Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent®

That's the worst game ever , before buying it I read all the reviews which were very bad but I still wanted to try the game myself and i totally regret it ,the game crashes ,saves are broken , full of bugs in the game itself , not able to skip any cut scenes , like if the game crashes and the save is broken you'll be forced to watch the cutscene every single time ,to be honest the game itself is very poorly made and isn't worth a single penny

game crashes for no fucking reason on top of that it corrupts you game and deletes all progress and then crashes again

Buggy mess that crashes when trying to save beyond a certain point. A shame.

The port is broken unplayable mess and a scam, NOT NOT BUY IT.

The Gameplay:

The gameplay is mostly what was from Chaos Theory, so it should be good right? Except they decided to remove the visual and audio indicator for… reasons? So now you are either seen or not seen which really doesn't feel good. Also they seem to be in love with having no shadows all the time and having your gear stripped from you which honestly just makes for a lame experience of trial and error which isn't fun.

The Story:

The story is a roller coaster with a jerky start and a clumsy finish. It had some potential with the general theme, and had a decent bread crumb story/reveal along the way. Also actually being a double agent was a nice narrative approach that spiced things up for sure but the execution was too shallow to have any real impact.

The Visuals:

This both had some of the cleanest visuals but it still looks like Pandora tomorrow. There is a weird glossy overly bright cinematic placed in at odd times which just doesn’t look good everytime you open up your PDA. Bald SAM instead of SplinterCell suit SAM doesn't look as cool.

The Sound:

The original voice actors are still here which is a big plus. The music is decent, and the use of music to indicate how close someone is to you is done particularly well this time. But by comparison to the epic track that was Chaos Theory, this pales in comparison and was okay. Non-combat sound effects sounded a little less crisp and focused than that of Chaos theory, but it was good none-the-less.

The Experience:

This was my least favorite Splinter Cell as it felt so odd. A lot of things were out of place, but the best way to describe it, is that it was mid. It wasn't overly terrible, but it wasn't great. However combined with how poor this port was, this made me fantasize about when I could finish. The game crashes for any old reason, it has bugs at certain points of the game, namely the last challenge of the game which almost kept me from beating it. They were not game breaking bugs, but they were consistent and annoying enough where I wanted the game to be over, which now that I am… I can tell you it's not worth it to play this game as a PC port. You don’t even get the multiplayer that was pretty awful by comparison to the previous two game. Not worth.

Revolver Ocelot would be proud.

One of the worst pc ports, I have ever experienced, in my life.

So I tried applying the patches & fixes, and it boots up! But then there's no sound outside of music and very faint footstep noises in the first mission...

So I save, tweak some sound & graphic settings, and duly reboot the game.

Attempt to reload my save, get a message saying it can't find it...

All the while the first mission intro cut-scene continues to play while I'm greeted with a "SAVING GAME" message screen that's completely over the top of said cut-scene...it's not actually doing anything and the save screen is stuck. The game at this point refuses to acknowledge any button inputs and even Task Manager is having trouble killing it.

And then it crashed anyway.

So yeah, this port's still broken. Don't bother.

This has some of the worst stealth levels I've ever played.
For some reason they thought that almost every level should be in the daytime. Actual retards. And then they put you in an active warzone and blame you for civilian deaths.

Over half the game is awful. All of the levels are completely linear with so much scripted BS. They designed no levels around the mechanics. Sound almost doesn't matter anymore, except when it does, but you can't tell because the geniuses took the sound meter away. 99% of lights cant be shot or emp'd off. This ancient PC port has a lot of issues of crashing and certain levels sounds not loading. On the cruise ship an npc can get stuck in a glitched door and block you from the rest of the level. After traveling through the active warzone you end up in a mission impossible laser room, all to plant a bug when you could have just used your listening gun. It's so unbelievably stupid.

The literal only parts of this game that are decent to good are the JBA base segments / ending. But even those have issues.

It's just so unbelievably disappointing because this game has such a cool premise, but executed so horribly.

Ubi would make more money fixing the ports of DA and Pandora tomorrow than their last 6 "AAA" titles, but they are neurologically disabled.

Got the bundle for Conviction. This was included. Terrible port. Play the console versions or emulate.

Also really needs controller support.

ubisoft should hang it up they ass

Crashes even after manually applying patches that aren't included on the steam version. Don't bother with this, not on PC.

**Splinter Cell: Double Agent - A Flawed Experience**

Splinter Cell: Double Agent is a game full of potential but weighed down by significant flaws. The PC port is especially rough, with performance issues that plagued the release, though it runs better today, it's still prone to occasional crashes.
While the game’s story and mechanics are intriguing, it ultimately feels like the weakest entry in the series. That said, it’s not a bad experience overall – there’s still enjoyment to be had, but it doesn’t live up to the quality fans expect.
If I could, I’d give it a mixed rating – neither good nor bad, just somewhere in between.

This game is absolutely broken on PC. Despite having installed all the recommended fixes and patches, there are still problems with mission objectives not completing properly, scripted events not triggering and problems with saving/loading. Even if all of that was fixed, this game is still very janky compared to the previous games in the series. Very disappointing...

The absolute worst Splinter Cell title, hands down. This comes after Chaos Theory, which was the apex of the series, and right before Conviction, which was also great and brought new life into it. Very disappointing.

Technically, the game plays like steaming garbage -- it seems to take most people a bunch of fiddling on current computers just to get it to start and work with in-game sound and wide-screen resolution. And even then, the game crashes-to-desktop regularly, sounds and lights disappear and reappear as the character moves around, and you have to avoid certain legitimate game functions just to keep the game running (e.g. equipping the airfoil rounds for the rifle, or zooming in with the reflex sight consistently causes a CTD).

Aside from these major annoyances, missions sometime enter into a buggy state which persists in the last save file. Meaning that, even upon quitting the game and re-loading the last save, some of the mini-games would be broken and impossible to pass (hacking, safe-cracking, etc.). Furthermore, while the game clearly keeps multiple previous saves as separate files, the manual Load function in the menu does nothing when trying to select one of the previous save states. It's ridiculous, because at this point, the frustration outweighs any potential entertainment from the game.

Technical issues aside -- the gameplay is the absolute worst among all the games in the Splinter Cell series. My biggest issue is with the general lack of choice. For example, in other SC games, every map gives you generous options on how to get from point A to point B. In Double Agent, most of the places where you would expect some ziplines, or tunnels, or roof gutters (this being a SC title), there is only one way to proceed -- just bull your way forward, frequently saving and loading. There is no "reward" for exploring the map at all, which is due to extremely lazy design.

The gadgets, which play a central role to most SC games, are an afterthought. I think the entire campaign can be played through without using the iconic goggles even once. Where the previous games made an emphasis on this gameplay (identifying terrorists at the airport by seeing their elevated body temperature; finding the guy you need on a train by how his prosthetic leg looks in the thermal vision mode; figuring out a keypad code by seeing the heat dissipate off the buttons in sequence; finding surveillance bugs in a hotel room by using the inductive imaging mode), this sucky installment completely forgoes this entire mechanic. Very few of the other gadgets enter into play, except for two which are mandatory and unavoidable, to be able to finish some campaign assignments.

Sam Fisher in this game isn't athletic like he is in all other Splinter Cell games. Apparently, he moves slowly and very noisily, and to sneak up on a lone enemy from behind without being heard and shot, it might take you six quick-loads. Sam has to be within three inches or so of an enemy for the context-sensitive button to recognize that you're trying to knock the guy out. Enemies seem to have a vision cone of 200 degrees or so, visually spotting you at great distances even when you're clearly coming up from behind them. Plus, they can magically spot (or "sense") you hiding behind cargo on pallets, even when you use the "stick to wall" function. Compared to the games right before and right after Double Agent, the most consistent part of the gameplay is so mundane and lame.

I could keep going about what's wrong with this game, but I'm sick of having played the game itself, and now writing the review is just adding to that sensation (although it needs to be said). The only rationalization for buying this game would be if you're a big Splinter Cell fan, and absolutely must have every game in your library.

... Speaking of which, what happened to Pandora Tomorrow, and why isn't it available on Steam?

Double Agent was already a poorly designed, poorly made game as is on the Xbox 360, with it's nonsensical storyline, abandonment of the themes set up by the prior games, betrayal of the concept of a "SIGINT ninja", hilariously linear level design, terrible AI, a terrible upgrade system that fills your inventory with useless junk and caps out with terrible "Enhanced" Night Vision goggles that become pixelated as you move (and cannot be disabled through regular means), and a UI so cut down as to make sneaking an exercise in frustration. But the PC port is notoriously buggy on top of all that. Whether it's the lights that only phase into existence as you walk beneath them, the enemies jettisoning steam on certain levels that can kill you, the duplicating door glitch in both Emile's office and the cruise liner that can impede progress, the "Enhance" Night Vision Goggles only showing a black screen until you move, enemies getting stuck in an position to investigate and never leaving (necessitating a reload), losing trust with the NSA because a civilian in the wartorn streets of Kinsasha died beyond your control, using the reflex sight on the SC20-K crashing the game, or the game deciding it doesn't want to reload your save file, this game is *riddled* with problems. Even following the fixes on the PCGamingWiki or installing fanpatches isn't enough to resolve the issues. Avoid this port like the plague unless you truly want the experience of a late-2000's PC port.

Underrated but not the better PS2/OG Xbox version. for those unaware ubisoft split devs to work on two different versions of this game, this one which is also the Xbox 360 version, and the older PS2/Xbox/GC version. OG devs Ubi Montreal (responsive for 1 and Chaos Theory) made the PS2 version, and Pandora Tomorrow devs Ubi Shanghai made the next gen version.

pros:
-solid story, almost same as the ps2 version: Sam infiltrates an American home-grown terrorist organization. you have to work for both the NSA and JBA through each mission, managing each's trust levels and there are three choices through the game that impact the ending. the PS2 version doesnt have any alternate endings.
-plays like Chaos Theory
-solid levels and pacing. People hate on the timed levels in the JBA HQ, but their tense and logical, as you are expected to be in a certain place when someone checks on you. They're small enough to be pretty easy too, the timer is just meant to add pressure but you'll rarely be too hard up for time. People also hate on the daytime levels but they're an admittedly interesting spin on the mechanics, often involving more use of sight lines and cover, rather than dark shadows and slow movement.

Cons:
-AI is just buggy and switch between hyper aware and blind.
-the simplification of certain systems makes stealth just harder
-story is less satisfying then previous gen version.

Not Recommended

Was really hoping to play the game but I could not for the life of me get this to work. The game starts in a small window and clicking "Single player" immediately crashes. I enjoy the game when I played on Xbox when it came out and was really looking forward to replaying it. Bu it does not work.

It is insane that it is legal to even sell games in this condition. I definitely thought it was going to be pretty rough based on what I briefly skimmed through, but wow. It is UNPLAYABLE for many people, me included. Can't progress past the Cruise Ship, and it was a nightmare getting that far. Disappointing. Buyer beware, buyer bewareeeeeeeee.

Just play Chaos Theory with widescreen fix and other tweaks you can read in guides on here and you'll be golden. Maybe someday Double Agent won't be treated like rotten sun baked roadkill. For now, we don't live in that world.

This game is shit, get an OG Xbox and play the good version!
(Lambert doesn't yell at you enough)

It's unplayable - bugs, crashes, glitches. I tried, because I love SC, but it's really unplayable.

First things first this version of the game is horrible what a awful port. Lots of bugs (particularly audio) the movement is super jank constantly gets stuck on geometry (that's a little bit of an issue on chaos theory as well but not as frequent as in this game) occasional crashes. Saves don't save for jba 2 that is the only mission I had where the saves didn't work for it very weird glitch. Oh yeah you have to change your resolution like a minute before the game ends or It will freeze fun. I forgot to mention this game graphically looks terrible beyond having graphical errors the graphics themselves are terrible like chaos theory had great graphics aside from the character models this game all of the graphics look terrible. At the end of the day the game is playable though I did finish the game this game is not good don't even bother just replay chaos theory a second time or if you really do have to suffer through this get the Xbox 360 version on Xbox series

optimization is a joke fuck this game

I have played all splinter cell games multiple times on consoles and now on PC when possible
and here is my PC review of THIS Bad pc port!!!

Music is incredibly good in this game probably top 3 best Ost in splinter cell franchise
Examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzMhCgbrqFE&list=PL42430A689A2143C9&index=26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soKRZFYEPz0&list=PL42430A689A2143C9&index=2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qArT6zNk9Uw&list=PL42430A689A2143C9&index=22



Gameplay is similar to old splinter cell games but you have to balance honor between NSA (aka good people) and JBA (bad people)

BUT PC PORT IS SO HORRIBLE YOU HAVE TO USE MODS TO EVEN PLAY THIS GAME BECAUSE UBISOFT RELEASED 3 PATCHES THAT IS NOT ON STEAM VERSION AND STEAM VERSION WILL NOT INCLUDE THOSE PATCHES!!!

Also you have to manually edit config file to get best graphics because some graphics setting ingame wont change anything or won't even work correctly!!!

60FPS IS MOST YOU CAN HAVE WITHOUT GAME BREAKING BUGS SO CAP FPS

FOLLOW THIS STEAM GUIDE TO FIX MOST OF THE PROBLEMS!!!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=935210001

After everything and you manage to fix this game with mods yes it is decent game! but console is way to play this game it is the best version and i played this in xbox 360 first and i still have the console and cd

Second mission does not start. Buy from Epic not steam

Well lots of people are speaking how this game does not work properly. After I installed the 1.02 patch from one of the guides game worked like a charm. I only had 2-3 crashes, everything else worked fine.

So, this port is TERRIBLE!

I'm a LONG TIME Splinter Cell fan, been playing since the PS2 releases, as those are what I grew up with. That being said, I was finally shown the truth behind this entry, Splinter Cell: Double Agent, having 2 versions... Thanks to the likes of Critical Nobody on YouTube. Because of this, I found out that there was a version beyond the PS2/Xbox/GameCube/Wii version... So, as someone who has been waiting for Ubisoft to release a new Splinter Cell(IF they can before they're sued and bankrupt now, and those piles of garbage deserves it if ya ask me), I REALLY wanted to play this other version. Thing is, I couldn't find a copy of the PS3 version, and I never cared to own Xbox consoles by ANY means, so... I thought this PC version was the next best thing. I, however, wasn't ready to realize that this game is beyond bugged on PC especially.

This port was clearly handled by a company that didn't give a damn that their customers would be beyond disappointed that the game was like this, but they released it and seemingly only fans have tried to fix any and all bugs now. There are about 3 patches, 2 of which are officially from Ubisoft, and the last one being from fans. Will there be other patches in the future by fans? Who knows... That being said, as this game currently is, it is RIDICULOUS how many crashes and bugs you gotta work around to play it from beginning to end. It never seemed stable on Xbox 360 from what I've seen, and it is somehow worse with these crashes alone being so prominent.

The bugs and crashes range from being unable to hear the majority of audio(including dialog) without restarting the level entirely, to crashes for the Shanghai level crashing on you whenever you save or save too much, to random crashes in general with no seemingly obvious cause to each one. With all of these considered, you would need to open the game back up and keep going, being VERY frequent with quick-saving(unless it's the Shanghai level), and you COULD see the end of the game if you keep this up. That being said, it sure ruined what fun the game itself had...

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This all being said about the port specifically, the game itself is still a good time, and whenever it wasn't unstable... I was having a good time, given that this is the last-hurrah of CLASSIC Splinter Cell gameplay and structure, aside from the trust system that felt not really... Needed in the franchise? It was a good idea though, the concept of being a double-agent and having two sides you need to work for and keep happy, to thwart the psycho terrorists involved in this plot.

As far as this version goes, it does make the trust system more believable, given that you cannot actively lose trust by the other side without them knowing you're betraying them, as there is 2 trust meters involved in the game as a whole. It is, however, extremely easy to keep both meters full and happy, so this concept feels more like a way to just narrate the plot here.

That being said, I do like how this version has undercover missions at the JBA headquarters, where you sneak around security and do stuff under the noses of everyone there, while doing tasks they expected you'd have done for the terrorist's sake. You can't knock anyone out, and you need to not be seen by anyone, sneaking around with no night-vision at your disposal, let alone the pistol with the EMP for lights and cameras. The last-gen version made use of more normal missions in place of the undercover missions, where you are sneaking around with at LEAST more equipment to use, but you're able to knock people out freely and even hear two guards talk about the silly rumor of someone knocking out others... Feels less believable in the last-gen version for sure.

The plot as a whole can be relatively engaging, given the pressure of keeping both the NSA and JBA happy, on top of ensuring you're never caught outright; that being said, while this version has the terrorists more fleshed out, they have archetypes that you get quickly familiar with, and that is it... There is no real breakdown of WHY they're doing what they're doing, no real in-depth exploration of their motives, and it leaves them just as faceless as they were in the last-gen version I played. It is also extremely easy to tell that the last-gen version was clearly the original one planned, down to how the cutscenes in the game leans more into the design of levels as well as how the plot is executed in the last-gen version.

For example: the first mission in Iceland had nothing to do with the main plot in this next-gen version, and Sam finishes the mission being told his daughter is dead; meanwhile, the last-gen version connects the mission into the bigger JBA plot with the Red Mercury bombs, as well as how it is far more built-up with Lambert calling for a sudden abort of the mission in telling Sam "somethings happened" to his daughter Sarah, leading to him going outside and running to the chopper like the cutscene portrayed properly, while the next-gen version sees him climbing a rope to a helicopter before the cutscene plays with him running upto the chopper. It feels as though the last-gen version was what was in development to begin with, while the next-gen version came about as the Xbox 360 and PS3's relevance was pushing for its own necessity in being made.

You also had this strange sub-plot with Sam falling for Enrica in the last-gen version, where it is what pushes him to go rogue after she was killed by a Splinter Cell agent; meanwhile... The next-gen version only has him seducing Enrica in the end of one of the undercover missions, so she won't rat him out, as well as how she could end up dead if you don't let the bomb on the ship blow up, compared to how the last-gen version showcased her and Sam being tortured for the bomb not blowing up simply.

Hamza being also utilized more in the last-gen version is something I think gave the less technically impressive release more effort in my eyes. Given that he is a mission later on, in needing to save him from the JBA killing him, seeing him as the partner in the Iceland mission is a better build-up, in comparison to him just being someone you start to talk to with the Shanghai mission as a new contact for the NSA objectives. It makes the last-gen version truly feel more planned-out properly, despite some of its own issues.

In the end though, the biggest thing the last-gen version has over this one, is a TRUE HUD, giving a real light-meter and sound-meter again, instead of how the next-gen version has a binary way of hiding from threats that feels far too finicky to take seriously in comparison. The lack of a HUD here definitely ruins this version from being more fun, as it is beyond frustrating dealing with the issue of being hidden in a moment's notice.

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If you're wondering how I feel, I'd say the last-gen version is better, with exclusive missions on the PS2 version as well, on top of a more thought-out plot execution in the last-gen version. The lack of truly understanding WHY the JBA is even trying to set-up bombs and use them really bites the plot in the butt either way, but the last-gen version cared to set-up so much more, cared to think about the whole plot so much more. I just wished the PC version ran better, because I did still enjoy my time, but WOW does the glitches and crashes get in the way of enjoying it as much as you'd wanna...

Didn't help Conviction's plot being set-up as much as Essentials, however, and THAT is embarrassing that a PSP entry can set-up the next entry better...

Just use an emulator like pscx2 to play the version 2

DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, PLAY IT ON EMULATOR!

I'm a big fan of the series, but this port is HORRENDOUS, even with the available fixes - it still crashes and in unplayable state!

My least favourite in the series but a good game nonetheless.

I refunded after a few minutes of playing. Its gameplay is bad and it really imo strays too far away from the original Splinter Cell style of stealth with shadow meters and sound meters. The HUD also hurts to look at IMO.

lowk a solid game. plus spies vs mercs bots. fire.

most broken sh!t i ever played

I fucking love this game but I fucking hate this port

If you want to use an X-Box controller, you can't. So, I don't recommend buying the game. I want my money back, I don't recommend it.

No one should acutally have to pay for this its completely broken even after fixer emulate it fs

Decent but overshadowed in all its elements by other games in the series, pandoras box and chaos theory have better stealth, conviction (yes i like conviction fuck you) and blacklist have better action
Bad? no, worth buying over any other game on steam in the series? no

Crashes very often.

probably the worse pc port of a gamer ive ever witnessed. its so bad not good and its laggy all the time... if you really love splinter cell then you need to lock in for this one. the story is really good but whoever did the pc port fire them.

Skyrim is somehow less bugged

I have memories of playing this with my younger brother on the GameCube. Unfortunately, this game doesn't run well and crashes.

This port is terrible! I was in the Shanghai level and my first problem was that there was no sound when I started, then the game softlocked. I restarted my game and the sound returned and I continued. Then I got to a part where an autosave crashed the game! I kid you not! Then the game would crash if I tried to quick save or manual save. At that point I gave up and bought the game on Xbox 360 and played it there. DO NOT BUY THIS VERSION.