Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow Review

What am I saying!? Of course you can improve on perfection! Just hold the incredible P900 in your hands for a while. Let it rest in your warm palms as you stroke the plump, plastic buttons with your fingers. The feeling is just sensational!

Try spotting Sam in this pic.

Here's another cool way to remain out of sight.

Now, as for the multiplayer component; which really is the reason why many fans will buy Pandora Tomorrow; there are several very good things about it and a couple of relative letdowns. First off, let me just say that we spent most of the time playing multiplayer in a LAN. It just so happens that I find the Ubi.com multiplayer matchmaking service about as user-friendly as the vile and sinister Nokia tech support division. (You should talk to the Sony Ericsson tech support though; they're dreamy!) Ubi.com multiplayer service was really confusing. I'd get kicked out of matches that only had 2/4 players; even though the server browser was showing the match hasn't started yet; on account of there being too many players in the game. Go figure. At first I was a little pissed off, but then I finally managed to join a few games. Naturally, the fucking teenage fanatics on there kicked my ass, but the unique nature and pace of the gameplay got me intrigued. I then created a few LAN games and played against other AT editors here. The "bad" thing about the multiplayer is that it has a relatively steep learning curve for novices. It's just very different than your regular FPS death match brawl, especially if you're playing as a spy. You will simply have to go through the tutorials and practice until you become proficient at it. Once you become adept at being a spy, you'll start to like the subtle tactics this MP class brings with it. The controls are perfectly suited for the job, and after a while, you'll get a real kick out of neutralizing the goddamn mercs from behind the shadows. (Or by filling the spies full of led if you're a merc.) If we disregard the server browsing issues (as it's not a major annoyance really), a 2 on 2 "Neutralization" match can get really goddamn tense and tactical. But this is not multiplayer gaming for everyone. Trigger-happy shooter fans won't like it, and will prolly find it boring. Even more so if they don't want to invest time into figuring out all the subtle tricks there are. The nature of the game changes a lot in multiplayer, and though it may feel right for some Splinter Cell fans, it'll prolly feel too static and uneventful to others. Personally, I enjoyed it, but I don't know how long it will take me before I get bored with it.

Before I pass my final judgment on the new Splinter Cell game, let me just take this opportunity to slap on a completely rude and irritating Sony Ericsson logo:

You see, I was slightly pissed off with how Ubi Soft handled product placement in this game, and I'm trying to convey that same emotion to you.

In a nutshell, the single-player game can be characterized as "same-old, same-old that's still very fun to play," while the multiplayer is good if you are willing to give it a proper shot. It is marred, however, with some stupid interface issues. Though I have enjoyed it, I don't think we have a new Counter-Strike or BF1942 multiplayer outbreak on our hands. But it's unique, you gotta give it that. Should Splinter Cell fans get Pandora Tomorrow? Absolutely. Did it innovate as much as some of us had hoped it would? No. And that especially goes for the single-player game.

Now, please! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!! Rush to the nearest electronics store and buy a Sony Ericsson P900 cell phone! The guys at Sony promised me a happy meal if you do! (I think you are a few fries short of a Happy Meal -Ed)