The Splinter Cell games enjoyed massive success during their run in the early to mid-2000s. These strict stealth games masterfully delivered the fantasy of being a super-secret spy going about dangerous missions. The last entry in the series came in the form of 2013's Splinter Cell: Blacklist which sold poorly, and as a result, fan-favorite Sam Fisher has been nowhere in sight.
That being said, those who have played these games still consider them to be some of the best stealth games to date, with good reason. Splinter Cell might not be getting another entry for some time, but a feature-rich remaster of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, for the new consoles could get the hearts of fans pumping once again.
Why Chaos Theory Is The Best Candidate For A Remaster
Splinter Cell: Chaos theory is considered by many fans to be one of the best in the franchise. Earlier games in the series had a couple of design issues that make these games inaccessible for newer players to pick up, while later games diverged quite a bit from the strict stealth roots that made the series popular in the first place.
Most importantly, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory has aged really well over the years, and its remaster could very well find itself in some of the best video game remasters if executed properly. Graphically speaking, it holds up, and while the story involved may not be the most intriguing, the levels featured in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory are worthy of remastering. The game may only feature a total of 10 levels, but that's only because there's no filler content. Every level is an open-ended sprawling playground curated for hardcore players, and every level has a bunch of secondary objectives and alternate paths that bolster their replayability.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory also came with a unique multiplayer mode, called Spies vs Mercs. This mode would pit two teams against one another with the mercs having heavy weaponry for taking out the nimble spies as they co-ordinate to complete their objectives. Although this mode was also present in the earlier Splinter Cell games, many fans believe the Chaos Theory version to be the most definitive version of the mode. Servers for this mode were shut down long ago, and a remaster with this game mode included is sure to spark interest in both long-time and new fans alike.
Could Serve As A Proving Ground For Series Success
Since Splinter Cell: Blacklist didn't sell according to Ubisoft's expectations, the series was put on hold as the company poured more and more of its resources into its newer franchises. The open-world craze started to begin and, with it, more and more developers aspired to create bigger and bigger worlds with a huge check list of things to do and collect.
Live service games like Rainbow Six Siege have garnered massive success on behalf of their regular content updates, which has prompted more developers to jump into these genres to rake in the continuous flow of sales. Strictly stealth focused games are few and far between, and almost none of them has really captured the charm of the Splinter Cell series since then. A remaster of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory could serve to show the publisher the potential and fandom of the series, which in turn could return the signal of this beloved stealth series that has unfortunately remained in the shadows for far too long.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is available for PC, PS2, PS3, Xbox, and Xbox 360.