Wonder if they will re-enable the coop mode just so that they can disable it after a few years like they did with the original version 
Fortunately both versions of Double Agent are backwards compatible on Xbox, but I would need to confirm if they are still purchasable from the store (website is giving me issues checking).
I think I read somewhere that V2 was removed a while back… Not sure though, since I don´t have Xbox (otherwise I would´ve bought them a long time ago). Still want a PC port of it though 
Yeah, I was able to check the Xbox Store, the OG Xbox games except for Chaos Theory are not available for purchase.
Oh wow, so (almost) all of them? That´s peculiar…
Ok, so I forgot to post about this when it first surfaced because of life stuff, but recently, those magnificent lads in the SC modding community have made massive progress towards enhancing the PC version of SC1 and slowly turning it into the most “definitive” possible experience.
Last month they revealed that through data mining efforts, the files for the cut levels Nuclear Power Plant and Severonickel were found in the Korean and Japanese release of the Xbox version, making it possible to try and port them to PC (an ongoing WiP).
Today, they released an Enhanced SC patch which includes said levels in a somewhat playable form (still very WiP though - see my remark below), as well as numerous gameplay enhancements and level versions ported from the Xbox version, with improved lighting and mesh. QoL improvements and controller support are also included, as are ThirteenAG´s widescreen fix and dgVoodoo2 (for fixing the lighting and FPS issues).
The release info on Reddit can be found here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Splintercell/comments/1k6zim5/enhanced_sc_a_new_major_patch_for_splinter_cell_1/
Or you can go directly to the patch´s GitHub page:
That being said, the patch is still WiP, especially where the cut levels are concerned, and the modders are looking for anyone who can help them overcome the issues, specifically anyone who is familiar with Unreal Engine 2.
Here are also the links to the original announcement from last month:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Splintercell/comments/1jdxl4j/major_development_splinter_cell_1s_cut_levels_are/
and the subsequent update, which also details some of the issues the modders are facing with the level porting, especially audio:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Splintercell/comments/1jph4x2/update_splinter_cell_cut_levels_on_pc/
5 Likes
Came across this 2023 article while scouring Reddit. Very nice read.
5 Likes
Splinter Cell: Double Agent 6th gen is VASTLY superior to the 7th gen. I consider there to be a Splinter Cell quadrilogy of “original games.” SC1, Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory and Double Agent (6th Gen). Double Agent (6th gen) is actually so similar to Chaos Theory in a lot of ways that I call it Chaos Theory 2.0. Double Agent (6th gen) is the best kept secret in the Splinter Cell series.
Mad lads still going strong!!
2 Likes
Recently I finished Blacklist and I loved it! It’s like the right mix of Conviction with the classic games.
Well, by now all of them are classic games.
I finally played it recently after 19 years of waiting in vain for Ubisoft to port it to PC (I still am hoping someone there will get the bright idea of taking cue from the MGS Master Collection and re-release all the classic SC games on modern platforms, but I´m not holding my breath). “Unfortunately”, I played it via PS2 emulation, which was fine gameplay-wise (even if I´m not fond of using a controller), but it did take away quite a bit from the visual qualities and aesthetics of the Xbox version (and the first three games), which I know is a lot better in that regard.
Now, I enjoyed it, a lot. It was great having a “new” proper SC experience after such a long time, and I´m gonna play it again to experiment with some other options. But I wouldn´t consider it a vastly superior game to V1. The gameplay is tighter (based on CT, of course it is), the level design is good, the dialogues and general writing are better (though story-wise it still has flaws), and having a proper light and shadow system instead of the binary system of V1/CV/BL was a godsend.
But as someone who also loves V1 despite its myriad of flaws (and terrible state of the PC port), I only found V2 slightly better overall. V1 does a number of things better in my opinion, while V2 does other things better. So I consider myself part of the community which believes the best option would´ve been doing just one version of the game, blending the best of V1 and V2 and ironing out the flaws.
I think most of the SC community refer to it as CT 2.0. It´s an apt label, as it´s really just the same with a few tweaks (though I´m not sure what they were thinking with the HUD).
But yeah, it definitely works a loooot better as a follow-up to the first three games, which to me is its greatest asset. It´s not even so much from a gameplay perspective, but the fact that it actually references past events and characters. It feels like an actual sequel, whereas V1 almost feels like a soft reboot in comparison. And I´m kinda fine with it, because now in my head V2 is the only viable canon (along with maybe Essentials and 2007 Conviction), whereas I can just treat the “actual” canon of V1, Conviction, and Blacklist as a paralel universe.
Not sure it´s a secret. The people who´ve played it or at least heard of it are aware of its qualities. But it is true - and rather telling of what a mistake making two versions was - that a good part of the community are not aware of this version, simply because the grew up playing V1. And conversely, there are people who grew up playing V2 and had/have no idea that V1 exists…
That was my initial feeling after playing it as well, but afterwards I just realised how much of the “classic” stuff that I love and that defines SC for me is actually missing, so now I find it more like Conviction pretending it´s like the classics. And that´s not even talking about the characters and lore - that´s just a continuous and disrespectful clusterfuck.
I agree it plays great on its own, but I feel it would´ve worked better as a spin-off than a mainline entry (and the same basically goes for Conviction).
Since I still have and play the classics, was a nice change of pace to try out Blacklist. I loved the customization it offers and variety of approaches.
Obviously I don’t expect for it to have the narrative and humor of Pandora Tomorrow or Chaos Theory but still is good, IMO.
I think they should re-release the original Splinter Cell trilogy games with the only change being quality-of-life improvements. Here are some examples.
For the first Splinter Cell (2002) game:
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Make the door keypad code show up on screen when you select the keypad instead of having to go into the OPSAT.
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Allow ability to alternate between left/right aim.
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Allow ability to close doors.
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Make it so only one airfoil round is needed to fully knockout an enemy instead of two.
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Add ability to enter binoculars view with a single button push instead of having to go into inventory first.
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Make it so lockpicking is a selectable option when you go near a door instead of having to go into your inventory and select the lockpick.
4 Likes
Akin to the Destroy All Humans remake, everything should be in the visuals and some changes in controls. Then you do that for the next two games, make that moolah, then use the revival of interesting to pitch for a new game (or games) set between Chaos Theory and Double Agent. But I don’t know, do modern audiences want stealth games where you do a lot of waiting and thinking? Metal Gear is gone, Siphon Filter and currently Hitman is on indefinite hiatus while IO work on Bond…is the stealth genre still popular with new gamers who weren’t raised on it? 
Agreed. In fact, a re-release a la the MGS Master Collection is all it needs, with some QoL improvements like you mention.
Funnily enough, these two things are actually present in the PS2 version of the game. (as is the optic cable interaction prompt I think)
I´d rather they didn´t touch the visuals (aside from native widescreen support, fixing the LoD, and porting all the good stuff from the Xbox version), since the old SC games look great and Ubisoft has a tendency to make the visuals worse in their remasters 
Would love that, especially if it retconned all the shit introduced with Conviction and Blacklist. A “definitive” version of DA would be nice too.
I mean… stealth was never a super popular genre to begin with really. It´s always been niche, even in its glory days But the overall success of WoA and the continued interest in MGS (at least judging from people often asking on Reddit which game to begin with and/or whether they should wait for Delta) indicate that the market is there. I even see quite a lot of newcomers into the old SC games recently that end up really enjoying them. You just can´t go in expecting CoD-level types of sales. One thing´s for sure though - OGs like us will always buy the slow-paced classic stealth games 
The bigger question is whether Ubisoft can actually make one…
2 Likes
Door codes do indeed come up on the PS2 version and I think became universal across consoles in the sequels 
And yes the old fans will line up, but I expect their numbers aren’t large enough to risk the gamble. But surely Ubisoft is large enough to take that gamble, knowing they’ve got a proven winner with a fanbase. You’re right about the visuals, I just think modern games consider even PS3 graphics to be ‘unplayable’. Clearly they never played the original Metal Gear and its pixels 