Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials

 PSP
  • Publisher: Ubisoft
  • Release Date: Mar 21, 2006
Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 37
  3. Negative: 10 out of 37
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  1. Next Level Gaming
    81
    I wish I could say that a lack of true wireless online gameplay and sometimes frustrating controls would make me want to not play Splinter Cell: Essentials. But then I would be lying. The missions and the level designs make the game so fun overall to play that it hides some of the weaknesses in the controls.
  2. Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
    80
    This classic series has been lovingly translated for PSP. It's a great stealth fix, although you do want to switch the lights on sometimes. [Apr 2006, p.93]
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  3. PSW Magazine UK
    80
    If you long for those days then Splinter Cell Essentials is right up your street. Not only do some of the missions recall Sam's early years, the game as a whole is one long flashback to the hardcore stealth of old.
  5. Game Informer
    80
    I definitely enjoyed Essentials and how it ties into the rest of the series, as will other Splinter Cell fans. [May 2006, p.112]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. 3DAvenue
    80
    In the areas Essentials does well, it excels, but what it doesn't do well keeps it from the must buy list for all but the most hardcore Sam Fisher fans unfortunately.

Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Most Discussed PSP Game of 2006
25
#25 Most Shared PSP Game of 2006

User Reviews

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User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 49 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 49
  3. Negative: 8 out of 49
  1. SickRobbery
    Nov 1, 2021
    6
    Pretty enjoyable game. Has some fun story beats. I love the (funny) banter between NPC's. Clunky controls are helped by a remastered controls mod.
  2. DGDrocks7
    Jun 20, 2018
    5
    Adapting PS2 experiences on the PSP wasn't an uneasy task. Just look at games like SOCOM and Metal Gear Solid. While they controlled differentAdapting PS2 experiences on the PSP wasn't an uneasy task. Just look at games like SOCOM and Metal Gear Solid. While they controlled different and some sacrifices had to be made, they were fun experiences. So what happened here?

    They just dumped a PS2 game here, that's what happened. Ubisoft thought you can just develop a PS2 game then dump it on the PSP without making changes. First, the controls, oh my, the controls. Because of no second analog stick (seriously who the hell thought just one analog stick was a good idea?), camera control is a nightmare. The default means you cannot move Sam and the camera at the same time. Alternative allows you to do so but it puts camera control on the face buttons. Guess where the action buttons are. Either way, you need to push a button to activate or deactivate camera mode. Granted you can get used to the controls quite easily, but if only the levels were designed with that in mind. But they aren't. As if the PC and console SC games weren't difficult enough (in a good way), the control scheme made it frustrating. Remember those times where you had to reload saves when you screwed up? You'll have to do it many, many, many more times here.

    Speaking of reloading saves, get used to the Title: you'll be seeing it many times and for quite a while. Aside from constant reloading, you'll have to wait a long time when reloading saves. And I was playing the DIGITAL version. On a PSP-3000. So imagine playing on a UMD with the PSP-1000 (which has less RAM). That said, the loading times can be resolved if you play on a PPSSPP Emulator. The control issues, however, are still there.

    And I had no idea what's going on in the story. This is after Double Agent (which was released months later). Sam get falsely arrested and needs to clear his name. So all except the final level are flashbacks as Sam is telling what really happened. You also see a twist in the SC timeline which I think was not supposed to be seen until you play DA (gg Ubisoft). And remember when I said they just dumped a PS2 game here? Well, two of the levels are exactly from the console versions (one from the original and the other from Chaos Theory). And like I said, these levels were hard enough on the bigger platforms.

    And the bonus missions...are all from Pandora Tommorrow. No, if I want to play those levels, I'll play Pandora Tommorrow. You can only unlock them by entering a code on the website but since it's dead and you're curious: just go to the Bonus Missions screen, hold Select and tap L+R at the same time repeatedly till you unlock all of them. But trust me, go play PT instead as you'll just torture yourself. You've been warned.

    SC:E looks fun. I just wished it was playable on a platform other than the PSP. If it got some more development time, it would have been excellent. Wasted potential is what I'm seeing.    … Full Review »
  3. sage2001
    Jun 1, 2017
    4
    I picked this game up for my PSTV for 3.49. I'm a big fan of metal gear solid and thought that I should give Splinter Cell a shot.

    Perhaps    I picked this game up for my PSTV for 3.49. I'm a big fan of metal gear solid and thought that I should give Splinter Cell a shot.

    Perhaps I should've picked something else...

    The game controls like utter **** thanks to the PSP not having a second analog stick. You have to toggle between camera controls and action controls and it all feels clunky and terrible.

    For a PSP game, the game looks absolutely terrible. Mind you, this is the same system that brought us Midnight Club, Portable Ops and Resistance.

    All in all, SC Essentials is a stealth game ruined by clunky controls and horrible graphics...    … Full Review »
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