Being a die-hard Splinter Cell fan, this was an immediate download for me.  It was also years-worth of waiting, hype, delays and more, so when I played the demo, I had lots of expectations.

First off, the overall tone IS Splinter Cell, including the mood, writing, music, acting, etc.  I so far very much like the projection-style flashbacks and objectives.  It’s an interesting story-telling device I’ve never seen in a game.  The levels still seem dark, grimy and very tangible.

Sam is voiced again by Michael Ironside, who, in my opinion, is making it nearly IMPOSSIBLE to create a movie around Sam, since I don’t think there’s an actor around that could do that role justice.

I’m having trouble with a part of it, and I’m not sure whether it’s the gameplay or the control scheme.  I don’t mind the game moving in a different direction, since the plot is so different from the other games, but I’m very uneasy playing it, which I haven’t been since the FIRST Splinter Cell.  Sam’s moves haven’t changed for four straight games, so in trying to make Sam do some familiar things, like drawing his gun, or taking cover, I end up throwing a grenade or reloading my gun.  There’s always a learning curve to games like this, so it’s no big deal that I can’t IMMEDIATELY do what I want.  That happens with almost all games… except Splinter Cells, until now.

So I’m going to give it several more playthroughs to familiarize myself with the controls, and try and unlearn, or at least repress, my normal thought process of controlling Sam.  I’m looking VERY forward to the story and the co-op, so I can’t WAIT to get my hands on the full thing next month, and until then will practice up on this demo.