Another difference this time around is the ability to really try different approaches on each level. That means it’s not necessarily all about sneaking around this time. At the start of each mission (there are ten total) you are given three choices of equipment to take. You can chose from a stealth package, an assault package, or a combination of the two. Of course taking any equipment package doesn’t mean you have to approach the entire mission a single way. CT seems to be a lot more flexible in allowing the player to mix things up. No longer do missions end if a certain amount of alarms are triggered. Enemy AI has been tinkered with. For example, instead of setting off an alarm at the slightest sign of something odd the guards will now actually do their jobs and investigate. Helping you to do sneak around are the on screen light meter and the new sound meter. The light meter shows you how visible you are and the sound meter show you how much ambient noise is around thus how much noise you can make without being heard. Both are very useful and playing attention to each will allow you to be much more effective as you go about your stealthy business. But if you feel more like Rambo this version of Splinter Cell is more accommodating than in the past. This is done by great level designs that allow Sam to have multiple paths and strategies available to him. I still wouldn’t recommend the guns-a-blazing approach for an entire level but it is certainly a viable option in some situations if you want it.

Sam gives a guard a break.

Also improved, and hard to believe if you’ve played Pandora Tomorrow, are the graphics. Wow. To me Chaos Theory, along with Chronicles of Riddick, represent the best graphics on the Xbox. Any game where I end up just wandering around looking at the scenery and forgetting what it is that I’m supposed to be doing is one good looking game. It’s almost like meeting a very beautiful girl and forgetting how to talk. This game is that stunning. Naturally the lighting effects are awesome as they have always been. But now everything else meets the high standards set by the lighting. Sam has never looked as good or moved as smooth. You could expect the main character to be this polished but Ubi kept the attention to detail and quality throughout the game and to every character. Once you have Sam grab a character and start his interrogation and then see the terror on the face of the guy you will understand the truly amazing detail that has gone into CT.

Oh, have I mentioned the cooperative play? No? Well, I am a huge fan of co-op play in just about any game and I am very happy to see it showing up in more games especially games that are traditionally versus. Chaos Theory has four additional missions dedicated to co-op through either Xbox Live or the system link. These missions require that you and your partner work together to accomplish moves like double rappelling and body climbing. The teamwork really adds something new to the whole Splinter Cell series and is very welcomed.

Making a return appearance is the very innovative Spies vs. Mercenaries multiplayer with its own set of improvements including a very cool active camouflage for the spies that makes them practically invisible. The mercs are more heavily armed but the spies are much more sneaky. The spies have roughly 10 minutes to achieve different objectives while the mercs are, of course, trying to stop the spies. The levels are very large and can take some time to learn. So like any multiplayer game the more you play a certain level the more of an advantage you have against those not so familiar with the set up. It is also a pretty big advantage to work well with your teammate, regardless of whether you’re a spy or merc, so it’s good to play with the same partner so you can anticipate each others' actions. Unlike the single player mode you have to complete a tutorial before you can play the multiplayer mode. This is very helpful because there are different moves and even different points of views in the multiplayer mode. The uniqueness of CT’s online play is just another reason to love this game.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 98%.  Chaos Theory is without question a must-have title and is so far one of the best games ever for the Xbox.

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