E3 2006 First Look Preview
The
years have not been kind to Sam Fisher. His daughter was killed by a drunk
driver while he was away on an assignment and now he’s on the run from the law,
framed for a crime he didn’t commit. So begins Splinter Cell Double Agent, the
fourth game in the long-running Splinter Cell franchise. Splinter Cell Double
Agent puts you as Sam Fisher, the fallen hero, as he tries to ally himself with
a terrorist group in order to infiltrate them from the inside. However, the
closer he gets to the enemy, the more ties he severs from the NSA…
The
team at Ubisoft decided to go from the ground up with Double Agent, in an effort
to make it a fresh experience to fans of the series. They based some portions of
the game on a Hong Kong film called Infernal Affairs, which involved a mole hunt
for a guy placed undercover in the mafia. In the game you’ll have two different
sets of goals: one for the NSA and one for the terrorist group. However, your
standings will shift dependent on who you perform more missions for. For
example, if you do more for the NSA, then you’ll gain kudos on their side, but
lose brownie points for the terrorists and visa versa. The new multiple path
theme starts out very soon, requiring you to quickly decide whether or not to
kill an innocent man in cold blood in order to get an in with the terrorists
right off of the bat (however, the team was quick to stress that this is not one
of the hardest decisions you’ll have to make).
Another
section had Fisher hiding out while a terrorist killed a civilian. While Fisher
could’ve intervened, it would’ve resulted in his cover being blown, more
civilians getting killed and a bunch of other nasty things happening. As the
player, you must gauge and weigh the pros and cons of several different
approaches.
From
the technical standpoint, Double Agent is a great looking game, complete with
great physics and special effects. The environments are interactive, meaning
that objects in the background can be used to take enemies out, which is a nice
touch when it comes to getting rid of someone without a weapon. Sam Fisher
himself looks great, sporting a new bald look. You can see nearly every weapon
in his inventory, you watch him sweat, you can even see scars on his head and
put sunglasses on his face.
Double
Agent is shaping up to be a compelling title that will serve as a great entry to
the successful franchise.
