Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell is a stealth game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Shanghai and the first installment in the Splinter Cell series. It was initially released exclusively for the Xbox in 2002 by its parent company Ubisoft. Versions for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo GameCube followed in 2003.
The game features agent Sam Fisher, who works for the fictional American intelligence agency Third Echelon, a division of the NSA. Third Echelon dispatches him on various missions, mostly behind enemy lines. The focus of these missions is less on eliminating enemies, which is typical for shooters, and more on operating unnoticed and silently as a central element.
Splinter Cell is set in 2004 and takes place in Asia, primarily in Transcaucasia and Myanmar. It tells the story of the fictional Georgian President Nikoladze, whose plan is to conquer neighboring Azerbaijan by force. Third Echelon, which became involved in the case due to the assassination of two of its agents in Georgia, dispatches Fisher to prevent the planned attack.
The game received very positive reviews due to its innovative gameplay concept. The aggregated Metacritic score for all versions is approximately 90 out of 100 points.
In 2004, a sequel, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, was released.
Plot
The story takes place in 2004. The CIA contacts NSA liaisons because they have lost contact with one of their agents, Alison Madison. A second agent named Blaustein was infiltrated into Tbilisi to re-establish contact with the recently disappeared Alison Madison. When he also disappears, Third Echelon sends secret agent Sam Fisher to the location to assess the situation and establish contact with the missing agents.[2]
However, the bodies of the two agents are found at the police station in Tbilisi. Their implants have been removed. Evidence of the crime leads to the Georgian Ministry of Defense. Therefore, Sam immediately goes there. There, he learns that the new Georgian President Nikoladze is behind the whole affair. His plan is to "unnoticed" conquer Azerbaijan by force. The trails lead Fisher to an oil rig in the Caspian Sea. There, he must pursue a technician who possesses an important computer containing crucial data about contacts. However, the technician must first log into this computer. Meanwhile, NATO moves into Azerbaijan due to Nikoladze's planned attack and attacks the oil rig. After a change of plans, Sam must subdue the technician and retrieve the computer. Since Third Echelon has analyzed this computer, they now know that there is a mole within the CIA's ranks. Sam hacks the CIA's main server and discovers that this mole is named Mitchell Dougherty. He must subdue Dougherty and bring him to his colleagues waiting outside. Interrogations reveal, however, that Dougherty merely has a habit of storing important data on unprotected computers. Meanwhile, IT specialist Anna Grimsdóttir attempts to locate the source of the cyberattacks, but this attempt fails, and she is discovered, but now the location of the attacks is known: a corporate building named Kalinatek. The terrorists in the Kalinatek building have now realized that their cover has been blown and begin destroying evidence, which includes their computer technicians and hackers. One of these hackers possesses important information. Sam must find and interrogate this hacker.