Ranking the Splinter Cell Games

Splinter Cell games are awesome! Ever since first playing Chaos Theory, I've been hooked. There are few games out there that provide the same sense of satisfaction from running around undetected and beating dudes unconscious. Makes you feel like a total badass, Sam Fisher does. So just for fun, I'm going to list all six console games in order of amazingness. Keep in mind, this is all just my opinion, (I've only played the Xbox versions) plus I'm mostly basing these rankings on the single-player campaign. Let's go!

6. Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006)

Splinter Cells one through three were all pretty similar, so I understand that Ubisoft wanted to try something different and and keep things from getting stale. So rather than the usual story of NSAgent Sam Fisher working to defeat an evil mastermind, we instead see Sam Fisher disowned by the NSA, become an undercover agent in a terrorist organization (JBA), do horrible things, and kill his boss. Admittedly, the story is rather interesting – there's even a romance option – but by the end it doesn't feel very satisfying. And just to tease us, they made the first level resemble Chaos Theory. While there are some fun levels – like Shanghai and the cruise ship – most of them are pretty frustrating in that you have two sets of conflicting objectives to meet. On top of this, there's not one, not two, but three levels where you're wandering around JBA headquarters running errands on a time limit. This is just as tedious as it sounds – and even more difficult. Also, I found the final level to be frustratingly difficult, even with this game's regenerating health system (making this the first game in the series to do away with the health bar). Double Agent is the only Splinter Cell game to have multiple endings. This sounds pretty cool, until you find out that the endings all suck! Add in too many daylight missions and some unimpressive graphics (even on the 7^th generation console version) and you've got a Splinter Cell game that just doesn't feel right at all.

5. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2004)

I'm not saying that Pandora Tomorrow is a bad game; it is a game that I feel little enthusiasm for. It still has all the things that made the first Splinter Cell game good and it adds in some new cool moves and a better inventory interface. It also has some memorable levels that are fun to revisit, like the LAX airport level, the submarine pen, and the train level. But my main problem with Pandora Tomorrow is that it's way too difficult. Enemies seem to spot you more easily, there's too many sections where you're forced out of stealth and into action, and you're not allowed very many alarms. Even when I use a walkthrough it still takes me forever to finish levels like Jerusalem (the second half) and Indonesia. It's this extreme difficulty and the uninteresting story that makes Pandora Tomorrow a low priority for me when choosing which games to replay.

4. Splinter Cell: Conviction (2010)

Before playing this game, I'd already heard all the complaints. Night-vision has been replaced with monochrome. Sonar vision is over powered. There's no nonlethal takedowns. You can't use your knife. There aren't many ways to distract enemies. You can't interrogate enemies – you can't even grab them or hide their bodies. There's not much variety in level settings (most of them take place in Washington, D.C.). There's no SC2000. The enemies never shut up. In spite of these criticisms, I finally got around to playing Conviction, and I found that it was still a lot of fun. I was surprised by how much I ended up liking it. Ubisoft finally introduced an autosaving checkpoint system, making each level more bearable. Michael Ironside delivers his best ever performance as Sam Fisher in a story that follows the ex-agent trying to find out what happened with his supposedly dead daughter. It's perhaps the most engaging Splinter Cell story yet, and it's certainly darkest and grittiest. Interrogations have turned into tortures, and Sam seems uninterested in leaving anyone alive. More than any other game in the series, Conviction focuses a lot on (sometimes unsilenced) gunplay, introducing customizeable weapons as well as the ability to pick up enemy weapons. It seems that this game was made to appeal more to the casual FPS gamer with the inclusion of a mark-and-execute mechanic (AKA the win button) and a Gulf War level that doesn't feature any stealth gameplay at all. It's a very different entry in the series, to say the least. For most of it you're not in your badass ops suit, you're running around in slacks and a pullover! Overall, Conviction is a good game; it's just not all that great a Splinter Cell game.

3. Splinter Cell (2002)

If you're looking for a place to jump into the Splinter Cell series, what better place to try than the beginning? In Sam Fisher's first outing with Third Echelon, we're taken around the world to stop a cyber-terrorist dictator from killing millions of people. Featuring some great voice acting and some impressive gameplay mechanics for its time, the original Splinter Cell is still a lot of fun. If Conviction relied the most on shooting, then Splinter Cell probably did the least. It has some funny moments and some memorable levels: CIA headquarters, anyone? There are a few frustrating parts though. Some levels are insanely difficult (Kalinatek and Abattoir), and there's also a load of sections where the game forces you into action. But on the whole, the first Splinter Cell game is just as fresh and enjoyable as ever.

2. Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013)

In many ways, Blacklist is a return to form for the Splinter Cell series. Sam Fisher is a stealthy government agent operating from the shadows once again, protecting the USA from bad guys abroad as he runs his own agency, Fourth Echelon. This game continues to rock my socks off with its level variety, its high degree of customization, the multitude of gadgets, a great villain, and the cool takedown animations. There are rewards and incentives for all play styles, whether you'd prefer to stay silent and leave no trace or if you'd rather just kill everyone in sight. For the first time side missions are included, which provide fun extra challenges and – together with the different play styles – dramatically increases Blacklist's replay value. The controls are easily understood and are the most intuitive yet. Nevertheless, some might say this game is dumbed down because of all the tooltip icons, waypoints, and ever-present indicators of all kinds. It is true, there are some things worth complaining about. There are some levels that seem too easy. But on the other hand, enemy dogs will be the bane of your existence (especially if you're going for a Ghost style of play). They are una-freaking-voidable; they will always spot you every time! There's also a bunch of content on the disc that remains locked unless you pay for it again online, which is stupid. But now let's address the elephant in the room: Michael Ironside is no longer the voice of Sam Fisher. Since Ironside's too old to do motion-capture, they replaced him with some guy named Eric Johnson who does a passable job, but still... But you know, the overall product is such a thrill to play that I'm willing to forgive all these shortcomings. Blacklist is just that good.

1. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)

Was there ever any doubt? Chaos Theory is the best ever Splinter Cell game. For the first time in the series, you were given full control over Sam Fisher's mission performance. It wasn't like earlier games where the player was hindered by awkward controls, wonky animations, or clunky actions. And it wasn't like the following Splinter Cell games where omnipresent tooltip icons and directions treat you like you're a n00b who doesn't know what he's doing. No, Chaos Theory treated you like an adult. It updated and refined everything good from the first two games to perfection. For example, you can now melee attack an enemy from any side (both lethally and non-lethally) and if you've missed something you can pretty much always turn around and navigate all the way back to it. This third Splinter Cell game also gave players complete freedom in how to execute their missions with (mostly) non-linear, open-ended levels. The game was challenging, but in a fairer way; even in the parts where it seems that they're trying to force you into action, there's still multiple options for getting through quietly. This increased playability is heightened by the introduction of a manual/quick save slot feature (thank goodness!). The addition of optional objectives and the mission success rating made replays a must. Aside from having the best gameplay of any Splinter Cell game, Chaos Theory also had impressive graphics and by far the series' best soundtrack. Lastly, the game features the best story that the original trilogy has to offer, which gives players an intriguing mystery and a curious look into Sam Fisher's character. It's the one game that gives players the total package. And that's why Chaos Theory is the best.