1) Great Storylines
At the end of each of the three Splinter Cell games I have played (Original, Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory), I had felt satisfied in the way that the storyline was handled. Despite most of the “good guys” (especially Sam Fischer's back-up agents) being a little thin in terms of depth, the bad guys and their evil plots, which normally involved releasing something into the US’ atmosphere, were a great basis to build the game around, as you always thought, damn, if I don’t do this right, loads of people are gonna die. An example of this being when you have a time limit to stop a nuke from launching at the USA; thrilling stuff.

2) Stealth Gameplay
Ubisoft got the stealth elements spot-on for the first three games of the series. Whether hiding in darkness or trying to get information out of a low level grunt, the game really encouraged you to use your head in manoeuvring around levels without being detected. The gadgets given to you at the start of each level were also fantastic. One example of this is one of the “sticky” traps; the idea being that you fired a trap with a camera onto a wall, and then when a guard comes near to it, gas him.

3) The sound it makes when Sam turns on his N/V
I know it seems like something trivial, but its just amazing that today if I were to hear that noise then my thoughts immediately go back to turning on my night vision all of those years ago. Great sound design and one of the most iconic noises in gaming.

Matthew

Labels: 3 reasons why, Matthew, Matthew Meadows, Splinter Cell

Watch out people that have not played the game, this article may include spoilers!

1) A new foe
When Nathan thinks he finds the body of his long deceased ancestor, legendary explorer Francis Drake, the game takes an unexpected turn. Whereas the game started to feel a little bit repetitive, fighting pirates on and off until that point, we are treated to one of the most dynamic changes in a game's plot and pacing ever. I won't ruin it all for you but from there on the game becomes one of the highlights of gaming in 2007, and for me will be a moment that I will forever remember.

2) The graphics
Graphically this game was the best I had ever seen. Although this game will no doubt look dated later in the PS3’s console cycle, it will surely be remembered as the game that marked the day that graphics on Sony’s console truly became next gen. With stunning textures and brilliant views over the sea, this game sets a new standard for graphics not only on the PS3, but for every console game in this generation.

3) Change?
This soon it is impossible to tell, but Uncharted: Drake's Fortune might just have changed gaming in this generation. While most "Best Selling" games were exclusively 'Shooters' (such as Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War), Uncharted proved that to do well you don't have to be "all about the guns". Although some may point to other games such as Portal helping to potentially stop the influx of generic shooters, Naughty Dog's masterpiece showed developers that firepower can be used along side an interesting plot and puzzles, while still retaining an extremely large 'Fun Factor'.

Matt

(Writers note: I am not saying that I do not like Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, and Gears of War. Also, the "3 Reasons Why" title may become a series of articles).

Labels: 3 reasons why, Matthew Meadows, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune