The primary focus and hallmark ofSplinter Cell's gameplay is stealth, with strong emphasis on light and darkness. Theplayer is encouraged to move through the shadows for concealment whenever possible. The game displays a "light meter" that reflects how visible the player character is to enemies, andnight vision andthermal vision goggles to help the player navigate in darkness or smoke/fog, respectively. The light meter functions even when it is difficult to gauge how much light is in the environment (for example, if night vision or infrared vision is being used), and it is possible to destroy lights, thus reducing the chances of exposure significantly. Certain cameras can also be shot out and destroyed, although armoured security cameras are bulletproof.
Splinter Cell strongly encourages the use of stealth over brute force. Although Sam Fisher is sometimes armed, he carries limited ammunition and is rarely provided with access to additional bullets. The player begins most missions with a limited supply ofless-than-lethal weapons in addition to Fisher's firearms, asuppressedFN Five-Seven pistol that is provided for most mission, as well as a similarly silencedFN F2000assault rifle which is only available for a number of missions, which includes atelescopic sight and a launcher for some of theless-lethal devices such asring airfoil projectiles, "stickyshockers" andCS gas grenades. The weapon can even fire a camera that sticks onto surfaces, allowing Fisher to covertly perform surveillance from a safe area.
Flexibility of movement is a focus point ofSplinter Cell. Fisher can sneak up on enemies from behind to grab them; allowing interrogation, quiet incapacitation, or use as ahuman shield. Acrobatic and physically adept, Fisher has a variety of maneuvers including the ability to mantle onto and climb along ledges, hang from pipes and perform a "split jump" in narrow spaces to mantle up a steep wall.
In August 2004, formerU.S. Navy SEAL officerSam Fisher joins theNational Security Agency, as part of its newly formed division "Third Echelon", headed by his old friend Irving Lambert. Two months later, aided by technical expert Anna "Grim" Grimsdóttír and field runner Vernon Wilkes Jr., he is sent toGeorgia to investigate the disappearance of twoCIA officers. One had been installed into the new government ofGeorgian president Kombayn Nikoladze, who seized power in a bloodlesscoup d'état following theassassination of his predecessor; the other was sent in to find the first after her disappearance. Fisher discovers both were murdered on Nikoladze's orders by formerSpetsnaz member Vyacheslav Grinko, after it transpires that Georgia is secretly waging an ethnic cleansing campaign acrossAzerbaijan with Georgian commandos. After this is exposed to the international community,NATO launches action in Azerbaijan, prompting Nikoladze to go underground.
Third Echelon soon discovers adata exchange is taking place between aCaspianoil rig and the Georgianpresidential palace. Fisher intercepts this, discovering information about an item called "The Ark", as well as evidence that there is amole in the CIA. Shortly after this,North America is hit by a massivecyber warfare attack directed at military targets, to which Nikoladze claims responsibility beforedeclaring war on the United States and its allies. Investigating theleak, Fisher infiltrates the CIA headquarters and discovers a staff member backed-up data to an unsecured laptop. He captures the employee, who explains that the laptop was later exploited by aVirginian-based network owned by Kalinatek, Inc, a tech company controlled by the Georgians. After Grim's efforts toaccess their servers spooks them, Fisher is sent in to recover anencryption key from a technician in the building, before Georgian-hiredmafiosos attempt to liquidate all the incriminating evidence. While extracting Fisher, Wilkes is mortally wounded and dies soon afterwards.
With the encryption key, the NSA discover that Nikoladze has been using a network of unconventionalrelays to contact Georgian military cells. Tracing the full relay network back to the Chineseembassy inYangon,Myanmar, Fisher is sent in discreetly to investigate. He finds that Nikoladze is working alongside Chinesegeneral Kong Feirong, supplying him withnuclear waste in exchange for arms and munitions. Fearful this could lead China and the United States into war, Fisher moves to rescue captured U.S. soldiers at anabattoir before they can be executed live in a web broadcast, in the process encountering high-ranking Chinesediplomats, who reveal Feirong acts against the best interests of China. Grinko, who is at the abattoir, attempts to kill Fisher, but meets his demise in Fisher's attempt to protect the hostages. Returning to the Chinese embassy, Fisher moves in to capture Feirong for information on Nikoladze's location and to expose his rogue activities to theChinese government. After being prevented from committingsuicide in adrunken stupor, Feirong is threatened at gunpoint to access his computer, with its data revealing that Nikoladze had fled back to Georgia in order to activate "The Ark". He subsequently dies from an alcoholoverdose.
Infiltrating the Georgian presidential palace where Nikoladze is, alongside the newly installed Georgian president Varlam Cristavi, Fisher attempts to recover the key to the Ark, which he learns is in fact a nuclearsuitcase bomb that has been placed somewhere in the United States. Fisher corners Nikoladze, who bargains to give the Ark key in exchange for safe passage out of Georgia. After Cristavi's forces arrive and escort Nikoladze to safety, Lambert rescues Fisher from execution by causing apower blackout, diverting attention from Fisher. Discovering that Nikoladze is offering the Ark's location for protection, Fisherassassinates him on Lambert's orders. TheNational Guard eventually locates the bomb in an apartment complex inMaryland, and secretly recovers it after evacuating the building under the pretense of dealing with agas leak. Despite a war being averted, Nikoladze's death sparks international backlash due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding it. While watching theU.S. president giving a speech on the end of the crisis, Fisher receives a secure phone call from Lambert foranother assignment.
Ubisoft began development of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell in 2001, after acquiring the Tom Clancy license in 2000. Meanwhile, the game's story was being written as early as 1999,[22][23] the game originally started development as a sci-fi,James Bond type game calledThe Drift, which Ubisoft intended to be "aMetal Gear Solid 2 killer".[15] The game's producerMathieu Ferland said "Metal Gear Solid was a huge inspiration forSplinter Cell."[14] The game's designer and writerClint Hocking also saidSplinter Cell "owes its existence to" theMetal Gear series, while noting he was also influenced bySystem Shock,Thief andDeus Ex.[13] The screenplay was written with input from Michael Ironside, who was paidCA$250,000 (equivalent to $392,750 in 2023) for his voiceover work and suggested edits to the story.[24][25]
Because the development team was aiming for a TeenESRB rating, the team tried to minimize the level of violence.[26] The soundtrack for the game was composed by English composerMichael Richard Plowman.
The PC version ofTom Clancy's Splinter Cell is fairly closely based on the originalXbox version. Both were made by Ubisoft Montreal. The GameCube andPlayStation 2 versions, released later, were developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and are similar to each other, but have many small changes over the originals with the result that they are generally easier. Some doors are moved around, guards are less likely to notice gunshots, etc.
Each version of the game has some exclusive features. The Xbox and Windows versions have three new downloadable missions which involve a Russian nuclear sub. The PlayStation 2 version includes an exclusive level between Kalinatek and the Chinese Embassy which takes place in a nuclear power plant in theKola Peninsula, new cinematics, a new intro cinematic with original music by the Prague Orchestra and many behind-the-scenes interviews and documentaries both about the new intro and the game itself. The GameCube version includes the same cinematics, uses the Game Boy Advance link cable to give players a real-time overhead map, a new sticky-bomb weapon andprogressive scan (480p) support. Additionally, both the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions include new binoculars items. The Windows versions also includes support for theEAX 3.0 ADVANCED HD3D positional audio technology byCreative Labs, which available in the EMU10K2 processor-based Soundcard such as theSound Blaster Audigy and Audigy 2 series.[27]
APlayStation 3 version of the game was released in September 2011 as part of theSplinter Cell Trilogy in Sony'sClassics HD series. It is aport of the PC version,[28] but does not include the downloadable bonus missions that the Xbox and PC versions had. This version featurestrophy support.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell received positive reviews upon the game's release.GameSpot's Greg Kasavin said thatSplinter Cell has "hands down the best lighting effects seen in any game to date."[67]GameSpot later namedSplinter Cell the second-best Xbox game of November 2002, behindMechAssault.[97]IGN likewise praised the game for its graphics and lighting, while also praising how it evolvedMetal Gear Solid's third-person stealth-action gameplay.[83] Both praised the game's audio, noting that Michael Ironside as Sam Fisher's voice suited the role perfectly. Scott Alan Marriott ofAllGame gave the Xbox version four-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "one of the few games to elicit a feeling of suspense without resorting to shock techniques found insurvival horror titles likeResident Evil."[98]
Criticism of the game was also present. Greg Kasavin said thatSplinter Cell is "sometimes reduced to frustrating bouts of trial and error." In addition, Kasavin criticized the game's cutscenes, saying that they are not up to par with the rest of the game's graphics.[67]
Non video-game publications also gave the game favorable reviews.Entertainment Weekly gave the Xbox version an A and called it "wickedly ingenious".[96]The Village Voice gave the PlayStation 2 version eight out of ten and said, "If this game were any more realistic, you'd have to hold in your farts."[99]The Cincinnati Enquirer gave the Game Boy Advance version all four stars and said that "While it lacks 3-D graphics and an impressive use of lighting and shadows found in its predecessors, the stealthy action game still captures the thrill of modern espionage."[95]
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell was a commercial success.[100] Pre-orders reached 1.1 million units and the game sold 480,000 copies worldwide by the end of 2002, after three weeks on sale.[101] France accounted for 60,000 units in the initial three weeks.[102] By early January 2003, sales in North America had surpassed 1 million units, while Europe accounted for 600,000 units.[103] By March 31, 2003, its sales had risen to 3.6 million copies.[104]Splinter Cell sold 4.5 million copies by June and 5 million by the end of September,[105][100] and its sales reached 6 million units by the end of March 2004.[106] By July 2006, the Xbox version ofSplinter Cell had sold 2.4 million copies and earned $62 million in the United States alone.Next Generation ranked it as the 10th highest-selling game launched for thePlayStation 2,Xbox orGameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country. It remained the best-sellingSplinter Cell game in the United States by July 2006.[107]
The game's PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions each received a "Platinum" sales award from theEntertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[108] given to titles that sell at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[109]Splinter Cell's computer version received a "Silver" sales award from ELSPA,[110] indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[109]
Splinter Cell was a runner-up forComputer Games Magazine's list of the 10 best games of 2003.[117] It wonGameSpot's 2002 "Best Graphics (Technical)" and "Best Action Adventure Game" awards among Xbox games, and was nominated in the "Best Sound", "Best Graphics (Artistic)" and overall "Game of the Year on Xbox" categories.[118]
3rd AnnualGame Developers Choice Awards: "Game of the Year", "Original Game Character of the Year", "Excellence in Game Design", "Excellence in Level Design", "Excellence in Programming"[112]
^Ubi Soft Shanghai developed the PlayStation 2 and GameCube ports, andGameloft developed the adaptation for Game Boy Advance, mobile, and N-Gage. i5works developed the Mac OS X port.[11]
^Smith, Dustin (October 13, 2004)."Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell".Inside Mac Games.Archived from the original on February 25, 2008. RetrievedOctober 26, 2008.
