Splinter Cell: Double Agent
A hard man is good to find…
You’ll probably wonder why I insist on recommending action video games which are several years old. Well, the geek in me my geekiness is to blame, coupled with the fact that I’ve moved on from my “movie” phase into a gaming phase. Also, the reason also lies in the fact that Xbox 360 games are graphically impressive (well, most of them), but since my console RRoD-ed on me after seven games, you’ll be reading about those for a while.
Double Agent is my first Splinter Cell game I had the patience to finish, even though real Splinter Cell will surely try to convince me that this is a major flaw and that I should have first finished Pandora Tomorrow, but the fact is I chose this one because it was the prettiest one 🙂
The game was published on all platforms, but the basic storyline is the only thing in common to all of them – gameplay and missions set for Sam Fisher in the X360/PS3/PC, and Xbox/PS2/Wii versions are completely different. Formerly-next-gen-now-current-gen version for XBOX360/PS3/PC introduced major changes compared to previous games from the franchise in regards to the gameplay mechanics – the HUD is gone, there is just a green/yellow/red indicator on Sam’s back telling you if you’re fucked and just how much. Apart from that, the environments in the missions are huge, there is a lot to explore, walk around and browse, starting from the HQ of the terrorist organization Fisher infiltrates, with several floors, detailed environments and NPC’s, moving on to a snow-covered tanker in the Sea of Okhotsk, down to a luxurious cruise ship The Cozumel. On the other hand, the XBOX variety is standard, follows the same story, but concentrates on different events. Even though this is one of the most advanced games for Microsoft’s last generation console, the environments seem quite small compared to those on the 360. Of course, graphics are not everything, the story and the gameplay are equally important, and those are similar in both version of the game.
When I first started playing, Sam Fisher was not really interesting to me, but a few hours into the game, I started to like the character. And why wouldn’t I – agile, cool, silent, brooding and handsome, daddy-type-of-guy with a dark past. I’m sure I wouldn’t throw him out of my bed for eating crackers and leaving a mess.
In any case, you can read proper reviews on the linked pages, and all I can offer with that is a recommendation to give this videogame a shot because you just might get a new virtual, CGI hunk in your life.
I will conclude this blatant gay fanboyism with a glance into the future – there, we can look forward to the fifth installment in the franchise, entitled Conviction, which promises a renegade, rough, unshaven Fisher with emo hair. Six years of shaving his head and wearing the same identical gear is quite enough, and the authors have decided that it’s time for a change. Let’s just hope they stick to their original ideas. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction will be out on the PC and XBOX 360 when it’s out, apparently, because there have already been two major delays (initial release date was November 2007). According to the latest rumours, it seems we will have to wait until 2009. Let’s just hope it’s worth it.
A hard man is good to find…
Sigurno ćete se zapitati zašto inzistiram na preporukama nekoliko godina starih akcijskih igara. E, pa za to je kriv geek u meni kriva moja gikovština i činjenica da sam trenutno iz filmske prešao u igraću fazu. Također, to je djelomično i zato što su igre za Xbox 360 grafički impresivne (barem dobar dio njih), ali kako mi je konzola krepala vrlo brzo, još ćete neko vrijeme čitati o igrama koje sam uspio odigrati.
Double Agent je prva igra iz Splinter Cell serijala koju sam prošao do kraja, iako će me pravi Splinter Cell fanovi jamačno uvjeravati kako je to strašan propust i kako sam prvo trebao proći barem Pandoru Tomorrow, ali činjenica je da sam se ovoga nastavka dohvatio jer je vizualno najatraktivniji.
Igra je izašla na svim mogućim platformama, no osnovna priča igre jedino je što te verzije dijele – način igre i misije kroz koje Sam Fisher prolazi u X360/PS3/PC, odnosno Xbox/PS2/Wii varijanti posve su različite. Prije-next-gen-sada-current-gen varijanta za XBOX360/PS3/PC donijela je velike promjene u odnosu na prethodne igre iz franšize vezano uz mehaniku igre, nema više HUD-a u donjem uglu ekrana, imate samo indikator zeleno/žuto/crveno na Samovim leđima koji vam kazuje jeste li najebali i koliko. Osim toga, okolina u misijama je ogromna, ima mnogo toga za istražiti, pregledati i prehodati, od sjedišta terorističke organizacije koju Fisher inflitrira s njezinih nekoliko katova, detaljno uređenih prostora i NPC-ova, preko tankera prekrivenog snijegom u Okhotskom moru do raskošno i skupo uređenog broda za krstarenje Cozumel. Standardna procedura u igri bila mi je pronjuškati prvo cijeli okoliš, a tek onda napraviti što trebam. S druge strane, varijanta za stari XBOX drži se klasike, slijedi istu priču, ali se usredotočuje na druge događaje. Iako je to jedna od grafički najnaprednijih igara za staru Microsoftovu konzolu (i jedna od posljednih objavljenih), okoline u usporedbi s 360 verzijom djeluju znatno skučenije i jednostavnije. Naravno, nije u grafici sve, važni su i priča i igrivost, a to dvoje je podjednako u obje generacije igre.
U samome startu, kada sam se dohvatio igre Sam Fisher mi nije bio previše drag, ali nakon nekoliko sati uz igru naviknuo sam se na njega i zavolio ga. A zašto i ne bih – spretan, kul, šutljiv, mrk i zgodan, tatica-tip s mračnom prošlošću. Vjerojatno ga ne bih istjerao iz kreveta jer mrvi krekere.
Bilo kako bilo, prave i ozbiljne recenzije na igru sam vam linkao, a povrh toga nudim vam samo preporuku dobre igre i još jednog virtualnog, računalno generiranog komada.
Ovo obožavanje lika i djela Sama Fishera zaključit ću pogledom u budućnost – tamo nas čeka sljedeći, peti nastavak serijala naslovljen Conviction, koji nam po najavama donosi odmetnutoga, čupavijeg, neobrijanijeg Fishera u civilu s emo-frizurom. Šest godina iste obrijane glave i identične opreme je sasvim dovoljno i autori su dobro zaključili da je vrijeme za promjenu. Nadam se samo da će ostati dosljedni inicijalnim idejama. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction izaći će za PC i XBOX360 kad izađe, po svemu sudeći, jer je igra već dvaput odgođena (trebala je biti objavljena još u studenom 2007). Prema najnovijim glasinama, izgleda da ćemo je morati čekati do 2009. Valjda će se čekanje isplatiti.
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