Review: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy HD (PSN)

Sam Fisher is pretty badass. This has been established over the years through his various adventures and exploits. From silently taking out elite forces to doing splits to support his entire body weight above the field of vision of said elite forces, Sam is the kind of guy you would want at your back if things got real. Now, his first three adventures return in a graphically updated HD triple pack, the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy HD collection.

This will not be a review of gameplay, graphics, or experiences for each of the three games. This will be a review of the collection as a whole, rather than of each individual game, and of the value the collection holds for various demographics.

The original gameplay for Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow, and Chaos Theory remains unchanged, and while it may be outdated in certain cases, it is still the same classic gameplay that made Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series of games such a fan favorite. Splinter Cell has always been about stealth and patience, and those core elements have not been changed in the HD re-release. The only gameplay difference is the exclusion of the multiplayer elements from Chaos Theory and Pandora Tomorrow, meaning that you’re getting less functionality from the HD re-release than you would from just purchasing the original games.

Did I say that the graphics were updated? Well, that’s not entirely true, now is it. It’s been updated to HD resolution, yes. The graphical engine itself has not been overhauled, however; you are looking at the same original graphics for each game, simply updated to a modern HD resolution. What does this mean? It means you have old graphics over more pixels, which actually seems to have increased the number of jaggies.

Seriously, there are jaggies galore.

Looking at it as a simple graphical update re-release, this is really disappointing. Multiplayer gameplay has been removed, and the graphics, while updated to a modern resolution, are still the same original graphics. However, there’s more to this than simply a “graphical update.” There is definite value in this game for people who have never played Splinter Cell before, and for trophy hunters. For people who have never played these games, they make for a great way to dive into Sam Fisher’s story. Rather than grabbing old copies of the games and playing them on the original systems, you have a great starter pack available on a modern generation system with the inclusion of trophies.

For stealth fans who have never played a Splinter Cell game (which makes me question how much of a stealth fan you can really be), Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy HD is a must-buy. For trophy hunters, or simple fans of nostalgia, it’s a great buy as well. For someone looking for a new graphical experience to go with the classic gameplay they remember, this is going to be a disappointment.