Is Chaos Theory As Good As I Remember? | Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Retrospective 

The humour in the interrogations was a real high point of writing for the series. Michael Ironside sold Fisher as a character brilliantly. Running as a ghost was so satisfying.

Someone, somewhere is reinstalling Chaos Theory...

“I’ve had enough AKs shot at me in my time to tell that wasn’t one “

Bought the game having no experience or nostalgia with the game just this last week, and I still can't believe it's over 15 years old. Top notch, even by todays standards.

God bless Mr. Ironside.

"You Don't Even Exist Fisher, You Won't Get A Medal For This." "Medals Don't Help Me Sleep At Night Lambert."

This game is damn near perfect. The Seoul mission is a masterpiece..

Coop Theory was awesome; it could also track your headset microphone levels, with nearby enemies hearing if you spoke too loudly near them. Having your buddy suddenly sneeze in real life, with one of the guards reacting and investigating inside the game, was pretty neat :D And just the whole deal with two agents jamming both lights in a hallway, then sneaking up and grabbing two guards simultaneously... NOICE.

Amon Tobin soundtrack was icing on the cake One the best OSTs of any video game

_"Fisher is slightly more dangerous than a mouse"_ Thank you for that additional clarification that gives contrast to your story.

"Is Chaos Theory As Good As I Remember?" Yes No need to have a retrospective :P

FYI some of the optional objectives force later missions secondaries to become mandatory if you fail to complete them because they're linked to information needed for the plot. If you don't get the data in one mission, you have to get it in the next. It's similar to the PT choices where it doesn't tell you that you're making one, it just silently changes something and keeps going.

Even to this day, still can't fathom why Ubi never developed on this formula instead of going completely different way -.- Thanks for vid.

amon tobin delivered possibly the best video game soundtrack ever here

I remember playing the lighthouse demo for this game in every single which way, excitedly waiting for the game to come out. Once it did i had played it so much the game just felt like second nature. To this day it arguably and rightfully remains one of the best stealth experiences in the industry. Everything from Ironside's dark humour to the ambient score seamlessly plays into that. One little interesting titbit not mentioned in the video is how Sam can throw things and how the world reacts to it, for example if it's a bottle to the head it'll freak out the guards where as if it's a brick it'll knock them out. Or the funny little whistles to attract guards. All of which i think speaks volumes to a team that took the time and care to make the gameplay dynamically fun. All of which also, has been taken out in later iterations of the game for no sensible reason, in it's slow decline from a competent Spy thriller with a charming, characterful lead to a bad fan fiction of 24 with a cardboard cutout. I had hoped at one point that Sam would slowly retire and become the 'voice in the ear' to a new agent, a female perhaps and there would be some interesting dynamic there with Sam having lost his daughter. But no they've gone too far in a direction to comeback without retconing. In this age of "remasters" (or whatever it's called) I would LOVE to see this game remade in the latest Unreal engine, even without the multiplayer elements, which were brilliant in their own right. Thank you Chris for taking the time to make this, i've been waiting for this one since the first video in the series. Maybe if more people kept talking about what made Splinter Cell what it is some Ubisoft suit goblin will take heed and do something...maybe. Good job man.

If only there was a way to make custom levels for this game.

Chaos Theory has a good balance between challenge and fun. There are a bunch of features I miss in the future SC games like an interrogation that for a short moment makes you feel you captured a man, not a mindless bot. And for me, its gameplay is not SO confusing like many other games from that era. I still remember my thoughts about every game in the series. And surprisingly only Chaos Theory made the best impression like "Wow! It's even better than the original Splinter Game and Pandora Tomorrow. I can't even find a single flaw!" After some time I was able to find some of them, but they still won't so disturbing like changes in Double Agent, Blacklist and especially Conviction. Don't get me wrong. They are good games too, but they feel different. Not like a "direct upgrade." Maybe because Chaos Theory reached its quality ceiling and going further meant to create new things before people start screaming something like "you turned SC into conveyor product!" Anyway. There are many good games nowadays, there were many in the past. And the main feature of them is they let you have some fun no matter when they are launched: on the release or many years later. - This wireless stuff makes life a lot easier. - Yup. Welcome to the wi-fi era. - Remember, you're saying that to a guy from the era of hi-fi. - Hi-fi? As in like, high in fiber? - Ugh... Don't put me in adult undergarments yet, kid.

Just be glad you weren’t introduced to the series the way I was: The DS port of Chaos Theory

Coop really plays a huge role into chaos theory though. If you remember in the seoul level, at one point you're interrogating somebody, and then Lambert puts you through to "another team". Well, that other team is actually the coop team that you can play through. Also you forgot one gadget that makes this game much easier than you made it out to be: the zoom thingy that can hack at a distance.

"I'm the guy who genuinely believes the first mass effect game is the best one" Well you just earned a subscriber

"the first mass effect game was the best one" *subscribed thought I was the only one....

I still hold old-gen Double Agent higher, that is one of my favorite games, the story is great and actually managed to make Sam Fisher a little bit more human. It has so many memorable missions: The prison break one, Money Train, JBA Headquarters 2, the cruise ship mission, the finale, and the CO-OP missions that were all awesome and tied into the main story.

Never played the Splinter Cell games. However, Chaos Theory comes to my memory for having its soundtrack written by Amon Tobin who also released an album Chaos Theory back then.

I wouldn't say modern games have improved on older ones very well. They control better sure, yet they are often nowhere near as fun as far as overall experiences go

One thing I love about this game that no one mentions is the sound. Not the music, the ambience or the footsteps of guards, but the sounds you make yourself while walking, climbing, pulling out equipment and so on. It makes the character feel so heavy and tangible when you control him and when you interact with the environment. The absence of that really bugs me in the new Hitman games for example. The character and everything you do feels too weightless.

Really curious to hear what you think of Conviction. That one seems really divisive, but I personally enjoyed the hell out of it. The Mark and Execute mechanic was such a good time, and the split-screen was endlessly entertaining

Man, the lighting still blows me away even after all these years. I remember people being rendered speechless by how beautiful this game looked on release. Especially the Xbox 360 version that I was lucky enough to get. I still remember how that dark and atmospheric night on the beach in the opening mission made me feel. It's such a classic game .

About the thermal vision guys chasing you in the furnace room of bathhouse, they do that whether or not you alert the guys in the previous room. They just spawn in every time you defuse the next bomb On kokubo sosho, you can detonate the server from under the floor, it doesn't have to be in that exact spot. Also, if you use your night vision, you will see some lasers in the tunnel with the turret that you can avoid

Still this AI feels better that the AI in Hitman games. They felt like real people

The hand to hand attacks and climbing in this game are incredibly realistic and characters feel like they have actual weight.

In case anyone is interested, multiplayer had two modes: coop and vs Coop is quite self explanatory and hands down the best coop experience I had to this day. There was an elite mode, which meant no ammo and basically no gadgets. It was so much fun and I highly recommend it The other mode was Spies vs Mercenaries. The premise was simple, the spies had to "capture" (i.e. hack a computer or the likes) 3 points on the map and the mercenaries had to protect them. The spies could jump higher, climb, sneak, basically all you can do in the main game. The mercenaries used an assault rifle or a shotgun and had different visions to spot the spies, like a movement sensor for example. Quite overpowered and most people just allowed night vision. They also had a headlamp, which worked on like two graphic card models. The spies had different blinding grenades to counter the different visions of the mercenaries. However, that's not how my friend and I played these maps. We always played in the open areas deathmatch style. You could knock out the mercenary by jumping on them and then strangle them or something. You could also grab them from behind I believe. Otherwise the spies had no offensive weaponry. The mercenaries had not only their weapon, but also grenades, mines, that sort of stuff. It was a lot more fun this way and everyone hated playing against us :D The server browser gave us another thing, custom maps. I just played one type really, jumping maps. The concept was simple, jump from platform to platform until you reach the goal, usually climbing up. It was a lot of fun, especially because the spy and mercenary had very different jump patterns. With the mercenary you had to get to the very edge to make it, while the spy could jump much further and you could easily overshoot. The platforms got smaller and the jumps more precise as you progressed. My friend didn't like them, but I always had a blast playing them Chaos Theory is to this day one of my favourite games and the only game ever I played on hard to 100% completion. As you might can imagine, I'm not happy with the way Ubisoft took with this franchise. I really hope we will get a modern Chaos Theory one day. Blacklist was a step in the right direction. I also liked Conviction, just not as a Splinter Cell game

I absolutely hated the ship mission, I could never find that final damn crate for the optional objective 💀

If you advertise to your discord how to get the game set up, where to buy it, and schedule a multiplayer session, you can play with some other players that aren't quite so ridiculously experienced

Big thanks for your work man!

Can’t wait for the conviction and blacklist review

"Ubisoft isn't exactly scared of milking franchises" Yes, but they aren't very competent either.

I feel so damn alone in my love of Blacklist, lol A really solid series, generally speaking

I still love the original xbox (oldgen) Double Agent more. It had a great single player campaign and coop was just great.

Massive shoutout to Amon Tobin for one of the best video game soundtracks to date.

Ghosting or purely sneaking (save objective kills/interrogations) in this game was so damn good. It felt like a fair challenge and had a real tension to it. I remember after killing a target i hid his body in a dark corner and had to quickly flatten to a wall, staying there for minutes, while his body guards were checking about the noise.

God imagine a game with Chaos Theory mechanics and the amount of detail possible with new technology *Chef's kiss*

Man, those enemies face when you grab them gonna give me some nightmare for sure lol

32:06 there are lasers, that’s why prople are always be spotted in this area. Turn on the night vision.

"closer to 40 than 30" you sound in your 20s

This game is fantastic, the ai is ahead of cyberpunks stealth area gameplay by the way.... oh and i really did enjoy SC blacklist though, deploying from the paledin was a great way to feel more open.

In a world where Sam Fisher exists, I would be wary of slightly ajar bathroom doors as well.

SCCT is still best stealth-action game out there. Blacklist came close, and while being fantastic stealth-action game, it wasn't as good 'Splinter Cell game' as Chaos Theory. Completed it like 50 times, last time a year ago. Except for support for mp, the only problem was mentioned face animations of grabbed enemies, and it's hardly a gameplay issue.

the dark humor in this game was just amazing. Sam should have stayed the same in the following sequels. the franchise shouldn't have went so serious and hardcore with Double Agent, Conviction and Blacklist. Chaos Theory has the perfect balanced tone for the entire Splinter Cell franchise. and also the perfect gameplay.

I think the only thing I disagree with is the part of where you say Displace is a meh level. Yes, its a high end office building... with a room where they test automated turrets, what appears to be a CIC for their various teams out in the field, and the liquid crystal windows. That is something I haven't seen replicated in games today: a variable window that can go from transparent to opaque _with_ the AI recognizing and reacting to the different states. Hell, games nowadays still struggle with reflective mirrors and lighting. On a technical level, Displace and this game as a whole are amazing

"Yes. Okay, that's all for today, thanks for watching!"

I just bought chaos theory today it is going to be my first time playing it ever I hope it's good

I really enjoyed the voice acting in all damn it fisher games

the turret from the last level can be avoided, the room is actually filled with invisible lasers

Love this game to death. The interrogations had me laughing out loud. great video. by the way, it doesn't matter how old you are mate, it's just a number. 40 is not old =) keep up the great work. Looking forward to new content.

Its great , I just played it and Pandora tomorrow recently as well.

The franchise started to suck when they killed the daughter. I loved that he was a family man and that just kind of left me disappointed.

One thing about hacking scanners: if you hack them as opposed to having a guard scan their eye, the guards can tell that they've been hacked and will be more suspicious

Clint Hocking turns out the best entry in almost every ubisoft francise he touches. Far Cry 2 Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Have huge hopes for the new Watch Dogs game.

I still have the Game Informer magazine in my closet with Sam Fisher on the cover hanging upside down in the rain at the lighthouse about to slaughter a guard. A masterpiece in gaming. The whole Splinter Cell Trilogy and arguably Double Agent are certified classics.

If this game is still so good to this day (I'm playing it for the third time or something like that), I can't imagine how good it must have been when it came out. I was too young to appreciate it back then, but it's still probably the best stealth game released.

Great game & Great video 👍 I like how you question a lot of the mechanics and story decisions. It's always important to ask "why is this like this?" "How could it have been better?" etc. I don't always agree with you, but I always appreciate hearing your critique of a game. Also I like when your videos are long, and you take the time to really dig into a game, it's systems, and it's story. One thing I didn't appreciate when I first played this game was how the story is very serious, but interrogating guards is hilarious, it balances out the game very well I think.

Badguy: “ I don’t have any intelligence!” Sam: hahaha you just called yourself stupid Me: chokes on my coke because I laughed so hard

I haven’t played every stealth action game out there, but of the ones I have played this is easily the best one. You have to play it several times over to really appreciate how good it is. The alarm system was awesome, I would play without saving the game and try to beat a level with no knockouts or kills and alarms. But if you trip an alarm the map would get more difficult and the gameplay would totally change. Maybe now I have to kill a guard or two, maybe now I have to use more gadgets to get past a section. The game is a masterpiece.

I literally played this in 2020 for the first time AFTER I’d already played conviction and blacklist. And I think CT is the best one. That is saying something

42 min. 1 week ago? why didn't i see this earlier? great job already! edit: btw, I replayed this game 2 years ago and it was still an awesome walkthrough. (was very ez, though, caus i already knew it very well.)

its so sad how they struck gold with this game, making the best third person stealth game ever, then dropped the ball and made like 3 bad sequels then gave up.

They can put all the ads on a video game TV or poster as long it's a good game. I loved the chat between Fisher and Grimsdottir (or Anna as the boys call her) and the claustrophobic moments you had to go trough to, if you chosen the stealth route at times. Maybe there will be an ad blocker mod for it when it comes out.. Also Shetland had the right tools to become the perfect villain in my opinion, tho the PMC or mercs clichee is a bit too much for me. If he done peace keeping or something as a PMC, just to gather resources for his army and war, just for you to find out that he also served as Japan offensive force it would been better in my opinion. I liked the blacklist SvM mode more then the original two from Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory. It was more on the casual side and with a bit of more polish it could been a really fun game more anyone could get into, but the lack of maps or additional content, and broken mechanics like the trophy system in some situations it was really frustrating at times.. My rant is over.. lol tl;dr

For me, the worst part of the Splinter Cell games is the stealth score presented at the end of the mission. I hate games that dictate how I play, like how Assassin’s Creed has “optional” objectives which really aren’t optional at all, but necessary if you want 100%. Splinter Cell does the same thing, and the perfectionist in me won’t allow me to just ignore it, especially when the score is thrown right in my face after the mission. If you read the novels, you’ll see that Fisher NEVER gets “100 percent” on a mission, and frequently gets in firefights or has to kill someone.

Fun fact: the Splinter Cell movie is still a thing, we know it will have Tom Hardy as Sam......that's about it....

Chaos theory and double agent are my favorite splinter cell games. Wish i had an xbox to play them again

Played the game just a couple of weeks ago, having never played chaos theory before and had a blast. I don't know why conviction and blacklist were more combat based

The only one I was ever able to completely ghost was the bank robbery. 0 detections, 0 knockouts, all objectives completed. One of the best moments in my life achieving that. Felt like a super spy

14:17 well that was disrespectful

That’s a game that truly stood the test of time. Even today still looks and plays amazing, way better than most modern games. Not to mention the story. A true masterpiece.

This game is as good as I remember every time I play it, even though I know everything in the game like the back of my hand. This is one of those games where every time I go back to it, it feels just as good to play as it did when I first played it all those years ago.

God I have so many good memories in this game. Especially the Penthouse, the Bank and Hokkaido missions, they were a joy to play.

Just wanna say that you didn't do the Assault Class full justice as it still gives you some of the SC20K gadgets like the sticky shocker and Airfoil rounds but it also gives you access to a pretty damn reliable Shotgun attachment that can blow through enemies, which you didn't even mention once in the video. A great video otherwise, but I feel you shouldn't have neglected to mention this

I've been saying for years that they need to remaster/remake the first three games in the vein of Chaos Theory - with larger maps, redesigned AI mechanics, improved core gameplay It would be a hit and make tons of fans happy

"Fisher is slightly more dangerous than a mouse."

This game blew me away back in the day. Every single part of it was already "next-gen". Probably gonna buy it in Steam to play it again.

it is crazy how much lighting matters in games

I have played every SC game, loved them all. Unpopular opinion, I actually liked Blacklist the most, it's a totally different game compared to Chaos theory but I enjoyed the faster pace and co-op modes a lot. I just hope the next SC game has a great story line and tones it back just a hair from BL but with the same movement mechanics.

0:44 the fact that we haven't gotten a Splinter Cell movie with Liam Neeson as Sam Fisher yet is depressing.

Chaos Theory was the pinnacle of the whole series.

I had it on Xbrick and it spy co-op modes were nice to play with a friend over LAN. I'd take all the tech items and they would go pluck hostiles and throw them in things while I called out the persons in their way.

Oh there was meant to be a SC movie? That would be awesome. Though you can guarantee if they did make one they'd make it way too action orientated. It'd be like Mission Impossible with huge over the top shootouts and shit. A more covert stealth movie would be way better.

did anyone notice that he only used his trinocular goggles only once or twice?

I am actually playing the first Splinter Cell and liking it. There is some nostalgia, as it came out when I started to be passionate about video games. I don't understand 20h wouldn't be long enough. It's actually the maximum i like to invest in a game.

CT was good, and was my first Splinter Cell, but I played Blacklist and like it much more. The most annoying thing is how it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to shoot in CT, seriously you have to aim your gun somewhere and wait for an enemy to WALK into your sights, if you move your sights AT ALL it completely screws up your aim like you are sprinting full speed or something. I just wish in Blacklist they had more different movement speeds like CT, and different surfaces making different amounts of noise, and stuff like that.

i think the NKA Battery level is probably my favourite. i found that in Pandora i used my rifle a lot more to take out lights and take down guards with headshots but in Chaos Theory i never used it at all, it wasnt that great honestly. Same with the shotgun - useless - highly impractical for a stealth game for a weapon that loud or destructive.

I'm playing this game right now, I have never played a more difficult patient game in my entire life. I didn't even know there was a training mission, I just got dropped off at a beach with 6 obj's. But it is also very raging because I try to do it flawlessly but it never works

Am playing this through again right now on my Xbox One X and love it. Was only a few quid from the Microsoft Store. Have always enjoyed the SC games but having not had a new one for so long now I decided to go back and play whatever was available and backwards compatible. Chaos Theory is so enjoyable. It really does hold up after all these years. The gameplay makes it so good. I was expecting the visuals to be really dated but found them to be pretty dam good considering the game is 15 years old now.

32:08 that turret is triggered by laser tripwires iirc, only visible with thermal vision i think.

I've just finished replaying Chaos Theory. The levels feel really small now but it definitely still holds up.

Not only the best of the franchise, but still the best stealth game ever.

You do not need to hide enemies in CT. You only need to make sure no other enemy sees them if I am not mistaken. You can complete the mission leaving all enemies in the light as long as no camera or guard sees them

17:31 NPCs can check if retinal scanners/keypad lock have been hacked though they won't take any action afterwards (from what I saw in the Displace level). Maybe hacking might still lower one's mission/success rating (instead of interrogating NPCs for passwords or forcing them to use the retinal scanners)

I once keyboard-fight a guy for which was the best stealth game between SCCT and MGS3. How I wish I could still argue like that for some modern game. Chaos Theory. Best stealth I've ever played.

Chris Davis, best friend of mice.

The game wouldn't be the same without Amin Tobins music.