Is Chaos Theory As Good As I Remember? | Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Retrospective

Time to see if my nostalgia-addled brain is correct to think Chaos Theory is the best game in the Splinter Cell franchise.
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Splinter Cell Retrospective: • Splinter Cell Retrospe...
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow Retrospective: • The Splinter Cell Game...
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#SplinterCell #ChaosTheory #Ubisoft #SamFisher #BringBackSplinterCell

[@TokeBoisen]

The humour in the interrogations was a real high point of writing for the series. Michael Ironside sold Fisher as a character brilliantly. Running as a ghost was so satisfying.

[@andersmith1484]

Toke Boisen my favorite is the one in the third mission where the dude thinks it’s training and Sam just goes along with it

[@ghramsey1681]

@Bwa Bwa Yoshi Not necessarily no wit. There are a few bits. You grab someone for a interrogation "this doesn't have to hurt...too much". That is the kind of dry humor we loved from Michael Ironside. The first time I heard this I was playing coop with a friend who was new to the game. He was in non lethal mode and expected to kill. That was actually funny too.

[@markulyssestabasan3064]

@Eriko. Oy There's also one in the Bank and Battery missions where Grim calls Sam "old" when you enter through the skylight. In the Battery mission, Sam will be told that the USS Ronald "Gipper" Reagan is the target for the launched missile, to which he will reply to Grim "You're right Grim, I am old."

[@BigPuddin]

@@ghramsey1681 Remember the weeaboo guard that thought Sam was a shinobi when he snuck up on him?

[@LevisH21]

@@andersmith1484 my favorite is in the bank mission when you have to interogate the janitor, Paco. that part was so hilarious.

[@Greatelsewhere]

"You Don't Even Exist Fisher, You Won't Get A Medal For This." "Medals Don't Help Me Sleep At Night Lambert."

[@rohithkumar8708]

one of my fav lines from the game. i just started playing the games from the first one, I'm at double agent now. man chaos theory is sooo good.

[@greatdelusion7654]

Marlon Carrillo You’re right, I consider the Splinter Cell series a quadrilogy that ended with Double Agent. As a PC gamer though who only owns that version of the game, I’m seriously in two minds about whether to replay Double Agent after many years, given the hellish bugs and optimisation... Can it be fixed?

[@greatdelusion7654]

​@@marloncarrillo2155 I’ve played and completed Double Agent at least once before on the PC, over 10 years ago. I don’t remember being bothered by the AI much, but the frequent crashes to desktop and game-breaking bugs are what did it for me. It’s honestly a great game without these issues.

[@greatdelusion7654]

Marlon Carrillo Hey, so I decided to install Double Agent to check out how stable it is on my system, and honestly it’s not nearly as bad as I expected. Not getting my hopes too high or anything, but so far I haven’t experienced a single bug, crash or problem, playing the game maxed out in widescreen. I did cap the framerate to my monitor though (60fps) which I’ve heard can help.

[@greatdelusion7654]

@@marloncarrillo2155 Hey Marlon, ok great, thanks, I will keep that in mind, appreciate the tip. By the way, I found Double Agent is running more optimized actually than Chaos Theory on my system right now - Chaos Theory has a CPU usage problem where it likes to run only on 1 out of 6 CPU cores, so I have 1 core at 100% usage and all of the others at like 1-3% usage. Double Agent doesn’t have this issue and scales nicely across all cores. Did you notice this same problem?

[@jjforcebreaker]

Someone, somewhere is reinstalling Chaos Theory...

[@TheMetpower]

Wdym I never delete it. New PC? first game install and play.

[@methamphetamememcmeth3422]

@@TheMetpower You seriously do that? It must be tiring to play only one game for fifteen years.

[@octs609]

@@methamphetamememcmeth3422 its really not so many ways of completing a mission it can be quite satisfying at times, for any splinter cell games except conviction, conviction was the most shit splinter cell game, it was a good game, just not a good splinter cell game

[@Bri0reos]

Me. I just reinstalled it yesterday

[@fransindongo3207]

@@octs609 + a bad pc port

[@SonOftheBattleCry]

“I’ve had enough AKs shot at me in my time to tell that wasn’t one “

[@TomiMancini]

Is it just me or is this a reference to the horrible alert system from Pandora Tomorrow

[@SonOftheBattleCry]

@@TomiMancini it's Fisher says in chaos theory

[@TomiMancini]

@@SonOftheBattleCry i know -_- thats not what I said

[@thepetrifiedbard1646]

Alert system in pandora is way better than the first yeah it goes up instantly but it can go down later which pushes me at least to keep going in my run instead of just restart from checkpoint

[@RyanxDunn]

"Let me guess - 3 Alarms and the mission's over?" "Don't be silly, Fisher; this isn't a game." Something like that.

[@15awesomehighfive]

God bless Mr. Ironside.

[@BucklingSwashes]

He really is an incredible performer. Watching the interviews they did with him for the promotional videos for the various Splinter Cell titles teaches you a lot about how much work and effort he put into the character. For each game he wanted to add new dimensions to Sam, and that really comes through when you compare his world-weary veteran in the first game to the quippier, sarcastic Sam of Chaos Theory or the energized force of fury you see in Conviction. Still wish we could get another true sequel with him.

[@mahrufurrahman9759]

Yes amen.

[@phedrosk9179]

'' - what do you want from me? - I wont limit your options. Spill! ''

[@poopdiearheason2426]

amen brother

[@noot_noot__]

One of my favorite lines in this game is when you play on Hokkaido and the Guards talk about how the floors are loud and annoying and the other guard says it’s because of ninjas, he mentions the first game by talking about a ninja attacking an oil rig.

[@CmFive]

Bought the game having no experience or nostalgia with the game just this last week, and I still can't believe it's over 15 years old. Top notch, even by todays standards.

[@Elr2000]

I've recently bought the first sc pandora tomorrow and chaos theory on xbox one I've finished chaos theory yesterday and its an awesome game but unfortunately it was the buggiest out of all three I've had major bugs that led to me having to restart the entire map one of those bugs appeared during the bathhouse mission it led to me being unable to use hacking for the last 2 missions but despite of this it was still a great tense game and I'm sure it will get even better with subsequent playthroughs

[@Janon743]

@@Elr2000 the ports are weird. The original versions on the Xbox and Pc seem to not suffer from bugs very much

[@have_a_good_day420]

I played this game on the original Xbox. The Xbox 360 just released and the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfare trailer premiered on the tv at Best Buy. Not exaggerating, I actually was startled by the graphics. I had never seem video game graphics so realistic, it actually scared me because I couldn’t discern between reality and the game’s graphics. At the time, it was mind blowing. Yet, Chaos Theory, especially sneaking into the lighthouse in the first part passing by a window with water dripping down the window bars, on the original Xbox, looked better than most newly released Xbox 360 games.

[@mikfhan]

Coop Theory was awesome; it could also track your headset microphone levels, with nearby enemies hearing if you spoke too loudly near them. Having your buddy suddenly sneeze in real life, with one of the guards reacting and investigating inside the game, was pretty neat :D And just the whole deal with two agents jamming both lights in a hallway, then sneaking up and grabbing two guards simultaneously... NOICE.

[@FraserSouris]

mikfhan I doubt any game could actually implement a version of that now. 3rd party applications would totally bypass it

[@IcepickXIII]

@@FraserSouris While this is true, I think some fans like myself would revel in the idea of having missions where voice levels matter. As long as the in-game VoIP isn't trash, I think at least a small amount of players would switch to in-game just to get the full co-op experience. I know I would!

[@mikfhan]

@@FraserSouris Yeah we did the same with Ventrilo back then eventually :) still a fun/weird feature, and the coop was definitely fun. Commandos 2 also.

[@FraserSouris]

@@IcepickXIII You'd need everyone in the match to agree to using in the game chat and you'd need to balance the game accordingly (e.g if some people aren't using it, it isn't OP). Still I can imagine current games like Siege benefitting from it would like to see some games trying it out

[@adamg7984]

I have fond memories of coop and Merc vs. Spy. To this day that is my most cherished multiplayer game next to Halo 2 when I was growing up with this new fangled "online multiplayer"

[@blzahz7633]

_"Fisher is slightly more dangerous than a mouse"_ Thank you for that additional clarification that gives contrast to your story.

[@acer5720]

Lmao

[@pjf674]

This game is damn near perfect. The Seoul mission is a masterpiece..

[@mattmas6628]

Peter Fitzgerald besides those damn tanks that just randomly shoot u even if ur in the dark

[@akminator130]

@@mattmas6628 tank have NV so that would be pretty realistic

[@mattmas6628]

abhishek Mishra i know i only recently realized that u have to wait for the tanks gun to turn away

[@hipityhoopitos153]

The bank mission is so god damm AMAZING

[@mattmas6628]

Hipity Hoopitos lasers are so.... “90s?” I was gonna say 70s pleas stop making me feel old

[@gagrin1565]

FYI some of the optional objectives force later missions secondaries to become mandatory if you fail to complete them because they're linked to information needed for the plot. If you don't get the data in one mission, you have to get it in the next. It's similar to the PT choices where it doesn't tell you that you're making one, it just silently changes something and keeps going.

[@mariachipotter6875]

Exactly, they weren't entirely optional as they had an impact on the overall story, even if slightly.

[@gagrin1565]

@@mariachipotter6875 Honestly, I love it when games do this sort of silent reactive stuff. You don't even notice til you replay and see the game handle it differently.

[@mariachipotter6875]

@@gagrin1565 it's a great mechanic but I imagine that it takes a lot of planning and time for developers to pull of. Probably why we rarely see it in AAA games.

[@mohsinabdulshukur]

I don't remember Pandora tomorrow choices can u give examples

[@gagrin1565]

@@mohsinabdulshukur My go-to example is your contact who guides you through the streets. She's helping you around the patrols and suddenly Lambert is in your ear and tells you to kill her, you've got a few seconds to react before you lose the opportunity. Lambert doesn't have time to explain and it's a trigger point. Shoot unarmed person, or walk into a trap.

[@MewBlood]

My main gripe with the otherwise excellent Splinter Cell: Blacklist is that it completely lacks the profound sense of humour that Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory had. The chemistry of Sam, Grim & Lambert in Chaos Theory was excellent, and the overheard dialogues between NPCs and Sam's sometimes absurd interrogations were likewise often very humorous. In Blacklist, Sam became a "Gruffy McGruff-Face" with a team of implausibly straight-faced tag-alongs whose dramatical/tonal range ranged from serious to passive-aggressively serious, and the dialogue and characterisation suffered as a result. Curiously, Andriy Kobin (voiced by our very own Elias Toufexis of Deus Ex: Human Revolution fame) was the only character in Blacklist that seemed to remember that the game was supposed to have a sense of humour.

[@EON314]

Honestly conviction and blacklist ruined both Sam and Grime as original and great characters overall. The game would've been better if they just stuck to the core of what chaos theory was as it was the best in the series to date

[@ice7223]

Exactly. It's one of my favorite games gameplay wise but the only good character is Kobin and the game just has so many issues.

[@SoloTravelerOffTheBeatenPath]

Blacklist sucked. Don't know what you're talking about.

[@Hyperlingualism]

At least the ending of Conviction put an end to their stories. Grimm was on to other things (who knows, maybe she could've been the next protagonist of Splinter Cell. "You seem more interested in doing field work these days, Grimm") and despite the Megiddo conspiracy or whatever at least Fisher's story had ended: (spoilers) he's too damn old, he saved his retconned daughter, saved Vic, saved the world one last time, destroyed 3rd Echelon, and tells Grimm off saying he's finally out of "the game" (almost word for word) because he doesn't trust her. He can finally retire. Blacklist fucks that up. Grimm is put back in a goddamn pencil skirt and prefers to play by the rules (despite breaking every rule in Conviction), while Fisher is back into spying for a stupid reason and Fisher and Vic are visibly aged down by 20 years and look no older than Grimm herself. Blacklist may have improved on gameplay elements of Conviction, but it screws up the story elements and personalities that the games built.

[@Henrik_Holst]

Also all the levels in Blacklist is extremely short so they ramped up the difficulty artificially by just adding a shit ton of enemies, but if you know your way around you can sprint through most of them in just a few minutes and still avoid all detection.

[@aDm219]

If only there was a way to make custom levels for this game.

[@thegames4565]

I saw a map pack in moddb for the game, I think they were fanmade, so if they were there's a way apparently

[@johnnydjiurkopff]

There probably is, unreal engine is usually pretty mod friendly from what I know.

[@anticitizenjuan]

Amon Tobin soundtrack was icing on the cake One the best OSTs of any video game

[@GabrielKnightz]

I remember playing the lighthouse demo for this game in every single which way, excitedly waiting for the game to come out. Once it did i had played it so much the game just felt like second nature. To this day it arguably and rightfully remains one of the best stealth experiences in the industry. Everything from Ironside's dark humour to the ambient score seamlessly plays into that. One little interesting titbit not mentioned in the video is how Sam can throw things and how the world reacts to it, for example if it's a bottle to the head it'll freak out the guards where as if it's a brick it'll knock them out. Or the funny little whistles to attract guards. All of which i think speaks volumes to a team that took the time and care to make the gameplay dynamically fun. All of which also, has been taken out in later iterations of the game for no sensible reason, in it's slow decline from a competent Spy thriller with a charming, characterful lead to a bad fan fiction of 24 with a cardboard cutout. I had hoped at one point that Sam would slowly retire and become the 'voice in the ear' to a new agent, a female perhaps and there would be some interesting dynamic there with Sam having lost his daughter. But no they've gone too far in a direction to comeback without retconing. In this age of "remasters" (or whatever it's called) I would LOVE to see this game remade in the latest Unreal engine, even without the multiplayer elements, which were brilliant in their own right. Thank you Chris for taking the time to make this, i've been waiting for this one since the first video in the series. Maybe if more people kept talking about what made Splinter Cell what it is some Ubisoft suit goblin will take heed and do something...maybe. Good job man.

[@treemasterbob]

I memorized the light house to the point i could run through the level undetected within 5 mins and not touch a single guard

[@mantistoboggan5171]

you can knock people out with bottles. i was doing it yesterday.

[@GabrielKnightz]

@@SODMGGOKU Well, It's not unusual to be lured by the demo, It's not unusual to have fun with the demo, But when I see you having not played the game, It's not unusual to see me cry, I wanna die.

[@GabrielKnightz]

@Bwa Bwa Yoshi I agree too but, with ubisoft publishing practises as it is, i wouldn't trust them with it. I would rather have it live on with some dignity than ....for the lack of a better word, be whored out by ubisoft.

[@thisismyname1701]

@@SODMGGOKU the new xbox series x has nearly 100% backward compatability all the way back to the orginal xbox so you can just buy the new one i dont use xbox but thats what im gonna do so i can play alll the old games i used to love and theyll still release a few new games on the ps4 so yea

[@Shodar87]

Even to this day, still can't fathom why Ubi never developed on this formula instead of going completely different way -.- Thanks for vid.

[@raresmacovei8382]

Shodar87 2 reasons: They developed this formula in 2 separate ways: 2 completely different versions of Splinter Cell Double Agent We had 4/5 games with the same sort of mechanics and it was indeed becoming a bit stale. It really needed a refresh.

[@EggBastion]

No need. Assassins creed is better of Splinter Cell _and_ Prince of the Persia. Why for make different games. Is expensive. Now shut up and eat liver.

[@FraserSouris]

Shodar87 Because it didn’t sell well. Conviction and Blacklist had disappointing sales. Plus, linear 3rd person stealth games weren’t as profitable next to multiplayer or open world games. Ubi decided to focus its efforts on fewer larger games that were guaranteed to succeed so would get the extra resources rather lots of varied games

[@jkthegreat5687]

@@EggBastion ur dumb ass does realize that splinter cell shares alot more similarities with ghost recon that with assassins creed rigth?...

[@movement2contact]

because ca$$$$$$h...

[@RebootedGaming]

"Is Chaos Theory As Good As I Remember?" Yes No need to have a retrospective :P

[@lukagrgic8796]

Heheheheh

[@dkelrk1]

I know I don't need them but I must confess I binged every single SC retrospective video on this platform.

[@Dash120z]

@@dkelrk1 lol me too one simply can't get enough of the greatness that is Chaos Theory

[@meyes1098]

Coop really plays a huge role into chaos theory though. If you remember in the seoul level, at one point you're interrogating somebody, and then Lambert puts you through to "another team". Well, that other team is actually the coop team that you can play through. Also you forgot one gadget that makes this game much easier than you made it out to be: the zoom thingy that can hack at a distance.

[@TheLmb10000]

Chaos Theory has a good balance between challenge and fun. There are a bunch of features I miss in the future SC games like an interrogation that for a short moment makes you feel you captured a man, not a mindless bot. And for me, its gameplay is not SO confusing like many other games from that era. I still remember my thoughts about every game in the series. And surprisingly only Chaos Theory made the best impression like "Wow! It's even better than the original Splinter Game and Pandora Tomorrow. I can't even find a single flaw!" After some time I was able to find some of them, but they still won't so disturbing like changes in Double Agent, Blacklist and especially Conviction. Don't get me wrong. They are good games too, but they feel different. Not like a "direct upgrade." Maybe because Chaos Theory reached its quality ceiling and going further meant to create new things before people start screaming something like "you turned SC into conveyor product!" Anyway. There are many good games nowadays, there were many in the past. And the main feature of them is they let you have some fun no matter when they are launched: on the release or many years later. - This wireless stuff makes life a lot easier. - Yup. Welcome to the wi-fi era. - Remember, you're saying that to a guy from the era of hi-fi. - Hi-fi? As in like, high in fiber? - Ugh... Don't put me in adult undergarments yet, kid.

[@possiblystevo9141]

amon tobin delivered possibly the best video game soundtrack ever here

[@d.fortner6653]

I still play this game it never gets old and the bank level is my favorite.

[@currangill430]

Mine is probably Displace. I love it because I love infiltration missions. Bank is where I feel Chaos Theory started to pick up. 4 STRAIGHT awesome missions!

[@joeyvdm1]

Man oh man the memberberries are strong with this one. Loved it so much.

[@misterbin00]

No mention of this guy in the Hokkaido mission who talks about NINJA? It was really hilarious to interrogate him LOL

[@stupid90able]

"I'm the guy who genuinely believes the first mass effect game is the best one" Well you just earned a subscriber

[@stupid90able]

@Eriko. Oy I know that's why i subscribed.

[@serathaevistille995]

And then somehow Mass Effect 2 ends up being worse in every single way except for graphics.

[@jaymac7203]

Man, the lighting still blows me away even after all these years. I remember people being rendered speechless by how beautiful this game looked on release. Especially the Xbox 360 version that I was lucky enough to get. I still remember how that dark and atmospheric night on the beach in the opening mission made me feel. It's such a classic game .

[@Ikcatcher]

Just be glad you weren’t introduced to the series the way I was: The DS port of Chaos Theory

[@lukagrgic8796]

I played it on the Ngage QD (if i remember it correctly ^^)

[@annafinch2315]

HA i played that too! that control set up tho 😵

[@lukagrgic8796]

@@annafinch2315

[@LumosX]

What if one were introduced to the series with "Blacklist"?

[@Sabrelight]

@@LumosX not an awful start, but a terrible introduction to Sam Fisher, especially his voice

[@n1Catastrophe]

"the first mass effect game was the best one" *subscribed thought I was the only one....

[@heinrichb]

There is also Smudboy on YT.

[@tizodd6]

n1Catastrophe : Mass Effect 1 is the best one imo as well. And I also like 3 more than 2 lol. I'm not trying to be contrary or anything...I honestly like them in that order (1,3,2).

[@mariachipotter6875]

But it didn't age well.

[@tizodd6]

@@mariachipotter6875 I disagree. Maybe it's just nostalgia for me, but I still very much enjoy Mass Effect 1 over the other two. Doesn't feel like an old game to me at all.

[@mariachipotter6875]

@@tizodd6 could be that or maybe it's not for me. I played it for the first time a couple months ago and while the story was intriguing and the writing/voice acting was good, the other game mechanics didn't feel fun and understandably dated.

[@benjaminchen4367]

About the thermal vision guys chasing you in the furnace room of bathhouse, they do that whether or not you alert the guys in the previous room. They just spawn in every time you defuse the next bomb On kokubo sosho, you can detonate the server from under the floor, it doesn't have to be in that exact spot. Also, if you use your night vision, you will see some lasers in the tunnel with the turret that you can avoid

[@gilian3427]

Just a little thing, you can destroy the drone in the Korean mission with the sniper attachment, its a nice detail in my opinion

[@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09]

I still hold old-gen Double Agent higher, that is one of my favorite games, the story is great and actually managed to make Sam Fisher a little bit more human. It has so many memorable missions: The prison break one, Money Train, JBA Headquarters 2, the cruise ship mission, the finale, and the CO-OP missions that were all awesome and tied into the main story.

[@MisterNoah]

Indeed.....such an amazing game.

[@Dash120z]

The cruise ship mission was by far the best one

[@NEELZE99]

Really a shame that the pc/360/PS3 versions were so much whorse

[@have_a_good_day420]

I loved the level that starts in the snow, forget which one. The first level?

[@have_a_good_day420]

@@NEELZE99 they were whores? Just out banging everyone.

[@Charles_Bro-son]

Never played the Splinter Cell games. However, Chaos Theory comes to my memory for having its soundtrack written by Amon Tobin who also released an album Chaos Theory back then.

[@josedirks3973]

And the soundtrack of this game was amazing... More memorable than the previous 2 games and any of the SC games after chaos theory. He did an amazing job.

[@GeneralG1810]

Dude you are missing out, what a franchise do yourself a favor they're on steam and most of them are under $20. Don't worry about Conviction though it's definitely the black sheep of the family

[@SPNKr16]

Get Splinter Cell 1 to 4. NOW

[@GeneralG1810]

@Комендант Sixto conviction had it's moments, and yes I did like Vic. But it stepped too far away from the stealth aspect that made the franchise great.

[@gringobronx7670]

@@GeneralG1810 remember he was no longer with 3rd echolon and he thought his daughter was dead and when he found out she wasn't he just wanted to get revenge on the people responsible and he also found out that Lambert lied to him so he had no need for gadgets or to be stealthy all the time he just went all out...

[@serathaevistille995]

For me personally, Seoul is my favourite level, maybe along with Battery. It shows a lot of nuance in terms of who the North Koreans are, such as the base commander in Battery being absolutely livid his missile somehow got launched without his authorisation, because he didn't want to go to war with America. Seoul for more obvious reasons, rescuing the Pilots, Sam doing his own thing and telling Lambert to shut up. I love those two levels. Hokkaido was great, too.

[@LevisH21]

for me the Bathhouse is my favorite but it kinda gets difficult at the end with defusing the bombs. I usually use wall mines to kill the three guards that come after me. sometimes they get killed, other times the wall mine doesn't explode. and yeah, if the enemy sees a dead body, you could get less points. but generally speaking, the levels seem to be pretty small sized compared to much more recent Splinter Cell games. this is the only downside. I love exploring larger maps/levels. Chaos Theory only has a few interesting maps. Bathhouse, Seoul, Penthouse and the Bank come into my mind. Displace Offices is indeed extremely boring.

[@jasmeg2844]

One thing I love about this game that no one mentions is the sound. Not the music, the ambience or the footsteps of guards, but the sounds you make yourself while walking, climbing, pulling out equipment and so on. It makes the character feel so heavy and tangible when you control him and when you interact with the environment. The absence of that really bugs me in the new Hitman games for example. The character and everything you do feels too weightless.

[@Salamander676]

Sound effects were almost on a manhunt level of immersion. But It’s all about those whistles and dumb guard reactions 😂 the dialogue goes from masterful to wtf in a heartbeat 😂 There was so much passion and nostalgia in the older games

[@mattjones5849]

This is the greatest game of all time. I remember being absolutely immersed in this game the entire time I played it. The graphics were so ahead of it's time. It's so hard for me to put into words but I remember the moment I first started playing this game on the lighthouse level. What a masterpiece. Even spies versus mercenaries I remember playing on Xbox connect before Xbox live. I'm 30 now and I haven't played any video games in years but if they were to ever remake Chaos Theory or something similar I would buy a system and play this in a heartbeat. I hope it happens one of these days. I used to be crazy about Halo 2 and I played the crap out of that game but this game will always go down as the greatest game of all time hands down

[@have_a_good_day420]

💯💯💯

[@matts2581]

'Chaos Theory' - always remembered for its music soundtrack, for me. :D

[@cosseybomb]

Played it as a kid and recently a year ago. It still holds up really well!

[@ModeSOLOgaming]

Long time Splinter Cell fan and when this game came out it just amazed me. To this day it's still the most perfect stealth game ever made.

[@mr.rodgers9891]

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory was my first foray into the series. At first it was quite difficult. Being use to pretty much ONLY platforms such as Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot, this game was quite a sudden departure from the usual stuff I had played as a kid. But the more I passed by the case, the nore it intrigued me. Being basically a ninja with night vision goggles and the ability to interrogate enemies always felt great. And going back to play it recently, I have to admit, it aged like fine wine. The cutscenes are a bit dated. But the gameplay itself still feels unique. Very satisfying stealth and the attention to detail in the environments is a great breath of fresh air. The stealth game has gone the way of the past, like the RTS or the open ended RPG. I would honestly like a remastered version. But maybe I shouldn't ask for that, seeing the current track record of Ubisoft. Maybe it's best left in the past.

[@stinkystealthysloth]

I absolutely hated the ship mission, I could never find that final damn crate for the optional objective 💀

[@dave1812]

You can avoid getting shot by that hidden turret at the kokubo sosho by using your goggles. You can see the Lasers just like the Laser in the Bank's Vault.

[@g3orgeK.]

Still this AI feels better that the AI in Hitman games. They felt like real people

[@PurposelessRabbitholes]

Really curious to hear what you think of Conviction. That one seems really divisive, but I personally enjoyed the hell out of it. The Mark and Execute mechanic was such a good time, and the split-screen was endlessly entertaining

[@DrEcho]

When a channel you follow comments on a video of a channel you follow like ^

[@adamg7984]

I didn't get into the series until Choas Theory but Conviction was a great game that just lost some of what made the series. There was no longer emphasis on choice and while I loved the gameplay it just didn't seem like true Splinter Cell. Too fast paced, too combat focused but still a great game. I would still play that, double agent or Chaos Theory. Never bothered with Blacklist.

[@MrDailyWyatt]

I honestly feel that Blacklist was more Divisive than Conviction just due to Fourth Echelon being more of the government controlled organization we knew in the original games where Convictions' story explains away the fact that stealth is less encouraged and Sam is way more aggressive and deadly than he has ever been. I think the issue with Conviction is that it decided to directly tie in to the end of Double Agent for 360 and not the Original Xbox version which have very different endings causing the franchise to split slightly in continuity.

[@robrick9361]

Conviction would have been fine as it's own game unattached to Splinter Cell. But for a Splinter Cell game it was horrible. Splinter Cell is nuanced and deep in its design. Shallow well made action games are good fun BUT they should never be attached to the Splinter Cell name.

[@oldsnake9520]

@@adamg7984 I recommend blacklist it feels like metal gear crossed with chaos theory with a faster pace of leaving enemies undisturbed.

[@pjf674]

The hand to hand attacks and climbing in this game are incredibly realistic and characters feel like they have actual weight.

[@HYDRARMOR]

Big thanks for your work man!

[@ThreeProphets]

If you advertise to your discord how to get the game set up, where to buy it, and schedule a multiplayer session, you can play with some other players that aren't quite so ridiculously experienced

[@marcino457]

36:03 - mate I get bashing the US in the current day and age, but calling the decision to prevent Japan from having an offensively capable army "hypocritical" is a tad silly, especially considering the context of WWII. Imperial Japan was the aggressor in a war of pure imperialism. Their armies committed numerous war crimes which, in contrast to Nazi Germany, weren't top heavy, but most often conducted by individual soldiers. On top of that, they attacked a neutral nation without a formal declaration of war in hopes of intimidating them. Crippling Japanese military after the war was completely justified. If you call that hypocritical then by the same logic American intervention in WWII was hypocritical as well. I mean the US attacked other nations in the past, so why should they hold Germany accountable for their actions in Europe? For that matter, why hold Germany accountable for the holocaust? The US arguably conducted a genocide against native Americans in the past, so stigmatizing the holocaust is hypocritical.

[@FraserSouris]

DirtyMack 2 wrongs don’t make a right (or in this case, lots of wrongs). The US is hypocritical for much of their actions. Your defence is arbitrary and meaningless

[@okcoolshades2203]

Isn’t this a copypasta

[@DarknessDShadow]

In case anyone is interested, multiplayer had two modes: coop and vs Coop is quite self explanatory and hands down the best coop experience I had to this day. There was an elite mode, which meant no ammo and basically no gadgets. It was so much fun and I highly recommend it The other mode was Spies vs Mercenaries. The premise was simple, the spies had to "capture" (i.e. hack a computer or the likes) 3 points on the map and the mercenaries had to protect them. The spies could jump higher, climb, sneak, basically all you can do in the main game. The mercenaries used an assault rifle or a shotgun and had different visions to spot the spies, like a movement sensor for example. Quite overpowered and most people just allowed night vision. They also had a headlamp, which worked on like two graphic card models. The spies had different blinding grenades to counter the different visions of the mercenaries. However, that's not how my friend and I played these maps. We always played in the open areas deathmatch style. You could knock out the mercenary by jumping on them and then strangle them or something. You could also grab them from behind I believe. Otherwise the spies had no offensive weaponry. The mercenaries had not only their weapon, but also grenades, mines, that sort of stuff. It was a lot more fun this way and everyone hated playing against us :D The server browser gave us another thing, custom maps. I just played one type really, jumping maps. The concept was simple, jump from platform to platform until you reach the goal, usually climbing up. It was a lot of fun, especially because the spy and mercenary had very different jump patterns. With the mercenary you had to get to the very edge to make it, while the spy could jump much further and you could easily overshoot. The platforms got smaller and the jumps more precise as you progressed. My friend didn't like them, but I always had a blast playing them Chaos Theory is to this day one of my favourite games and the only game ever I played on hard to 100% completion. As you might can imagine, I'm not happy with the way Ubisoft took with this franchise. I really hope we will get a modern Chaos Theory one day. Blacklist was a step in the right direction. I also liked Conviction, just not as a Splinter Cell game

[@batmanarkhamcentral3149]

Can’t wait for the conviction and blacklist review

[@newworlddisorder156]

Game and sound track by Amon Tobin is one of the all time classic games.

[@Killicon93]

"Ubisoft isn't exactly scared of milking franchises" Yes, but they aren't very competent either.

[@nelsonsham2368]

Man, those enemies face when you grab them gonna give me some nightmare for sure lol

[@MathHoonFBfromFAS]

32:06 there are lasers, that’s why prople are always be spotted in this area. Turn on the night vision.

[@jjforcebreaker]

SCCT is still best stealth-action game out there. Blacklist came close, and while being fantastic stealth-action game, it wasn't as good 'Splinter Cell game' as Chaos Theory. Completed it like 50 times, last time a year ago. Except for support for mp, the only problem was mentioned face animations of grabbed enemies, and it's hardly a gameplay issue.

[@quinnmarchese6313]

When i got my hands on a ps3 in the modern times, one of the first games i bought was blacklist, as i actually quite liked conviction as well and had generally kept up with the series but missed that one. as much as i liked the game, i couldn't finish it because without Michael Ironside it just was lacking in what made it fun

[@Twiggy163]

I didnt mind the product placement. Only the Nokia advertisement on a company used computer is weird. But the gaurd chatter, the AXE neon light and billboards.. it does add to make the world feel real. It was very obvious they had a deal with AXE, it was in Ghost Recon aswell.

[@treemasterbob]

Ghosting or purely sneaking (save objective kills/interrogations) in this game was so damn good. It felt like a fair challenge and had a real tension to it. I remember after killing a target i hid his body in a dark corner and had to quickly flatten to a wall, staying there for minutes, while his body guards were checking about the noise.

[@blinkachu404]

I'm currently working on a first person stealth game inspired by Chaos Theory. Since Ubi refuses to do ANYTHING with the property I will just make my own :P (obviously not the same lore/universe since that's copyrighted but like a spiritual successor almost)

[@shonjones7231]

Kinda like Thief?

[@blinkachu404]

@@shonjones7231 I never played Thief, so honestly can't say yes or no. From what I can find about it though, Thief seems to be more medieval? I guess mechanics will be similar (as said, can't verify as I haven't played it) but my goal is to basically have similar gameplay to Chaos Theory, just from a first person perspective :) So you'll have access to weapons, gadgets, acrobatics such as the wall-split-jump and hanging from pipes mounted on the ceiling, different ways to approach objectives etc. Hopefully that answers your question ^^

[@jordank6546]

@@blinkachu404 how far are you on the project if you dont mind me asking

[@jennyxj-9296]

I enjoyed the video and I can relate to some of the things you feel. Your points hold very well when addressing the typical audience of the game, especially on a first-time playthrough; and I appreciate the focus on this group. However, if you don't mind I would like to make a few minor corrections/clarifications that I've learned through speedrunning the game. I'll cover them in the order mentioned in your video, I also won't mention things that are generally subjective and not always the case, like your points about backtracking. -3:40 I'm not sure if you mean the animation concept in itself was cut or just the longer version of it, but just for the sake of clarity: the animation with Sam swapping his gear I think is in the game. However, it's not nearly as long as the E3 trailer, having been abridged for about 4 or 5 seconds in the release. -18:48 As other people mentioned, completing optional objectives makes it so you don't have to do certain secondaries in following missions. -25:50 While the game design itself is a bit dubious to begin with, the part about the firefight at the end of the bathhouse is full of half-truths. Firstly, the light flickering in the hallway doesn't actually matter, as all of the enemies in the area are wearing night-vision goggles. The ISDF have actual goggles and the Displace guys have their helmets with the red beam. So it's not that the light flickers it's that they can literally see in the dark, however, that honestly makes things worse. There is a reliable strat to get by (See my Bathhouse run for it), but it's probably nowhere near the dev intended one. -26:08 If I had to guess your trouble with the smokes here comes from not understanding that the guards have NVGs, so shutting off the light like at 26:23 won't actually help. To get by them with smoke you have to more or less completely envelop yourself to not be seen. Though there is also a very specific toss (Re: Bathhouse run) with flashbangs that does stun all three of them with a single grenade, again it's not something most players would probably manage to find easily. Your point about them being impervious to gas is true though. -26:58 The guards that come for you in the bomb room actually spawn regardless of whether or not you alerted anyone previously. It will always spawn one guard after the first bomb from the hallway behind you, followed by another two after the second bomb. Then after the last bomb a single guard spawns in the hallway Shetland leaves through. Also, your point about wallmines not working in a different area is true, however, the guards coming behind you actually spawn in that little elbow of the hall after the mine you passed before. They also walk rather than run so they won't be going fast enough to set it off. Overall with Bathhouse, it's not entirely your fault that you came to the conclusions you did as the whole encounter is really complicated and weird and took a decent amount of dissecting to get through without a problem. -32:07 You can see the lasers that trigger the turret with you night vision and thermals. There's also a switch in the corner to your right as you enter the hall that actually shuts it off. Those were the only things you said that struck me as wrong in a way that couldn't just be handwaved as a "your mileage may vary" kinda thing and thought might be good to clear up. As I said, the video is quite good and for the most part anything you went to explain about the game was accurate. Your summary of the plot was also quite accurate which is good because I feel that some people might have missed details along the way (I used to barely understand part of the plot when I was younger). Great video overall and I think I'll be going back to watch your previous installments!

[@matt2.052]

Wow you put alot of effort in that..

[@mohsinabdulshukur]

I don't think that enemies having NVG is bad but those displace and ISDF splinter cells are nailed perfectly like they wait and setup traps for you to fall in and that's one of the reasons why I like conviction also the splinter cells in Conviction also sets up traps and jump on you only thing is in Conviction it is easier to kill

[@shadowfoxx14]

One thing about hacking scanners: if you hack them as opposed to having a guard scan their eye, the guards can tell that they've been hacked and will be more suspicious

[@JadenSmithEyes]

Massive shoutout to Amon Tobin for one of the best video game soundtracks to date.

[@TommyLeonBlade]

I still love the original xbox (oldgen) Double Agent more. It had a great single player campaign and coop was just great.

[@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09]

Yes! that version is awesome.

[@matt2.052]

Yes I loved it to unfortunately if you buy the pc version its broke af

[@Jehannum2000]

I'm itching to watch this video, but since I'm playing Chaos Theory right now I don't want spoilers. As soon as I finish.

[@Anonymous-hf8nx]

God imagine a game with Chaos Theory mechanics and the amount of detail possible with new technology *Chef's kiss*

[@dizzygnome6698]

Love your videos. They might not be technical but they're always in depth

[@magfedacex]

I really enjoyed the voice acting in all damn it fisher games

[@Undone545]

"closer to 40 than 30" you sound in your 20s

[@AA-pz6ny]

I just bought chaos theory today it is going to be my first time playing it ever I hope it's good

[@builderdex]

The franchise started to suck when they killed the daughter. I loved that he was a family man and that just kind of left me disappointed.

[@DefinitelyNotAvery]

But his daughters still alive

[@builderdex]

@@DefinitelyNotAvery Well, F**k! That pissed me off so bad, I quit the franchise. I guess I have a couple more games to play.

[@DefinitelyNotAvery]

@@builderdex the last two actually heavily build on his relationship with his daughter. But they kinda suck.

[@builderdex]

@@DefinitelyNotAvery This thread has been an emotional roller coaster for me.

[@builderdex]

@Greig91 That is what I actually thought at the time -is that they maybe thought that a middle aged family man wasn't resonating with their core audience and were trying to make him into an edgy 20 something murder machine.

[@JazzyUnderscoreTrumpeter]

I feel so damn alone in my love of Blacklist, lol A really solid series, generally speaking

[@anthonykay1580]

Conviction all timer here :(

[@JazzyUnderscoreTrumpeter]

@@anthonykay1580 yeah...

[@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09]

I feel Blacklist was a great mix between Conviction and the old games, hated the new voice actor for Sam though.

[@JazzyUnderscoreTrumpeter]

@@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09 THANK YOU!! I also agree the voice change was startling, sounded much...softer, I suppose? I just really liked that game.

[@brixfrancis1234]

I loved both Blacklist and Conviction lol

[@LevisH21]

the dark humor in this game was just amazing. Sam should have stayed the same in the following sequels. the franchise shouldn't have went so serious and hardcore with Double Agent, Conviction and Blacklist. Chaos Theory has the perfect balanced tone for the entire Splinter Cell franchise. and also the perfect gameplay.

[@SerMattzio]

I miss Sam and Lambert's banter, actually. There were lots of moments where Sam actually went against his orders to do the "right" thing and Lambert would sort of grumpily complain but not reprimand him. Lots of character added to them in those exchanges.

[@4crafters597]

"Yes. Okay, that's all for today, thanks for watching!"

[@lillith3159]

the turret from the last level can be avoided, the room is actually filled with invisible lasers

[@princeofruins3287]

Its great , I just played it and Pandora tomorrow recently as well.

[@7ylerD]

In a world where Sam Fisher exists, I would be wary of slightly ajar bathroom doors as well.

[@lonestar6709]

_"Are you going to say Monkey?"_ -Sam Fisher.

[@nileshmukherjee2000]

In the last mission, you use the night vision to get past the laser grid, triggering which in turn activates the popping turret.

[@sry4head]

42 min. 1 week ago? why didn't i see this earlier? great job already! edit: btw, I replayed this game 2 years ago and it was still an awesome walkthrough. (was very ez, though, caus i already knew it very well.)

[@ReconVette19D]

This game is fantastic, the ai is ahead of cyberpunks stealth area gameplay by the way.... oh and i really did enjoy SC blacklist though, deploying from the paledin was a great way to feel more open.

[@ssale86]

I recall the shotgun attachment was another lethal weapon in CT. I only used it once, on the bathhouse level where you were forced into combat towards the end. I also believe I completed the game almost entirely on 100% on Xbox... I spent a lot of time on it back in 2005, sheesh. CT was easily the best Splinter Cell game. Also, the multiplayer... man, that was a great game that pushed the original Xbox hardware.

[@Txp91]

Love this game to death. The interrogations had me laughing out loud. great video. by the way, it doesn't matter how old you are mate, it's just a number. 40 is not old =) keep up the great work. Looking forward to new content.

[@patchmoulton5438]

I think the only thing I disagree with is the part of where you say Displace is a meh level. Yes, its a high end office building... with a room where they test automated turrets, what appears to be a CIC for their various teams out in the field, and the liquid crystal windows. That is something I haven't seen replicated in games today: a variable window that can go from transparent to opaque _with_ the AI recognizing and reacting to the different states. Hell, games nowadays still struggle with reflective mirrors and lighting. On a technical level, Displace and this game as a whole are amazing

[@Evaquiel]

Your narration is so smooth and soothing that i leave it on even when i'm not really watching. But don't worry, i also watch it.

[@KyleFromSouthParkCA]

Somebody broke into my friends house one night when We were playing the multi player, really added to the ambiance.

[@TheSectric]

Not only the best splinter cell game, but one of, if not the best game in the entire stealth genre.

[@valathe]

seoul is one of my all-time favourite maps in any video game, ever. all the maps in chaos theory in great, but there is something special about seoul to me. granted, i haven't played the game in over a decade so there might be heavy nostalgic bias in play, but damn do i have the itch to re-play it right now. great video (series), kudos to you!

[@mister-pinkman]

I literally played this in 2020 for the first time AFTER I’d already played conviction and blacklist. And I think CT is the best one. That is saying something

[@walale12]

You can actually see the laser in the bank vault, and the ones that trigger the turret in the last level, if you have your night vision on.

[@randalica92]

I triggered the laser alarm and I wondered why I didn't see any guards coming. Turned out I knocked ALL of them out beforehand

[@joseph2000117]

Fantastic lighting even 15 years later

[@ynkybomber]

Those badguy faces are terrifying

[@cosmicbilly]

Chaos theory and double agent are my favorite splinter cell games. Wish i had an xbox to play them again

[@travisheald]

Just to be clear... "The Turtle" sounds exactly like you. Also... "Fix the gate, open the gate, close the gate, open the gate, well now the gate is broken!" Classic.

[@have_a_good_day420]

I still have the Game Informer magazine in my closet with Sam Fisher on the cover hanging upside down in the rain at the lighthouse about to slaughter a guard. A masterpiece in gaming. The whole Splinter Cell Trilogy and arguably Double Agent are certified classics.

[@Death13Horseman]

God I have so many good memories in this game. Especially the Penthouse, the Bank and Hokkaido missions, they were a joy to play.

[@rexrocker1268]

I haven’t played every stealth action game out there, but of the ones I have played this is easily the best one. You have to play it several times over to really appreciate how good it is. The alarm system was awesome, I would play without saving the game and try to beat a level with no knockouts or kills and alarms. But if you trip an alarm the map would get more difficult and the gameplay would totally change. Maybe now I have to kill a guard or two, maybe now I have to use more gadgets to get past a section. The game is a masterpiece.

[@TheStowAway594]

Great game & Great video 👍 I like how you question a lot of the mechanics and story decisions. It's always important to ask "why is this like this?" "How could it have been better?" etc. I don't always agree with you, but I always appreciate hearing your critique of a game. Also I like when your videos are long, and you take the time to really dig into a game, it's systems, and it's story. One thing I didn't appreciate when I first played this game was how the story is very serious, but interrogating guards is hilarious, it balances out the game very well I think.

[@TheStowAway594]

* I meant to say, I didn't appreciate the forced alarms (bathhouse) due to the story, but the balance between the serious story and funny dialogue was well done.

[@RyanxDunn]

If this game is still so good to this day (I'm playing it for the third time or something like that), I can't imagine how good it must have been when it came out. I was too young to appreciate it back then, but it's still probably the best stealth game released.

[@arifinrohan8595]

Man, your videos are a blessing.

[@SA80TAGE]

32:08 that turret is triggered by laser tripwires iirc, only visible with thermal vision i think.

[@alecuaalecu1]

They can put all the ads on a video game TV or poster as long it's a good game. I loved the chat between Fisher and Grimsdottir (or Anna as the boys call her) and the claustrophobic moments you had to go trough to, if you chosen the stealth route at times. Maybe there will be an ad blocker mod for it when it comes out.. Also Shetland had the right tools to become the perfect villain in my opinion, tho the PMC or mercs clichee is a bit too much for me. If he done peace keeping or something as a PMC, just to gather resources for his army and war, just for you to find out that he also served as Japan offensive force it would been better in my opinion. I liked the blacklist SvM mode more then the original two from Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory. It was more on the casual side and with a bit of more polish it could been a really fun game more anyone could get into, but the lack of maps or additional content, and broken mechanics like the trophy system in some situations it was really frustrating at times.. My rant is over.. lol tl;dr

[@SadboiSenpai]

The pipe grab mechanic has plenty of opportunity to use. I use it every other level.