Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

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Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
256px
Developer(s) Ubisoft Shanghai
Ubisoft Milan
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Composer(s) Jack Wall
Series Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Engine Unreal Engine 2.0
Platforms Xbox
Microsoft Windows
Game Boy Advance
Mobile
PlayStation 2
GameCube
PlayStation 3 (HD)
Release date(s)
March 23, 2004
  • Xbox
    NA 20040323March 23, 2004
    EU 20040326March 26, 2004
    JP 20050407April 7, 2005
    Microsoft Windows
      Game Boy Advance
        Mobile
          PlayStation 2
          EU 20040611June 11, 2004
          NA 20040616June 16, 2004
          JP 20050407April 7, 2005
          GameCube
            PlayStation 3
            EU 20110916September 16, 2011
            AUS 20110916September 16, 2011
            NA 20110927September 27, 2011
          Genre(s) Stealth
          Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

          Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is a stealth video game developed and published by Ubisoft Shanghai, while Ubisoft Montreal, developer of the original Splinter Cell, was working on Chaos Theory. Pandora Tomorrow is the second game in the Splinter Cell series endorsed by writer Tom Clancy. The game follows the covert activities of Sam Fisher, an agent working for a black-ops branch of the National Security Agency (NSA) called "Third Echelon". The character, Sam Fisher, is voiced by Michael Ironside. Dennis Haysbert, at that time best known for his role as David Palmer on the television show 24 is the voice for the character Irving Lambert, Fisher's boss, making this the only time he is not voiced by Don Jordan. Lalo Schifrin provides the theme music for the game. The game has been translated to several languages for international distribution. Pandora Tomorrow was entitled Shadow Strike during its development.[2] A remastered, High-Definition, version of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow was announced for the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 on December 20, 2010.[3]

          Plot

          In early 2006, the United States has established a military presence in the newly-independent country of East Timor to train the East Timorese military in their fight against anti-separatist Indonesian guerrilla militias. Foremost among these militias is the Darah Dan Doa (English: Blood and Prayer), led by the charismatic Suhadi Sadono.

          Sadono, once trained by the CIA to help fight communism in the region, has grown resentful of American support of East Timor and its supposed interference with Indonesian sovereignty. Sadono orchestrates a suicide bombing and follow-up attack on the U.S. Embassy in Dili, capturing a number of U.S. military and diplomatic personnel including Douglas Shetland, an old friend and comrade of Sam Fisher.

          Meanwhile, Fisher is sent to infiltrate the embassy and gather intelligence on the Darah Dan Doa. Fisher succeeds in his mission, and the embassy is retaken by the U.S. Army's 1st Delta Force. Sadono escapes, and the United States launches a military campaign in Indonesian territory in an attempt to hunt him down, much to the protests of the Indonesian government who is seeking to protect Sadono.

          Fisher learns that Sadono has masterminded a scheme known as "Pandora Tomorrow", by placing a series of ND133 biological bombs, equipped with the smallpox virus, on American soil. Every 24 hours, Sadono makes encrypted phone calls to each of the bomb carriers to delay the release of the virus. If he is killed or detained, the virus is released and millions of Americans will die. Because Sadono is fighting on the front lines in the conflict, the United States can't risk killing him outright, and is forced to withdraw its forces.

          To prevent Sadano for taking advantage of the situation, Fisher is sent to infiltrate Darah Dan Doa strongholds in order to learn the location of the smallpox bombs so Sadano can be captured. He is assisted in this endeavor by Shetland and his private military company, Displace International. Fisher learns the location of the bombs, and Shadownet spies are sent in to neutralize them. After the bombs are disarmed, NSA's Third Echelon decides to capture Sadono alive instead of assassinating him, due to the problems created when Fisher assassinated former Georgian president Kombayn Nikoladze in late 2004.

          Although Fisher manages to capture Sadono, Third Echelon learns that a rogue CIA operative, Norman Soth has acquired the last smallpox-armed ND133, and intends to detonate it inside Los Angeles International Airport. Soth cares nothing for Indonesia, but intends to get revenge on the United States for a perceived betrayal which resulted in the amputation of his leg years earlier. Fisher infiltrates the airport, kills Soth and his group of terrorists (disguised as airport workers and security guards), and prevents the detonation of the last smallpox-armed ND133 by disguising himself as a maintenance worker and setting the ND133 down behind two policemen, who notice the device almost immediately, and subsequently have the airport evacuated. The Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad is then called in to perform a controlled explosion of the device, which is done by an unmanned vehicle using reinforced steel.

          Gameplay

          Sam Fisher the protagonist in a camouflage suit, during a mission in Pandora Tomorrow.

          The gameplay of Pandora Tomorrow is largely unchanged from the original Splinter Cell. The game features some moderate graphical improvements, as well as minor gameplay changes such as the fact that health kits are no longer an inventory item, and the addition of a laser sight to Sam's pistol that allows the player to know exactly where the rounds will strike, even when moving around. Also, Sam can now open doors while carrying a body, shoot while hanging upside down, SWAT turn past doorways unnoticed (move from one side of the door to other while covered), and perform a half split jump. The SWAT turn was removed and the pistol laser was replaced with an OCP (Optically Channeled Potentiator) which can temporarily disable electronic devices in Chaos Theory, the next entry in the series. The PlayStation 2 and Gamecube versions also feature an additional single player mission to compensate for the abridged gameplay compared to the PC and Xbox versions.

          Development

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          Windows version

          As with the original Splinter Cell, the Windows version is a port of the Xbox version, and duplicated that version's user interface and gameplay. However, the Windows version can run at higher resolutions than the console versions. The "checkpoint" save system from the Xbox version was replaced with the ability to save a game at any time, and the controls were reworked to allow simultaneous use of a keyboard and mouse, with movement speed being controlled by the mouse wheel. None of the bonus content from the other versions are present on this version.

          PlayStation 2/GameCube version

          As with the original Splinter Cell, the PS2/NGC versions are identical in both level layouts, resolution and other assortments of degradation. The framerate tends to stutter slightly more than the Xbox version. Loading times are also longer. Missions are also structured in a different/shorter fashion and the multiplayer component is not as extensive as its Xbox counterpart. The PS2 version boasts extra content, however, including a new Indonesian Jungle mission (which also appears in Essentials).

          Notable differences between the PS2 and NGC versions are minor, ranging from shadowing to the framerate itself. The GameCube version continues to use a soft filter over its shadows whilst the PS2 version maintains the same bare bilinear filtering of the original versions. Some shadow spotlights are even missing from the NGC version as well, such as in the vents of LAX. The NGC version, as can be seen in-game, can slow worse than the PS2 version, yet can reach 60fps where the PS2 doesn't. While the base is similar, unlike the PS2/Xbox/PC version, thermal in the NGC also lacked a final touch, the full screen color bleeding "infrared" post effect. Instead, the NGC version remains the same as the previous ports whereby it simply uses an outline around its characters and objects.

          Lastly, unlike the first Splinter Cell, which was built in four months, UbiSoft's development team was able to spend time on emulating the correct shadow projection that the originals' depth buffered shadow maps enable. In the first effort, shadow maps weren't any different to a standard light map and would project any object on Sam, when actually deciding to turn his receiving values on, no matter his position. The PS2 version of the sequel now uses fuller, more complex logic similar to the PC version's projector mode, in which an object that receives shadow selectively chooses which shadow objects to receive (e.g. Sam will sometimes receive shadows of a beam, but not ones of enemies or smaller objects), to swap between any of two objects' receiving values, depending the position from the light and collision. On the other hand, the NGC version uses a complete version of what was briefly cooked up in the original port. Objects will be sent through the map, but not as a shadow, which therefore blocks Sam and causes his own shadow to disappear behind an invisible "inverted" shadow. This time around, all objects receive their own shadow, like in the buffer method, only this time, it instead uses the other data to blot out the shadow via the previous logic found in the individualization of receiving values across a single shadow map. Out of the two methods, the NGC's most mimics a depth map, as removal is 1:1, whereas the methods found in the PS2 version can result in having these values swap earlier than Sam can travel fully behind an object (usually when Sam is mid-way through an object).

          PlayStation 3

          A PlayStation 3 version was announced to be part of the Splinter Cell Trilogy which was released in September 2011 as part of Sony's Classics HD series. It was revealed on the PlayStation Blog, that the game will be a port of the PC version, which had more details and content than on PS2.[4] It has also been revealed however, that the online multiplayer will not be included in the collection [5] Despite being a port of the PC Splinter Cell's this trilogy does not include online multiplayer or the downloadable bonus missions. It also does not include the PS2 exclusive bonus missions for Splinter Cell 1&2.

          Reception

          Reception
          Aggregate scores
          Aggregator Score
          GameRankings (Xbox) 92.37%[6]
          (Mobile) 90.75%[7]
          (PS2) 86.74%[8]
          (PC) 85.28%[9]
          (GC) 80.40%[10]
          (GBA) 67.19%[11]
          Metacritic (Xbox) 93/100[12]
          (PS2) 87/100[13]
          (PC) 87/100[14]
          (GC) 78/100[15]
          (GBA) 68/100[16]
          Review scores
          Publication Score
          EGM (Xbox) 9.67/10[17]
          (PS2) 9.17/10[18]
          (GC) 7.5/10[19]
          (GBA) 4.67/10[20]
          Eurogamer 8/10[21][22]
          Famitsu (Xbox) 32/40
          (PS2) 30/40[23]
          Game Informer (Xbox) 9.5/10[24]
          8.75/10[25]
          (GBA) 8/10[26]
          GamePro (Xbox) 5/5 stars[27]
          4.5/5 stars[28][29]
          (GBA) 3.5/5 stars[30]
          Game Revolution (Xbox) A[31]
          (PS2) B+[32]
          (GC) B[33]
          GameSpot 9.1/10[34]
          (Mobile) 9/10[35]
          (PS2) 8.2/10[36]
          (GBA) 6.2/10[37]
          (GC) 6.1/10[38]
          GameSpy (Xbox) 5/5 stars[39]
          4/5 stars[40][41]
          (GC & GBA) 3/5 stars[42][43]
          GameZone (PC) 9.7/10[44]
          (Xbox) 9.6/10[45]
          (PS2) 8.8/10[46]
          (GC) 7/10[47]
          IGN 9.5/10[48][49][50]
          (PS2) 8.2/10[51]
          (GC) 8/10[52]
          (GBA) 7/10[53]
          Nintendo Power (GC) 4/5[54]
          (GBA) 3.9/5[55]
          OPM (US) 5/5 stars[56]
          OXM 9.5/10[57]
          PC Gamer (US) 90%[58]
          Entertainment Weekly A[59]
          The Times 5/5 stars[60]

          The game was met with positive reception upon release. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 92.37% and 93 out of 100 for the Xbox version;[6][12] 90.75% for the Mobile version;[7] 86.74% and 87 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[8][13] 85.28% and 87 out of 100 for the PC version;[9][14] 80.40% and 78 out of 100 for the GameCube version;[10][15] and 67.19% and 68 out of 100 for the Game Boy Advance version.[11][16] In addition, Rotten Tomatoes gave the game a score of 100% "Fresh Rating" for the Xbox version;[61] a 95% "Fresh Rating" for the PS2 version;[62] a 90% "Fresh Rating" for the PC version;[63] a 55% "Rotten Rating" for the GameCube version;[64] and a 27% "Rotten Rating" for the GBA version.[65]

          Greg Kasavin of GameSpot gave the Xbox and PC versions a score of 9.1 and said that the single-player and multiplayer portions of the game will appeal to anyone interested in high-tech stealth and subterfuge. He also said that players familiar with Splinter Cell should expect 10 hours or more of gameplay. Kasavin said the storyline in Pandora Tomorrow was more cohesive than the original Splinter Cell, but the gameplay often becomes pure trial and error, noting that the missions "could have benefited from feeling less rigid and scripted" but were "incredibly slick." Kasavin also praised the multiplayer mode for its innovation, complexity, and creativity.[34] Mongoose of Game Chronicles Magazine also gave the Xbox version a 9.4 out of 10 and gave special praise to the multiplayer portion of the game. He called the game "the single best reason to get online" on Xbox Live. However, he felt that gameplay in the single player campaign at times got increasingly linear and leaned toward scripted challenges, with "only one solution to any given problem", requiring "the use of a particular gadget or one of Sam’s nimble moves."[66]

          Entertainment Weekly gave the Xbox version an A and said that it "seems less like a sequel and more like an extension of the first game, with a few nice enhancements and some more dark and dangerous environments."[59] Playboy gave the game 100% and stated that "A new online mode allows four players to stalk one another. Take an opponent hostage and use your headset to describe all the pain you plan to inflict on him."[67] The Times gave it all five stars and called it "a miniature masterpiece".[60] The Village Voice gave the Xbox version a perfect ten and said, "No multiplayer title has ever bound and balanced two wholly different games this way."[68]

          See also

          References

          1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          3. ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/12/20/splinter-cell-trilogy-coming-in-2011
          4. ↑ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/07/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-trilogy-coming-to-ps3-in-june-with-3d/#utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PSBlog+%28PlayStation.Blog%29
          5. ↑ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/297310/splinter-cell-hd-trilogy-lacks-multiplayer/
          6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.(subscription required)
          61. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          62. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          64. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          65. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          66. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          67. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
          68. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

          External links

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