Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials
File:Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - Essentials.jpg
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Series	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Engine	Unreal Engine 2.0
Platforms	PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	NA March 21, 2006 AUS April 6, 2006 EU April 7, 2006
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, stealth
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials is an action-adventure video game with heavy emphasis on stealth. It is part of the Splinter Cell series and was released for the PlayStation Portable handheld system. It was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft on March 21, 2006 in North America. It is the fourth entry in the series and was powered by Unreal Engine 2.

Plot

Splinter Cell: Essentials starts off in 2009, after the events of Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Sam Fisher sneaks into the graveyard where his daughter, Sarah, who has been recently killed in a car accident, has been buried. Fisher is arrested at this grave site, taken into custody and interrogated. During this time, Sam recalls past events, that are then played as missions.

The first flashback mission is set in Colombia back in 1992. Fisher is at this time a member of the Navy SEALs. His commanding officer, Douglas Shetland, has been captured by FARC guerrillas. Going against the direct order of the commanding officer, he performs a solo rescue mission of the commander.

However, in the end, Sam admits that he did kill his Third Echelon handler, Colonel Irving Lambert. In the final mission, Sam steals the evidence and escapes.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 58.22% Metacritic 58/100 Review scores Publication Score GameSpot 5.8/10 IGN 6.3/10

Critical reaction to Splinter Cell: Essentials was mixed. GameRankings gave it a score of 58.22%, while Metacritic gave it 58 out of 100.

Juan Castro of IGN gave the game a score of 6.3 out of 10, saying: "It feels rushed, even slightly broken during certain parts. Beyond this, the game plays as though it doesn't belong on the PSP. It yearns for a second analog stick and an extra pair of buttons, for instance. Not only that, it suffers quite a bit in the performance department—you'll rarely see the game running smoothly. Making matters worse is that Essentials doesn't look all that spectacular. This from a series that always pushes the boundaries of current technology."

Greg Mueller of GameSpot gave Essentials a score of 5.8 out of 10, saying: "Splinter Cell: Essentials sounds like a fine idea. Take some missions from previous games, mix them up a little, add some entirely new missions, and fit it all onto the PSP. Unfortunately, due to some bad controls, oppressively dark levels, and a worthless multiplayer mode, the result is a game that is more frustrating than it is rewarding."

External links

• Official Splinter Cell website
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials at MobyGames