Review: Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow (2D & 3D)

[the_dead_man]

Splinter Cell : Pandora Tomorrow

Mobile Game Review

Title: Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Gameloft
Release Date: 2004
Format: J2ME
Game Features: Good graphics, smooth gameplay, well-detailed environments.
Reviewed on: SE W580
Versions Reviewed: 2D and 3D

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Summary

Play as Sam Fisher, an agent working for a black-ops branch of the National Security Agency (NSA) called "Third Echelon". You main mission is to fight your way through hordes of guards and gather information about the sinister plans of Suhadi Sadono, the leader of an Indonesian guerrilla militia.
Brace yourself for some serious action on your mobile as you play Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow.

Review

To be honest I’m a big fan of the Splinter Cell series and since Gameloft is delaying the release of SC: Conviction, we (Bri and I) decided to review the old splinter cell games to relive the action once more, before we get our hands on conviction. Having played the PC version of SC: Pandora Tomorrow, I thought of reviewing the mobile version of Pandora Tomorrow and just like my previous review, I’ve reviewed both the 2D and 3D versions to make things more interesting.

Before I begin, I’d like to say that, it isn’t easy to port a PC\Console game to mobile. The platforms are totally different and often the entire game has to be remade for mobile. SC: Pandora Tomorrow has a short storyline and the story revolves around Suhadi Sadono unlike the PC\Console version which has many villains including Sadono. The storyline is short and unclear consisting of seven levels in the 2D version and surprisingly shorter in the 3D version which consists of a mere five missions in all. In the story, you control Sam Fisher, a skilled secret agent. Your main mission is to infiltrate a base in East Timor, Indonesia and then a submarine filled with nuclear weapons and finally the US Embassy in Jakarta. The story in the 3D version is the same but the last two levels which take place in Jakarta have been snipped off. To be frank, not much of a story is needed for a game with roughly two hours of gameplay. The short length makes the game rather easy, and when the story is just getting interesting, it ends awkwardly.

The graphics of both the versions are surprisingly crisp and detailed, considering the game was made in 2004. In case of the 3D version, the ‘3D’ is slightly misleading because the game is still a side scrolling game with the camera at an odd angle. Much care has been taken to develop the 3D environment and make it more than just a cheap imitation of the 2D version. The character modelling and the dynamic environments are quite decent although more detailing would have made the game much more enjoyable. The odd camera angle is a hindrance and hinders gameplay in many occasions. Thus the so called ‘3D’ version loses points because it is still a ‘2D’ side-scrolling game with a 3D environment. The graphics of the 2D version are excellent and a lot of attention has been given on detailing and character models. It's extremely cool to watch Fisher's trademark glowing tripoint goggles as he blends into the shadows wearing his dark suit. The scenery and the environment have been detailed to perfection. The detailing is excellent which is evident from the fact, that you can see a blood jet spurt out of a guard as you perforate him with your gun. The sound is quite good, with some decent tunes and smooth and clear sound effects for explosions and gunfire.

Moving on to the gameplay, the 2D version scores higher than the 3D version. The prime reason being the awkward camera angles in the 3D version as mentioned before. In the 3D version, the camera angle by which you view the game, for instance, moves from a sideways-scrolling position to rotate around you, depending upon your surroundings and how you move. This is often a hindrance as you can’t seem to understand which way to jump or which way to go. Besides this the camera often points at odd angles blocking essential items from your view, for instance, while playing there was a mine before me but i had to go back a few steps so I could shoot it, but on retreating , the camera shifted to a totally different angle and I could not see the mine anymore so I had to take a guess at its position and shoot blindly. Besides this, gameplay is roughly the same in both the versions. Use the shadows wisely as stealth is an important aspect of the game. If you're in a dark area, you can move silently past guards without shooting them or knocking them unconscious. Fisher's pistol mechanism has been redeveloped for accurate shooting using a laser aiming system. He can move underwater for a short period of time which is denoted by a gradually depleting oxygen meter. The early missions take place in rural locations like East Timor which are protected only by guards and very few mines, but the later levels involve infiltrating fortified buildings filled with surveillance equipment like motion sensors, auto-turrets, alarm detectors. The game's levels are fairly linear considering that it’s a side-scrolling game, but each mission can be completed in different ways. You can sneak past guards when they aren't looking, taking care not to let the alarm meter go red, you can take the guards as hostages and use them as human shields or you can go complete the missions by shooting down the guards mercilessly although points are deducted for that. Thus the game missions require different strategies, like using human shields, throwing guards off ledges to blast mines, staying undetected, timing your jumps accurately and using your gun wisely.


Conclusion

So which is better the 2D version or the 3D version? The answer is definitely the 2D version. Having a longer storyline, more missions, good graphics and smooth gameplay is all what’s needed to make a game worthwhile. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is a great game on the whole considering it was made as early as 2004. However the storyline could have been a bit clearer and longer which would have made the game more interesting.

Screenshots

3D version

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2D version

SC-PT2D.jpg

Scores

3D Version

Graphics: 7.8/10
Decent, but awkward camera angles

Sound: 7.8/10
Good sound effects, good tunes.

Gameplay: 7/10
Not smooth, camera points in odd directions sometimes.

Story: 6.8/10
Short and unclear

Overall Score: 7.6 out of 10

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2D Version

Graphics: 9.2/10
Excellent, well detailed.

Sound: 8/10
Good tunes and great sound effects

Gameplay: 8.5/10
Good gameplay, better than the 3D version

Story: 7.4/10
Unclear storyline, but more missions.

Overall Score: 8.9 out of 10

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[Yuros]

The 2D version is much more better,the 3D is just wasting of time

[Karl]

Another great review Dip!!

Both yourself & Bri are doing an excellent job.

[Dodo97]

The 2D version is much more better,the 3D is just wasting of time

I agree !

[Vivian]

Another great review Dip! Keep it up!

[SeaGoddess]

Indeed. I played SC 3d for 5 minutes, than I erased it from my phone. The 2d version is so much better.

Great review buddy

[Duje]

Great review

[the_dead_man]

Next Review : Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

[Ghost]

Great review and i agree the 2D is better then the 3D keep up the good work

[t-mac2008]

The 2D version is much more better,the 3D is just wasting of time

Well games are completely different from each other it's like they don't have same storyline and they also have different environment.