Splinter Cell HD Collection Megathread - Confirmed

Apr 17, 2009
7,729
San Diego, CA
SplinterCell1.jpg

Splinter Cell is a 3D action-adventure stealth video game that follows the activities of American NSA Black Operation, "Black Ops", agent Sam Fisher.

Plot:

Set in the fall of 2004, the player takes on the role of Sam Fisher, a long-dormant secret agent called back to duty by the American National Security Agency, to work with a secret division dubbed "Third Echelon". At this point, Fisher hasn't "been in the field in years". Fisher must investigate the disappearance of two CIA agents in the country of Georgia, which soon leads to a larger mission: saving the world from war with Georgia.

Gameplay:

The primary focus of the gameplay is stealth, with heavy focus on light and darkness. The player is encouraged to move through the shadows for concealment whenever possible. The game displays a "light meter" that reflects how visible the player character is to enemies, and night vision and thermal vision goggles to help the player navigate in darkness. The game also displays a E.M display to highlight sources of electricity.

The game heavily encourages the use of stealth over brute force. Although Fisher is usually equipped with firearms, he carries limited ammunition and is not frequently provided with access to additional ammo. The player begins most missions with a limited supply of nonlethal weapons in addition to Fisher's firearms, a suppressed FN Five-Seven pistol as well as a suppressed FN F2000 assault rifle, which includes a scope and a launcher for some of the less-lethal devices such as ring airfoil projectiles, "sticky shockers" and CS gas grenades.

Flexibility of movement is a focuspoint of the game. Fisher can sneak up on enemies from behind to grab them; allowing interrogation, quiet incapacitation, or even use as a human shield. Fisher is acrobatic and physically adept, and has a variety of maneuvers including the ability to mantle onto and climb along ledges, hang from pipes, and perform a "split jump" in narrow spaces to mantle up a steep wall.

SplinterCellPandoraTomorrow.jpg

Pandora Tomorrow is a third-person stealth-based video game follows the covert activities of Sam Fisher, an agent working for a black-ops branch of the National Security Agency (NSA) called "Third Echelon."

Story:

The main plot of Pandora Tomorrow takes place in Indonesia during the spring of 2006, in which the United States has established a military presence in the newly independent country of East Timor to train that country's military forces in their fight against anti-separatist Indonesian guerrilla militias. Foremost among these Indonesian militias is the Darah Dan Doa (Blood and Prayer), led by Suhadi Sadono.

Charismatic militia leader Sadono, once trained by the CIA to help fight Communist influences in the region, has grown resentful of the United States' support of East Timor and its supposed interference with his country's sovereignty. Sadono initiates a suicide bombing and follow up attack on the U.S. Embassy in Dili, capturing a number of U.S. military and diplomatic personnel including Douglas Shetland, an old friend and comrade of Splinter Cell Sam Fisher.

Fisher is sent to infiltrate the embassy and gather intelligence on the Darah Dan Doa. Fisher succeeds in his mission, and the U.S. Embassy is retaken by the U.S. Army's Delta Force. Sadono escapes, and the U.S. launches a military campaign on Indonesian soil in an attempt to hunt him down, much to the protests of the Indonesian government.

Fisher learns that Sadono has masterminded a scheme known as "Pandora Tomorrow", by placing a series of biological bombs (ND133's) equipped with the smallpox virus on American soil. Every 24 hours, Sadono makes encrypted phone calls to each of the bomb carriers to delay the release of the virus. If he is killed or detained, the virus is released and millions of Americans will die. Because Sadono is fighting on the front lines in the conflict, the U.S. cannot risk killing him, and is forced to withdraw its forces.

Fisher is sent to infiltrate Darah Dan Doa strongholds in order to learn the location of the smallpox bombs. He is assisted in this endeavor by Shetland and his Private military contractor, Displace International. Fisher ultimately learns the location of the bombs, and Shadownet spies are sent in to neutralize them, bringing an end to Sadono's threat against the United States.

Third Echelon decides to capture Sadono alive instead of merely assassinating him, due to the problems created when Sam Fisher assassinated former Georgian president Kombayn Nikoladze in the fall of 2004.

Although Fisher manages to capture Sadono, Third Echelon learns that a rogue CIA operative, Norman Soth has acquired the last smallpox-armed ND133, and intends to detonate it inside Los Angeles International Airport. Soth cares nothing for Indonesia, but intends to get revenge on the United States for a perceived betrayal which cost him a leg years earlier. Fisher infiltrates LAX, kills Soth and his group of terrorists (disguised as airport workers and security guards), and prevents the detonation of the last smallpox-armed ND133 by disguising himself as a maintenance worker and setting the ND133 down behind two police officers, who notice the device almost immediately, and have the airport evacuated. The Los Angeles Police Department's Bomb Squad is then called in to perform a controlled explosion of the device, which is done by an unmanned vehicle using reinforced steel.

Gameplay:

The gameplay of Pandora Tomorrow is largely unchanged from the original Splinter Cell. The game features some moderate graphical improvements, as well as minor gameplay changes such as the fact that health kits are no longer an inventory item, and the addition of a laser sight to Sam's pistol that allows the player to know exactly where the rounds will strike, even when moving around. Also, Sam can now open doors while carrying a body, shoot while hanging upside down, SWAT turn past doorways unnoticed, and perform a half split jump. The pistol laser was replaced with an OCP and the SWAT turn was removed in Chaos Theory, the next entry in the series.

SplinterCellChaosTheory1.jpg

Chaos Theory is a critically acclaimed third-person stealth-based video game that follows the covert activities of Sam Fisher, an agent working for a black-ops branch within the NSA called "Third Echelon."


Plot:

The plot of Chaos Theory sees a return to the original Splinter Cell's theme of information warfare, with Sam Fisher on the trail of the Masse Kernels used by former Georgian President Kombayn Nikoladze to attack America's infrastructure.

The game takes place in East Asia, during the Summer of 2007. Tensions are running high between China, South Korea, North Korea, and Japan, due to Japan's formation of an Information Self Defense Force (I-SDF) (an event mentioned in a news report in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow). Considering this to be a violation of Article 9 of the Post-World War II Constitution, Chinese and North Korean forces establish a blockade in the Yellow Sea against Japanese shipping. Because Japan and the I-SDF are allies of the United States and Third Echelon, the United States Navy dispatches its most advanced warship, the USS Clarence E. Walsh, to the Yellow Sea. The U.S. hopes this show of strength will get China and North Korea to back down.

Meanwhile, in a seemingly unrelated incident, Sam Fisher is dispatched to locate Bruce Morgenholt, a computer programmer who worked on deciphering Phillip Masse's algorithms as part of "Project Watson". He was captured by a Peruvian separatist group called "The People's Voice", led by Hugo Lacerda. Masse, whom Sam assassinated in the original Splinter Cell, was a genius far ahead of his time, and the algorithms he used to launch his attacks on America have been extensively studied by the United Nations. The resulting Masse Kernels are being touted as the superweapon of the 21st century. Sam is tasked with making sure they do not fall into the wrong hands.

Sam arrives too late to prevent Morgenholt's death from electroshock torture. He is also unsuccessful in stopping the release of the Masse Kernels. Sam is told to go on board the Maria Narcissa to assassinate Hugo Lacerda and track the weapon deliveries so they can find out who they are dealing with. After completing the mission, and following up a lead in a Panamanian bank, unknown parties use the algorithms to black out Japan and the Eastern Seaboard, including New York City. Japan has previously suffered similar attacks that crashed its economy, and Admiral Otomo of the I-SDF contacts Third Echelon and warns them that North Korea and China are likely responsible. Meanwhile, following a lead discovered in Panama, Sam travels to New York to investigate Abrahim Zherkhezi, a man who worked with Morgenholt on Project Watson. He finds that Displace International, a private military corporation owned by his old friend Douglas Shetland, is protecting him. He breaks into the Displace offices and learns of Milan Nedich, a Bosnian war criminal. Fisher finds that Nedich secretly relocated Zherkhezi to Hokkaido.
Sam travels to Hokkaido and meets with Shetland, who claims that Nedich is clean. Regardless, Fisher infiltrates the hideout that Zherkezi is being held in. There, Sam kills Nedich, and witnesses Shetland murdering Zherkezi with a katana. Shetland escapes and goes underground.

Meanwhile, the American show of force backfires when the USS Walsh is sunk by a North Korean anti-ship missile on July 4, initiating a war between North Korea and South Korea/United States. Since North Korea claims the missile was launched unintentionally, Sam is sent to the Korean Peninsula, including the South Korean capital city of Seoul, to determine if North Korea is truly responsible for sinking the USS Walsh, or if the Masse Kernels are involved.

Sam eventually learns that the entire war has been orchestrated by Displace International. Displace used the Masse Kernels gained from Zherkhezi to hijack North Korea's missile systems and sink the Walsh, in order to draw the U.S. into a war from which Shetland could profit through their status as a leading American PMC. Ultimately, Third Echelon sends him to spy on a meeting between Shetland and Shetland's unknown accomplices, who turn out to be the I-SDF. At the meeting, the I-SDF betray Shetland, and a firefight subsequently breaks out between Shetland's soldiers and I-SDF assault troops. Amidst the chaos, Sam pursues Shetland to the roof, where, after a tense Mexican standoff in which Shetland tests their friendship over the security of the U.S., Sam kills Shetland.

Even after Shetland's death, one loose end remains. Admiral Otomo of the I-SDF has acquired a copy of the Masse Kernels from Shetland, and attempts to return Japan to Imperial rule by blackmailing the Japanese government officials and senior JSDF officers. He threatens to use the algorithms to launch a North Korean missile against a Japanese city. Because North Korea would be supported by China, and Japan would be backed by the U.S, the incident would spark World War III. Although Otomo's loyalist I-SDF soldiers manage to fight off the JGSDF commandos sent to stop him, Sam infiltrates the I-SDF's lowest levels and manages to put an end to Otomo's plans. Otomo attempts to commit seppuku, but Sam saves his life and captures him. Otomo stands trial at the United Nations and takes full responsibility for the entire Korean crisis, returning stability to the Far East.

Pre-Order: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HCYVO8/?tag=hidefnin-20
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Splinter Cell HD Collection Confirmed


Splinter Cell HD Collection is now officially on the cards and coming to PS3 sometime in 2011. The exploits of Mr. Samuel Fisher in the first three games - Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory - which saw the Third Echelon agent at his peak, in his black sneaking suit and iconic green goggles, will be coming next year in shiny, remastered form.

Currently, the collection is being listed as a PS3-only title, which would be in line with the release of PoP Collection solely on PlayStation 3, but seems slightly out of whack with the fact that Splinter Cell has always traditionally led on Xbox.

There are currently no further details or specifics on the Splinter Cell HD Collection, so stay frosty for more information in 2011.
 
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy Coming to PS3 With 3D

5596598634_552130bc87_z.jpg

For the last few months, we’ve been working on bringing the first three Splinter Cell games – Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory – to the PS3. Splinter Cell and Sam Fisher don’t need an introduction; these three games are highly acclaimed games and it has been a great pleasure for us to work on these titles.

The PS3 Game

When we started this project, one of our main goals was to provide the players with the best possible content. Hence we decided to port the game from the PC version which had more content and detail compared to the PS2 version.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy on PS3 will include:

  1. Graphics in HD resolution
  2. 3D Stereoscopic support for 3D TVs
  3. Some exciting and challenging Trophies

Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and talk briefly about the gameplay and original titles.

5596598920_8599f1004f_z.jpg

Core Gameplay

Splinter Cell games are third-person, stealth-based action games under the Tom Clancy license. You play as Sam Fisher, a highly trained secret agent who works for the Third Echelon, a new NSA initiative. Stealth is the main theme of the gameplay: You will have to walk in shadows and remain invisible, leaving no trace of your existence. Throughout the game, you will receive information and instructions from your handlers. As Sam, you have access to a number of skills and gadgets that you will have to use wisely in order to progress. You will have to plan your moves and manage your resources effectively.

5596015491_86dd94d320_z.jpg

We believe all these along with the original gameplay mechanics will make the Splinter Cell HD a nice treat for PS3 owners. These games will be available in a Trilogy Pack on Blu-Ray, and individually on PSN.
 
No multiplayer for Splinter Cell HD Trilogy

Ubisoft’s revealed that the upcoming Splinter Cell HD Trilogy won't feature any form of multiplayer component.

The news comes via a post on the U.S. PlayStation Blog, where PR chap Alex Monney confirmed that all multiplayer modes - including Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory’s highly extolled co-op campaign - won’t be included in the PlayStation 3 HD update.

"Unfortunately ... the online part of the original games won't be included," he said, adding: "Sorry no co-op will be included in the trilogy."

Elsewhere, Monney said that the Trilogy is based on the PC versions of the celebrated stealth-em-up series, as they “provided the best quality.”