Games I initially underestimated #1

Back in 2005 when Splinter Cell Chaos Theory came out I wasn't really excited.  I honestly knew little about the Splinter Cell series, however, I had played the original SC before and for a 12-year old  it was quite hard.

Back then I was the typical teen obsessed with shooting and even the thought of not getting noticed was quite oppressive.  I HAD TO GO LOUD!  The guns had to blaze and grenades had to blast everyone off rooftops and catwalks.   Now you also understand why I couldn't complete Swat 3 without cheats.  I was as tactical as a blind kamikaze pilot.

So in December 2005, I think, I got SC Chaos Theory. 

Er...12 is not that far from 16.

So right from the get-go you get dumped on this shore with the task of finding people and algorithms and that kind of stuff, but the plot never really got to me.  The first 24 hours of gameplay purely had me stuck to the stealth gameplay.

CT was the first game I really enjoyed just knocking people out.  I can remember hitting R1 the first time with Sam breaking the one guy's back.   I turned thermal on and there was no heat.  The body was blueish so I got sad and dumped the body where his comrade could find him so that I could knock out his comrade and throw them both off a cliff.

From then on I knew what I had to do.  I did not exist.  I roamed with the shadows.  I needed wits to survive.  It was all about being there, while not being there.  Get it?

From then on I pretty much stuck to knocking everyone out.  I made use of non-lethal force, but when the time came, I did what had to be done OR I just ran away because I couldn't shoot that well...argh ok I couldn't shoot. 

According to scientists, there's always a Sam Fischer within 3 metres from you.

Only later did I discover the difficulty of going in loud.  Aiming was hard, you never had enough bullets and the enemy was very accurate.

For others always playing First Person Shooters it might also have felt dishonourable to take your enemies out from behind.  In most games you follow the game, but here the game kinda followed your actions.  There were no enemies waiting in a corner or corridor.  You always lurked in the shadows killing, interrogating or knocking out your next victim.  I was the hunter and it felt awesome!

That's pretty much how great my experiences were.  The plot wasn't really made out to be a shocker or stunner, but it took me to some interesting places with corners and alternative paths.   It was well matched with the gameplay.

Remember kids, Sam is watching you.