"Let me guess... three alarms and the mission's failed?"

"Of course not Fisher, this isn't some video game!"

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is back, and it may be a cliché but it is better than ever. Developed by the team who helmed the original Splinter Cell (Pandora Tomorrow was handled by Ubisoft Shanghai, a completely different team), Chaos Theory keeps what worked exactly the same and adds a huge assortment of great new abilities and modes.

In Chaos Theory you once again control Sam Fisher, a top of the line stealth agent working for the Third Echelon. The year is 2007 and Japan's creation of an Information Self Defense Force is deemed as a violation of both international law and their own constitution. Tensions are ignited between North Korea, China and Japan and the country is now facing North Korean and Chinese blockades of shipping across the Korea Strait. Japan now requests the assistance of the US in accordance with American obligations under an article of the Japanese Post War Constitution. Evidence continues to pour in, indicating that the devastation of the Japanese economy on the infamous Black Gold Day may have been caused by international warfare attacks. Nations are beginning to mobilise and Third Echelon gets word of a seemingly unrelated incident that may end up having global repercussions. Sam Fisher's chaos theory states that global terrorist acts start small and go almost completely unnoticed.

The storyline is, as expected, a near future techno-thriller but unfortunately storytelling has never been a strong point of the series. Though the cut-scenes are well done, for the most part they aren't particularly exciting and the storyline isn't often very apparent either. There are long briefings before each mission with multiple people, but more often than not I found myself paying attention only to the objectives at hand and not the overall story. The best parts of storytelling are the events that occur during the actual missions, when Sam Fisher discovers something new and relays it back to his off-site crew; new objectives can come up at a moment's notice. The story has never really been an important part of Splinter Cell; it is all about the one of a kind realistic stealth gameplay.

If you're a fan of the series then Chaos Theory is a blessing. It plays very similarly to the previous games, except much more polished and smooth overall. Sam appears more cunning and when you stop moving he actually holds his current position instead of reverting to, say, a default crouching animation. Fisher also now carries a knife at all times - you see, only the absolute best agent is permitted to use a knife and Sam is it! A plethora of new abilities are opened by simply carrying a knife: Sam can cut through materials to create new paths, he can jam up machinery, break locks on doors (or you can still pick a lock if you're trying to be quiet) and, of course, stab enemies with some great new attacks. The level designs remain linear in their designs but the fact that the actual gameplay is not linear at all more than makes up for it. There are more ways than ever to take on a situation; you can rush through guns blazing or you can beat every level without firing a single bullet. Throwing items to cause distractions, whistling to bring guards over, banging doors open to knock out a nearby enemy... there's hundreds of cool things to attempt in Chaos Theory.

Like Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory jumps right into things with an absolutely stunning first level, except this one isn't as easy on new players. Whereas Pandora Tomorrow treated the opening level almost as a training level, this one has a steeper learning curve for newcomers to the series, though a set of handy videos are available to watch if you think you need help. If you're familiar with the series then you'll have absolutely no problems jumping right into things, just be sure not to press the black button to whistle when you meant to push white to switch your weapon!

Chaos Theory's fantastic opening isn't nearly as steep in difficulty as Pandora's was; you can use lethal force here and you can even be spotted - just don't die and you'll be fine! That's what really stands out about Chaos Theory - being able to play how you like most of the time and not how the game wants. As you progress through the opening level, your jaw will drop at the graphical details of things like water pouring onto concrete or the bright moon shining through the clouds above an open ocean. You'll approach an active lighthouse that will blow you away when you see the light shine through the clouds and when you actually get up there and look at the view, your jaw will drop once again. And yes, you can shoot out the giant searchlight! This level also gives you a chance to discover something video games have been missing for a long time; going into water actually makes Sam look realistically wet for some time and not only that but you can also hear the sound of water squishing inside his boots!

Sticking to an aquatic theme, the next level takes place on a moving ship and it happens to be taking on water. Sneaking through the narrow halls inside the ship, or between giant cargo crates, you'll be amazed by the sound on this map and how certain objects block it out. Below decks is a loud radio playing that gets louder and louder as you progress until you finally pinpoint the room it is coming from. As soon as you open the door, it comes blasting through the speakers clear as a whistle and when you close the door again it is perfectly muffled out with amazing detail. I have rarely come across a game that puts such amazing detail into the sounds of everything, from music nearby and electrical hums to the more obvious things like gunfire and footsteps.

Aside from being able to hang upside down and snap an enemy's neck, or pull them down from below a railing, Sam's equipment has also been highly upgraded. His 5.7 single-action silenced pistol comes complete with an electrical jammer that can disrupt cameras, lights or any other electronic device from a good distance - a safe route if you don't want to make noise or cause permanent damage. His main weapon, the SC-20k rifle can be equipped with a variety of attachments, including a sniper add-on, a devastating shotgun add-on, a fore-grip attachment and a launcher attachment for a variety of weapons such as the sticky camera, sticky shocker and gas grenade. Sam's goggles allow him to zoom in on areas, revealing and displaying information about items such as computers you can hack or explosive barrels. His three vision modes return, as well as the ability to switch to a sticky camera after deactivating it.

The beauty of being able to select your equipment and then tackle any situation in any way has to be experienced to comprehend. It's a joy to silently sit in the dark and observe the area, watching enemies discuss things among themselves and walk about. Do you snipe one in the head? Grab him and throw him over a railing? Put your knife to his throat and interrogate him - or maybe grab him and snipe a nearby guard before you do what you wish with him? Of course, you can also use a non-lethal attack with the L trigger if you're in a good mood, but be careful, as the incapacitated guard can get back up later or be discovered. There is no meter that tells you how well a body is hidden, either, as the AI has been improved so a guard on patrol must actually go and discover the fallen soldier now. The rest of the HUD is designed and placed perfectly, with a great slider bar telling you how much sound you're making and a notch that represents the volume of the overall ambience and if you're louder than it or not. Health, ammo, your placement in shadows and even an alarm count are all neatly displayed on the HUD.

If you haven't figured it out yet, the graphics are better than any words could describe; they look as if they're straight out of the next generation of games. Maybe it's simply because the areas are so dark that there's a lot of room for extra detail (at times the graphics look a bit grainy in brightly lit areas) but the graphics really are spectacular most of the time. Some characters look a bit as if they're made out of plastic but you'll be too busy with the amazingly impressive look of fear in the eyes of a guard as you grab him from behind to even notice. Shadows and lighting once again play an important role obviously and the ability to disable electronics for a short time from a distance adds a completely new gameplay element to the game. The flickering and electrical hum as they go out is extremely well done and even gets guards curious - they won't just ignore something like that!

Nor will they ignore the sound of you walking along wood, or whistling, or shooting - or any noise really. The sound effects are some of the greatest ever created in video gaming - and they don't just sound good, they play just as important a part as the weapons and lighting. A bit of a switch from previous SC games is the music; it plays the same role as previous versions where it is sometimes barely noticeable or not even there, but then hits hard when you're spotted - however now they've made a switch to a bit of a techno soundtrack, utilising unique instruments. Though it is most certainly unique and doesn't sound bad by any means, it can be distracting from the overall experience at times but luckily knows when to come and when to go.

Guards still say things that completely give away what they're doing or if they can hear you, "What was that sound I just heard?" or "Oh, that's a pleasant noise!" However, some of their conversations can be humorous and informational. It definitely pays off to hang about for a bit and listen in on them, though sometimes it just seems way too obvious that they're giving you hints. Michael Ironside returns as the voice of Sam Fisher and really helps his character out a great deal - he may sound a bit flat at times but at others the dry wit and sarcasm really is top notch, like when you kill someone you shouldn't and he proclaims, calmly, "It was an accident..." Enemy AI has dramatically improved; they will even form spontaneous teams if they detect you and are near to another guard or two. They communicate, tell each other to go to different positions, call in for back up and trip alarms; they also know when to take cover and won't just stand out in the open as you fire at them.

The team behind the original Splinter Cell hasn't just been busy with the solo player mode; they've also developed a brand new cooperative mode playable through split screen, system link and (YES!) Xbox Live! Though the number of missions available is short, the length of each one certainly is not and you can even save your progress and come back later if you wish (and will probably need to.) A number of unique abilities have been created for the two stealth operatives to get through each area, such as boosting one player up to the ceiling and then having the other climb up his body to reach an out of the way area. You can lower a teammate down on a rope upside down, Mission: Impossible style to hack a computer, as well as throw a team mate at an unaware enemy or throw him completely over a wall to unlock a nearby door. Players will need to simultaneously hack a computer (complete with an absolutely brilliant mini-game for hacking into the system, similar to picking a lock) at the same time, or have both players find a fallen enemy and use a retinal scanner. Oh and the best part: if you play over Xbox Live and speak too loudly into your headset to your partner, nearby guards will actually hear you and come after you, meaning you'll have to whisper into your mic! Absolute brilliance! Many of the new co-op moves are also available in the Adversarial mode, returning from Pandora Tomorrow.

I consider Pandora's adversarial mode to be the best online game created and it is only for four players at a time! If you'd like to know how it works (shame on you for not playing it already), then head on over to review Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow review where I go in depth on the basics of the online adversarial gameplay. It is basically the same in Chaos Theory, except there are a few new gadgets, such as a stealth suit, and the mercs have been given the option to switch between a new gas mine, a shotgun, a machine gun and the classic assault rifle, complete with sniper attachment. Plenty of other great goodies are available as well, but I'll let you discover them for yourself! Sure, the new gadgets are great, the mercs' weapons and new punching abilities are fun, dying from only one spy jump is a good improvement and the new modes work well, but the main and most important improvement is the ability to fully customise your online games. You can enable or disable any weapon, any item and any move, right down to the elbow strike. You can limit the inventory size and set the number of lives, the time limit, everything. Those who created their own custom games in Pandora will have a field day with Chaos Theory and there is much more room and freedom to set your own options and game types.

A fan favourite custom game from Pandora is the deathmatch - and Ubisoft Shanghai knew it. The developers of the original adversarial mode helmed this one as well and included the deathmatch mode this time around, allowing you to set the amount of lives and disable things like grenades or anything else you see fit. There is no longer a basic Neutralisation mode, or Extraction mode, instead they've all been combined into Story mode. Each level has a variety of objectives and the spies must complete a set amount of them (two to four usually). However, now you'll have to do multiple tasks on each level. One section requires a bomb planted, one section requires a hard drive stolen and returned to an extraction point, another section requires you to neutralise something similar to Pandora - it is all brilliantly rolled into one game mode now! Other than deathmatch, there is also a mode called Disc Hunt where the spies must hunt out and collect a specific amount of discs. I loved Pandora Tomorrow simply for the adversarial mode - I consider it the greatest online achievement ever and Chaos Theory improves on it brilliantly. It may be very similar but that is a good thing! It plays exactly the same, with great additions; spies are fun to control with great acrobatics and stealth kills and mercs actually feel like a solider running around and not a gun mounted on a camera. The first person aspect is done better than most FPS games! It really is two games merged into one online battle that works like a dream.

If you're new to adversarial mode, Chaos Theory is packed with lengthy but not overwhelming tutorials explaining everything and you can even visit maps and have the game walk you through them whilst explaining what needs to be done on each one. Help files for all the equipment are also accessible - the entire game is very user friendly. Oh and just for the record, Deftech Belew, Warehouse, Museum, River Mall and the Bank are all back.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is three brilliant games rolled into one that could all easily be sold separately. The single player is incredibly satisfying, co-op is one of a kind and adds a fresh and very compelling face to the underused online co-op genre and the adversarial mode is simply brilliant once again; an online experience no person with high speed internet should miss - I'm glaring right at our editor right now! [Alright already, I promise I'll go online with this one! Ed]

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).