Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent [PS2]

The problem with popular franchises is that there's often a lot of pressure to keep pumping out the sequels, diluting the quality of the series. Ubisoft wants to avoid this, so Double Agent is the company's attempt at keeping the Splinter Cell games minty fresh.

The developers are aiming to deliver the same style of gameplay, while stripping away some of its more cliched elements. This means, for one thing, ditching the reliance on the series' iconic tri-lense goggles. The game still features Sam Fisher, and from time to time you will find yourself using night or thermal vision, but those goggles won't always be there.

Another major shift here is a focus on co-op play. While Chaos Theory's co-op play wasn't always brilliantly executed, the idea of stealthy gameplay with an intelligent partner was a good one. In Double Agent, there's a much stronger focus on co-operative gameplay, but instead of having a human partner you'll often be relying on an AI-controlled one.

Sam's role will be to infiltrate a terrorist group. He gets the opportunity to do so by being placed in a jail as a purported bank robber. When an uprising occurs in the jail Sam must work to help a member of the terrorist group escape. You'll need his help to climb over barriers and open doors, and he'll need your help to take out guards and generally stay alive.

While the premise sounds interesting, past attempts at cooperative AI, like in Rise of the Kasai, have not been brilliantly executed. But things are looking promising based on our brief hands-on time with Double Agent. For instance, you may ask your AI partner to hang back while you stealthily dispatch the guards up ahead; in most games, you'll then need to go back and pick him up (or send a command to follow you), but this has been automated in Double Agent.