Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory is the best installment of the series yet. On Xbox and PC, the game is gorgeous in ways never before seen: the lighting sources behave like they would in real life, and textures/character models are almost frighteningly realistic. Gameplay has been tweaked to make things more accessible, as Sam can now stab and kill enemies head on without the one-second "gap" between blows that left him vulnerable in previous installments.
This goes a long way towards giving players the option of playing through the game the way they see fit – will you stick to the shadows or lure enemies to your location and shank them face to face? You can even select your weapon loadout – in addition to the default kit, you can pick specialized payloads designed for stealth or assault-style gameplay. Topping things off, Sam has more stealthy moves than ever before, including the very cool ability to sneak up behind an unsuspecting terrorist and shove him over a balcony or cliff's edge.
The multiplayer aspect of Chaos Theory builds upon Pandora Tommorow's revolutionary co-op gameplay, requiring teams to work together in closer tandem to complete missions. Due to dumbed-down levels and a sharp reduction in graphic quality that actually affects gameplay due to the nature of the shoot-out-the-lights stealth genre, the PS2 and GC versions do not fare nearly as well. Additionally, the GC version lacks the awesome online mode. Regardless, Sam Fisher's adventures remain the finest the stealth genre has to offer.
-George
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