Chaos Theory
While the original Splinter Cell was popular among fans of the genre, it was Chaos Theory, the third installment, that finally put the series on the map. Launching in March of 2005, near the end of the Xbox/PS2 generation, it took full advantage of the hardware. It featured a whole slew of improvements, making a huge leap in graphical quality with the inclusion of Normal and Parallax mapping. These two techniques worked to give an unprecedented amount of detail, from bumps and cracks in a brick wall to wrinkles on a characters face. Several gameplay adjustments were made, introducing (halle-frickin’-lujah) the ability to save your progress at any time, a sound meter, and the control over whether Sam kills a foe or knocks him out. You no longer have to shoot out lights, as your pistol was upgraded with a built-in EMP broadcaster to disable lights, computers, lasers, cameras, and other electronic devices. It’s only for a limited time, but it’s completely silent and lets you slip past without calling attention to yourself (though a guard may investigate the malfunctioning equipment.) All of these upgrades and gameplay tweaks finally put (almost) all of the control into the player’s hands. Sam is finally the hunter he was always supposed to be. If the shit hits the fan, it’s most likely your fault.

Analysis
I have really been looking forward to starting on Chaos Theory. After Pandora Tomorrow basically took the me-too approach with only minor upgrades to the established formula, the third installment in the series is where the developers finally had their “Ah-hah!” moment. Each mission begins with a briefing. Lambert, Grim, and others not only tell you what you’re doing, but why you’re doing it. They’ll give intel on the situation so that you can determine which loadout you’d like to use. You can choose between stealth and combat options that provide different amounts of lethal or non-lethal ammunition, or you can choose “Redding’s Recommendation” that usually finds a middle ground somewhere. I always chose Redding’s loadout and never had regrets.

The biggest change is definitely the graphics engine. The game looks incredible, especially considering it’s already TWO generations old. The level design is more thoughtfully laid out than before, and the series of “hallways and arenas” that made up the first two games is finally laid to rest. If a certain encounter seems too confrontational, a little snooping usually uncovers an alternate way around. One situation that comes to mind was a mission in Seoul. I must have tried a half a dozen times to get through a lit alleyway undetected. Finally in a last attempt, I used my night vision and noticed a ladder and fire escape to my right. A quick climb up and a shimmy across a ledge quickly found me on the other side, completely undetected. It was then that my frustration at the game abated, realizing it wasn’t the game’s fault, but my own tunnel vision that kept dooming me.

This is the brilliance of Chaos Theory, and why it was regarded as not only the best Splinter Cell game, but one of the best games of that entire generation. The sound meter is a wonderful addition, showing you how much sound you’re making in relation to a location’s ambient noise. For example, if you’re standing above two rumbling engines in the belly of a ship, the thud of a falling guard might go unnoticed, where as a few heavy footsteps in a quiet hallway might raise suspicion. This goes a long way in the player’s decision making process. If you’re in the middle of a war zone, you might be able to get away with shooting out a street light, but don’t expect to get away with it in a bunker in North Korea.

New lighting techniques allowed for softer shadows and more gradual fall off.

That’s not to say the game is perfect though. There are times when the game defies its own logic. I had a few instances where I was heard or spotted by a guard despite taking all necessary precautions. Other times a body was found by a guard who was not standing near a body. Possibly a glitch that only pops up occasionally, but worth mentioning. Another gripe is that aiming is still horribly inaccurate, and this is by design. I’ve held a pistol to the back of a guy’s head from five feet away, only to see the bullet ricochet off the wall on the other side. I can understand why they did this (because the game would be stupidly easy if you could headshot at will) but it still feels cheap. Sam is a trained, elite special ops soldier. To think he can’t aim a gun is silly.

The good thing is, aside from the EMP function, I rarely even had to use my pistol. Every mission includes the extremely versatile SC-20K equipped with whatever utilities you like, whether it’s a pocket full of sticky cams or a bunch of sticky shockers. I personally preferred the sticky shockers. That shit’s funny.

I played the original disc version of the Xbox game on a 360 through backward compatibility emulation. I had some frame rate issues, though nothing unplayable. These framerate drops may not even be present on the OG Xbox.

Does it hold up?
You bet your sweet ass it does. The graphics still look great, the sound is fine, and the controls are the best they’d ever been. There are still some small hiccups and framerate issues, probably due to the emulation, but if Ubisoft ever wanted to do a true HD remaster (not that PC port they pawned off on the PS3), they actually wouldn’t have to do much. Except maybe re-render some of the roughly animated cutscenes.

Is it worth going back to?
Absolutely. The controls don’t feel dated (or maybe they do, I just slogged through the first two games) and the gameplay is still pretty tight. There are a few questionable decisions in an otherwise brilliant game, but nothing anyone would get too hung up on.

Conclusion
If I sound high on this game, it’s because I am. Chaos Theory released at the dusk of the Xbox generation, and was the last console-specific entry in the series. It was also the best game we’d get for almost ten years. At times there were doubts that we’d even see another great Splinter Cell game. Thankfully we did.

But more on that later.

Catch up on the previous entries in the Splinter Cell Re-visited series:
Part 1: Introduction to Splinter Cell
Part 2: Splinter Cell
Part 3: Pandora Tomorrow