Splinter Cell : Double Agent on Wii
Can the new “Splinter Cell” game for the Wii mach up to the PS2 version? If you’re the impatient type then the simple answer is no.
The simple reason for this is that the developers (Ubisoft Montreal) have tried to fit a lot of fancy Wii controls to the game, which has sent the Wii version crashing down around their ears.
The Wii version is exactly the same as the Gamecube version, so there is still no online multiplayer unlike the Xbox 360 (not good) but they have kept the alternative current gen storyline instead of the next-gen games (good thing).
The main storyline is that as special agent Sam Fisher (who never seems to reach retirement even though in ‘Chaos Theory’ you find out just how old he is) you are sent to prison to infiltrate a terrorist cell were you decide where your loyalties lie. This is a perfectly good story line that could work as it does on all the other formats.
From the very start it is obvious that there has been next to no effort put into updating the graphics, even though the Wii is not exactly a graphical powerhouse (although it does have a bit more oomph under then the hood then the original Xbox). But the Wii version seems to have a much murkier grey colour scheme making the whole game seem very bland; few surfaces stand out from each other.
But like I said at the very beginning of the article, it’s the control system that lets the game down: the nunchuck and the remote are meant to enhance your gaming experience by ten-fold but this time it more effective to just use a conventional controller.
To turn the camera you have to point the Wii remote at the edge of the screen a lot like “Call of Duty 3†or “Red Steel†so you would think that (as in the mentioned games) all you have to do is point the remote further off the screen to turn faster but no this game chooses not to do this. In this game when you point the remote off the screen the camera … wait for it … stops dead, which is not very useful in a fire fight.
The nunchuck controls are just as rubbish with jumping performed by flicking the nunchuck: Flick up would take cover behind a wall but now involves tilting the nunchuck form side to side. Although the controls aren’t all bad the lock picking is very enjoyable, but aiming is near impossible - if you are moving an inch then you will have to have the luck of the leprechauns to hit someone, and standing still isn’t very preferable in a large fire fight. But thankfully they haven’t messed around with the co-op mode too much and it seems that when you have a mate to curse at the controls with you it is that much more bearable.
So all in all Wii version is a waste of time. You’re better off buying the Gamecube version and sticking it in your Wii.