since I was such a fan of Jet Grind Radio and JSRF was one of the reasons I bought an XBOX to begin with.

 

Don't worry though, I'm gonna' give it another shot and work through my issues (hello gamefaqs.com). I guess the main thing for me was the frustration level. There was one level in particular (looked kind of like a junk yard, if I remember correctly) that just totally lost me. I quit playing shortly thereafter.

 

"Toby Keith"...after I figured out who that was I seriously laughed out loud, just like a bad internet cliche. Like I said, I don't really have a problem with the music per se, it's just when you suck at the game and have to listen to the same songs ad nauseum, you start wishing for a little variety. (eg. Weezer, Guster, Wilco, Verbena, Jayhawks, Clutch and anything else currently on my hard drive etc...). I knew I'd get some flak for criticizing the music, but I say if you can take advantage of custom soundtracks then where's the harm?

 

Along these lines; I could never get into Agressive Inline despite it's boffo ratings, yet I actually kind of like the hated BMXXX...I guess the first step in dealing with a problem is admitting you have one.

[Chris]

Argh! Now you guys are hating two of my favorite games instead of just one

 

PoisonJam, I had a similar experience. Played the heck out of the demo, read all the previews etc. The first mission in SC just didn't do it for me, though. I just kind of felt like I was flailing the whole time. As the game progressed, though, I began to feel like the espionage master that Sam Fisher is supposed to be. That was a great feeling, and made the difficult challenges that followed that much more fun.

 

JSRF rules!

[PoisonJam]

Hee hee, no, nothing is wrong with you, dude. And I think you are talking about the Rokkakku-Dai Heights section, which was pretty damn frustrating. (Wait until you get to the skyscraper area!) Much in the same way that Splinter Cell didn't "click" with me for unknown reasons, JSRF did "click" for equally unknown reasons. I never owned a DC so I never played the original, and this was also the first cel-shaded game I had played, so it was totally and completely unlike any other game I had ever played before. For me it was love at first boot, but I can certainly see why it wasn't a huge smash hit for Sega.

 

As for the music, I love most of the songs in the game, but there are a few that I dislike intensely, and also I didn't like how there was a set few songs that would play on each level. For instance, I didn't start to hear "Fly Like a Butterfly" until I reached the skycoaster level, or "The Scrappy" until I reached the sewers. So if you were stuck in a particular level for a long time I can certainly see how you would grow pretty damn tired of the same 10 songs (or whatever) playing over and over again.

 

Let's take Dean up on his suggestion--you play through Jet Set again and I'll boot up Splinter Cell. If you get stuck in the game and you don't want to read a walkthrough, feel free to email or PM me. You can also start a topic if you like; I'm sure there are lots of folks here who would be able to help you out.

 

Good luck, brother.

[Brogan]

Sounds good to me!

 

And you should go out and buy a DC and Jet Grind Radio, I'm guessing you could get both for under $30 used.

[Sam P]

PoisonJam,

 

I know what you're talking about.

 

I have the same problems in general with puzzle type games. I can get most of them on my own, but every now and then I would stumble across something simple and it will take me ages to figure it out.

 

I used to be really stubborn and would not use a game guide if my life depended on it. I bought a Prima guide for SC, and it's been very, very helpful. I never look at it until I get stuck - and that helps quell both my frustration and the pace of the game. I hate it when a 30 second task takes 30 minutes. Just ruins everything.

 

Regarding Jet Set, that's another one I never really got into.

 

I bought it for the DC but only played about 3 hours of it. Then I dropped it and never had the desire to come back. Maybe it's the subject matter. <shrug>

[PoisonJam]

And you should go out and buy a DC and Jet Grind Radio, I'm guessing you could get both for under $30 used.

 

Ah, would that I could. I actually had the machine in my hands, along with Jet Grind, for the low, low price of $40 for both. But my wife very politely pointed out that if I brought one more game machine into the house, I would be welcome to sleep in the garage and nowhere else. :oops:

 

Some day...