Tom Clancy?s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow

Even though Pandora Tomorrow looks and feels a lot like Pandora Yesterday, that doesn?t mean it?s not a good game.

Just like its predecessor, Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow for the GBA does a good job squeezing that ol? high-tech 3D Sam Fisher feeling into a 2D side-scrolling package. The crux of the game, not surprisingly, is stealth: hiding in shadows while soldiers walk by, ducking behind a curtain before a camera detects you, sneaking up behind soldiers and taking them down before they can trigger an alarm. It?s not very realistic?the A.I. is really dumb; there are lock-picking, first-person ?hunting,? and code-breaking mini-games; and the levels are set up almost like a 2D side-scrolling puzzle game?so if trial-and-error gameplay turns you off, you might want to stay away.

All of Sam?s moves and abilities are easy to wrangle; switching your vision type from night vision to thermal is one menu away, and scouting the area is a simple matter of holding down a shoulder button. If you screw up a mission, you never feel that it?s because of the controls.

The graphics and sounds owe a lot to the original, composed of sharp, utilitarian visuals with semistiff character animation, terse vocal effects, rather pitiable gunfire effects, and a bare-bones soundtrack with occasional bizarre leanings toward jungle synth. In other words, don?t worry if you forget your headphones.

Even though Pandora Tomorrow looks and feels a lot like Pandora Yesterday, that doesn?t mean it?s not a good game. A little slow, a little frustrating, sure, but still fun.

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