HOLY **** YES. This game is definitely worth the purchase. I bought the special edition so I could immerse myself in all of stealthy goodness.
Even if you don't like the previous SCs, you guys owe it to yourselves to try this game out. It's a little more edgy than the previous games because you're essentially a double agent and you have to act accordingly so you won't blow your cover. If the bad guys ask you to kill a guy, will you do it? If the good guys ask you to risk your life just to wiretap a satellite, would you? The decisions get much more tougher as the game progresses. I'm having a hard time doing everything for both sides I work for.
The gameplay is similar to previous SCs, but the 360 controller makes it so much more enjoyable and easily accessible. The graphics aren't too much of a jump from previous entries, but Sam and other important NPCs have a visible increased poly count, making them appear much smoother. The environments, as always, are beautiful. Just beautiful. Physics engine has improved, too.
Remember in Chaos Theory where you would get a good score if you knocked out enemies rather than killing them? In this game, THROW IT OUT. You lose points for "interacting" with characters not important to the mission. You have to be a completely stealthy operative, meaning nobody [but mission-important individuals] must know you are there at any time. You can't shoot lights, either. I mean, you can, but your score will go down. Even playing the earlier missions becomes increasingly difficult if you're aiming for 100%. Also, your special gadgets are unlockables, obtained only through completing certain missions. I have yet to use any because I don't use my gun for anything ever (gotta get 100%!!).
I can't go that far into detail because the 360 is in repair, but so far this game is amazing!
I friend and I have already beat the game three times for the different endings and getting 100% on every level. Once again, the whole "decisions you make will always have an impact" is completely false. It pretty much comes down to who you kill when the gun is given to you to prove your worth. And of course, only affects the end. Again. That's about it. Major disappointment, but also what I expected. Over all, the single player wasn't as fun as CT, coming in at maybe second or third. I just didn't like the levels, I didn't really enjoy the JBA angle or various other aspects. It's still really good, but not when compared to CT. Splinter Cell 5 should be the game to get, no doubt.
However, multiplayer makes this game completely worth the purchase. It's excellent. Besides CoD2, it's the best online experience yet. There's really only one mode: Spies vs. Mercs, but the two play so differently while being so well balanced (especially when compared to CT) that it doesn't matter that it's the only mode. It's so good it's not even funny.
Did you lost trust of the either places to the point where you didn't lose, but just got a low trust? I thought I heard somewhere that certain conversations or scenes were different. Not sure about that.
I always kept trust high for both, unless I was trying to get a different ending. Barely anything changes except for the end.
Anywho, I got to play the Xobx 1 version of the game... and the single player is disappointingly better than the 360 version.
I have never, ever, been a huge fan of the Splinter Cell series. My friends convinced me to buy Chaos Theory for the Xbox and I didn't like it at all.
So for the past months I didn't even have my eyes on Double Agent, then I got my hands on the multiplayer demo. I seemed to like it quite a bit, so I decided to rent it through Gamefly. So far I've been pleasantly suprised with it. The single player has been quite enjoyable so far. I also just got done with some multiplayer sessions. Point being is that I really suck, but I'm getting more kills as the rounds go on.
I'll be sending back Saints Row this week so I can play F.E.A.R. ***, Saint's Row really sucked.
I liked the storyline of the game and personally i like this single player better than any of the other ones... the multiplayer is great too, better than CT and PT. It's worth the 60 dollar buy. And yes, Saints Row sucks, one reason i'm glad i rented it...
I was kinda disappointed and I don't know why. I mean, *** yes the game was awesome, don't get me wrong. But I still felt like something was missing. Maybe new moves and gadgets? I don't know. The multi-player is definitely one of the high points of the game though. I very much like the new rules and capabilities of both Mercs and Spies.
Spoiler:
The only thing that actually annoyed me was the unbelievability of it at some points. It just felt ridiculous at times. An example would be this P-A strip:
[IMG]http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2006/20061024.jpg[/IMG]
One other thing that doesn't actually annoy me but rather just disappoints me is the fact that I didn't feel like any of the choices I made actually impacted Sam Fisher personally. There didn't seem to be much feeling for it. Maybe it's just me but I felt like, although this game was based around choices, those choices didn't do much other than determine an ending. The only time I felt that there was a slight sign of impact to Sam Fisher was when given the choice of killing Lambert. (I can't believe he weights 270 lbs though... he seems to weigh a max of 250. Read the manual.) Again, this could just be me and it most likely is. (Not the weight thing but the lack of feeling and impact)
I still loved the game seeing as I'm a huge SC fan to begin with. I just can't get enough of that sneaking ****.
Yeah, even after Sam's daughter was killed you were like "ok, and then what happens?" That should actually be pretty sad, but instead you end up in a prison however many months later and you never really hear about it again.
Also, the indicator on his back, is of course, just the player. The very idea of it makes no sense in real life, so it's no different than the green indicator in the first three games and the famous glowing goggles. It's all for the player and nothing more.
I havn't played the game I have seen it played and really want to. Thanks for making my thirst to play this game even worse. I thought CT was to easy but this sounds like a challenge. Also it is true about the lights I mean if you don't see a very bright light coming at you ur blind and the guards need some glasses aslo is the multiplayer inmproved CT was a bit dissapointing