Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (PS2, XBOX, GC)

Splinter Cell for XBOX is an amazing experiance. A co-written story by Tom Clancy tells an intense tale that blends seamlessly with its gorgeous gameplay. The game is a stealth-action game so it encourages precision.

When you see a guard you have three choices: you can risk sneaking past him, you do a quick kill and hide his body, or you can sneak up behind him and grab him, putting him in a hold that opens up for other oppurtunities. Will you interogate him for information? Will you take him to a seclusive place and knock him out? Or, will you use him as a human shield? This is what makes Splinter Cell such a great game: you can do it your way. The depth of it is so much that you'll never get bored. While it may get painfully bland, it is definitely worth the effort.

Splinter Cell is rated Teen for blood, gore, and violence, which seems a bit extreme to me. There is some blood, but nothing intense. The violence is mostly from the shooting. There is some language such as the s - word, h - word, and the d - word. There is no other "inappropriate" material and no drugs are used unless you consider a guy smoking a cigerette drug content. I would give it a thumbs up for Christians. It is not anything intense, but it's good for gamers ages 13 and up looking for some mind-blowing entertainment.

Matt Wichlacz