Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

Entertainment Weekly

Seems less like a sequel and more like an extension of the first game, with a few nice enhancements and some more dark and dangerous environments (like the underbelly of a speeding train.) [19 Mar 2004, p.L2T 14]

G4 TV

The single-player mode is robust and challenging, and the multiplayer mode is nigh groundbreaking. Once the multiplayer servers are populated, a whole lot of social lives are going to be ruined.

Into Liquid Sky

The execution of the voice communication, including eavesdropping and talking into the ear of captured mercenaries, makes the game all the more thrilling.

Australian GamePro

Graphically brilliant, expertly designed and capped off with multiplayer, it takes its genre to all new heights of realism.

Stuff

Vast new levels, a pleasantly murky story line and an even greater emphasis on stealth will string you along for days.

Game Revolution

Strikingly beautiful technologically as well as aesthetically... From its fantastic delivery to its tense gameplay to its innovative multiplayer, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is an absolute femme-fatale of a game.

Village Voice

No multiplayer title has ever bound and balanced two wholly different games this way.

eToychest

On a technical level, I believe the game may be entirely without flaw. On top of that Ubi Soft has introduced us to a whole new breed of online gaming that did not exist before Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow hit the shelves. Their ability to pull that off has solidified them as the developer of the year and has made Splinter Cell an instant, must own classic.

AceGamez

It's oozing with every bit the quality of the original but is more refined, with even more attention to detail, more streamlined gameplay and more missions.

Gaming Age

The best way to enjoy this game online is to forgo rank matches, find a few real life friends that have the game and a few online people that share your interests and play with them.

GamePro

More than just a solid sequel. Large levels with well-placed save points (a feature lacking in the first Splinter Cell) make the flow of the game seem much smoother.

Times Online

Pandora Tomorrow is a miniature masterpiece. This goodlooking, great-sounding and convincingly voiced espionage thriller delivers two satisfying game outings.

Playboy

A new online mode allows four players to stalk one another. Take an opponent hostage and use your headset to describe all the pain you plan to inflict on him. [May 2004]

Kombo

The single-player campaign, while outstanding, is simply eclipsed by what is the most innovative and well-balanced online experience out there.

GamerFeed

A gritty, top-notch, five-star effort that redefines stealth action gaming- again. If the single player missions don't keep your questionable video game skills in check, then the online multiplayer most definitely will.

Computer Games Magazine

The reason to keep coming back for more is the game's online multiplayer component. [July 2004, p.7]

XboxAddict

I can not get through to some people how addicting this game is on Live. 2 vs. 2 on Live might not sound like the normal run-and-gun FPS’ everyone is accustomed to, but that’s what makes it what it is – a true stealth multiplayer, something no game has been able to pull off in this manner.

TotalGames.net

There are wow factors on top of wow factors here. Everything from the gorgeous visuals to the way the game plays scream one hundred per cent cool...The multiplayer mode is nothing short of bloody amazing.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Even more wow is the multiplayer game. Folks, this is the reason to get on Xbox Live. I don't care about the money for the subscription, for broadband, and for the cable dude to come out to your pad—you gotta play four-player Pandora.

XGP Gaming

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow takes things to the next level, improving on virtually every aspect of the original, and adding great and innovative new on-line multiplayer capabilities as well.

Xbox World Australia

The "real world" scenarios and plot in PT gives the game an edge that is frighteningly real and believable. The graphics and levels are better than the original, the audio is simply perfect and if it wasn't for the difficulty level would be almost flawless.

Team Xbox

Every single aspect of the original game has been improved upon: the story, the interface, the gameplay, visuals, so on and so on. When you tie in the multiplayer game modes (which are like nothing you’ve played before), Pandora Tomorrow is an early candidate for game of the year.

Armchair Empire

The most impressive feature this time around isn't Pandora Tomorrow's lighting and shading effects or it's near perfect gameplay. It's the playability over Xbox Live

GameZone

Pandora Tomorrow flirts tantalizingly close to gaming perfection. All of the components are here, so with a little tuning for the inevitable follow up, perfection and pure gaming nirvana should be well within their grasp.

RealGamer

For the first time ever, I don’t think I have any complaints whatsoever.

netjak

An absolutely astounding online multiplayer component. This could be a game in itself.

Loaded Inc

The improved controls, interface, and graphics combine to provide a much more engaging experience, while Sam’s new abilities free up the gameplay in ways the original could not.

Official Xbox Magazine

Superior to the original Splinter Cell in every aspect: gameplay, graphics, sound, presentation, and to a degree, innovation. [May 2004, p.70]

Game Informer

Ubisoft has forged a sequel that has the uncanny ability to knock your socks off through every second of play. [May 2004, p.102]

GameBiz

This is how you make a near-perfect game even better.

1UP

The camera and movement control are still the best in any stealth game, the scenes you come across are just as exciting, and the overall experience is superb.

Game Chronicles

Sam’s new moves and gadgets are excellent and tightly integrated into the missions so they aren’t there just for the sake of having something new.

GameSpy

The A.I. is stellar, being random and properly intuitive; the level design is impeccable; the HUD display is laid out with precision, optimizing gameplay to the max. On and on, I could go. To think, Ubisoft Shanghai finished the game in little over a year's development time. A miracle, by modern gameplay standards. [*5stars=95 on GameSpy's scale]

GamingWorld X

With an improved single player mode, a brand new and impressive multiplayer mode, state of the art graphics, a sound score that should be nominated for an Oscar, and a gaming engine that sets standards for all videogames to reach, you couldn’t go wrong with purchasing TCSC: Pandora Tomorrow.

Game Power Australia

Almost frustratingly, you'll come across interactive objects that lead nowhere and have been included simply for realism's sake, which really demonstrates the kind of attention to detail that's evident in every facet of this production.

IGN

It's the all-new online multiplayer mode that steals the show for Pandora Tomorrow and makes this a must own videogame experience.

Next Level Gaming

You can't be a serious game player and not have this game. It's simply a must buy. It is the perfect sequel to a near perfect game.

MS Xbox World

It is the first time that any game allows players to play from a third-person perspective against others playing in the first person view. With eight maps to play on, all very different from each other and three types of game-play, this game will last you for a very long time.

PGNx Media

While it lacks innovation in the single player portion, I don’t think anyone else could have crafted such a unique way to play the game in multiplayer. If you’re planning on playing online, it’s a must have game.

DailyGame

What the single-player mode of Pandora Tomorrow is missing in difficulty, the multiplayer modes make up for in spades, but while it may be overwhelming at first, once you learn a level the multiplayer aspects are incredibly strategic and fun.

Computer and Video Games

You could say it's all just a fancy game of hide and seek, but the tactical element off and online adds so much depth and tension that the concept becomes genius.

3DAvenue

The game is challenging, but the challenge of the game seems incredibly balanced.

Console Gameworld

The true beauty of this experience is on two fronts. First off, the sessions are much longer than what you see in normal online games. Trust me when I tell you that the 30 second "Counter Strike" rounds that some of you are used to will play no part in this game.

BonusStage

Equally as impressive as the game’s visual flair, is Pandora Tomorrow’s audio. Michael Ironside reprises his role as Sam Fisher, and we couldn’t have it any other way.

Game Over Online

It's not without its flaws--I think multiplayer could do with one more person on each team, given the size of the levels, and singleplayer has that issue with superhuman guards I was talking about--but it's still a pretty good purchase for stealth action gamers.

WHAM! Gaming

Easily and by far one of the most addictive and fun online multiplayer games to come along in awhile.

Gamer's Hell

Honestly, in some ways Pandora Tomorrow feels more like a very good expansion than a sequel. It does improve upon a lot of things, but I do wish they’d include more game mechanics that we hadn’t seen before. Even so, the game has an extremely cool feel to it.

GameSpot

But then there's the fascinatingly complex multiplayer mode, which truly is one of a kind and potentially gives Pandora Tomorrow much more lasting value than its predecessor.

Play Magazine

Digging into the online experience can take hours, simply becoming accustomed to the deep strategy of play, which sizzles in the three modes pitting spies against mercenaries. [Apr 2004, p.53]

Inside Gamer Online

The voice acting as a whole can be remembered as some of the most redundant, monotone and dull voicing you can find in a game.

Yahoo! Games

The end result is exquisitely original multiplayer gaming that's a vastly different experience based on which team is chosen. It's only marred by a bizarrely overlooked bug that crashes the Xbox when browsing available servers through OptiMatch.

Gamenikki

UbiSoft has really knocked one out of the park with this release—I can’t wait for the third installment.

Total Video Games

It’s the multiplayer which has completely engulfed us; we’ve yet to play an Xbox Live! game which felt so refreshing, as we said towards the beginning, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t do for Xbox Live! what "Counter-Strike" did to PC gaming.

GMR Magazine

This is Pandora's downfall: For a game that requires stealth and discreet action, the mechanics aren't very forgiving—or for that matter, consistent.

Ferrago

Those who found the original SC frustrating, finicky and tedious will still find as much to annoy in this latest addition to the series, but for sheer quality of craftsmanship and for being the most evolved example of the genre, it's hard to fault Ubisoft's latest opus.

GamerArchive

The levels are fantastically designed and when you get the chance to learn the levels and play with similarly skilled players the gameplay goes into overdrive. It’s the kind of revolutionary online game that was promised at the beginning of Live, it makes such a change to the diet of FPS’ and racing games.

GameCritics

In sharp contrast to many other games' hackneyed, hastily tossed-together multiplayer, Pandora Tomorrow offers one of the most creative and compelling online games ever made.

games(TM)

Patience is still a virtue, and fans of mindless action titles should still give Splinter Cell a wide berth. Unless you're partial to a little online gaming, that is. Put simply, Pandora Tommorrow's multiplayer takes your breath away. [Apr 2004, p.108]

GameSpot AU

The tightly scripted nature of Pandora Tomorrow means that it's a game that many players will finish and would normally never return to, no matter how much of a blast they've had. This is where multiplayer steps in, takes over and ensures the long-term value of the title.

Adrenaline Vault

The real attraction, however, is the Xbox Live component, which is so original and compelling that even staunch critics of the first title may want to give Splinter Cell another opportunity.

Worth Playing

The single player is good, but the multiplayer is awe-inspiring.

Cheat Code Central

Pandora Tomorrow is the reward for having successfully completed the original Splinter Cell. You identify more with Fisher this time around since you already have the required skills from the get go. The new features are just icing on the cake. Eat it up.

Xbox Nation Magazine

You'll be slack-jawed over "Shadow Strike's" online drama. Yes, it's that good. With single and multiplayer in one fat Xbox package, Tomorrow is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best pure-stealth action game today. [Apr 2004, p.74]

Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

In single player this is more an expansion than a whole new game, although fans will be happy. Online is what really steals the show. [GamesMaster]

Xequted

Luckily for us, SCPT is a hell of a sequel and manages to achieve what Splinter Cell 1 did back in 2003 and even inject a real sense of excitement back into Xbox Live.

Xbox Evolved

If you have XBL you will enjoy yourselves for months if not YEARS to come.

NTSC-uk

It’s unique in today’s environment, where it seems that every online game is either a FPS or a racer, and the tactical possibilities on display mean that many repeat plays later and it's still feeling as fresh as the first time you played.

GameShark

The game play will be familiar to veterans of the series and is easy enough for newcomers to pick up in a hurry.

Boomtown

Pandora Tomorrow doesn’t mark a substantial evolution of the stealth genre but it does progress from the first game.

Eurogamer

What's immediately apparent is that it's been balanced incredibly carefully.

Edge Magazine

It's disappointing that basic irritants are still evident in the singleplayer game. But it's the online version - which takes the hunter/hunted metaphor to chilling extremes - which ends up being one of the most nerve-racking gaming experiences of all time. [Apr 2004, p.98]

Weekly Famitsu

9 / 8 / 7 / 8  - gold [Vol 852]

Gamer.tv

A refreshing change from the usual multiplayer frag-fests.

VideoGamesLife

The multiplayer is well designed, but contains flaws that will cause a lot of gamers to turn away in disgust.