IGN's Splinter Cell 4 way comparison
 

IGN has two large video downloads comparing the 4 versions of Splinter Cell. Pretty cool overall. A repeated theme throught the review was that the PC and XBox versions were similar to each other, as were the GC and PS2 versions. Here's a summary of the comparison:

Gameplay:
GameCube and PS2 versions have altered levels and goals to make the game easier. AI is dumbed down. Less tactical, too easy at times.

Features:
GC has the GBA connectivity, XBox has 1 downloadable level, PS2 has an exclusive level. PS2 and GC have binoculars. Tie.

Controls:
PC best overall. Consoles: XBox > PS2 > GC, all very usable.

Graphics:
PC and XBox have much better shadows and lighting. PS2 has bad framerates quite often, bad textures. GC has slightly better framerates and textures, but some weird lighting bugs later. PC > XBox > GC > PS2.

Sound:
This was missing from the videos, although it was described as being in there. At the very end he says XBox sounds stellar.

Presentation
GC and PS2 have added FMV cutscenes, with PS2 looking better. XBox has DVD bonuses and fast load times. PS2 slowest load times. 3 way tie.

Overall:
XBox best overall, PS2 runnerup because of better FMV (?).

My observations:
I was pretty surprised by how different the GC and PS2 versions looked. They definately do not have the variety of textures that the PC and XBox versions have. Some of the scenes they showed had various wood, brick, etc. textures in the PC and XBox versions, while the same room in the GC/PS2 versions had the same square grey tile texture covering the room. The GC/PS2 versions also lacked a lot of geometry. Rooms that were filled with bookshelves and other objects were empty in the GC/PS2 versions. Finally, the lighting and shadows looked very different on the GC and PS2 versions. The fire looked particularly bad.

Do you have a link or can you post pics of the different versions?

I summarized what was a 120 meg video posted by IGN that showed the same scenes from all 4 versions simultaneously while some guy described the differences in each category. It's an Insider only download.

Re: IGN's Splinter Cell 4 way comparison
 

what the? pc overall for controls? :hscratch:

As much as I'd like to get this game, I can't. It's not a money issue ( for a change) or that I don't like it ( I did like the demo what I played of it). For some reason I can't find a copy in a store in my area!! Lunch time I went to Circuit City they didn't have any, they claim the truck with the shipment didn't arrive. Same story at Best Buy. I admit I haven't tried Funcoland ( which I'm starting to deplore but that's another story). So I'm probably going to hit them lunch time tomorrow.

There was a snow storm here monday. That could have delayed a shipment but for two major retailers not to have a big release like this is unusual.

Hmmm, I guess nobody at IGN read that trustworthy, hyperbole-free review of the PS2 version at gamesradar(UK)... you all must remember:

I have absolutely no idea how they can pick PC for controls. :confused:

I haven't played the PC version, but a mouse has got to make it 100x easier to aim.

I have both the X-Box and the PC version.

I think the PC version controls better also (barely). Mainly in the area of aiming. Mousewheel works good for walk speed but not as seemless as the analog control stick.

Bottom line though, it is a great product. Buy it on your system of choice.

Aiming really isn't an issue with XBox version (and presumably in the Gamecube and PS2 versions also), and any advantage that it might be is more than wiped out by the fact that you need to use the mouse wheel to change your speed.

One bad thing about the PC version is that it only runs on Nvidia cards. Funny how my top of the line Radeon 9800 Pro can't run it. I'm glad I already played it on Xbox.

Does that site that leaks all the IGN insider stuff have this up yet? I wanna download it, but don't wanna pay IGN.

What the hell are you smoking? I run Splinter Cell on my PC with 6xAA 16xAF at 1280x960 resolution with perfect framerates. Metal Gear Solid: Substance is the game that is built for Nvidia cards.

I couldn't imagin playing this game on a console, maybe I'm too used to these type of keyboard controls.


Edit: I forgot to mention my Video card, It's a Radeon 9700 NP.

time for a driver upgrade

Splinter Cell brings even top of the Line gaming rigs to their knees.

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/...0-5200-05.html

Especially when you get to the oil rig level. Or pass by window blinds. The game turns into a slide show. If nothing else its a testament to the prowess of the Xbox that its able to render the game so smoothly. As for the PC controls. It makes aiming too easy IMO. The challenge of a distant head shot is removed. Not to mention no force-feedback and the speed control isnt as intuitive.

Splinter Cell runs fine on reasonably up to date PC's. I played it on an Athlon XP 1900 with a Geforce3 Ti200 and I was getting playable frame rates at 1024x768. That's with all the effects turned up. People with slightly older hardware can run it at 800x600 and still see a higher resolution image than the 480P that HD XBox players get. Most XBox players don't even get that.

I haven't looked at benchmark numbers of the actual game. The Tomshardware numbers seem to be of a special benchmark version of the game, not the actual game itself.

Well the Xbox version will be the best overall simply because that was the platform it was designed for and the better developers at UBI Soft spent the most development time on. However even with all that, UBI Soft did a great job on both the GC/PS2 ports. Splinter Cell is a fantastic game on any platform. :)

So I rented Splinter Cell for PS2
 

My video store got Splinter Cell for PS2. So I rented it. Visually it's a fine piece of work but it just lacked something.

For some reason I felt it lacked any real compelling story. I mean say what you want about Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons Of Liberty's story, it at least had characters that you felt involved with. I kept saying "Okay I'm supposed to save these two secret agents....and I'm supposed to care because....??" The action is supposed to be tense but it's really not (to me at least) palpable.

Oops. I meant Metal Gear Solid 2:Substance. Samsonite... I was way off! I have Splinter Cell and it runs great, but my system is a beast, 2.5 ghz P4, 533 mhz FSB, 768 MB DDR PC2700, Radeon 9800 PRO.