Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent Review

Gruff, tireless agent Sam Fisher and his top-secret missions in all the Splinter Cell games have helped to popularize a style of play that blends a lot of sneaking around with quick, short doses of extreme force. But if you've only played Splinter Cell on the GameCube, you'd never know what all the fuss was about. Versions of the series that have appeared on Nintendo's console during the past several years have tended to be stripped of their visual embellishments, as well as some of their key features. Unfortunately, this latest episode is no exception.

Additionally, you and your partner will get to use a variety of double-team moves, such as using one another as a human ladder. Some cool new co-op moves are also in here, such as the ability to cooperatively interrogate foes for when a little intimidation is not enough. The co-op missions still feel rough around the edges, because it's possible for both players to instantly fail if just one player makes a wrong step off a ledge, for instance. But this mode can still be fun, and it's also worth noting that there are nearly four times more co-op missions here than were bundled with Chaos Theory. Only the Xbox version features cooperative play online, which is another reason the Xbox version is definitely the one to get (at least of the old console versions) if you have the choice.

It's impossible to look at the GameCube version of Splinter Cell Double Agent completely in a vacuum when there are other, far superior versions of the game available for the same price and with much more to offer. It has a decent campaign, and the co-op missions aren't bad, but so much of Splinter Cell has to do with the graphical presentation and how it ties in to gameplay that this version just can't be recommended. Even if judged strictly on its own merits, while ignoring the presence of other versions, Splinter Cell Double Agent for the GameCube comes up short.

Gamespot