DESCRIPTION

Splinter Cell: Double Agent takes the stealth-based series in a new direction after three successful covert operations on multiple platforms. After learning his teenage daughter was killed in a car crash, a despondent Sam Fisher is unable to complete his duties for the NSA䀙s splinter cell, Third Echelon, and is reassigned as a NOC, a non-official cover agent who operates from within dangerous organizations. His mission is to infiltrate a domestic terrorist group called John Brown䀙s Army. For the first time in the series, Fisher cannot solely rely on his gadgets or the direct support of the NSA. He must instead fall back on his keen instincts to survive while working deep undercover.

Instead of advancing through linear missions, players will experience a branching storyline with multiple endings, where decisions made at one juncture will influence subsequent events as the game progresses. Fisher must initially earn the trust of John Brown䀙s Army to become a card-carrying member, so he must engage in carefully orchestrated heists and even an elaborate prison break to get in the good graces of key contact Jamie Washington. If Fisher is successful in befriending Washington, he will be invited to the terrorist group䀙s headquarters, a multi-floor structure that serves as a jumping point for future missions.

From that point on, Fisher will be faced with multiple moral decisions as he walks a fine line between working with the JBA and on behalf of his NSA mentor, Irving Lambert. He will also be partnered with an AI-controlled character in many of the missions, introducing a new twist to the single-player game. Of course, Splinter Cell: Double Agent also features multiplayer modes, including the cooperative element introduced in 2005䀙s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and a new spy versus spy mode exclusive to both the Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions. While the PS2 game䀙s cooperative mode is not playable online, owners will experience two bonus missions that serve as flashbacks to earlier events in Fisher䀙s storied career. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide