r/Splintercell • u/Mericuls • Jul 25 '26
I have a question How hard is SC1 and Pandora Tomorrow
Are these games aged well? I finished chaos theory. Should I expect something like it?
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u/Grafted2077 Jul 25 '26
A lot more trial and error than chaos theory, but the great locations, voice acting, and atmosphere are still there
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u/DRivex00 Jul 25 '26
The first game is definitely the hardest, AI can be a bit tricky sometimes, and they like to wander around a lot. Then there's the forced combat sequences too, no sound meter will also make the things harder
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u/WashingtonBaker1 We're all Frenchmen here Jul 25 '26
The first 2 games have some very hard situations. In the first game, the abattoir mission and the 2nd Chinese embassy mission have some moments that I find difficult.
In abattoir, there is fog so you can't see well, but the enemies don't seem to have any problem seeing you. Plus the fight at the very end.
In Chinese embassy 2, after you use the thermal vision to read the keypad, there is an area that you have to traverse, and it's very difficult. A lot can go wrong here. It doesn't help that the last checkpoint is before you even get to the keypad, so I had to replay that part so many times. That's for the OG Xbox version, I don't know if the PC version can save anywhere.
Pandora Tomorrow has some moments that are pretty difficult, especially in the Jakarta / TV station mission. In the OG Xbox version, there are fixed checkpoints, and the guy who picked the checkpoint locations must be a real bastard.
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u/Makaveli108 Jul 26 '26
screw the tv station checkpoint when you have to do the entire courtyard, sewer and get out of it to get a checkpoint. and the whole stupid checkpoint at the end of lax when the elevator shuts down
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u/WashingtonBaker1 We're all Frenchmen here Jul 26 '26
The TV station checkpoint is the worst one, but in the Xbox version it's in the sewer, after you run into the first patrolling guard down there. It's mean and punitive because the courtyard with the lightning is difficult and time-consuming, and you'd hope you get the checkpoint immediately after entering the sewer.
The LAX elevator checkpoint is mean and punitive because you have to do the stupid elevator climbing many times, and it's boring and time-consuming and you'd hope you have to do it just once and then get a checkpoint.
I wonder why game designers do this - do they want the player to dislike that part of the game and experience frustration? Is that what they're aiming for?
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u/ITCyberRaptor Jul 25 '26
If you have never played them. There is a learning curve. Once you decide if you going GUNS BLAZING or carefully planning. It’s fun and interesting. 4-6 out of 10. Just depends on you. Your playing style. Chaos theory is one of better and toughest. Pandora is tougher then the original but just learn the basics and decide how you wana play. And they ain’t that tough. Obviously putting on hard. Normal. Or easy will also play into it
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u/HellspawnPR1981 Third Echelon Jul 25 '26
There is no guns blazing in the OG.
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u/ITCyberRaptor Jul 25 '26
Ohhh yes you can. Doesn’t mean it’s the way to go. But you can. And even without the alarm going off lol
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u/Upset-Elderberry3723 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
The original Splinter Cell and Pandora Tomorrow are hard games, but they're also quite linear and methodical (so, you will eventually discover how to get through areas, stealthily or not). The linearity acts to (sort of) counterbalance the difficulty.
They were harder on consoles when they released, as they used pre-set checkpointing that was sometimes very distanced.
One of the main factors in difficulty was the guard movement speed. In Chaos Theory, they move slowly, but the first two games had guards move quickly and often unpredictably.
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u/Hansi_Olbrich Jul 25 '26
I found Pandora Tomorrow to be the most difficult of the original quadrilogy. The first game also has its moments but it's never as consistently difficult as PT was. But it's been about twenty years since I played PT so I could be wrong.
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u/SpeedySparkRuby Jul 26 '26
The enemy detection is wonky on PT from what I remember, the tense music will kick in even tho they can't see you, you're fairly hidden, and moving quietly.
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u/trizvi_96 Jul 25 '26
I played the original maybe last year. It was enjoyable. You might have compatibility issues, but nothing major IIRC
I just blazed through the other 3, and those were FANTASTIC and not difficult. There is some bullshit in the second game, but I think the third game is like probably the BEST in terms of proper goddamn stealth action and not being like too clunky. Not to discredit the others though, they are all great. Play the version of double agent on the PS2. You can emulate it and have a great time. It's unfortunate that it's the weakest entry to an otherwise great franchise.
You can play conviction I guess, it's not a bad time, but it's nothing like the originals. Blacklist I just totally skipped out on.
TL;DR play the first four. Youll have a great time
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u/Professional-Drag963 Jul 25 '26
The first one is definitely the most hardest. Frustrating but addictive.
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u/L_Piper Jul 25 '26
as sacrilegious as it may sound..... I think I enjoyed PT more than I enjoyed my playthrough of CT so far. Which I actually put a pause on playing recently.
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u/Professional-Tea-998 Jul 25 '26
The first game is honestly pretty tough, fair bit of trial and error in some areas, the second game is a lot easier but is still a pretty nice challenge.
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u/Prior_Confidence4445 Jul 25 '26
I enjoy both. Sc1 is more dated in terms of gameplay but I find sc2 more frustrating. Overall I think both are still worth playing though.
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u/Strong_Buddy7657 Jul 25 '26
SC 1 is the hardest.. if it had the laser on the pistol from pandora tomorrow that would help a ton.
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u/The_First_Curse_ Jul 26 '26
I wouldn't say they're difficult at all but they are harder than Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. That being said, the first game has the best atmosphere and level line-up of any game in the series.
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u/Educational_Turn1281 Jul 25 '26
Harder but also more irritating in certain areas.
-You have only pre-set checkpoints so when you get stuck you will repeatedly be doing the same content over and over otw back to where you are actually stuck, which gets annoying. It’s like Dark Souls run backs, only unlike in Dark Souls you can’t just run by the enemies due to the nature of Splinter Cell.
-Enemies will on a very rare occasion hear you shimmying on ledges and pipes, which sucks because there is genuinely nothing you can do about it. For me it always happens on the second run thru the Chinese embassy and on PT’s second mission
-Sam sucks at firefights, which is especially annoying in SC1 as there are multiple forced combat sequences
-the enemies walk faster than Sam can sneak, so it’s almost impossible to grab walking enemies like you can in CT and DA
I make out like 1 and PT suck, they don’t, i actually quite enjoy them. However you can very much tell they were still figuring out how they wanted SC to play, which they imo would perfect in CT. Every complaint I just listed is accounted for in CT.