Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell®

sam fisher i barely know her!

“I became the shadow. And I liked it.”

I just finished Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell along with Pandora Tomorrow, and I can confidently say — this isn't just a game. It's a full-on simulation of what it feels like to be a silent, calculated professional operating in the darkest corners of the world. Forget the chaos and costumes of Hitman: Blood Money (no hate, it has its charm). Splinter Cell doesn’t care if you look cool. It cares if you leave a footprint in the dust, if your shadow crosses a light source, or if you make a guard wonder why a light just went out. It’s not about flair — it’s about finesse.

𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 & 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐒

This game doesn't hold your hand and thank God for that. Your main weapon? Not the silenced pistol. Not the sticky cam. It's patience. Awareness. Precision. You don't survive by shooting your way out you survive by making sure there's no one around to shoot you at all.

• Gadgets aren’t gimmicks they’re tools. Sticky cameras, optical cables, night and thermal vision, sticky shockers — all used in ways that actually matter.
  
• Enemy AI isn’t stupid. Leave a door open? They'll notice. Make noise? They'll check it out. It keeps you on edge and forces you to adapt.
  
• You can shoot out lights, disable circuits, climb pipes, do the iconic wall split to ambush a guard and every tool feels purposeful.
  

𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍 & 𝐈𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

Each mission feels handcrafted. Whether you're sneaking through a war-torn embassy or intercepting intel on foreign soil, the level design constantly rewards creativity. No two paths are the same. You can:

• Avoid enemies completely.
  
• Eliminate them silently and hide the bodies.
  
• Manipulate the environment to control the situation (lights, doors, gadgets, distractions).
  

And that moment when you grab a guard, drag him into the shadows and interrogate him at gunpoint? That was the first time a game made me feel like I was actually doing espionage work.

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 & 𝐀𝐓𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄

The story is subtle but compelling. You’re part of “Third Echelon,” a black-ops NSA unit so deep in the shadows that most people in the government don’t even know it exists. What blew me away is how believable everything feels:

• The briefings.
  
• The chatter between Sam and Lambert.
  
• The mission goals that actually tie into global political events.
  

It's immersive in the best way — not with flashy cutscenes (though there are some good ones), but with tone, tension, and trust in the player’s intelligence.

Verdict:

There was a moment late at night, headphones on, room dark when I had just slipped past two guards, disabled the power grid, and was hanging silently from a pipe above a target. I realized I wasn't playing a game. I was Sam Fisher. And I liked it. I even caught myself googling night-vision goggles and jokingly wondering if I could get my hands on a Third Echelon uniform. That’s the kind of immersion we’re talking about. If you're tired of stealth games holding your hand or rewarding chaos over calculation Splinter Cell (and especially Pandora Tomorrow) is a masterclass in how to design intelligent, rewarding, and deeply immersive stealth gameplay. It’s not just about being sneaky. It’s about being smart.

Highly recommended for:

1. Fans of true stealth.
   
2. Players who like to think two steps ahead.
   
3. People who enjoy clean, professional execution over flashy gunplay.
   
[*]Anyone who’s ever wanted to disappear into the shadows and become a legend.

10/10.
No witnesses. No alarms. No mistakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEVxl9gVIM4

definitive stealth

Very gripping game.

JANKY FUN

overrated af, I think it was masterpiece in thier time (2002)

So here’s where I’m at; these games are incredible and I fancied replaying on the steam deck because portable, but the first one works fine with a few controller quirks and then the rest are either not on Steam or don’t work…Ubisoft, just release a collection of them all and stop forcing later games on Ubisoft Connect. We hate it and would rather not set the sails, but I’m gonna if I can’t give you money.

Nice tactical stealth game

good

Please ignore time played. I have played all the way through this, just not on Steam. I did play it briefly to test it and it ran smoothly, minimal manual fixes required
Pros: the light and sound based stealth is great. As soon as you get used to the unorthodox controls, you'll be really glad they went the way they did. Impressive graphics and animation if not entirely as smooth as the sands of time trilogy. Fantastically well designed levels. The SC20k is amazing, countless games wish they had this iconic of a gun. Fun gadgets, including ones for diversions that can also render your enemies unconscious, a reusable reconnaissance camera, the sticky shocker, optic cable, wall mines etc. The night vision and thermal vision are also cool. Impressive ai, responsive and as smart as they're meant to be. Well-composed music. Michael Ironside is awesome as always Interesting and immersive plot where every character is credible.
Convicts: Every single thing that's good here is improved upon in the sequels to the point where I find it difficult to recommend anyone play this instead of starting with one of them; I'm especially fond of blacklist. Whether you love or hate Ubisoft, I think we can all agree that they do try to make their games be fun experiences; here they work with Tom Clancy, a man whose writing I like and whose contributions to pop culture I am grateful for, but who isn't really that interested in the kinds of things that make video games entertaining, and I think the anecdote where they had to convince him that the trifocal goggles should be able to show multiple view modes shows what an uphill battle it was to try to make this particularly enjoyable, and while they succeed a lot of the time, they're definitely hamstrung. Considering that this came after some of the thief games, it is impossible to ignore how much more freedom of movement and approach you have in those; the linearity here really underlines that when you translate military precision to the medium of games, you really have to make at least some sacrifices if it's going to be something people return to. The replayability is nearly nonexistent, there are no two ways to solve anything in this, and while I won't claim that the hitman franchise had perfected that when this came out, it had taken significant steps in that direction. Jumping is awkward and as far as I can tell the only reason for it is that they really badly wanted it to support the iconic image of Sam with his legs spread out between walls supporting him above enemies, and I cannot claim that I used that even once in this despite looking for times where it made perfect sense. Shooting is awkward, I don't think it has to be a problem that it's also somewhat infrequent for what some might expect but for some that will be a negative. The map is not as useful as it should be and for some reason your team won't tell you when you're going off in the wrong direction, which wouldn't be a huge problem except you're sneaking everywhere, it takes a while to get to where you're going and thus it's very annoying to end up in a dead end and have to sneak all the way back.
Strongly recommended only to those who want to make sure they play as many games in this series as they can, mildly recommended to people who just love stealth
I bought this on sale so that I could leave this review in the hopes that I can help people determine whether or not they want to buy it

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is the first game in the Splinter Cell series. It was originally released on Xbox in 2002 and then ported to Windows in 2003. The game's authors set a high standard for the stealth action genre, which is impossible to deny. Some might compare Splinter Cell to Metal Gear franchise, but I would avoid doing that. Both series are great. Metal Gear Solid was a big inspiration, though in case of Splinter Cell you concentrate more on the realism and gameplay itself. Still one of my favorite stealth games with a fantastic feeling of immersiveness, 10 out of 10.

people who dont thiink they like stealth need to play this. it helped change the direction of the rest of my life

2025. Aged very poorly, despite the fact it already was disgusting, outdated garbage when it was made in 2002. The classic Ubisoft's crap in a nutshell

A very good old game that laid the foundation for modern stealth gameplay.
Even today, it remains enjoyable and rewarding to play thanks to its smart level design and tense atmosphere.

Special thanks to the Steam community for enhancing the experience — with widescreen support, HD textures, and other improvements, the game truly stands the test of time.

A classic worth revisiting !

Tactical Stealth Action at it's finest. You play as Sam Fisher, retired Navy Seal who becomes a part of a secret newly created Cover Ops unit within the NSA. Tasked with handling missions that will send you all around the globe to stop a terrorist threat. You must stick to the shadows & sneak your way around as you complete objectives. Absolutely amazing 9/10

Splinter Cell (2002) is a great stealth game for anyone who hasn't already played and beaten it 34 times, though the only problem with the game is that there are a few lighting glitches, doesn't really support controllers, and doesn't support widescreen (lighting glitches being the fact that the light textures emanating from dangling light sources can be buggy and that the lights from spotlights cannot be seen and you'd have to install a mod to fix these things). Overall, it is a great and nostalgic game and can be fun, takes skill, and most of all, has a captivating story.

A true gem.

the linear design is great in this makes levels feel like their own puzzle

I am a big fan of this franchise and played this - the first one - after the more recent, still a great game nowadays, but I don't recommend play it in chronological order, unless you are a fan like me, since the graphics and AI are not that advanced.

supa hot fye

An absolute blast of a classic tactical shooter

Doesn't work. Won't fully load. Bummer.

Good stealth game. Still holds up after 23 years.

Childhood.

This game is amazing. The lighting, shadows and visuals are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING once you apply some patches to upgrade the visuals, because this port is kind of abandoned. The controls and physics, shooting mechanics are a little archaic, however once you get used to it, this is one of the most compelling, detailed, advanced for-its-time stealth games I've played yet. The story is kind of whatever, but it is entertaining enough, being a spy amidst georgian-russian-chinese-american political tension, with a risk of an WW3 breaking out at any point.

One of the worst stealth games I've ever played. Terrible controls mixed with confusing game mechanics just makes this frustrating to play. Story was interesting and some aspects of gameplay were fun, but the problems became unbearable by the last three missions.

gewat game

game vibes are good but game itself is too hard to play

i could not pass first 2 levels without watching every step on youtube and then i gave up beacuse it was not fun

shooting mechanics are very bad in this game bullets miss enemy and there are very limited amount of bullets you can carry in each level (as far as i know) so if you complete 80% of level and ahead you have enemies with gun and you dont have bullets left you cant get ahead you have to replay whole mission

as its old game i cant complaint too much but i wont recommend it to new players

if you are splinter cell fan and want to take challenge you can play

Ubisoft never took the time to update the game and fix all the issues, including the controls.

I loved when John Rainbow from rainbow sex siege came and saved Tom Fisher's life.

Kinda felt like I was playing MGS.

Still holds up great for a game that is 20 years old

Still a good classic

Fun game to run on a system with low computing power.

darkness

Saw chairman mao on the wall 10/10

7/10 - From today's point of view not as good as at the release date, but still a recommendation!

Best

nostalgia hit like a sharp knife through the heart , 11/10 story and gameplay , would definitely recommend this classic espoinage game

i became a big fan of Tom Clancy games, and since i played assassin's creed from almost every existed game i like this then too

Challenging stealth? tick
Multiple restarts? tick
Fond memories? Heck yeah
True stealth game for anyone, forget modern stealth as this was the thing and needs the remake

More frustrating than fun. The Splinter Cell series would go on to produce some of the best stealth games ever made, but this first adventure has aged quite poorly. I haven't seen stealth this inconsistent in a long time, and don't even try to do a no-kill playthrough (it's really not an option at all). If it wasn't for quick saves, this would be the Dark Souls of stealth games, except here the challenge feels unfair. With quick saves, though, it can be moderately entertaining. 5/10

Not Recomend

great

The Gameplay:

A very basic, but powerful template of stealth that would be further refined into a masterpiece later on. Movement speed, material and ambiance all play a role into if an enemy can spot you. Also shadows which where dynamic based on what's goin on in the enviorment. The game is slow and methodical, with enough power where you can fight, but definitely not an action game. Solid even after 20 years+.

The Story:

This story was a lot more well written than I gave it credit for. It had some solid political intrigue and really layered on a tale of corruption that honestly seems pretty reminiscent of todays events. Although I hate that I just said that and wish all of this was just fantasy.

The Visuals:

Surprisingly solid visuals that while old, don't look terrible. You can tell that this was the pinnacle of visual fidelity at one point, especially with the attention to detail with lighting and shadows.

The Sound:

The sound effects were amazing, it wasn't over the top action or anything, but was a good attention to detail. This was also ahead of it's time as most games did not pay that much attention to footsteps to have like 17 different sounds for it. The music was mostly good, the last level had a banger of a song using the suspicion music as a refined backdrop to amp you up. Also the voice acting, specifically Lambert and Fisher was iconic. In the following game Pandora Tomorrow, just the change of Lambert was noticeable enough for me to not like the experience as a whole comparatively.

The Experience:

This game was not perfect, and as a PC game, did not feel as smooth as its Xbox version. With some tweaks I was able to get it to work with the controller but it wasn't the most ideal. This was a solid trip down memory lane, and an exploration into how well the game was made from a mechanical and story perspective. It is certainly not for everyone as it doesn't have explosions in your face all the time. It is for those who want a solid stealth action game with a heavy emphasis on the stealth aspect. This is a game I will recommend for years to come.

Still playable and enjoyable more than 20 years after release - a true classic.

has jump button 10/10 for ubisoft game

It takes around 2 minutes to install the patches (simple drag and drops) to get the game running properly,
after installing them (hd textures and shadows fix) this game is really worth it and might become one of your favorites if you like stealth games like hitman, assassin's creed, metal gear solid, it's a great start to the splinter cell trilogy and you should not skip it, the pc controls are also really good and playable, no controller support without a 3rd party software

Trotz seines Alters bleibt Splinter Cell ein Meilenstein im Stealth-Genre. Wer über die etwas sperrige Steuerung und technische Hürden hinwegsehen kann, bekommt ein spannendes, taktisches Schleichspiel mit einer dichten Agenten-Atmosphäre.

Pflicht für Stealth-Fans!

The controls for this game are like converting the intended input into wingdings, running it through a 100-man game of telephone, and having the 100th man send the single input through an enigma machine to a toddler who's going to try and decode it with a box of Cra-Z-Art. Fisher is one part elite special agent and one part inebriated.