Astro Boy -- Initial Impressions.

Astro Boy is a PlayStation 2 game created by Sonic Team that is based on the latest animated version to hit television. The game has a tough challenge to overcome. One that game developers have struggled with forever. That challenge would be free range flight in action. It's been tried before. Astro has the ability to fly. So while running around the city, Astro needs to be able to leap into the air and fly across town to that skyscraper and if he so chooses, be able to land on the roof and explore. Astro also tends to fight in the air rather than on land. That's going to double the challenge for Sonic Team. Another aspect will be the camera. Something Sonic Team isn't exactly known for in a good way. Being a licensed game means Sonic Team has little leeway in what they can do. It has to be Astro Boy. Everything has to be just like all the Astro Boy fans are expecting them to be. We'll see if Sonic Team was able to pull it all off...

Next time will cover the play mechanics of Astro Boy.

SEGA Classic Collection -- Final Opinion.

SEGA Classic Collection isn't for everyone. If they can't get by the graphics, SCC isn't for them. If they can't get by the play mechanics of generations gone by, SCC isn't for them. SCC ended up being well worth the $20 cost. For the most part you had really solid games. Space Harrier, Out Run, Alien Syndrome, Bonanza Bros., and Monaco GP are in the solid and fun category. You have three that fall into the great category, Fantasy Zone, Columns, and Puzzle & Action: Tant-R. That leaves two clinkers, Virtua Racing and the abomination that is Golden Axe. That's not a bad ratio in a collection of ten $2 titles. I'm giving it a 7.5 overall.  

Next up of all things is the origin of modern anime in game form...

Virtua Racing -- All In One.

Virtua Racing was released in the arcades in 1992 as the debut title of SEGA's Model 1 arcade board. This marks the real beginning in shifting from 2D and sprites to 3D and polygons. The game used flat shaded polygons. It was a true 3D game made up entirely of geometric shapes. The 3D aspect allowed for four different viewpoints, something never seen before.  A distinctive visual flair and the gimmick of 3D wouldn't have been enough to earn the game its milestone position in arcade history. The game played excellently. It was gorgeous at the time, played perfectly offering arcade racing, and was a technological marvel. The game featured three tracks, Big Forest, Bay Bridge, and Acropolis. The three courses represented beginner, intermediate, and advanced difficulty levels. There were three versions of the arcade machine. A standup single player game. A sit-down two units in one combination version featuring head to head play. And the elaborate linked system featuring eight sit-down machines each with their own modeled Formula 1 racing car where everyone on the course was a living player. There is something to note in the home conversions of the game. The home conversions of this game have their own history worth mentioning as they are relative to the PlayStation 2 version. The Genesis port was only possible because they added a special geometry processor chip to the cartridge. They labeled it the "VDP" and it made the cost of the game $70. The 32X version, which made use of the $189 32X add-on, was advertised as being as close to the arcade version at home as humanly possible. The 32X cartridge used the special chip as well and sold for the insane cost of $99. Making it share the title of the most expensive game ever released in US along with the also $99 Phantasy Star IV. To offset the cost, SEGA released it as Virtua Racing Deluxe and essentially doubled its size by adding three courses. They added Island, Mountain, and Beltway. The PlayStation 2 version features all six tracks from Virtua Racing Deluxe, and for the first time offers up the arcade's visuals exactly. The PlayStation 2 version was released in Japan under the full title of SEGA Ages 2500 Series Volume 8 ~ V.R. Virtua Racing - Flat Out. The game offers all the standard modes. Free mode where you can race any single course, select your car color, select your transmission and then proceed to attempt to learn the courses. They offer arcade mode, which is the arcade game. It only offers the three original courses here. They have Grand Prix mode, where your score carries over from course to course through the circuit of tracks. There is a two-player mode, where you can race against someone else split screen. There is also an option for records where they keep your times.  This would be exceptional if only they had managed to capture the handling of the arcade game while they were capturing the visuals. The game controls too loosely. It doesn't feel like the arcade game to me at all.  The 32X version controlled far closer to the arcade machine. The game does work with some of the PlayStation 2 wheel controllers, and maybe that makes a difference. Using the Dual Shock 2 controller, it just doesn't come close.  The control in a racing game is everything, far more important than the visuals.  I'm going to give this one a 6.5.  

Next up, the overall final opinion on SEGA Classics Collection.

Puzzle & Action: Tant-R -- All In One.

SEGA released the arcade game Puzzle & Action: Tant-R in 1992, in Japan. I never played this game as I never saw a unit in the USA. This game was a total surprise, in what it actually is, and in how much I actually like it. It is an arcade version of Wario Ware, Inc.: Mega Microgame$. Only that Tant-R came out eleven years before Wario Ware. It's a collection of forty minigames. Each one mere seconds long. It plays out a little like a board game. For each level there will be four choices for which minigame to play. The selector auto scrolls over the choices and you time the button press to stop it on the selection you want. In the two player mode, the winner of the minigame earns the right to select the next one. After you complete a game, it's removed from the selection screen and a random new minigame is added. Every once in a while a "Lucky" space will appear in the selection. Choosing that one earns you the chance at earning an extra man. It's one of the minigames, you just won't know which.  Failing at any of the minigames results in losing a life. The minigames are varied, fast, and fun. It's all the sort of things you'd expect. Count how many fish are swimming around, take a picture of a fast moving animal, stop the car in the zone, pop the yellow balloons without hitting any birds, which hat is the flower under, play the notes of music in time, and the like. Tant-R had twenty minigames, and this version has forty because they've included the sequel's minigames. This version has combined Tant-R with Puzzle & Action: Ichidant-R. The game uses the Bonanza Bros. characters and themes. I was surprised to see this is where some of the inspiration for the characters used in Samba De Amigo originated from. There are sombrero wearing monkeys yelling "Samba!" The game was released in Japan on the PlayStation 2 under the title of SEGA Ages 2500 Series Volume 6 ~ Puzzle & Action: Tant-R and Bonanza Bros. The game features three modes. The story mode is the arcade game where you play as the Bonanza Bros. who are dressed up as Sherlock Holmes and Watson as they try to capture crooks. You capture the crook of the level by completing all the minigames for that level. You have to complete the minigame three times, each one a litter harder than the first. If you complete all forty minigames, you'll unlock a bonus game. I have no idea what it is as I haven't been able to do it given the number oflives you're allowed. The other mode is a two-player mode where you compete for a set number of rounds head to head against someone else. You can just select whichever minigame you want. The last mode is for four player games. I really like this game. It's creative and fun. As a multiplayer game it has to be a blast. I'm going to give Puzzle & Action: Tant-R an 8.5.  

Next up is the final game, Virtua Racing.

Bonanza Bros. -- All In One.

SEGA released the arcade game Bonanza Bros. in 1990 on their System-24 board. I had played this game a few times in the arcades and I'm surprised I didn't remember it as well as I should have. There are a lot of ideas here used in the tactical stealth genre that's all the rage on the consoles these days. The game has you playing as one of two brothers who are burglars. You're after loot in various locations such as department stores, banks, mansions, and casinos. The game plays very much like Rolling Thunder with its two planes. The levels are designed with a foreground and background plane. You can go in and out of the background to hide from the view of the security guards and the like. You can jump, as you'll need to jump over obstacles in both the foreground backgrounds. You also have a gun that allows you to take out the security guards and dogs. At the start of the level you'll be told what you're there to steal. You have to get by the guards and collect the loot and then make it to the exit on time. It's the time aspect that makes the game a challenge. There are interesting precursors for the stealth genre here. You have to sneak by sleeping guards. There are items like tin cans on the ground that if you hit will make enough noise to wake up the sleeping dogs and guards. You can wait for a patrolling guard to get near a door and then slam it open knocking him out. You have to sneak along when a guard isn't looking at you. You're fine sneaking behind their backs. If they see you'll, they'll shoot in the air to alert the other guards around to come and help. The Playstation 2 version of the game was released in Japan under the title of SEGA Ages 2500 Series Volume 6 ~ Puzzle & Action Tant R and Bonanza Bros. The game is the arcade version exactly. The game uses a deformed cute art style that works. Musically nothing stands out, it's just sort of there. I find the game to be really fun. I'm going to give it an 8.

Next up is Tant R.

Columns -- All in One.

The arcade machine Columns was released in 1990 by SEGA. It was their take on Tetris. It's one of those perfect little games. Beyond simple to pick up, amazingly addictive, impossible to truly master. Colored jewels falling from the sky in sets of three are steadily filling up a play field that holds six jewels wide by fourteen jewels high. You can move the sets of three to the left or right as they're falling and hitting the button cycles the jewels within the set of three so you can align the colors. Connecting three or more of the same color removes those jewels. The game ends if you fill up the play field. There is also a flashing set of jewels that have the three basic shapes of the jewels. If you align the shape of the connecting jewel to one of the same shape on the field all of the jewels of that color are removed. Yes, it's Tetris without the shapes. It's less complex than Tetris and arguably the better game for it, if not so original. I only played the arcade game once because SEGA had decided to release it in the US only after the exceptional Genesis conversion had become a huge hit.  The PlayStation 2 version was released in Japan under the title of SEGA Ages 2500 Series Volume 7 ~ Columns. The game offers up three modes. Within Endless mode is the arcade game. The rules and timing are dead on. You can play one or two players in arcade mode. It's an individual game style. You're not competing, beyond the score. You also can play the arcade game with altered timing. Vs CPU mode is essentially a story mode where you play as the character Culet against CPU controlled characters in a story about the search for missing jewels. What it really amounts to is little animated characters reacting to how the playing is going. Vs mode allows you to play against a second player in a head to head style battle. The graphics are great for what they are. I mean, it's colored shining jewels. It's sparse. You don't need anything else. The music deserves mention as it has a lively classical tinge, it really sets the mood and fits perfectly. It's soothing. It's great to have the arcade game and everything else is icing on the already fulfilling cake. I'm giving it a 9.

Next up is Bonanza Bros.

Golden Axe -- All In One.

  The classic System-16 arcade game Golden Axe was released by SEGA in 1989. It's a scrolling fighter, or otherwise known as a beat 'em up.  Three button simplicity hid the depth of combat. Attack and jump buttons in combination with joystick movement brought about a wealth of available moves. Golden Axe wasn't a button masher. It was about move timing. The third button was for magic. The game is set in a pure fantasy setting, classic Dungeons and & Dragons. You'd select one of three available characters, a barbarian, a dwarf or an Amazonian woman. You'd face off against barbarians, other Amazonian women, orcs, skeletons, and giants. You could also come across beasts you could mount and then control. You'd progress through stages where there would be a boss at the end. The stages were the standard forests clearings, mountain passes and the like. With some rather original ones thrown in, like the village on the back of a giant turtle, or fighting on the back of a giant eagle as she flies you towards Death Adder's castle. Between levels you'd have to knock some scurrying thieves around to get pieces of meat for health and vials of potions to level up your magic. Each playable character type had his own element of magic. Ax Battler had Earth, Tyris Flare had fire, and Gillius Thunderhead had lightning. The magic could be built up in levels. Each level had its own different look. There was strategy in trying to build up the magic and hold it without using it so you could use it on particularly difficult bosses. Golden Axe also had the best ending of any arcade game I'd ever seen. The PlayStation 2 version of the game was released in Japan as SEGA Ages 2500 Series Volume 5 ~ Golden Axe. The game offers the arcade mode, and a survival mode where you pick a stage and try to stay alive through as many enemies as possible. There is one word that comes to mind to describe this version of the game, and that's travesty. All of the games on this disc seem to be ugly as hell, save Fantasy Zone, but they at least manage to come close if not right on to capturing the gameplay of the originals. This game doesn't even play like Golden Axe. It's a disturbingly awful forgery. The combinations are gone. They've extended the stages just to lengthen the game, destroying the pacing and flow of the game in the process. The collision detection is nearly nonexistent. When charging a charging enemy, the enemy wins by default.  The controls are sluggish. You'll often find yourself doing the throw animation for an enemy already on the ground. Everything about this version is hideous, except the music. The music is arranged awesomeness. Since the odds of finding the original arcade machine are next to nil these days, I'd suggest MAME. I'd also give the excellent Genesis conversion a go. Forget this version even exists. Keep in mind that this is essentially a $2 title, and I'm giving it a 2.  

Next up will be Columns.

Out Run -- All In One

The arcade classic Out Run was released by SEGA in 1986. It was a landmark title that remains in the top ten highest grossing arcade machines of all time. I don't really need to go into my opinion on the original. See my entries on Out Run 2 a while back if you actually want to know. The game features branching paths to five endings over eleven stages. Pure arcade style racing. More about speed and fun than the stats and minutia of holding the line of Gran Turismo style racers popular today. The PlayStation 2 version of the game was released in Japan under the full title of SEGA Ages 2500 Series Volume 13 ~ Out Run. The game offers the original arcade mode, in which they try their best to deliver the original.  You have the same course designs. The turns are where they're supposed to be. It controls decently enough. No force feedback wheel controller of the arcade machine. You essentially have digital control via the analog stick. The X button is the accelerator and the square button the brake, with R1 to shift from low to high gear and back. Simple as can be. The graphics are something less than desirable. They're just plain ugly. The sounds are passable, and the music is the original music from the arcade game, plus arrangements of the three main tracks. They offer an arranged mode where you race against rivals on new courses. It counts how many rivals you can overtake. This mode saves the game and makes it a decent effort overall.  They also offer a time attack mode in which you can race single courses over the arcade or arranged versions. I'm going to give it a 7.5. I would suggest you go get Out Run 2 on the Xbox to see it done right.

Next up is the classic Golden Axe.

Alien Syndrome -- All In One.

SEGA released Alien Syndrome in the arcades in 1987, a year after the movie Aliens was released in theaters.  Alien Syndrome is clearly inspired by the film. The game has you boarding space ships and space stations that have been infested with aliens. You play the lone male or female hero, whose job it is to rescue any survivors, and to blow up the ship or station. The aliens have the human survivors held in cocoon like pods scattered throughout the levels. At the start of each level you get the message 'the time bomb is set' and you only have a certain amount of time to rescue enough survivors to unlock the escape hatch, where the boss of the stage conveniently awaits. As you wander the corridors of the maze like levels you'll come across panels in the walls that contain different weapons. You have your standard shot to start, and you can find flame, bomb, or laser based weaponry. You can power those up additionally. For example, the flame weapon at level one shoots bursts of fire, whereas at level two it becomes a constant stream like a flame-thrower. There are also map panels that allow you to see the design of the level and dots for each of the remaining survivors. It's a timed maze game where you collect enough keys to open the door and fight the boss with an Aliens design. The arcade game has six stages and a seventh final boss. The PlayStation 2 update was released as SEGA Ages 2500 Series Volume 14 ~ Alien Syndrome in Japan. The game offers a single mode with the standard three difficulty levels. They added a stat tracking system so you can compete for the best score across individual levels and overall. They now count hit combos just as an aspect of the stat tracking. They also added a smart bomb to the game. A great addition to this version is eight-way fire to the right stick on the Dual Shock. The original game was brightly colored and cartoon looking. They've tried to make the game much more moody and menacing. The first level is rather black and the enemies are really bright glowing shades of red and green and purple. It's a great contrast. Unfortunately it's only a design used for the first level. I would have loved to have seen it used for all of them. They've replicated the levels rather well in design. The bosses were the star of the original arcade game. You wanted to clear the level just to see what the next really cool and freaky boss would be. This version of the game retains most of the bosses from the original although they've been moved around. The arcade's level one boss for example is now the boss of level two. The graphics for the first level are something I really liked. The rest of the game has decent enough graphics. The sound is okay. They didn't use the really dark music of the original. I wish they had. It's a short, but fun enough game. I'm going to give it a 7.5.

Next up is Out Run.

Fantasy Zone -- All In One.

The original arcade game Fantasy Zone was released by SEGA in 1986. It was a sidescrolling shooter designed for the System-16 arcade board.  The ship could scroll in eight directions while the borders of the screen would scroll up and down. You could turn the ship around to be facing left or right and play either to the left or right though a wrap-around level. The objective was to avoid the enemy fire and destroy the ten enemy producing bases within that level. After destroying the ten bases, a boss would appear. What set this game apart was its music and art direction. There has never been a shooter with music quite like it before or since. It's predominantly happy Latin music. The art design was all pastels. Pink, yellow, green, and blue Day-Glo coloring. The game also features a shop. The enemies in the game drop coins used as currency in the shops. A red balloon would float around the level and if you collided with it you would enter the shop. You could buy wings and engines to speed up your ship. You could buy different bomb types. You could purchase new weapons like a seven-way shot or a wide beam.  You could also buy extra men. The game features rather erratic flight patterns for its enemies who tend to come in packs. It could be considered frustrating to some people but I loved it. The PlayStation 2 game was released in Japan as SEGA AGES 2500 Series Volume 3 ~ Fantasy Zone. This is the best game in the collection thus far. It features the best reproduction of the arcade game seen on any console. The art and music and play mechanics are all faithfully represented. They've added a Normal mode. It features the addition of bonus stages wherein you follow a 3D representation of the boss of each level as it drops coins for you to collect before it eventually breaks apart and dies. They've also added four new stages with new music and bosses. They surprisingly fit right in to the classic arcade game. The best addition by far though is the absolutely great challenge mode. In that you can select single stages to play in. In these challenge stages enemies will sometimes drop red coins. Collecting the red coins and holding them until the completion of the stage will earn entries in the gallery for the enemy the coin came from. In the gallery you can see 3D versions of all the enemies and bosses in the game. It's rather cool, and it has sort of a Phantasy Star Online vibe to it in waiting on that red coin. Much like you'd kill a thousand Hildebears just waiting on that red SPECIAL WEAPON drop. In the challenge mode you also earn the normal money dropped by the enemies. This can be used for purchasing special items in the challenge mode shop. They range from auto rapid fire, to continuing on the boss instead of having to play through the whole level, to the sound test, to unlimited smart bombs, to unlocking the new levels from Normal mode. It's a really well done update. I am thoroughly impressed and surprised. I'm giving it a 9.5. 

Next up will be Alien Syndrome.

Space Harrier -- All In One.

The original arcade version was released by SEGA in 1985.  It was a shooter created by Yu Suzuki of Hang On fame. The game was a milestone for scaling and pseudo 3D display. You controlled a character who ran and flew into the screen from behind the back. Obstacles and enemies alike scaled like nothing ever seen before. You had to blast the enemies while avoiding the indestructible obstacles and enemy fire through eighteen levels. Each level was capped off with a boss battle. The secret is very much the same as in Afterburner. The enemies fire at your current position always. So if you kept moving and never reversed your present course you'd never take a hit and you could concentrate on avoiding the obstacles of the levels. There were three versions of the arcade game. One standup cabinet, and two sit down versions. One of the sit down versions had a stationary bench, while the other had a seat that would swivel in time with the character's motion. It was one of my favorite arcade games and I dumped a lot of money into it. It was freaking hard, and I never saw the ending in the arcades. SEGA Ages 2500 Series Volume 4 ~ Space Harrier is the full name of the individual Japanese release. This version of the game would be an update. It's graphics go beyond the original's and the wonderful music is nicely arranged. All you get here are the options of easy, normal, and hard difficulties.  You get an option to turn on fractals or leave them off.  Turning them on alters the stage graphics.  The ground is smoothed out and textured.  Leaving them off results in the checkerboard patterns of the original arcade version. I can't help but play with them off. You can map the controls as they've added power ups to the mix. You get a shield, a lock on laser, a bomb, and they've given you a rapid fire button. Other than that, it's pretty much the same game. It's all twitch gameplay once again. Just keep firing while avoiding everything. The enemies are all the same exact types from the arcade version. The level themes are carried over.  It's an eight for the gameplay. It's still as fun as it was then. It's not exactly pretty these days, but it sounds exceptional. The music is great. The collision detection and controls are spot on. So there you have it, an 8.

Next up is the wonderfully weird Fantasy Zone.

Monaco GP -- All In One.

The original arcade game Monaco GP was made by SEGA in 1980. It was a top down perspective racing game. These were the primitive days, there weren't even any turns! I put a decent amount of cash into this machine back in the day. The game was actually considerably cool back then. It came in two versions, standup and sit down cabinets. Each one featured a steering wheel, a high-low shifter, and a gas pedal. A cool thing about this game is you had a minute and a half and unlimited lives to reach a set point value. If you could reach the target points in time you would get extended play and the clock was removed. You could drive as long as possible for two lives. This was at a time where the machines were unabashedly trying to make you put in more quarters as soon as possible. After getting the extended play bonus, you could slow up and just concentrate on not dying by avoiding the other cars and sometimes pull ten minutes or more out of the machine. It might not sound like something much today, but then it was incredible. SEGA Ages 2500 Series Vol. 2 Monaco GP is the full title of the PlayStation 2 game in Japan. The game features four modes. Arcade is a single race and offer a couple of ways to play. Classic is the update to the arcade original. It has much of the avoidance based gameplay of the original with some actual turns although the course never actually turns. It's a straight-away that's always scrolling in one direction, from top to bottom on the screen. It plays the same way. An unlimited amount of cars until you reach the extended play bonus, then no more time constraints and two lives. You'll gain another life every 20,000 points. Go as long as you can. Original is the other option under Arcade. It allows you to play the game which amounts to an update of their update of the original. They add turns. You steer the car left and right with the left analog stick. The L1 and R1 buttons rotate the course 45° and the L2 and R2 buttons rotate the course 90°. There are items strewn across the course for you to collect that will power up your abilities. You cannot take damage for a while, get extra time, get an extra life and the like. Also on the course are stars. Collecting stars starts a bonus combo point multiplier which helps twofold. It gets you more cars via extra men, and also increases your maximum speed beyond your car's limits should you be able to chain enough stars together. Getting fast enough also increases your car's durability allowing you to knock the other cars off the course. Knocking cars off the course in turn adds more points to your total. You also have a jump ability. The game is an extraordinary twitch-fest. It doesn't truly play like a racer. It's closer to a shooter without the shooting. It's pure avoidance, and avoid you'll have to, or die.  The cars in the game don't hold any logical lines on the course. They'll move from one side of the track to the other for no apparent reason at the worst possible times. When they collide, they spin out. When they spin out, they go careening off the course slamming into each other and ricocheting all over the place.  You'll also have to avoid the ambulances that come screaming up the course from behind. They're invincible and will knock whatever the hell is in their way out of it to get to wherever they're going, causing a ton of accidents along the way. It becomes pandemonium in avoidance.  At full speed you'll have four or five cars on screen at a time you'll have to be moving around while rotating the course on turns, and collecting stars, while jumping pits and ricocheting cars, all the while trying to collect more stars. Twitch, twitch, twitch. The other modes are Grand Prix, Vs., and Time Attack. Grand Prix is a five course circuit through easy, normal, and hard versions. Two laps per course. Win the race to move on to the next one. On the fifth course you'll race a rival. Beat the rival and you'll unlock his car. Fifteen courses in all.  Three cars to unlock. As the stages get harder, you'll get more jumps and obstacles thrown in your way at higher speeds. Vs. allows for up to four players split screen. Time Attack allows you to master individual courses without other cars on the course. Graphically the game is somewhere above a PlayStation game but well below any Playstation 2 game you've seen. The sounds are surprisingly good and the music is racing rock enough to be enjoyable. I think if you are open to it being more about twitch gameplay than holding any line you'd likely find it an enjoyable distraction. Especially considering it to be a $2 title. One of ten in a $20 disc. I'm going to give it a 7.

Next up, Space Harrier.

SEGA Classics Collection -- An Explanation.

The next game I'm going to be playing is called SEGA Classics Collection. SCC is a collection of ten games that range from remakes to ports. Off the top it should be noted that SEGA had nothing to do with the creation of these games beyond licensing the properties used. The games themselves are coded by D3. D3 publishes a series in Japan called the Simple Series. These games are budget titles to begin with. They're small games. They're almost in the Game & Watch vein. They're not in competition for Game of the Year consideration. They're not aiming that high. They're producing cheap, supposedly fun, pick up and play titles. D3 is essentially a collective designed to locate and train new talent for Japan's gaming industry. It's sort of a school in some ways. I think that factor should be considered and kept in mind by anyone who is going to check out this disc. I've decided to play the titles in the collection chronologically and deal with them individually. The disc contains Outrun, Space Harrier, Virtua Racing, Monaco GP, Tant R, Golden Axe, Columns, Fantasy Zone, Bonanza Bros., and Alien Syndrome. Depending on how far I get in each one, this might take a while.

First up will be Monaco GP.

Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory -- Final Opinion.

Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory is damn near perfect. Damn near it, but not quite. As usual, we'll start with what's right. Visually the game is about as impressive looking as any late generation Xbox title is likely to be.  The game looks even more impressive than Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and contains none of the vertical-sync tearing of the first two games in the series. The surfaces are even more texture mapped. Effects are on display just about everywhere you look. The sounds are all loud and clear and rich. They sound perfect. The vocal performances are the best in the industry. The music is a bit of a surprise. They used a new composer this time around, Amon Tobin. He's a famous European ambient techno artist. His music strays heavily from the far more film score approach of the previous titles. Listening to the soundtrack before the game had me wondering just how it would fit in with the game. It actually meshes quite well. I thoroughly enjoyed his music within the game. Some people might not care for it though. The game play is deeper than ever. The new ambient sound system is a brilliant addition. It adds a wonderful wrinkle to what you need to play attention to. The new gadgets are great and were well used and heavily implemented. They thoroughly reworked the online Vs game. No shortcuts there. They didn't have to do half of what they did considering the full sized offline game and the addition of the online co-op. The online co-op is the real star of this game. It is just greatness. Really fun. It's definitely in the future of gaming. It's here to stay. All is not perfect though. I do have issues with the online Vs game and the critical flaw of the grab move.  There is no excuse for it being just so incredibly spotty. Other online issues arise in co-op. The frame rate goes to hell in certain areas of the co-op maps. It's the Xbox being taxed beyond itself. It's not just a stutter, it's a massive drop. It effects the gameplay.  As of the date of this entry, the online connectivity issues have improved since the initial days, but it's still not as solid as it should be. This might be due to how Splinter Cell 3 uses the disc and the drive issue of the Xbox or it might purely be an online connectivity issue. I've said the game was just about perfect, and I'm going to score it as close to perfect without being perfect as my scoring system allows. I've given the game a 9.5. I can't wait until Mr. Fisher's next mission.

Next time it will be a little revisionist history, SEGA style.

Sweet Jesus Fisher! What are you doing?

The story in the Splinter Cell series is easily one of its strongest assets. The stories from the three games are all interconnected to the point they're essentially telling one story. Characters from previous games enter SC3 as major players. New characters enter with connections to previous characters. It manages great depth, with an amazing level of clarity. There aren't any "Huh?" or "WTF?" moments you might find elsewhere. Everything makes sense. Everything has a practical resolution. The games and story alike manage to stay grounded in the real world, and everything is the better for it.  The story also hugely benefits from great characters. The three main characters of Lambert, Fisher, and Grímsdóttir are extremely defined characters. Their banter over the course of the three games has done nothing but further develop their characters. Fisher especially is impressive in that contrary to the trend, he knows who he is, and what he is. There isn't any grandiose introspection and there aren't any monologues of doubt or remorse. He's fifty years old, and he acts like it as far as his personality is concerned. He is incapable of whining. He can't bitch. I for one truly appreciate it.  Sam Fisher is easily one of the best characters in the entire history of gaming. The stories are deep, smart, adult, and extraordinarily well written.  I can't wait to see what happens next time...  

As of this entry I have completed the offline solo game and the online co-op mode so next time will be the final opinion on SC3.

Spy Vs. Spy It Shouldn't Be.

I've played only a couple sessions of versus mode in Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory. I've been spending most of my time playing online co-op and taking my sweet time with the offline solo mode. The first thing noticeable to me is that what's wrong with the versus mode from Splinter Cell 2: Pandora Tomorrow has been carried over to SC3. Certain aspects of play are just too random. I'm not talking about something on purpose meant to shake things up. I'm talking about basic mechanics that just will or will not work no for discernible reasoning. They are just spotty. Grabbing a character is an option for a spy. It should be something feared. It isn't. Simply because it's a total crapshoot when attempting to pull it off. You'll have no idea if it's going to work or not.  Tied to the same button is a punch / elbow move. You'll go to grab someone, and you'll punch them. Your speed has nothing to do with it. I've punched and grabbed at a stand still, creeping along, walking, and in full run. From the merc's back, side, and front.  With a merc at a stand still, creeping, walking, in a full run, standing or crouched. They've further messed things up by giving the mercs an attack where they spin their riffles around 360°, and this one isn't faulty. It connects with disturbing accuracy. This is really unbalanced in favor of the mercs. I will say that this absolutely infuriates me. Some would argue that I should give up on using this move. I say Ubisoft shouldn't dangle the concept in front of you like the carrot before the horse. It's flat out bullshit. The rest of the versus mode has been reworked and updated. They've added new maps. They seem to be slightly more advanced. More difficult for the spies than they already were. Pushing the balance a little further out of whack.  They've offered up new modes of play. Beyond the carried over Story Mode, they've added Disk Hunt Mode and Deathmatch mode. Story mode features a couple of new mechanics. There is now an extraction objective. Where you have to get an item and get it to another location. SC's version of capture the flag. They've added a bombing objective. Where you have to destroy a target. Disk Hunt Mode is more capture the flag. Deathmatch Mode is just ditching the objectives entirely beyond eradicating the opposing team. They've added some new gadgets for use in the modes. The only real one of note for the spies is some optical camouflage that allows you to be semi invisible for a short period of time. The mercs have been given a device that allows them to view the security cameras in the level. They've also been given a gas mask. One thing they have greatly improved are the match options. You can allow or block just about every aspect, moves and gadgets alike. Adjusting the balance yourself. It would be nice if key parts of the game weren't so spotty. For me that aspect is something that really breaks the versus mode. I know Magus and Amusix really like versus mode. I believe mainly because they're not even thinking of using the move by their basic playing styles. I just can't get by such a glaring flaw. Because I know the move is there. I know it should freaking work when I go to use it. I have no problems getting into a position to use it. The spotty nature of it messes up. I didn't.  I know I'm the little kid who won't stop reaching onto the stove. I keep getting burned.  In fact, it's safe to say I've become obsessed with pulling this move off perfectly every single time. So there I am, inevitably pissing myself off every single time I play the mode. I'm going to go as far as to call it broken even though there is a case to be made that my approach or style is broken.

Next up should cover character and story.

Your Partner Is Your Best Defense.

I've played the online cooperative mode of Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory with ZBo, Magus, and Riddel. Each one providing a different experience. Each one giving the game their own feel. That's one of many great things this mode offers. The game plays just like the offline game except you're partnered with another living spy against the CPU's AI. They've added in some two-player enabled moves. You can use the other player to boost yourself up to a ledge or crawl space you couldn't otherwise reach. You can use the other person's body as a means to climb up or down. You are able to climb or repel large heights. You can toss the other player as a weapon, to cross a gap, or as a means to bypass lasers. These moves are accessed by one player taking position and pressing the black button which gives an audio prompt to the second player to position himself correctly and press the black button which initiates the move. All of the cooperative moves are tied to the black button. This creates a simple and streamlined interface. The controls are perfect. It's really rather slick. The real heart of the game comes in the required teamwork. It's not just that you wouldn't have been able to have climbed up to that ledge without the other guy there to boost you up, it goes beyond that. It's really about backing up the other guy. The game uses voice chat so you're able to plan and discuss as you go on the fly. So if you notice there are two guys in the next room, and you need to get in there, you can sit there and discuss just how you're going to pull it off.  For example, Magus and I were outside a room with two guys in it. The first guy was back against the far wall, just to the left of the doorway. The second guy would move from right in front of the door to the window and back. We came up with the idea of me being crouched at the door while Magus would be standing directly behind me. I was to bash the door open when the second guy reached it taking him out, and Magus would shoot the first guy against the wall before he knew what hit him. It went off without a hitch. There is great satisfaction in pulling something off as a team. When your plan goes precisely like clockwork, there is no better feeling. The maps are designed on a level that could only be called clever. A lot of thought went into each room and what could be done. It's not open-ended by any means, but the game does force you to improvise. That's another area where the game shines. When things go wrong, and you have to think on your feet. ZBo and I were trying to grab two guys for the two retinal scanners locking this door. We were in a locker room and we were discussing how to take out this guy in the next room. I suddenly notice a guard coming from behind ZBo and warn him. ZBo moves into darkness back to his right and around a corner from the approaching guard. I stayed where I was as I was already in darkness. The guard is coming towards us and should pass by ZBo on his way to me, allowing ZBo to grab him. The guard doesn't do what he's expected to do and instead turns right and heads directly to where ZBo is. I see ZBo's character take a ready position and I know that ZBo is going to knife the guy to defend himself, it's all he could do. We needed him alive and awake. In an instant I have an idea and I yell to the guard. The AI in the game can actually hear you. I yelled "Hey! Hey asshole!" just as he's about to reach ZBo, and the guard actually freaking turns towards me and reacts to the sound. He starts heading to me which puts his back directly to ZBo, which allows ZBo to grab him. It was a brilliant "oh wow" type moment for each of us. One of the best online moments ever. Riddel provided me with one of the funniest moments I've ever had while playing online.  We were playing through the first level and essentially gotten to the last challenge. The exposition room is filled with lasers crisscrossing the floor. We were fifty feet up in the rotunda like room. You have to jump out over the railing and hang from the edge of the floor under the railing. You then shimmy around the dome fifty feet above the lasers. This was her first time playing. We had done exceedingly well. I was explaining to her how to pull off the move. I used future tense. I didn't say do it. I said you will be doing this. I'm hanging there at the base of the railing where you jump over. I see her step to the railing and before I could even  yell "No!" I see her leap over the railing and her feet smacking me in the head and the next thing I know I'm falling fifty feet to where I'm promptly knocked out. Somehow she's taken the fall unscathed! I yell for her to revive me and she promptly walks straight through the lasers setting off alarms and calling in guards. She wakes me up and we retreat into a hallway off the exposition room. A guard comes in from behind us while two others come fromthe other way. We're trapped, but we're in the dark and they have no idea where we are. We're fine as long as we don't panic. Just as I'm about to whisper and convey this to her, she opens up on the two in front of her and all hell has broken loose. It was an insanely funny comedy of errors and another one of the best online gaming moments I've ever experienced. The cooperative mode is a thing of beauty. Ubisoft has sparked the future of online play with this game. The genre of cooperative online play is here to stay. There are some issues with it at this point though. There are only four maps at present, although there is potential for DL content. Some connection issues that just might be from getting servers up to speed. There are some bugs and slowdown issues that interfere with gameplay, and these might be taken care of with a patch. We'll see how it plays out.  

Next time should cover versus online play.

What Lurks in the Shadows ... Stays Alive.

The combat in Splinter Cell 3 has remained true to what's come before, it's just been refined. The game is still about precision, remaining unseen, and cool gadgets. You'll want to remain in the shadows same as always. The refinement here comes in just how deadly the enemy becomes if you're caught out of the shadows. They're not messing around and more often than not you're dead if you can't correct the situation within mere seconds of it having gone awry. Coupled with the new enemy AI and their more dogged search, remaining unseen is even more important this time around. There is still some room for improvement in the enemy AI in this regard though. You will have to suspend some level of disbelief here. For example, two guys are sitting around talking to each other. You intentionally make enough noise by whistling to get their attention so they move to check out the sound allowing you to take one of them unnoticed. The other guy you didn't grab goes back and sits down without any concern for where the guy he was in mid conversation with has gone. He sits there just waiting to be taken by you. No game in the genre has evolved enough to come up with AI to cover something like that as of yet. Splinter Cell is far and away in the lead in that regard, but it's not all the way there. Maybe they'll get there in Splinter Cell 4. It's the one true hurdle left for the genre of tactical stealth action. The refinement in the gadgets comes in a couple additions to the already stellar roster.  Everything from the previous games returns plus three additions. To the already coolest weapon in all of gaming, the SC-20K Rifle, they've added a shotgun attachment. This is rather obvious in its purpose. I have to say I haven't used it because it's not suited to my personal play style. To Fisher's pistol they've added an OCP attachment. It's an Optically Channeled Potentiator.  In other words, you use this to temporarily disrupt electronic devices for a short period of time. Lights, cameras, motion sensors, laser emitters, and the like. Doing so allows you to move around unnoticed.  With the lights for example, a guard is far less suspicious of a light that appears to flicker out than he is of a bulb suddenly exploding and is less likely to be a major threat. The third addition is to Fisher's goggles, to which they've added EEV. EEV is Electronically Enhanced Vision which allows Fisher to see the electronic devices he can interact with in some way. Items he can hack, lasers, things he can access remotely, and items that are effected by the OCP. This allows you to plan your actions for any given room. That leads us into the precision aspect of the series. The game becomes about mastering the gadgets and using the darkness to be as precise, as perfect as possible. The games do have moments of frenetic action when things go wrong. And they're designed in such a way to ensure a few things are going to go wrong along the way. It's extremely rewarding when your tactics and patience and precision execution get you through. This is one of the smartest games around. From what I've played so far, they've only improved things. I have no complaints thus far. Let's see if it holds true to the ending.

Next time will cover cooperative online play.