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| Tom Clancys Splinter Cell Double Agent |
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| Stealth |
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| Ubisoft |
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| Ubisoft |
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20th October 06 |
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17th October 06 |
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18+ |
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(M) - Mature |
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I managed to get a play of the demo at one of Ubisoft’s press events earlier this year; however time was limited and we didn’t have enough time to fully test the game. Well with the arrival of the demo on the Live Marketplace yesterday I was glad to finally be able to sit down in the comfort of familiar surroundings and play the multiplayer demo fully. Obviously the demo is a mere shadow of what the full game will offer and this is highlighted by the fact that a number of options in the demo are simply locked. What the demo does allow is for players to play on one map “The Motorway” in a spies versus mercenaries battle of wits over Xbox Live either against fellow gamers or bots in the co-op mode which is also available. The demo allows players to undertake system link games although players with a Silver Live membership can still play the co-op mode here with bots.
Looking at what the community is saying it seems that a number of loud voiced veterans of Chaos Theory and Pandora Tomorrow multiplayer are up in arms and perhaps divided in opinion. It has been no secret that the team developing the multiplayer have stated their intension of making the multiplayer aspect more accessible to new players. Obviously this is going to annoy vets as the changes can be seen as quite a contrast from the previous games. However as a fan of the series, in my opinion there should be no doubt that this new multiplayer, whilst different still offers the classic cat and mouse game play. The question one has to ask or more importantly Ubisoft is; have we succeeded in making the unique style of multiplayer more appealing to gamers? From my point of view the answer is , yes and no.
The biggest problem I see with the game is that players still need to spend a lot of time learning the maps, more so if you play on the merc team and when games start getting very competitive as people learn the maps it will become crucial for success knowing the layout of the maps. In the respect of spies the game feels more fluid in terms of where you can go and whilst perhaps a little daunting at first for new players; the white outline which shows where you can jump, crawl or duck under does aid new players in how they can navigate the large map. Mercs aren’t granted such luxuries and whilst both spies and mercs can view an onscreen map at all times; for the mercs at least it doesn’t help if say you are a new player and you want to get to the blue terminal from the red in a hurry. So for mercs especially; players are going to have to spend time as spies and mercs to get the flavour of the map. For most players I assume they will use what they have learnt as spies and incorporate that into their play style when playing as a merc i.e I know my sneaky hiding places and will assume that others are going to use them also.
Looking at the actual game play which pits 3 spies versus 3 mercs; players on the spy team have to hack one of four colour coded terminals and then bring the data back to the spy spawn point. The mercs on the other hand are there to stop this from happening. If the mercs kill all spies or if the timer runs out then mercs win. If the spies can successfully hack the terminals and bring back the data twice, then they win.
It is a pretty simple premise and with the layout of the map using four open areas connected by corridors and walkways where the terminals are; as spies at least your objectives are never far away and fairly easy to get to, thanks to the outlines and map.
The game play in general remains the same as the previous games; however there have been a number of changes which has caused a divide amongst fans and vets. The first change for the spies is the removal of the spy gun and replacing it with a hacking tool. The hacking tool allows spies to smash glass, hack doors, disable lights and of course hack the terminals and mercs if you wish. The premise being that the closer you are the quicker the hack. The other change for spies is the removal of gadgets. Spies will no longer be able to select between alarm snares or smoke grenades and are now given one choice only. The demo only allows for flashbangs but the full game will have other devices such as health syringes, scramblers, smoke grenades and perhaps some others. So spies now have to make the choice as to what tool they are going to bring along prior to the game start depending on how they wish to play.
The mercs have had perhaps the most changes as they no longer have any gadgets whatsoever other than the remote spy cam. So that means, no proximity mines, poison mines, laser mines. No spy traps and no gas masks or camera network. The mercenaries guns and vision modes have been changed. The first is the motion sensor vision has been replaced with a sensor built into the mercs visor which activates automatically and doesn’t disrupt the mercs vision. Spies who are running in view of a merc now have a white outline to make them appear clearer. It’s the same as the motion sensor except the view is clearer and it doesn’t have to be selected, so mercs can keep the flashlight on and still track a fast moving spy. The second change is the sound detector which would highlight the direction of enemy sound appearing as lines around the mercs crosshairs. This has been replaced with a proximity sensor which detects heart beats within a certain range of the merc. However unlike the sound sensor it does not determine the exact location of the heartbeat and so is harder to track enemies. On a plus note the sensor beeps when a spy is close by regardless of whether the spy is moving or not. This device has caused a divide amongst players and fans as it does take away some of the stealth elements from previous games. However that said and after extensive play the sensor does become useful for both the spy and the merc and still allows spies to remain hidden from mercs. For mercs the sensor simply alerts them that a spy is nearby and so will create a situation where the merc will hang around until the spy is found. For the spies the sensor can be heard and so alerts the spy that a merc is nearby especially mercs that aren’t as noticeable if they are clever to not use the flashlight all the time. When faced with a merc closing in the spy has the option to move to a concealed area and wait or to move out of the sensors range and wait for the merc to move elsewhere.
In general for the spies, the game play has been tweaked to make spies use more stealth as opposed to the aggressive play that littered the previous game. In my play time it became very clear that spies who go it alone really have to have vast knowledge of the map and must learn when to move on to another terminal if the one they are hacking becomes heavily guarded. Lone spies have to adapt their game play to remain hidden from mercs at all times and so forces spies to stay out of the open as much as possible. That’s not to say that lone spies can’t be aggressive, as they can and with the neck snap and drop down moves means killing mercs is very much possible. In terms of the sensor, clever spies can easily neck grab mercs around tight corners and room with plenty of hiding places. For purist these situations are generally to be avoided although when cornered the spy is agile enough and has enough options to escape due to the seemingly increased places to hide in the level. One thing I noticed was when faced with a terminal and no mercs, I would systematically hack the lights and any possible locked doors before attempting to hack the terminals (which alerts everyone playing when they are hacked). With the onus on spies being less aggressive and more sneaky there certainly is a lot more hide and seek and perhaps aggressive players will need to rethink their tactics.
The team element has been heightened as players can now work as a tight group of three. Teamwork is crucial for players wanting to be more aggressive and with the proximity sensor being a tool which can also confuse mercs, means that smart spies can easily take down a lone merc. Spies have options to hack terminals independently across the map so as to divide mercs into three. Or they can focus on one terminal to try for a quick victory. Once players become more accustomed to the maps then no doubt matches will be tense and furious.
The mercs game play remains pretty much the same as before and has retained some of the moves such as the berserk and charge. Not having mines does simplify the game a lot but again the added proximity detector means that mercs generally will be spending time hunting spies directly rather than resorting to remote devices for kills. The remote camera is a nice addition for getting to places which can’t be reached but being unable to move when the camera is in use, effectively takes one player out of play especially if the camera is used as a recon unit. The camera takes a little time to get used to as the control method is unusual; however it’s not overly difficult and despite a few bumps can navigate the vents etc with ease. The range is also tailored to remain fair so that mercs can’t send the camera into spy spawn points.
Splinter Cell Double agent multiplayer demo also features a co-op mode which pits one or up to three human controlled spies versus two or three AI controlled players (Bots). There are two missions available which are based on spies simply hacking the four terminals as much as possible within a time limit. The two missions are the same with one having an easy difficulty and the other hard. The differences are quite substantial in that the bot AI is vastly different. This has been the first time I have played against the AI and I wasn’t sure how well they would fare. In general the AI is aggressive as you would expect and quite clever on occasion as they will launch grenades at you if you are dug in. There have been a few instances where I have managed to hide in the upper regions of the map and elude the guards for quite some time. A problem here is that the game then becomes boring as you sit there and hack. I think the added urgency will arrive once certain scoring conditions apply and so players that sit far away from terminals might not hack as much data as players that take risks and hack close to the terminal. The co-op mode is certainly an interesting feature and can be played as a single player game and works as perfect training for versus matches against human players.
The demo does a good job of representing what the core essence of the game will provide when it releases later this week. Will the mode appeal to a wider audience? I certainly feel it will; however not as many as perhaps Ubisoft are hoping for. There is still a lot of learning to do and of course time investment and once again competent players of either side will no doubt dominate the more casual players every time the game is played. Splinter Cell multiplayer has been revised and perhaps stripped down to its core without all the distractions that were in previous versions. It is now more focused on hunting and the hunted and for this the game cannot be faulted. It will be interesting to hear the views of so called vets once the full game is released and whether they will become loyal to this incarnation of the multiplayer game.
Preview By: Robert Cram
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