Gallant Pig

What a great game. It really is a prototype for the sneak genre. They could take that engine and use it with Ninjas, Thieves, or whatnot and the game would be brilliant. Modify it a little, put different stuff in it, but keep making similar games! Hell, even license something like La Femme Nikita and make a game based on that with this engine.

If they made Thief III with this engine or a similar 3rd person engine I'd be in heaven, since 1st person games give me vertigo or whatever when they are inside (outside FPS are fine for some reason like Ghost Recon and outdoor Halo).

It took me a while to get through because it's frustrating at times. But well worth the effort. Now I just have to do the Kola Cell level. Anyone know if there will be more downloadable levels or is that it?

Now I know what you are thinking, "tell this to someone who gives a damn captain ramble." and you are right.

So now I need to check out Thievus Raccoonus cuz that looks good too. Makes me wish they took the SC engine and cell-shaded it and then license something like GI JOE and do a game based on that. Or maybe do a spinoff of a Miyazaki film like Spirited Away (imagine playing Sen in the bath house and trying to get on the train).

As for games of the year, I couldn't get into Metroid Prime or GTA Vice City, but this game enveloped me. Coming from someone who has the attention span of Ozzie Osbourne that's a big deal.

If you own an Xbox you must own this game.

Next up for XBOX/GP : DOA:VB or Dragoon, I haven't decided yet. That kung fu game looks good too.

Gromit

I couldn't really get into Splinter Cell, but Metroid Prime is really starting to dig it's claws into my free time. It was a bit slow at first though. Now that I'm used to the controls, I'm loving it.

kar10

That the same thing I said when I finished the game.

Outlaw

I couldn't get past the first level because you have to keep moving the darn camera yourself and I kept dying. I told myself I'd try it again when I had time to learn the controls at home. I'll probably end up getting the ps2 or Gamecube versions, probably Gamecube though because of the connectivity I've been reading with the GBA, i'll wait for the reviews

no offense, but a game based on a miyzaki film is a terrible idea.

Lastblade

It is indeed a great game.... I am replaying it on my PC, it is amazing that Xbox can pull this off and my P4 2.5ghz w/128meg video card chugs on it! Still incredible.

Roan

I'm on Kalinatek mission. Great game! I'll be playing through this one again.

Thunderball

I have it, and I'm still on the first mission. It's frustrating, as the enemy AI is really rough..

vgc

I am on the next to last level, and it is definitely getting tougher. There are several levels where you can only knock out guys without killing anybody. This makes it really tough!! I have replayed parts of the level I am on several times over until I found my way through.

The key to this game is to not be in a hurry. You must sneak around throughout the whole game. I very rarely stand up because you never know who is watching, or where.

There are lots of different items to use during the game, so it is up to you to choose how to do things. There is a lot of variety in how you accomplish missions.

If you like action adventure games this may not be the game for you because of the stealth nature of it. I like action adventure games where you can just go in blasting, so I wasn't sure I would have the patience for this game. I guess I do, because I am almost all of the way through.

Gallant Pig, does it get really tough when you return to the Chines Embassy?

Thanks,

vgc

xlpanda

yeah, SC is a great game. I really enjoyed it when I played thru it on normal mode. I started doing it on hard mode but then stopped. I downloaded the new level Kola Cell this weekend and was just messing around it. I'm still trying to see if there is a way to avoid those light sensors...I keep tripping them What's your favorite gadget? Mine has to be the distraction camera. You shoot it out and it sticks to wall. You then hit one button to cause it to whisle and another to cause knockout gas to come as ppl come to investigate the noise. It's funny!

Gallant Pig

No offense, but you are wrong on that one... If it was done right.

Gallant Pig

The second Chinese embassy is to me the hardest level in the game. There is a long sequence where you don't get a save that gets very intricate at the end

Awesome game though. I might try and give MP another try, I was getting vertigo but if I sit farther away from the tv and see if that helps. The idea I have to scan all these items in every room bores the hell out of me though.

PixyJunket

Halo 2: My Neighbor Totoro

Gallant Pig

I'll qualify my statement by saying if you took Miyazaki (not Myzaki) and Shiggy and had them collaborate on a game with a great cel-shaded look, it could turn out great. I guess the opposition would say that Miyazaki's films are above video games and are artwork. I think about that playing in an immersive beautiful Miyazaki world and that goes away.

Of course it will never happen, but I can dream. I guess the best we could do is a game with inspiration from that anime, more an homage than a knockoff.

But I digress....

bdshort

I've been playing through this on my PC, and I think it's great (though since I'm using a 32 meg video card, I can only run in 640x480, but it still looks great). I'm on the level between the Chinese Embassy levels. I'd seen people bitch about how tough the CIA mission was but I didnt find it TOO hard. Maybe the fact that you can save anywhere you want with the PC version helps.

Brian

Gallant Pig

I'm such a idiot I didn't discover the diversion camera until the 2nd Chinese embassy. It would have been so much easier to play with that thing earlier on! I thought there are a couple of hard stretched during the CIA, like the one where you walk by the film being displayed (and have to shoot the guy by the door).

To me the three hardest spots in the game:

belboz

I just finished the PC version a couple days ago. On the whole, the game was pretty good, but I didn't find it to be as consistently good or innovative as others have.

Visually, the lighting and shadow effects that everyone talks about were quite impressive in some spots, but in others they looked forced and occasionally quite wrong. And for the most part, I didn't see that it made much difference in terms of gameplay compared to older stealth games like Thief. It'd be one thing if a shadow that I cast would alert guards, but it didn't.

The level design was disappointingly linear. I don't recall there being any case where there was more than one path to get from point A to point B. In this respect, I tend to compare everything to Deus Ex, so maybe it's not that fair since most every other game suffers from this comparison as well. They did a fair job, however, of mixing up the various elements of gameplay. There were some parts that required good stealth techniques, others that required "platforming" (for lack of a better word), others that required fighting, etc. Like bdshort, though, I'm sure the quicksave/load feature on the PC version kept some parts from being exceedingly tedious.

The story was sort of weak, but I'm rarely enthralled by the stories in any video games. The cutscenes were pretty decent, but again, I'm comparing them to the ones that Blizzard does and few companies can measure up to that level of quality.

The controls using keyboard/mouse worked pretty well as far as I'm concerned. I haven't spent much time with the XBox version, but my general impression was that the gamepad was better for moving around, but aiming with the mouse was vastly superior and item selection was also much easier with the keyboard.

Anyway, in my estimation, it's a good game and probably the best of its genre; but I didn't see it as groundbreaking or one that transcends its genre.

Gallant Pig

I found the use of lighting as pretty ground breaking. If you can point me toward some games that are its equal I'll be there in a minute.

Thief was very good. I never played Thief 2 so I can't comment on that. However Thief had too much platforming on some levels which made for a huge PITA with its FP POV. Like I said, you put Thief in 3rd person and especially with the same or better graphics engine you'll have an incredible game.

I loved the camera on this game too. Perhaps it's the best camera I've ever used on a platform game. Only once in my many, many hours of playing did the camera not do what I want it to do.

Is Duex Ex a FPS? Is it mainly indoor? Hopefully both those things aren't true, and if they aren't I'll check it out in a hearbeat.

Maybe I was spoiled with sitting close on a 27 inch screen in the dark with 5.1. The game was great in that form.

I compare the levels to Thief, which I found confusing and involved getting lost too many times. A bigger level would be fun but only with a map and someone telling me where to go on the map.

RichC2

I really didn't like Splinter Cell....

for the first level...

For whatever reason, it just wasn't.. fun or interesting.

Once I passed it, I was hooked on the damn game :-\

It took away a good two weeks of my life (in between classes), great stuff, can't wait for part 2 and the Prince of Persia game using the engine.

BTW - Metroid Prime rocked too That said, Spirited Away would make a decent game tho it would probably be kid based (despite the fact the movie isn't a kid flick, kickass movie.) However, Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa would make great games..... and Castle of Cagliostro would be flippin' brilliant using a splinter cell-style engine.

-Rich

Gallant Pig

I forgot about Cagliostro How right you are. Coolest action anime I've seen.

MrX

I'm right at the end of the Mouke Tsoe Bo Meats mission. I think it's a great game. For some reason I end up playing it 3 or 4 hours but then I won't get a chance to play it again for a week.

The levels where you were the toughest I thought.

Gallant Pig

Yeah but you could use your gadgets to fry people though.

el_jer

Great game. Had some flaws in the AI but they had to give some room for error on the players part. Otherwise some of the stages could have been imposible to get/sneak through. After I finished with that I played LOTR:TT and am now playing Max Payne. While both are enjoyable they don't compare to the depth of SC IMO.

I know they are promoting the Live service with the additional levels but they should make the additional levels available to those who don't have live. I peronally will pay a nominal fee for extra levels. I just don't have time for the live service now.

Gallant Pig

You can get the live levels through a disc included in some magazine I think.

Gallant Pig

I just finished Kola Cell. Nice little level! It was cool sneaking through the ductwork a lot of the time, very good level design. Not as linear as other levels.

I'm tempted to rent the PS2 or GCN version for that exclusive level.

duy37

hey guys
i just got an xbox last night and i picked up Splinter Cell.

i still havent finished the first level yet. even though i pass some parts i kept replaying it because I wanted to save ammo. I kept shooting at lights only to find out it didnt really help at all.

i can tell the game is really tough. i will probably have to resort to gamefaqs, but i'll try my best not to, but im short on time as always, for Zelda wind waker is coming soon and Rainbow Six 3 raven shield.