The King is dead, long life to The King...
I guess the most players love Splinter Cell because of its singularity: there was no similar game... Everything was just perfect. Splinter Cell was a game for serious players: think first, then shoot. It always offered a serie of unique features, you could find in Splinter Cell only... Unfortunatelly, nothing lasts forever.
This release is a complete mess: a terrible mix between 3rd person shooter and some kind of cheap arcade game: unlimited ammo, weapon creates, conveniently placed everywhere.... damn. what did Ubisoft think? I guess Assassin`s Creed 2 drained their creativity....
Many "innovations" are out of place:
Unlimited ammo: what is that, some kind of duck hunt game, from Sega? no way. this was supposed to be a serious game. The next step would be shooting without reloading... one shot, one kill, remember? not this time, I guess...
Creates with weapons: are we at firearms fair, or something like that? you can either change your weapon, or make an upgrade.... I just can`t beleive it...
Experience points: another awful legacy from cheap platform games. it is incredible that Ubisoft has fallen that low. what`s next? will Sam Fisher pick up rings, like Sonic?
Dead Bodies: what good is hiding, being a high trained deadly agent, like Sam Fisher, if you leave a bunch of dead bodies, along your path... I guess it is one of the most insulting "upgrades"... on previous releases, Sam could pick them up and hide them out.
Nowhere to hide: another "innovation": now the screen fades to B//W when you are supposed to be invisible... It looks cool, 1st 5 minutes, after that you realize that is a cheap trick, and does not work well. I missed Ink Black darkness...
Run or walk? another downgrade: impossibility to gradually adjust the speed of displacement... now you can only run or walk. no other choice.
Weapon swap: in previous releases the player could swap weapon from right hand to the left, for convenient shooting from a corner, not this time.
Damn, the list of flaws can go on, go on and go on...
all the "innovations" mentioned above, go against the concept of Splinter Cell: being stealth, being quite, smart and deadly...
Graphic engine: not bad, but looks old fashioned. nothing new. nothing that make to say you "Wow!", a complete waste of your graphic card resources.
the bakgrounds look cheap and false, like Hal-Life... 11 years ago.
Gameplay. well, this one is not bad, but offers nothig new, nothing original.
Well, I think this game is a complete waste of time and money. Sam Fisher should be retired with honors, while it is possible, before Splinter Cell becomes a "worst game of the year". In our memories, Splinter Cell has always occupied one of the highest places, so let`s leave it this way. amen