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vCheats.com - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials
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List Price: $19.99
Our Price: $12.97
Your Save: $ 7.02 ( 35% )
Average Customer Rating:  
Availability:
Manufacturer: UBI Soft
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Batteries Included: 0
Binding: Video Game
Brand: UBI Soft
EAN: 0008888333036
ESRB Age Rating: Rating Pending
Feature: Picking up where Splinter Cell Double Agent ends, the game also takes players back to Fisher's early days as a Navy SEAL
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: UBI Soft
Manufacturer: UBI Soft
Model: 33303
Platform: Sony PSP
Publisher: UBI Soft
Release Date: 2006-03-21
Studio: UBI Soft
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Features
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Picking up where Splinter Cell Double Agent ends, the game also takes players back to Fisher's early days as a Navy SEAL
Both new and classic levels are available, with all the popular weapons and gadgets from the Splinter Cell franchise
Practice your skills in wireless multiplayer modes, challenging friends in Spy vs. Spy Deathmatch
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not Up to Splinter Cell High Standards
Comment: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials brings the fun world of stealth combat to the PSP. I adore the Splinter Cell series and really was looking forward to a PSP version to carry around with me. It just didn't come up to my expectations.
Not that plot really matters in games like these, but what you get in Splinter Cell Essentials is sort of hokey. You've been captured while visiting your daughter's grave, and the people who have caught you go over various missions you've done. As they talk about them, you relive them in your head. This gives the game the ability to leap wildly from situation to situation without any connection at all between them.
I know that PSP controls are going to be more challenging than console controls, but I play a LOT of PSP games. These were just not well designed. Sure, you can get used to them - you can get used to pretty much anything. Still, they could have done a much better job setting up and implementing the PSP controls to provide smooth gameplay.
The graphics are a mixed bag. On one hand, I love the Splinter Cell environment with the various goggles and how the characters animate and react. On the other hand, there's no real shadows, much of the game is dark, and the camera was just AWFUL in several different situations. I've had it go into a super-close zoom while I was trying to navigate in a difficult situation, and I had to play by feel. You're not supposed to be the Blind Sam Fisher.
I like the voice work and the general characters in this series. I also adore this style of gameplay, sneaking along and attempting to infiltrate without being seen. That being said, it seemed like there were a few 'blast away' sections - and not enough set-up to allow you to sneak well.
I think if they'd spent more time in beta-testing, they could easily have worked out some of these control issues and the camera issues. Especially since they were in many cases re-hashing existing situations, so they didn't have to build the characters, environments or moves from scratch. It feels rushed to me. Maybe a sequel release will have more polish.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Splinter Cell Essentials is essentialy terrible
Comment: In all the years that I have played games from pc to xbox 360 to ps2 to psp, this is the worst game I have ever had the misfortune to purchase. These guys are lucky that we live in a society that companies don't have to pay back its customers for simply a terrible product (unless it causes damages). The worst part of it is that Tom Clancy put his name on it. I have bought about everything Tom Clancy has ever written or supported. Not anymore. If this is the dribble that he is willing to support, I for one will no longer believe in anything he backs.
The game controls are terrible. To simply shoot someone you must stop, press the button to arm in which case you are frozen in place, try to aim and shoot all while getting shot without any ability at defense. The graphics are so bad it takes one back to pre windows technology. The story line is boring (well from the brief time I spent on this game). I rarely stop playing a game even if its not up to par. However, after about an hour or so I just had to stop it was so bad.
I highly recommend not playing this game and if you bought it and have not yet played it return it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Splinter Cell is still Splinter Cell
Comment: Sam Fisher's PSP outing may not be perfect, but for a fan of the series, it's just what the doctor ordered. While it may feel unpolished in some places and ancient in others (it brings back things like the "3 alarms and you're out" rule) it's still fairly solid portable Splinter Cell action and who can complain about that!?
So basically, Sam is being interrogated by the FBI and as they bring up old missions he's done, you play 'em. It basically a BS story, but it works alright and the graphic-novel-esque quality to the cut scenes was the right choice for the PSP.
If you've read other reviews about this game, then I'm sure you're wary of the controls... DON'T BE! They are annoying for the first level or two, but once you get used to them, you'll be sneaking, knifing, and sniping just like in the console versions (albeit a bit slower).
As far as the graphics are concerned, they're up to par. The dynamic light system is here as are the vision modes and all the great animations are present as well. It's generally a good looking game, although others on the PSP have since surpassed it.
The gameplay is almost as good as the console versions as you can sneak, jump, interrogate, hide bodies, knife people, etc. At times, it gets a little tedious, as the game throws at you situations where sneaking is VERY hard to do. Yet there are still enough exciting moments to keep this game fun.
For those of you who are too lazy to really read what I've written above (or those who just want to get the facts), I've put together this handy guide.
THE GOOD
-Carries pretty much everything over from the console SCs.
-Brings in knifing and knocking out from Chaos Theory.
-Graphically impressive, for the PSP.
-It's SC, but portable!
-3 extra levels from Pandora Tomorrow including the train level and the
Television Station level.
-Sound quality is excellent, with voiceovers carried over as well.
THE BAD
-Controls are a pain for awhile, but they get better.
-Level choices is terrible (the oil rig from SC1, the NY mission from CT)
It could've been better.
-Sometimes feels too much like SC:PT, which is not a good thing.
-Story is stupid (although it works)
-Some pieces feel a bit unpolished
-Tedious at times and too action-y at times (you shouldn't have to pull
out your gun and mow people down.
THE UGLY
-They got the action for killing someone and knocking them out after
grabbing them wrong (how could they miss that?!).
-No Shadows (except in like three parts, which is teasing)
-No real OCP, despite what manual says (really teasing)
-You can only walk too speeds, the slowest of which is not faster than
enemies, so grabbing them is a pain.
-When you knife bad guys from the front, they shoot you as they go down,
harming you or possibly killing you (why, ubi, why?).
-Loading times suck, but if you don't think about them, it's not too noticeable.
Overall, it's a fun, portable, Splinter Cell experience, but it could've probably used a little more time in development to polish it up more. If you're a SC fan, it's worth the 40 bucks. If not, then I'd wait until the price drops 10-15 dollars before considering it and just going for a console version instead.
7.5/10
Customer Rating:
Summary: A GREAT GAME
Comment: A very special game, with many situations and challenges that make it a GREAT game.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing game
Comment: I have never played any games in the SC series, which I think might be part of my problem. If you have some familiarity with the series (I had read that some missions in this game were taken directly from the console versions), then you probably have some idea of what is going on. I found myself struggling with the awkward character movement and unclear objectives. Also, (and this might be my fault for not reading the instructions) I could not save in the middle of a level and return to that point later. When I saved and turned the game off, it always started me at the beginning of the level instead of where I left off.
I found the game controls to be very clumsy, particularly when trying to manuever Sam near the edge of a cliff or dropoff. It is really easy to send him falling.
As some other reviewers had pointed out, the settings in this game are very dark. You will need to use the night vision goggles most of the time, which gets annoying.
I played Syphon Filter before this one and found that game to be much betterr. If you are looking for a shooter, I would stay away from Splinter Cell and go with something else. If you're a Splinter Cell fan, you might enjoy this game, if you can get past the annoyances.
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