Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent

Sam Fisher is back in this fourth instalment of the ever popular Splinter Cell series. He takes on his toughest assignment by infiltrating a terrorist organisation in an effort to bring it down. Throughout the game, we see Sam experience that classic dilemman that moles face when he befriends people within the organisatio, blurring the lines of good and bad.

Gamers who have played past Splinter Cell games will have no trouble in Double Agent as gameplay in the solo campaign is identical to previous Splinter Cell games. Missions take place mostly under the cover of darkness, which means a lot of sneaking behind enemies, putting them into a vice grip, interrogating them (which can produce rather funny conversations) and finally disposing them either through lethal or non-lethal means. Sam comes armed with the usual fare of super spy gadgets and guns as well, from sticky cameras to EMP guns and rubber tranquiliser guns. Some missions feature AI allies whom you have to work together with to accomplish certain tasks.

Newcomers to the game need not worry, however; a tutorial on gameplay mechanics have been cleverly integrated into the first stage. A little video pops out at various stages of the game, showing you what move is to be executed before engaging you to press the correct button to re-enact the move just shown. Ubisoft has certainly stuffed Double Agent full of challenging campaigns as well as an interesting multiplayer mode that offers high replay value. While Splinter Cell Double Agent is released for both the Xbox and Xbox 360, it is interesting to note that both the titles are not identical at all - gameplay and storyline are treated differently, presenting two sides to the story, something that Splinter Cell fans might want to explore.