Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory®

Please ignore time played. I've played all the way through this at least twice just never on Steam. I did play this briefly to test it and it ran smoothly, no or minimal manual fixes required
Pros: Finally Sam is great at unarmed combat. The knife is not only for short range killing, it can also make new openings to tents and the like, giving you more freedom of movement. Similar to some of the Assassin's Creed games you can now kill without a ranged weapon from various situations, including hanging under a guard that you pull over a railing. You can actually get through a lot of this without firing a single round if you prefer. Cool new equipment such as EMF vision revealing electronics, useful for figuring out where you can use the OCP to disable electrical stuff. The SC-20K receives some very welcome upgrades, for example the scope lets you use it as an actual sniper rifle. Hacking is something you do rather than one click and it's done, and it's not overused; it enables you to circumvent retinal scanners and keypads instead of coercing someone or finding the code, respectively. The split jumping is the simplest and actually most awesome looking of these first 3. There is now a noise meter, helpful in gauging how loud the surroundings already are, thus letting you know very accurately how silent you have to be to not be heard. Improved graphics and animation, and this has more elaborate cutscenes, almost invariably fully rendered. Great story, interesting and well told. High realism, revealing Tom Clancy's fingerprints. The load up is a great addition, letting you choose between recommendation, stealth and assault. The freedom is increased, there are sometimes more than one way to solve the varied objectives, and several ways to get to where you need to go, and many ways of getting rid of or outright avoiding guards. The streamlining rarely goes too far and is almost exclusively a great thing. The map is back and now actually useful, it's a 3D model that you can rotate 360 degrees. This has the least amount of you just trying to even figure out where you're supposed to go and how, so you can focus on just carrying it out. Stealth remains tremendously fun. Audio is excellent, music, voice acting and effects alike. This is the first of these to have replayability, with unlockables, optional assignments and a rating system that gives a percentage readout of how well you did.
Cons: there are definitely some cliches to the plot, and though the twists are good, they're not entirely unpredictable. The altered movement controls for direction can be awkward, especially when trying to grab or choosing where exactly you're throwing or ditching enemies. Ultimately, the freedom of approach was not mastered yet by this point in the franchise.
Mildly recommended to people who have played the sequels or are not used to games from back then, strongly recommended if you love the concept maybe played one or both of the first two and thought there was room for improvement
I got this on sale so that I could leave this review in the hopes of helping others decide whether or not to buy this

At first i though the game was pure shit. vision was white, i was slow because i didnt know i can change speed with the scroll wheel, i didnt know about the melee kill, i woud get spotted way too easily. but then i bought the game again and watched a few in game tutorials and fixed the white vision glitch and i had a really fun time.

best splinter cell game ever and one of the best stealth games

A classic of the stealth genre that still holds up in 2025. Some control issues on mouse and keyboard, but the gameplay and freedom of exploration is so much fun, even if stealth isn't your typical genre. At the current price point, there's no reason not to try Splinter Cell CT.

Pretty fun game, its a bit clunky but fun

This is probably the best Splinter Cell game, if you want the original experience with less jank but still has that PS2 era grittiness this is the game for you. I've never played a game with movement mechanics like this but oh boy do they work

man. the game of my childhood. 2007~ played every day for hrs. passed every mission in many different ways. still remember many lines and where what npc goes xD

I went full ninja in the dark, turned off lights like I’m not paying the electric bill, and choked out half a country—all in the name of freedom.
Sam Fisher is the dad you wish you had: sneaky, grumpy, and armed with night vision that makes him look like a techno frog.

Graphics? Old but gold.
Gameplay? Smoother than Fisher’s voice.
Stealth? So satisfying I whisper IRL when I play.

Still better stealth than 90% of modern games.
11/10 would neck-snap my way through chaos again

There are a few issues with running this game on modern computers, but other than that, I think it is easily among the greatest stealth games ever made. The only main issue I noticed (not saying it was the only one, just the only one I noticed) was the lighting and shaders being awful, but it is fixed by pausing, changing your resolution, un-pausing the game, letting the shaders reload, then changing it back.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory remains one of the best stealth games. The levels are fun, the game play satisfying, and the story solid. Sure, modern AI has advanced, but this classic still holds up incredibly well with simple controls and rewarding stealth.

the best sealth game in the 2000 s . and might still be even today. i know there s more of splinter cell but this is the only one i played so i won t comment about the other games and only about my experience i ha playing this game.
the game does feel old.. a remaster will be enough to make it feel "new". if you want a challenge or even test yours skills (sealth talking) then thi game is def. the choice.

Hello,

I would say this is probably the best Splinter Cell game of the series. I would 100% recommend this game either on PC or Xbox Series X. Happy Gaming! :)

Very solid game, enjoyable stealth and satisfying takedowns, funny interrogation dialogues, great voice acting with lots of flavor that elevate the game, and mildly interesting briefings before missions to get you in the op mood. There is some variety to the locations you visit and they are not just plain buildings that all look the same. Secondary objectives and mission completion stats along with multiple paths to your objectives add some replayability. There is a co-op mode, but I am not sure it is working as it asked me for a code when I tried searching for a lobby list menu. You have some cool gadgets, although the guns accuracy sucks making using guns for quiet ranged disposals a source of frustration with bullets recoiling around the crosshairs, or failing to kill enemies with helmets resulting in alarming not just your target but all guards near them too.

I only encountered one bug, my various goggle vision modes going dark or blinding white whenever I would alt-tab out of the game or loading a new map. I tried all the workarounds I found on guides, the only thing that worked for me was changing my in-game screen resolution in the pause menu settings (going from 1920 to 1020 for example), saving and returning back to the game. You can returned back to your preferred resolution afterwards and save again if you would like, the bug would still be fixed until your next alt-tab.

The game goes on sale regularly with Ubisoft sales.

Honestly, it's in need some revision to make this game properly work, but once you get over the quirks, this is enjoyable experience.

From negatives, it does work on modern hardware, but you do need couple mods and a lot of tweaking to make it work. I'd say start mapping controls, because without it the game is unplayable; like they were back then playing it on kitchen oven as controller bad. Once you figure out it you can skip watching the tutorial videos, because they don't add any valuable intel and are bad/sluggish at explaining stuff. BIG TIP FOR HACKING is that you use mouse to navigate UI and you have to select 4 numbers from small right panel, watched video for that 3 times explaining mechanic and found by mistake on YT how to hack stuff even tho its essential to progress trough. 2ND BIG TIP: use scroll to define how fast you're moving, I discovered that by mistake on literally last mission, so the whole game was very problematic to play trough without this info.

"Cool moves" as tutorial video title, give me a break.

What also has not aged gracefully is animations, especially facial ones, they are over the top all the time. Some mission objectives are right down annoying and you can progress trough sections based on planet alignment when you were born aka luck.

Plot, idk what was going on there and tbf couldn't care less. You die very easily and for some assignments you can select aggressive gun arrangement for "do not kill anyone" missions.

Once you get over all of these hoops, its a great title for stealth fans!

This is best game in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Series.still age like wine

Step 1: Enter the Kill Nobody mission
Step 2: Kill the first guy accidentally
Step 3: Profit

This is my Chaos Theory, I think it was a Splinter Cell.

I personally liked the game mechanics, very intricately made with sound and visibility system.
Classic 2000s quality, memorable.
Also, there is this one annoying bug where the night vision doesn't work which makes the player quit to main menu and load the save again. Other than this it's all fine.

I enjoy this game, but the Steam version is flaky. In particular, more often than not the night vision doesn't work at all and just washes the screen out. Fix that, and it'll be fine.

Absolutely blown away by how well this game holds up today, The stealth mechanics feel smooth and intuitive, the level design offers so many creative routes, and the atmosphere is pure espionage bliss. Revisiting those iconic moments transported me right back to the early 2000s ,utterly nostalgic and endlessly fun. If you love stealth games, the whole bundle is worth it

Fun game for maybe 1 or 2 playthroughs but the guard's psychic hive mind insta-notification of where you are when you fire an apparently SILENCED gun will get on your nerves eventually, especially on harder difficulties. And the twitchy aim reticule will make you miss dead cert head shoots on stationary targets constantly, which in turn makes all the guards aggro and know exactly where you are in about 0,5 seconds. Best bet use sticky shockers and airfoils, which I guess was the intent of the devs but the useless guns drive me crazy. Light shooting is all they are good for. They over did the *don't kill enemies or use guns* to be stealthy mechanic imho. Other games do stealth so much better.

Among the greats of the stealth genre. Timeless game, still feels fresh to play 20 years later.

"I loved Splinter Cell as a kid, let me see what the new games are like" - 1st most common sentence heard before suicides

Also can't bring myself to give this one a negative review. Out of all the games I no longer own, this one hurts the most.

The very best of the original Splinter Cell trilogy. The controls are great, like a dream. There are some forced action sequences in this game, never a good thing for stealth games and their controls, however good the classic Splinter Cells' are.

Great music, gameplay, overall good game even with the evident flaws. Give it a try, it's better than the PS3 HD Collection version.

Awful controls never fixed an looks like bad an deserves a remake or something but ubi doesnt care they will keep milking azzcreed as usual typical every year more slop in that cafeteria an its disrespected its fan base as well i cant support a horrible port of a game either

One of my favourite games of all time, and one of the greatest stealth games ever made.
10/10

Chaos Theory remain one of the best stealth games of its time, rivalling the stealth mechanics of modern games. I've returned to this game countless time and each time I am surprised at the intricacy of the stealth. Although not all levels are created equal I can without a doubt say that the gadgets and tools at your disposal create massive amount of variety in your play-troughs. The game goes on sale quite often but even at its base price, its totally worth it.

storyline was goated just save every time you turn a corner

finally finished the game after the long trial and error. definitely need some adjustment cause the control was rather unfamiliar, nonetheless the experience was unbeatable. one of the best classic stealth game I'd ever play.

Based and peak stealth gameplay

This is a great Stealth game.
It pains me so see Ubisoft go from this, to "current day".

For a legacy game, it runs very well on modern hardware; legacy Bioshock crashed often.
Never did I feel like I got in a bad situation unfairly; the enemy a.i. can be tough and alert on the harder difficulties, which encourages stealth takedowns and enviornment hazards to progress with as little detection as possible.
The Light and Sound detection mechanic is intuitive and useful.
Player choice abounds, too. Depending on the level, you can tackle the objectives in any particular order and dispatch enemies in divers ways, or even spare them with knock outs or other non-lethal gear you are given.
Granted, there will be an optimal way to play, but it's not mandatory; one can opt in for the special forces load out and go in guns blazing. As long as the primary objectives are completed (and some restrictions met, depending on the level) the Player can progress.
The plot and general conflict the game wants you to resolve is basic, but compelling; the game keeps escalating what happens as you progress; making the player feel like a hero by the end.

All in all, play this, and elevate your palate.

one of the best stealth games ever made

Friendship ended with Metal Gear Solid 3. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory is now my best friend

Windows 11 does not support this game

Stealth-action masterwork.

Excellence in design and execution that earned a cult classic status from the doorstep remains as endearing as it ever was. Happy 20th birthday, Chaos Theory!

     A gold standard for the genre continues to remain seemingly unthreatened by (sadly increasingly scarce) competition, that in all important departments manages to hold up with a shocking grace and confidence despite passing decades, which speaks to the talent and forethought of its creators- with just a very straightforward and effortless tweaking, Chaos Theory runs, sounds, looks and plays amazingly well and bring as much joy as it did in 2005.
Parts of its presentation that show the merciless passage of time like the complexity of 3D models, advancement of the facial animation system, or the resolution of most textures do not harm the end experience, which to this day is widely recognized as the true peak of the series and among the best games in the stealth genre.
  Pretty much everything else is highly impressive, entertaining and praiseworthy- an expanded and polished gameplay, satisfying AI, enjoyable pacing, varied and memorable locations with intricate level design, relevant more than ever political thriller story in the foreground, well-balanced humour and tension, likeable and genuinely-feeling characters, good and cohesive writing in general with special praise for the character of Sam Fisher- written believably and charmingly and brought to life by awesome Michael Ironside who in the role feels even more comfortable than before.
  All that is coated with very competent sound design and a truly phenomenal original soundtrack created by Amon Tobin (which is inseparable from the game's spirit and identity, similar to the work of Jesper Kyd from the classic entries in the Hitman or Assassin's Creed series) and supported by a visual presentation that aged like wine, as these often do when focusing their efforts on play between lights and shadows as the main actors, which cleverly soothes and masks the passage of time and initial technical shortcomings- similar to games like F.E.A.R; DOOM3 or Dead Space.
The result is a highly enjoyable formula working wonders in remarkably replayable single-player and cooperation campaigns, as well as in the fantastic rendition of Spies vs Mercs competitive multiplayer mode, still enjoyed to this day by most dedicated of enthusiasts.

   A delightful, exciting atmosphere from the opening cinematics to the ending credits and focused gameplay true to the spirit of the series and the genre, among many other good qualities, makes the third instalment in the Splint Cell series one of the best games bearing Tom Clancy's name and worthy of almost blind recommendation without any caveats- if you enjoyed previous SCs, this is a no-brainer. If you're looking for a great entry series to the genre- look no further and to play this game make your way through the debut title and Pandora Tomorrow ASAP. Just check out PCGamingWiki and Steam guides for config tips beforehand.

   Huge thanks to all the developers who worked on this game and everyone else who contributed to its success, as an outstanding creative achievement with a passionate following, a poster child and champion of the genre, and a crown jewel in Ubisoft's classic catalogue.
And while we're at it- of course big thanks to the company itself, for its exceptional stewardship and doing absolutely fucking nothing on this joyful occasion.
Apparently, the 18-ish thousand employees don't add up to the ability to show the most baseline acknowledgement and care about the product in the form of, for example, finally uploading graphic files (logo, banners) to Steam's database, so in the library it doesn't present itself like a 3rd league abandonware from some derelict company.
I guess the available effort went to smearing Splinter Cell's terminology and iconography over highly demanded endeavours like XDefiant. We all have to make sacrifices.

May the mother company patronage be more kind to you in the future, Chaos Theory.



                 - Who are you?!
                 - I'm the guy you never saw.

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

John Splinter Cell is the protagonist of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.

He is a good shoot man, but a better sneak man.

His patented "sneak skills" are unparalleled, and he uses them often and with great bravado. He'll often quip, while sneaking, "I'm sneakin' here!" (in a whisper of course) before either shooting or sneaking a poor passer-by with his knife or big gun (or, if he's feeling not quite so sneaky, his even bigger gun).

At the end of the day, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is about family, which makes it all the more tragic when John Splinter Cell needs to confront his father and kill him.

With his big sneaky gun.

It's a mid 2000s Tom Clancy game, impossible to dislike those for the atmosphere alone. There are some issues thought like the mouse movement doesnt feel smooth at all on windows 10/ with logitech mouse.

poopiesoft/boobiesoft, it's over, sell the company and give the ip's to people who care pwetty pewease

Played this for the first time in 2025 and damn, it aged pretty well. Really good stealth game

The best game Ubisoft ever made.

The mad lads actually patched it to support wide screen, hazzahhh!

I've downloaded this 3 times and every time I do I'm reminded of how insanely awful the controls are on pc. I will recommend it because the game itself is amazing but get ready to struggle for awhile trying to learn how to play.

THIS IS NO VIDEOGAME FISHER

It's one of the best stealth games made. This, MGS3, and Hitman Blood Money are the trifecta from that era.

this game is a masterpiece in stealth played alot but this steam port is trash couldn't work with out a widescreen fix

This game is a classic, and the fact that the scroll wheel controls move speed is a mechanic I wish more stealth games had.

I got to play it several times over the years, so that playtime should be triple what it is... ^_^

Unless you're very nostalgic, this game is way too much outdated in its graphics, gameplay and animations. Even the AI is dumb as a pair of socks. Don't waste your time. Nice that it works under Windows 11 though.

The best splinter cell, and stealth game of all time.

why is Sam Fisher staring at me in the main menu

I dropped the game like four times because the controls were too strange, but I learned to enjoy it after understanding how it works. The two downsides are the controls and figuring out the 3D map.

How I understood it, wherever you're facing is the orientation of the map when you select it, and the red cube is the objective. You can also check your primary, secondary, opportunity objectives, and notes if you're lost.

Tips:

SC Pistol: Right click disrupts electronics and light sources. You can temporarily turn off lights and distract with disrupted laptops, computers, and radios. (Most OP mechanic)

Ladder fast fall: climb down, but increase your speed with mwheelup

Rappel fast drop: hold down and press shift for a quick descending jump

Climbing horizontal pipe: Bring legs up by pressing shift

Roll: Mwheelup to speed up then long press crouch button (c)

Lean on the wall: Press q

OTS: while aiming over-the-shoulder, press q to change left to right orientation and vice versa

Change weapons: Hold control and select using the mouse cursor or by wasd and confirming with spacebar

Bring out selected weapon: Press e

Interact: press spacebar

Hacking: If you let the timer end you trigger an alarm, but to prevent this you can actually just press esc and try again (Some won't allow).
> Press the numbers the light up in the bottom right corner and completing all four numbers automatically completes the hacking process.
> You don't need to completely hack, if you know the combination just select the right sequence of numbers with e.

>>You can wireless hack by using the EEV (press 1) by looking at a retinal scanner, computer (look at the chassis not the monitor), keypad, et cetera by completing the scan and if it displays a symbol with numbers 01010 something like that or a wifi symbol, it means you can hack it from afar by pressing spacebar.

Split jump with two closeby walls: look at one wall opposite to another and hold shift. Sam will jump and do the splits with both legs against the opposing walls.

Great game. Very fun. Just the controlls feel dated.