Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
North American PC cover art
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Annecy, Babaroga
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Composer(s)	Jack Wall and Lalo Schifrin
Series	Splinter Cell
Engine	Unreal Engine 2.0 with RenderWare physics
Platform(s)	Xbox, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, Mobile phone, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 3
Release	March 23, 2004 Xbox Microsoft Windows Game Boy Advance Mobile phone PlayStation 2 Nintendo GameCube PlayStation 3
Genre(s)	Stealth
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Sam Fisher the protagonist in a camouflage suit, during a mission in Pandora Tomorrow.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is a third-person stealth-based video game of 2004, developed and published by Ubisoft Shanghai, while Ubisoft Montreal, creator of the original Splinter Cell, was working on Chaos Theory. Pandora Tomorrow is the second game in the Splinter Cell series endorsed by writer Tom Clancy. The game follows the covert activities of Sam Fisher, an agent working for a black-ops branch of the National Security Agency (NSA) called "Third Echelon". The character, Sam Fisher, is voiced by Michael Ironside. Dennis Haysbert, at that time best known for his role as David Palmer on the television show 24 is the voice for the character Irving Lambert, Fisher's boss, making this the only time he is not voiced by Don Jordan. Lalo Schifrin provides the theme music for the game. The game has been translated to several languages for international distribution. Pandora Tomorrow was entitled Shadow Strike during its development. A remastered, High-Definition, version of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow was announced for the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 on December 20, 2010, and at the time had cutting edge realism and and was highly advanced in, AI, and Graphics.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Pandora Tomorrow is largely unchanged from the original Splinter Cell. The game features some moderate graphical improvements, as well as minor gameplay changes such as the fact that health kits are no longer an inventory item, and the addition of a laser sight to Sam's pistol that allows the player to know exactly where the rounds will strike, even when moving around. Also, Sam can now open doors while carrying a body, shoot while hanging upside down, SWAT turn past doorways unnoticed, and perform a half split jump. The pistol laser was replaced with an OCP and the SWAT turn was removed in Chaos Theory, the next entry in the series. The PlayStation 2 and Gamecube versions also feature an additional single player mission to compensate for the abridged gameplay compared to the PC and Xbox versions.

Multiplayer

The most significant gameplay change in Pandora Tomorrow is the addition of a multiplayer component to the series in an attempt to take advantage of the features and popularity of Xbox Live. Both the PlayStation 2 and PC versions of the game also come with multiplayer; however, the GameCube version does not. The game pits heavily armed Argus mercenaries against stealthy Shadownet spies. The spies are played from a third-person viewpoint and control similarly to the main game's singleplayer mode, although they have their own unique moves and equipment. The mercenaries are played from a first-person viewpoint, and control more similarly to traditional first-person shooter characters. Although mercenaries have superior firepower, spies have the ability to hide in darkness and ambush or sneak past mercenaries in a number of ways. The total number of players in each multiplayer game is limited to 4. After the release of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory which included a very similar multiplayer mode, Ubisoft took down their multiplayer server for this game due to "low" numbers of players, leaving many angry with Ubisoft.

Story

The main plot of Pandora Tomorrow takes place in Indonesia during the spring of 2006, in which the United States has established a military presence in the newly independent country of East Timor to train that country's military forces in their fight against anti-separatist Indonesian guerrilla militias. Foremost among these Indonesian militias is the Darah Dan Doa (Blood and Prayer), led by Suhadi Sadono.

Charismatic militia leader Sadono, once trained by the CIA to help fight Communist influences in the region, has grown resentful of the United States' support of East Timor and its supposed interference with his country's sovereignty. Sadono initiates a suicide bombing and follow up attack on the U.S. Embassy in Dili, capturing a number of U.S. military and diplomatic personnel including Douglas Shetland, an old friend and comrade of Splinter Cell Sam Fisher.

Fisher is sent to infiltrate the embassy and gather intelligence on the Darah Dan Doa. Fisher succeeds in his mission, and the U.S. Embassy is retaken by the U.S. Army's Delta Force. Sadono escapes, and the U.S. launches a military campaign on Indonesian soil in an attempt to hunt him down, much to the protests of the Indonesian government.

Fisher learns that Sadono has masterminded a scheme known as "Pandora Tomorrow", by placing a series of biological bombs (ND133's) equipped with the smallpox virus on American soil. Every 24 hours, Sadono makes encrypted phone calls to each of the bomb carriers to delay the release of the virus. If he is killed or detained, the virus is released and millions of Americans will die. Because Sadono is fighting on the front lines in the conflict, the U.S. cannot risk killing him, and is forced to withdraw its forces.

Fisher is sent to infiltrate Darah Dan Doa strongholds in order to learn the location of the smallpox bombs. He is assisted in this endeavor by Shetland and his Private military contractor, Displace International. Fisher ultimately learns the location of the bombs, and Shadownet spies are sent in to neutralize them, bringing an end to Sadono's threat against the United States.

Third Echelon decides to capture Sadono alive instead of merely assassinating him, due to the problems created when Sam Fisher assassinated former Georgian president Kombayn Nikoladze in the fall of 2004.

Although Fisher manages to capture Sadono, Third Echelon learns that a rogue CIA operative, Norman Soth has acquired the last smallpox-armed ND133, and intends to detonate it inside Los Angeles International Airport. Soth cares nothing for Indonesia, but intends to get revenge on the United States for a perceived betrayal which cost him a leg years earlier. Fisher infiltrates LAX, kills Soth and his group of terrorists (disguised as airport workers and security guards), and prevents the detonation of the last smallpox-armed ND133 by disguising himself as a maintenance worker and setting the ND133 down behind two police officers, who notice the device almost immediately, and have the airport evacuated. The Los Angeles Police Department's Bomb Squad is then called in to perform a controlled explosion of the device, which is done by an unmanned vehicle using reinforced steel.

Development

Windows version

As with the original Splinter Cell, the Windows version is a port of the Xbox version, and duplicated that version's user interface and gameplay. However, the Windows version can run at higher resolutions than the console versions. The "checkpoint" save system from the Xbox version was replaced with the ability to save a game at any time, and the controls were reworked to allow simultaneous use of a keyboard and mouse, with movement speed being controlled by the mouse wheel. None of the bonus content from the other versions are present on this version.

There is an unfortunate graphical issue in this version, though. Projected shadows do not appear in-game when using Nvidia GeForce 6 series video cards and up. This problem was caused because the game was a direct port from the Xbox, which renders shadows similarly to GeForce Series 3, 4, and FX cards. It is possible to force the shadows, but this can cause system instabilities.

PlayStation 2 version

As with the original Splinter Cell, the PS2 version runs at a lower resolution than the Xbox and GCN versions, and sacrifices had to be made to the graphics including more jagged edges, duller colors and fewer lighting effects, due to the more limited hardware. Also, despite these sacrifices, the framerate tends to stutter slightly more than the Xbox version. Loading times are also longer. Missions are also structured in a different/shorter fashion and the multiplayer component is not as extensive as its Xbox counterpart. The PS2 version boasts extra content, however, including a new Indonesian Jungle mission (which also appears in Essentials).

GameCube version

As with the original Splinter Cell, the GameCube version did not receive quite as many graphical sacrifices as the PS2 version, as it is runs on more powerful hardware. This version runs at a higher resolution than the PS2 version, is less jagged than the PS2 version, and the colors appear to be more natural than the PS2 version as well. However, the GCN version does run at a lower resolution to that of the Xbox/PC version and graphically it does not quite look as realistic. Like the PS2 version, sacrifices were made here and there with the lighting effects. Missions are also structured like the PS2 version, in a different/shorter fashion than that of the Xbox/PC counterpart. Despite this, the exclusive PS2 section of the Indonesian Jungle mission is NOT included with this version of the game.

On the plus side, Game Boy Advance connectivity is supported. Using the GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable you can connect the GBA to the GCN, a map of the level the player is currently in is displayed on the GBA, and includes locations of enemies and items, remote detonate wall mines and control turrets.

Reception

On the review-aggregate site Metacritic, the Xbox version received a score of 93% based on 74 reviews. On Game Rankings, it had a score of 92.3% based on 82 reviews. Greg Kasavin of GameSpot gave the Xbox version a score of 9.1 and said that the single-player and multiplayer portions of the game will appeal to anyone interested in high-tech stealth and subterfuge. He also said that players familiar with Splinter Cell should expect 10 hours or more of gameplay. Kasavin said the storyline in Pandora Tomorrow was more cohesive than the original Splinter Cell, but the gameplay often becomes pure trial and error, noting that the missions "could have benefited from feeling less rigid and scripted" but were "incredibly slick." Kasavin also praised the multiplayer mode for its innovation, complexity, and creativity. On Rotten Tomatoes, the Xbox version received an average score of 9.4 out of 10 based on 33 reviews, additionally receiving a 100% "Fresh Rating" due to gaining highly positive reviews from all 33 reviewers. Mongoose of Game Chronicles Magazine also gave the Xbox a 9.4 out of 10 and gave special praise to the multiplayer portion of the game. He called the game "the single best reason to get online" on Xbox Live. However, he felt that gameplay in the single player campaign at times got increasingly linear and leaned toward scripted challenges, with "only one solution to any given problem", requiring "the use of a particular gadget or one of Sam’s nimble moves."

The Microsoft Windows version received a score of 87% at Metacritic based on 28 reviews. On Game Rankings, it received an average score of 85.4% based on 28 reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the PC version an average rating of 9 out of 10 based on 10 reviews, receiving a 90% "Fresh Rating" due to a majority of positive reviews.

The PlayStation 2 version had a score of 87% at Metacritic based on 45 reviews. The game received a score of 86.4% based on 56 reviews at Game Rankings. Rotten Tomatoes gave the PS2 version an average rating of 8.4 out of 10 based on 19 reviews, additionally receiving a 95% "Fresh Rating" due to highly positive reviews.

The Nintendo GameCube version of the game lacks the multiplayer component found in the Xbox, PC, and PS2 versions. The game received a score of 78% on Metacritic based on 25 reviews. On Game Rankings, the game received a composite score of 80.6% based on 37 reviews. The average score on Rotten Tomatoes landed at 7.7 out of 10 based on 11 reviews, receiving a 55% "Rotten Rating" due to a high number of displeased reviewers.

The Game Boy Advance version received a score of 68% on Metacritic based on 19 reviews. The game also received a score of 68% on Game Rankings based on 45 reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the Game Boy Advance version an average rating of 6.9 out of 10 based on 11 reviews, receiving a 27% "Rotten Rating" due to a majority of negative reviews.

External links

• Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Official site
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow at MobyGames
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2002) at IMDb
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow on the Splinter Cell Wiki, an external wiki