Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Essentials

Splinter Cell Essentials is a handheld “sequel” to Splinter Cell: Double Agent, with a story that explains what happened after Double Agent and revisits previous missions from the original game, as well as flashback missions from his Navy SEAL days, levels made exclusively for the PSP, such as a mission in the jungle of Columbia back in 1992. There are nine story missions to complete and three unlockable bonus missions. The core gameplay remains unchanged, with stealth and shadows used to eliminate or subdue targets, collect information, and so on. The controls have been slightly modified for the PSP, with the analog for movement and the d-pad for the inventory screen. Still, the most notable feature is that holding the “O” button allows the player to pan around with the camera while a single tap returns the camera to the third-person perspective. As before, gadgets such as night vision, thermal, lockpicks, and weapons from previous games return, as does a new feature designed exclusively for the game. Players can challenge a human opponent in an online spy vs. spy deathmatch via Ad-Hoc.