Overcome with depression, he is unable to concentrate on his mission, and is pulled out by his superior, Colonel Irving Lambert. After a few months, Lambert approaches Sam and offers him the rank of a NOC (Nonofficial cover) agent. These are agents comprised of CIA and NSA agents who infiltrate organized crime, and are used for HUMINT purposes. As with similar organizations, the US Government denies any involvement. In order to infiltrate the JBA, the NSA turn Sam into a notorious criminal by staging multiple bank robberies and a mock body count. Sam is sent to Ellsworth Prison. He is thrown into the same cell as a JBA member, named Jamie Washington, and with his cooperation, they break out of prison. [2].
Once the two escape, Jamie offers Sam an invitation into the JBA, which Sam accepts. As part of the JBA, Sam must complete objectives set by them to gain their trust, as well as complete objectives from the NSA. The decisions he has to make will become increasingly difficult as he progresses through the game. Should Sam kill an innocent hostage and save millions? Gain the JBA's trust but fail an NSA objective? If your allegiance remains firmly with the NSA, you will be able to use more advanced equipment, but others at the JBA may become suspicious as a result of your access to more advanced weaponry. If you stay on the JBA side you won't get the high-tech equipment, but will earn their trust more easily, and as a result you will be able to move more freely around their headquarters. The overall aim is to maintain a balance between earning the terrorists' trust and fulfilling your mission to help NSA destroy the terrorist organisation.
Originally the game was set for a March 2006 release, but Ubisoft moved the release date to September 2006 in order to have more development time. Ubisoft then released their fiscal quarter results for Q1 2006 and announced that Splinter Cell Double Agent would be put back at least 1 month in order to boost Q3 2006 income.
At this time, "Double Agent" is scheduled to be released on October 17th, 2006.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Ubisoft Montreal will be reusing Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory's modified Unreal Engine to create Double Agent for Xbox, GameCube and PlayStation 2, while Ubisoft Shanghai will be developing the game for the Xbox 360 and the PC using a multi-threaded version of this engine. The official teaser website, while short on detail, provides some information on the upcoming features of the game:
- Lambert is kidnapped by the JBA. His possible death is determined by Sam.
- A love interest, named Enrica Villablanca, who is an eco-terrorist.
- Fisher is given objectives from both the JBA and NSA, forcing the player to compromise in order to progress.
- A dynamic storyline based largely on the player's actions, rather than the static series of events in previous games. Ubisoft claims that even major characters may die as a result of the player's decisions.
- Michael Ironside will return to voice Sam Fisher.
- Don Jordan will also return as Irving Lambert.
- Current generation and next generation platform versions will both have exclusive features:
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- Current generation (PlayStation 2 and Xbox) platforms will feature additional single-player mission with alternate ending, a new Spies vs. Spies online mode (Xbox only), 15 co-op missions playable offline, LAN, and 8 minutes of additional cinematics.
- Next generation (PC and Xbox 360) platforms will feature two additional alternate single-player missions, nine all-new merged versus and co-op maps, interactive mission insertions (e.g. parachute jumps), and new underwater and sandstorm combat. [3]
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Daylight missions in which Sam Fisher does not use his night/thermal vision apparel.
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Locations include Kinshasa, Iceland, New Orleans, Shanghai, New York City, Sea of Okhotsk, Los Angeles, Cozumel, and others.
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A prison escape.
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The Wii version of this game is based on the PS2/GC versions of Double Agent, but will feature improved graphics and enhanced gameplay. It'll lack some content from the 360 version, but the controls will be designed with the Wii in mind (One example: Picking locks by shaking the Wii-mote, slitting a throat using a knife motion with the Wii-mote). Downloadable content through WiiConnect24 is still being considered. Double Agent is a launch title for Wii.
Double Agent is rated (M) Mature: Blood, Language, Violence.
On August 7th, it was announced that a single-player and multiplayer demo would be available for PC, while only a multiplayer demo would be available for the Xbox 360.
In the upcoming installment, Ubisoft has announced that it will change certain aspects of its award-winning multiplayer game (more specifically, the Spy versus Merc for the Xbox 360 and PC). Among these changes is the introduction of a drone for the mercs that can travel through vents and even self-destruct. Moreover, spies will not carry their old guns and will have only the ability to hack and their fists as weapons. Another feature that has sparked some debate is the addition of a proximity detector for the merc team. The proximity detector, from what has been announced, will beep loudly when a spy is nearby, upright, and moving. It will beep louder as the spy is closer to the merc; while some sources have stated that the device won't detect a slow and crouching spy, it has drawn fire from some in the gaming community as something that will hinder stealth and possibly turn the game into a mere action title. Others counter that the feature will encourage more stealthy behavior on the part of the spy team; moreover, the extent to which the proximity detector will aid the mercs isn't fully known since the game has yet to be released.
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