Since 2002, gamers have enjoyed a lucrative franchise of stealth shooter games that were inspired by Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. It has been a huge commercial success ever since the first game in the series was launched. Both critics and players liked the gameplay, and the console and PC games in the franchise were well received. With over 31 million copies sold in the first ten years, this series was formerly regarded as Ubisoft’s flagship one. The inventive gameplay and Sam Fisher’s badass protagonist were two of the games’ major strengths.
Why, then, has this lucrative franchise been dormant for so long? There has not been a new installment of the series since 2013, and there are various significant causes for this. The Splinter Cell video games revolutionized the stealth-action genre, but as time went on, the games’ appeal waned and their bite was lost.
The quality could not be maintained, and other other problems contributed to the series’ demise, similar to those that plagued many other popular video game titles. We have shown you the franchise’s best and worst moments in this video. We will walk you through some of the series’ most popular titles while also examining the shortcomings that contributed to its downfall. Stay focused and wait to the very end to find out if the series has any potential for the future.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell (2002)
This was the first game to be released and was developed by Ubisoft Montreal. It was built on Unreal Engine 2 and was released for Xbox, PS 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Microsoft windows. It was endorsed by author Tom Clancy, and the game took inspiration from the Metal Gear series. The plot follows former US Navy Seal officer Sam Fisher, who has just joined the National Security Agency.
He is taken into a new division called Third Echelon, and one of his old friends named Irving Lambert leads the team. Fisher is sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of two CIA officers, and he heads off to Georgia, where the officers went missing. Sam Fisher discovers that the agents have been killed by the government because they had uncovered the government’s plans for ethnic cleansing in the region.
The Georgian president Nikoladze goes underground once the NATO forces are sent in, but Third Echelon picks up data exchange between the Presidential Palace and a Caspian oil rig. Fisher is tasked to recover this data, and in the course of the investigation he finds out about a mole in the CIA. Soon, North America is under a massive cyber attack conducted by Nikoladze, who declares war on the US and its allies.
Sam Fisher unearths a lot more, from Chinese involvement to double agents, and the climactic moments of the game have some shocking revelations. It turns out that a nuclear bomb is placed somewhere in the US, and as you would expect, the National Guard finds it out and diffuses it. Eventually, the evil President Nikoladze is killed, and the world is at peace!
It was intended to be a James Bond type game, and the development team desperately wanted a Teen ESRB rating. Thus, the violence has been toned down considerably, but that doesn’t stop the adrenaline rush that you experience throughout the game. So what is so special about this game? Well, for starters, you get to do stuff like stalk the villains instead of shooting them. You can interrogate people, hold them at gunpoint, and strategize accordingly when you are surrounded by several of the baddies.
The plot is quite intriguing, and the missions are quite challenging. You have to constantly enter enemy territories and seek out the secrets of the enemy without blowing your cover. From hacking into computers to sneaking around the dark, this game offers a different kind of thrill than the usual shoot-em-ups.
Overall, there are nine missions, and the gameplay can take you hours to complete. The graphics are very impressive, and we loved the photo-realistic backgrounds, people, and objects. The use of light and shadow makes for some stunning visuals, and the controls are quite easy to master. If you are looking to play the spy and want to experience the best of this franchise, this is the game to try out!
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2004)
This game was released for Xbox, PS 2, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Advance. The plot followed a similar theme as the first one, and this time the game takes off as we see the United States has established a military presence in the newly-independent country called East Timor. The US task is to train their army to fight the guerrilla militias, mainly the Darah dan Doa, which is led by Suhadi Sadono. Sadono was previously trained by the CIA to fight communism, but over time he grew resentful of the US policies.
He masterminds a suicide bombing and other attacks on the US embassy and many military and diplomatic personnel are captured. Among the captured men is Douglas Shetland, who happens to be an old friend of Sam Fisher. Fisher is sent to the embassy to gather intelligence on the whereabouts of the Darah Dan Doa. He does manage to help the US forces take back the embassy, but Sadono escapes.
The US army tries to hunt him down in Indonesia, but the Indonesian government seems keen on protecting Sadono. This is when Sam Fisher uncovers the real plan of Sadono. He learns that Sadono wants to use biological bombs with the smallpox virus on US soil.
The US forces cannot kill him because if he is detained or killed, the explosives will go off, killing millions. Fisher now infiltrates the Darah Dan Doa and extracts the locations of the bombs. Long story short, the Fisher helps in finding the bombs, and eventually, he captures Sadono. The last biological bomb was still on the loose, but Fisher gets to it before it can be detonated!
This game takes the best bits of the first Splinter Cell game and makes it better. Yes, you still play as the iconic hero, Sam Fisher, and you are still the expert spy who can infiltrate the toughest of enemy strongholds. However, this time much of the action is outdoors.
The developers have outdone themselves with some fascinating environments, and the artificial intelligence is significantly better than the first game. Remember how you could hold an enemy hostage when faced with several of them? This time around, even the enemy can do the same with civilians. Another thing that makes the gameplay a bit more challenging is that if the enemy spots you, they no longer have to run to sound the alarm. They can simply push a button on their uniform, and soon, every enemy around you will have a bulletproof vest on.
It gets significantly harder than the original game, and even those who mastered the first one will have trouble moving past the levels. The graphics are still incredible as before, and the story is as good as the original, if not better! There are some new weapons available this time, and they offer you a greater advantage. The objectives are quite varied and imaginative, and it adds to the interesting locations and backdrop. This game requires patience and intelligence, and for many, this is rightly the best Splinter Cell game in the series.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
This game was released for Xbox, PS 2, Microsoft Windows, and there were also handheld versions for mobile and Nintendo. This time around, the game gets a darker tone than the predecessors, and the combat options are a lot more. The plot is premised in the year 2007, when there are some tensions between China, Japan, and North Korea regarding Japan’s formation of an Information Self Defense Force.
Chinese and North Korean forces enable a blockage in the Yellow Sea against Japanese shipping, and as an ally, the US dispatches the USS Clarence to help the Japanese. Meanwhile, an American programmer named Bruce has been kidnapped by a Peruvian group, and Sam Fisher is sent to locate Bruce. Bruce was working to decipher the weaponized algorithms of a super-weapon, and Fisher must ensure that these don’t go to the wrong hands.
He fails to stop Bruce’s death, but the investigation soon takes him to New York to a man who worked with Bruce. North Korea fires a missile to sink the USS Clarence, but they claim that it was unintentional. Sam Fisher checks out the missile battery and realizes they are telling the truth. He goes through many more spying missions and finally brings the men responsible behind the attacks to justice, thus preventing a major global war.
This game is not the highest-ranked one in the series, but it does come with some positives. For starters, the storyline, yet again, is water-tight. The idea of the computer virus being behind the possibility of World War III and Sam Fisher trying to stop the mayhem is quite intriguing. Next up, the graphics are not disappointing, and there are times when the game looks too good to be true.
The stealth features are still there, but somewhere the finesse is missing. The problem with this game was that there were some bugs that caused issues. Quick loading the game could be a problem, and the game-saving methods missed a few tricks. We loved the introduction of the noise meter, and if you make too much noise, you draw the enemy to you. There are no complaints regarding the gameplay as such, and you can master it after a few tries. Once again, we would not recommend this game unless you have bucket loads of patience. The game did not exactly set the business soaring, but that was probably because the market offered some solid competition during the release of this one!
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006)
There are two separate versions of this game, and one of them was released on the Xbox 360, PS 3, and Microsoft Windows, while the other was released for the PS 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube and Wii. Although the general plot is the same, the twists and levels vary in the two versions. This time around Sam Fisher is a wreck. The only thing that he cherished in life, his daughter Sarah, is killed in a car accident.
To keep him distracted from his pain, his boss assigns him a new mission, where he has to go undercover and infiltrate a terrorist organization called the JBA. This organization aims to overthrow the American government by any means possible, and Fisher must make sure that his cover is intact till he can destroy the JBA. His boss, Irving Lambert, puts him into the same prison cell as a member of the organization, and they escape from prison together. Now, Sam must find out about their plans and ruin them all while staying undercover.
This game will rank among the most intense games in the franchise, but it is certainly not as challenging as some of the others. There are a few tough moments in the course of the game, but overall, the difficulty of the game is manageable. We did love the level in New York, where you have to deal with the guards equipped with night vision. One good thing about this game is that the replay value is quite high because you can change the story and choose either JBA or NSA.
We were impressed with how the enemy has gotten smarter this time and use flashlights while patrolling in the dark. However, it will be a lot more fun when Ubisoft develops a game where the patrolling routes are arbitrary. Those who have played Chaos Theory will find the controls simple enough, but the style of graphics is somewhat odd. It is a new style, but honestly, the old one was better. Splinter Cell: Double Agent is a decent game, but it could be much better without these flaws.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Essentials (2006)
This Splinter Cell game was released for the PlayStation Portable handheld system, and this was one of the major drawbacks in the franchise. The story starts off with Sam Fisher being portrayed as a former NSA agent, who is now on the run. He secretly sneaks into a cemetery in Washington D.C., where he daughter was buried after a car accident. However, during his visit, he is arrested and taken into custody.
The NSA interrogates him at their headquarters, and the story takes you backward. We get to witness a mission back in 1992 when Sam Fisher disobeyed the orders of his superiors to save a captured commanding officer, Douglas Shetland. However, towards the end, Sam confesses to killing his Third Echelon handler, Irving Lambert. The final mission of the game has you break out of the NSA headquarters after stealing some valuable evidence.
The story probably gives away all that is wrong with this game. It feels rushed, and the makers were desperate to use the popularity of the franchise to deliver a game quickly. The narrative takes place shortly after Double Agent, and the plot lacks clarity. Even the performance suffers a bit, and it doesn’t exactly run smoothly. One of the great assets of the franchise, the brilliant visuals, is missing in this game.
We did like the voice changing level, but overall, it was a dismal experience. Basically, the idea was to take some missions from the previous games and mix them up slightly while adding new ones. Well, it backfired, and the response was nothing to write about. The controls were rocky, and some oppressively dark levels are quite a pain in the ass. It gets quite frustrating, especially for those who have witnessed the fluent gameplay in the earlier games.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction (2010)
The story is premised three years after his stint as a double agent. Sam Fisher has quit his job in Third Echelon, and when he returns out of his hiding, he discovers a shocking secret. His daughter’s death might not have been a mere accident, and it could have been orchestrated by sinister powers. He decides to uncover what actually happened to his daughter, but soon, he finds himself caught in a far greater conspiracy. The security of the United States is threatened once again, and he must prove that he still has it in him to protect the country!
The game was initially revealed in 2007, but it claimed to be a social-stealth-based game, unlike the previous ones, which were light and shadow stealth. It wasn’t well-received by the fans and disappeared from the markets. Later, it reappeared with a new direction and focused on the light and shadow stealth. The response was better, but it still didn’t quite feel like a Splinter Cell game.
The entire storyline comes across as one giant mission, and the gameplay is quite intense. The problem is that there isn’t enough sneaking around, and it is more focused on the shooting thrills. The plot is gripping, but it is also somewhat implausible. This causes confusion while you are playing the game. The voice acting, once a strength of the franchise, is on the decline. What hurt us the most was the rugged gameplay and the fact that it is so action-driven. Does nobody care about the sentiments of the fans who loved the stealth aspect of Splinter Cell so much?
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013)
For the fans of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell games, this was a great comeback for the franchise. After a few dismal games, this was like a breath of fresh air! Unfortunately, it did not do that well in terms of business, and this is where the series was brought to a standstill.
The game follows the events of Splinter Cell: Conviction and Third Echelon has been disbanded. The remnants are brought under a newly formed organization called Fourth Echelon, and Sam Fisher is appointed as the commander. Now that he is back in the game of protecting his country, he has his task cut out.
A deadly terrorist group called the Engineers, led by Majid Sadiq is a great threat to the United States. This group threatens to conduct a series of terrorist attacks in the country if the soldiers from foreign bases are not pulled out. They must take down the organization and its sinister leader before it is too late!
Our first view after playing this game was that Sam Fisher is back! He was back working for the country, and the series was back from the doldrums with another engaging game. What the game does best is that it brings back the best memories from Chaos Theory and Conviction. There is a lot more freedom for the gamer, and you can approach a mission in three ways – Ghost, Panther, or Assault.
The first one is non-lethal stealth-based, while the second one is lethal stealth. The last one is absolute mayhem, and you cause as much carnage as possible. You have to use your brains while playing this game, and find covers and strategize tactfully. Now you have more control of Sam Fisher and his gadgets, and you can use this to your advantage. We loved the addition of a flying drone that can fire knock-out darts and also distract the enemy. However, the enemies also have their drones, and you have to stay clear of them.
The detailed graphics are back, and we would have appreciated the difficulty levels to be a bit steeper. The missions are challenging, but they don’t really make you sweat it out. One major drawback of this game is the absence of Michael Ironside, the legendary actor who was the voice for Sam Fisher all along. Otherwise, it is a must-play for all the fans of the franchise, and it is a great tragedy that the series was stalled after this!
Fall of Splinter Cell Franchise: Where’s The Series Now?
The franchise enjoyed steady goodwill among the fans, but over the years, the popularity seemed to be on the decline. As of now, it has been nearly a decade since we had a Splinter Cell game release, and Blacklist is the last one in the series. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist was not the worst in the series, and some critics and gamers had positive reviews about it. However, it was far from the sales expectations that Ubisoft had for this one. It sold around two million copies, but they were expecting it to go beyond five million. The character of Sam Fisher has been used a couple of times in other Ubisoft games, and clearly he is still quite popular in the gaming universe.
This gives us hope that Ubisoft would not just forget about the iconic character. One of the reasons for them to revive the dead franchise would be to utilize the popularity and relevance of the character of Sam Fisher. He was voiced by none other than the legendary villain Michael Ironside, and the fans are pretty vocal about their support for him. They would only appreciate a change if the change is mind-blowing! It would be fair to say that Ubisoft is trying to create the foundation for their stealth man, Sam Fisher.
They are a company that is known to be extremely tenacious about their games. They are working on games that should have been long canceled, so it would be quite uncharacteristic of them to simply give up on such a successful franchise! However, it is also true that Splinter Cell is unlike most of the games Ubisoft published in the last seven years.
What We Want In The Next Splinter Cell
If we do get a Splinter Cell game in the future, here are our expectations from that! First things first, we want the story to be strong and detailed. The plot has always been a strength of the franchise, and we wouldn’t want any changes in that department. It would be delightful to have Michael Ironside back as the voice actor for the character of Sam Fisher.
We don’t want to undermine the work that Eric Johnson did in Blacklist, but Michael Ironside is clearly leagues ahead in the competition. If he reprises the role, it would be a great selling point of the game. Often, the Splinter Cell storylines are a bit too far away from reality. It is always fun to save the world from nuclear disasters and deadly terrorist organizations, but a narrative closer to reality would be appreciated by the gamers.
One of the most important things that we would want in the new game is the good old style of stealth. There can be other options regarding how to complete the mission, but the choice to go stealth-mode can be a golden addition to the gameplay. For most of the fans of this franchise, the stealth mode was a memorable moment in the gameplay, and the modern consoles can better the experience. In contemporary games, stealth has come a long way, so the developers will have to go a step up in their game! If these things are kept in mind, a Splinter Cell game can still capture the markets as they used to in their prime.
Future Of Splinter Cell Franchise
We wouldn’t be offering you any false hope if we didn’t think it was a possibility! So, let us start by saying that we personally believe that the Splinter Cell franchise will make a comeback in one way or another. There have been times in the recent past that some of the top brass of Ubisoft have been vocal about their interest in developing a new Splinter Cell game. Their CEO, Yves Guillemot, stated in 2017 that they surely have the Tom Clancy games on their mind.
They were simply too busy at the time to focus on Splinter Cell, but that doesn’t mean that the franchise is forgotten. In 2019, Julian Gerighty, the creative director of Ubisoft, announced that he was working on a Splinter Cell game. This was the last we heard about a new game, but there has been a deal between Netflix and Ubisoft to develop an animated series based on the Splinter Cell franchise.
We are not saying that a future game will be dependent on the success of the animated series, but its popularity will definitely inspire Ubisoft to quicken the process of bringing a new game in. Sam Fisher and Splinter Cell combined together is too good a property to leave behind, and if they develop the new game the right way, it can be an absolute showstopper! May the gaming gods bless us with this one!