Tighter and more engaging than the first Splinter Cell.
There is never a dull moment from when you start the game, prompting addiction till the endgame sequence. The scenarios are well-planned, complimented with new set environments like the jungles of Indonesia, that uses foliage as a means of stealth opportunity. Talking about stealth, you would notice that most of your ammo is spent on taking out the lights than the guards, which is fun, but can be a bit too failsafe for a challenge.
The interface change is geared towards simplification, which though looks a little bland, works well when you're too engaged in the game to care about the visuals. There are nice subtle improvements in the controls, like you can now open a door when you're carrying a body, duh. But other than these, there's really no new stuff to look forward to, at least for the single-player. This is actually a good thing, for the developers maintain the formula that makes the first game successful, and just make it easier for players to get into. Hard to put down until you see the end-credits!
KingLim