double-agent
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Breakfast Topic: Are you a one toon kind of player?
I struggle with alts more than anyone I know. I have my main--my beloved druid--and she has been my One True WoW Toon since I created her in 2007. Over the years I have tried and tried again to get a second toon to max, but it just hasn't happened. This time around I'm pretty close; I have a paladin at 86 and a mage at 83, so the race is on. Will I make another one to 90 before WoD drops? With the rate it's going, if I don't, I should probably be ashamed of myself. And before you ask--no, I haven't pre-ordered, so the boost isn't an option (yet). Here's the thing, though. As much as I've always wistfully dreamed of an army of crafters to make obtaining raid items just that much less expensive, part of me always feels like I'm kind of missing out when I'm not on my main. There's still plenty of things I have yet to achieve with her, don't you know! But alas, I can't get that Double Agent or Dynamic Duo achievement with just one! How about you? Do you have an army of alts at your fingertips, or are you a one toon devotee, like myself?
SkullCandy shows off MP3-playing Double Agent headphones
It's not like we haven't seen MP3-playing headphones before -- heck, we've even seen 'em from SkullCandy itself -- but the latest pair from the aforementioned firm simplifies things quite a bit. Quietly showcased at CES, the Double Agent cans sport a built-in SD slot and the typical assortment of controls on one earcup in order to take the external DAP / PMP out of the equation entirely. 'Course, we wouldn't recommend this to those who aren't fond of just shuffling through their tracks, but if you're aiming to consolidate, you can get one step closer to doing just that when this ships in March / April for a currently undisclosed price.[Via Gadgetell]
Crime and punishment: Thieves make off with Sonic the Hedgehog
Though the choices that lead one down a path of crime are rarely considered to be wise, the weekend actions of an unknown number of thieves seem to imply that one bad turn often leads to another. The Argus reports that UK police were called to "Currys" after £1,700 worth of PlayStation 3 games were discovered to have illegally departed the store, presumably tucked inside someone's jacket, pants or some other article of clothing that would result in awkward movements. Police expect the kleptomaniacs to cash in on current PS3 euphoria and either attempt to gain refunds elsewhere or sell the game to unsuspecting folks. Sadly, it looks like crime might not fully pay on this occasion, as the robbers' loot included three copies of Splinter Cell: Double Agent, two copies of Ridge Racer 7, four copies of World Snooker Championship 2007 and, err... four copies of Sonic the Hedgehog. Being unable to sell those to any normal human beings, said ne'er-do-wells will likely attempt to play the game and then promptly turn themselves in. You get what you pay for, lads. [Via PSX Extreme]
Double Agent and Vegas for $39.99
Major Nelson brings word that Best Buy has Rainbow Six: Vegas on sale for $39.99. We checked it out and found out that Splinter Cell: Double Agent is available for $39.99 as well. If you've been waiting to pick up either one of these games, you could do a lot worse than a $20 discount. While you're at it, you may want to pick up a copy of Project 8 or Madden 07, which are on sale for the slightly less attractive price of $49.99. As an added bonus, you can get an additional $10 off of any of these titles if you pre-order Lost Planet. Vegas for $29? Not bad. Anyone else find any good deals today?[Via Major Nelson]
Double Agent single player sneaks to XBLM
For those of you who missed Splinter Cell: Double Agent -- or simply haven't had the time -- a single player demo is now available* on Xbox Live Marketplace (it looks like a College Hoops 2K7 demo is up as well).. I am loth to admit that I am one of those who have not played Double Agent at all. I think I had Enchanted Arms on my rental queue at the time (oh, if I had only known!). Still, if you haven't had a chance to play, or if you're just the kind of person who needs a demo to make purchasing decisions, now is your chance. The demo clocks in at about half a gig, so find something else to play while you're downloading. Here's a suggestion: just watch the Halo 3 ad over and over again until the download completes.*As usual, we are informed that this content will be available for Silver members in about a week.
Double Agent patch is hiding
According to the official Splinter Cell: Double Agent website, a patch for the game was released yesterday, but we're receiving reports that it is not yet available. The patch was set to fix multiple issues with the game, including lag issues, connection issues, and a few miscellaneous issues. We aren't familiar with these issues (I still haven't played the game) but we can only assume the fixes would be welcome. In fact, reading through the fix list makes it look like there are quite a few problems with the lobby system.Has anyone spotted the update yet, or is it still MIA?[Thanks, Bountyhunterinc]
Xbox Live Demo roundup
There's been a lot of new demos out on Xbox Live Marketplace lately, some good, some bad. Some of them might end up saving you $60, since the demo could be craptacular, but you could also find yourself desperate for the full version. That's the whole mystery of the marketplace. Roll the dice and see what you think.Eragon: (415.28MB) This game is only going to appeal to fans of the book and the upcoming film. The graphics are not what you'd call "pretty," and it feels as if the game was tossed together over a drunken weekend using old code found on a floppy disk in a dumpster outside of Electronic Arts. It plays like Lord of the Rings meets Knights of the Old Republic. You have a sword, a bow, Jedi-like magic powers, and face an onslaught of identical foes. You can call in a dragon for air support every now and then, almost like having a special Dragon-whistle. *TWEET* "Hey! Take out that SUV in front of me! Thanks, girl!" Now that would come in handy.Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent: (702.31MB) No surprises here. It's the same old Splinter Cell that you've come to love or hate. Ubisoft could just start calling these games Splinter Cell: The Sequel and you'd get the drift -- although this one has some big changes to the multiplayer, new plot, still fun ... if you're into that sort of thing. Fire it up and and see what you think of the latest installment. Then go try out the next one down and see which one knocks your socks off. Double Agent is the biggest download of the group, so get one of the smaller ones first and let this load in the background while you get some game on.Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas: (477.57MB) Can they make the titles to these games any longer, please? Soon it'll be crossover time and you'll have Tom Clancy's Rainbow Cell Splinter Six of the Old Republic Theft Auto to deal with. This is the second smallest download, barely ahead of Eragon, but it really manages to put the money where the megabytes are. This demo alone makes us want to pony up the money for the real things. Plus come on, Vegas, baby, Vegas.F.E.A.R.: (542.72MB) And then there was F.E.A.R -- an explosive ballet of destruction, clone commandos and kicking evil little girls in the head. In slow-mo. What more can you ask for in a free demo? What demos have you been checking out? We wanna hear about it.
Splinter Cell: Dynamic Advertising Agent
Concerned reader and avid Splinter Cell fan, Carlos Birdsong, shares some interesting info about Double Agent."I was playing SCDA with some friends as a Merc and I saw a spy run under a truck that had a Comcast ad on it. I was out of grenades and told one of my teammates to toss a grenade under the comcast truck, only he didn't see it. Why? He saw what was by default a Hong Kong truck instead of the Comcast truck.While I think in game ads are cool when in context, I saw some Comcast signage as well, but this dynamic ad rendering can affect gameplay--subtle but interesting side effect."Dynamic ad placement in games is starting to become commonplace, and situations like this could be an unfortunate byproduct. Have any of you experienced similar problems? Do you think dynamic ads should be removed from multiplayer games where positioning is important, or at least made so every player sees the same thing?[Image via Mega64]
New Wii hands-ons, plus Phoenix Wright import
Game|Life has scored some precious hands-ons with Ubisoft's Wii launch titles and also managed some time with the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS) import while traveling to and from the Ubisoft offices. Check out the coverage: Monster Truck 4x4 and GT Pro - "...just old games with Wii controls shoehorned in, and how do you really get excited about that?" Red Steel - "I didn't play Red Steel at E3 ... So I had no firsthand knowledge of the game until today. And what I played was great. Apparently they've made great strides between E3 and today, because the controls ... were spot-on..." Rayman Raving Rabbids - "...this might be the best non-Zelda game of the launch, and easily a great showpiece for the controller's abilities." Splinter Cell: Double Agent - "After spending a half an hour struggling to complete the first level of Double Agent on Wii, I went home, popped in the PS2 version, and blasted through it unscathed in minutes." Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS import) - "Not only is the game bilingual, it's actually a global product. When plugged into an American DS system, the title bar on the console's menu screen reads -- instead of Gyakuten Saiban 2 -- 'Phoenix Wright: Justice For All.'"
How to get Double Agent for $48
After doing the post about the Assassin's Creed collector's edition, we couldn't help but notice this little tidbit. It looks like Play-Asia is offering the region free version of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for a measly $44.90. Add $3.10 shipping and you've got your own copy for $48. That's $12 dollars of the retail price. Not bad at all. We've done a story or two on region free Xbox 360 games in the past. For the uninitiated, 360 games released in Asia are often region free. Not only that, but they are usually completely identical to their English counterparts, right down to the manual. We haven't confirmed whether or not this is the case with Splinter Cell, but it's a fairly safe bet. Did anybody here get their copy from Play-Asia? For future reference, Play-Asia maintains a list of its region free 360 games. You might want to bookmark it if you enjoy saving money.
What are you playing: sneaky edition
It's time once again for that all important question, what are you playing? This week marks the release of Splinter Cell: Double Agent so, we imagine quite a few of you will be spending your weekend snapping necks and being all sneaky-like. Me, I've still got to wrap up Dead Rising, Lego Star Wars II is staring me in the face, and I have yet to crack into Enchanted Arms. And let's not forget that the Phantasy Star beta is still running. Oh, and that the Project 8 demo should hit today -- still not out as of this posting. On the Live Arcade front, there's Lumines and 3 more episodes of DOOM to clear up (on Ultra Violent difficulty, of course).Put simply, there's just too damned much to play. How 'bout you? What will you be playing this weekend?
Metareview: Double Agent
Reviews for Splinter Cell: Double Agent are pouring in. The consensus, more of the same, but that's not a bad thing. Most reviews point to the subtle refinements of the series. So far, the streamlined multiplayer seems to be the most controversial aspect of the game. Most critics tend to think it's a step in the right direction, but all of them know that the hardcore SC fans won't like the changes. IGN 90% - "Double Agent digs down into the very role of duality by giving gamers hard choices to make. Whether that means confronting the option of nuking innocents on a cruise ship or betraying Fisher's associates with a gunshot to the head, it's now possible." 1UP 80% - "... the co-op missions are just gussied-up versus matches, and because the versus game doesn't have any variations in objectives (spies simply hack at computer terminals to retrieve files to return to the starting base) or modes, multiplayer may start to wear out more quickly than in previous editions. Gamespot 85% - "Sam Fisher is the star of the Splinter Cell series, so it's odd that the multiplayer portions of these games, which he's in no way a part of, seem to be evolving much more rapidly than the solo campaigns. Double Agent's few keen twists on Splinter Cell's single-player gameplay don't result in a remarkably different experience from the previous games, though that doesn't mean it still isn't some of the best stealth action out there." As of right now, the game has an average of 87% on Metacritic. Not bad. Has anyone picked it up yet?
Nivea and Sam Fisher want you to shave that beard!
Nivea has snuck its way into Sam Fisher's heart. The two have teamed up to bring you in-game advertisements! What better way to escape your everyday dreary and tedious world than to get pelted with ads for real companies while breaking someone's neck in a bathroom? Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Double Agent will offer a fine array of Nivea and Philips Norelco products set along bathroom sinks in hotel rooms. There are also billboards specifically designed to talk to you, the gamer, not you, the Sam Fisher, saying such game-related teasings as "The 'Good Guy' almost never has a beard," and "There are many faces of evil. Don't let yours be one of them."If you want your ads to be subtle, use real ads. Ads in the real world. Don't make ads that are trying to talk about the game that's being played. That's like a movie stopping suddenly and listening for the audience to laugh, or if something unrealistic happens in a movie, a character cleverly snaps out the one-liner "Only in the movies!" Please. Game advertisements may be lucrative, but they're still lame. As much as the phrase itself irks us, we're tempted to say "sell-out", but it's becoming all too common in the "Realistic Gaming" world. Sam Fisher... you can be pretty stealthy, but you're not too good at dodging corporate advertisement offers. Hmm... it sounded a tad bit better in my mind.
Splinter Cell: To 1080p or not to p
Has the 1080p console era arrived sooner than expected, courtesy of Ubisoft? The above pic is screen cap from a debug copy of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox 360 showing support for "true HD" (to use Sony's patronizing marketing terminology). GamePro says they received confirmation from Ubisoft that the retail version will indeed support 1080p. Elsewhere, 1up says their contact told them "No, it's 1080i" but admits things are pretty hectic at Ubi right now, so who knows? All acknowledge that 1080p support is useless without the necessary update Microsoft, expected some time in the near future (although GamePro theorizes that it could be included on the Double Agent disc). Even then, without an HDMI solution from MS, the much-hyped resolution would be possible only via the rare 1080p HDTV (Sharp?) that supports 1920x1080 via VGA input. Meanwhile, back in standard-def-trying-in-vain-to-read-that -Dead-Rising-text land, the po' folk are snickering because their snooty 720p neighbors now have to go out and buy a new TV if they want to remain on the bleeding edge of the 360 community.How many lucky bastards already have a 1080p HDTV and are just dying to put it to use? How many don't think they'll get a 1080p set for years?Correction: As several readers have pointed out, only 1080p movies using the HD-DVD drive require HDMI. Games will work over both HDMI or VGA.[Thanks Luke]
360 Splinter Cell: Double Agent at 1080p? Ubisoft: yup [update 1]
[Update: Looks like the pissing contest ain't over, folks. GamePro circled back around and contacted that yay-saying Ubisoft repper who "apologized for the confusion, noting that the game currently supports only 1080i." Whoops! The GamePro pros are still trying to figure out why 1080p was enabled on their debug units. Just the software upscaler maybe?]The Good Ship Microsoft has come about a full 180 degrees over the whole 1080p issue. First they laughed at it and called it impossible, then they embraced it and, and now Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Double Agent will be the first game to run in 1080p on the Xbox 360.1080p support has been the most contentious point between the two consoles, with Sony constantly waving their banner "True HD" and touting 1080p as something that only their console will have. They've fired more shots back and forth about what 1080p actually means, harking back to Clinton saying, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is" during the whole Lewinsky affair.If the whole sordid world of HD gives you a headache while you sort it out, it gets more complicated. Shane Kim told us that while the software patch could upscale all content to resolutions as high as 1080p, Microsoft Game Studios themselves had no plans to produce gaming content taking advantage of this ability. He was similarly convinced that very few other developers would see the value in producing 1080p games, with the singular exception of Sony's first-party studios, eager to validate the value of the capability. We're not sure if Double Agent is being rendered in 1080p natively or if it's taking advantage of the Xbox 360's upcoming upscaling ability. We've asked Ubisoft for clarification, since our drinking buddy Sam Fisher has stopped returning our calls.[Thanks, Jdaman]
Michael Ironside talks Sam Fisher
Michael Ironside, perennial badass, talks about his work as the voice of Sam Fisher in these two short videos. He also chimes in on his opinion of gamers in general. His impression: some of the most informed people around. Aw, shucks Michael, you're making us blush. Double Agent is getting closer every day. Anybody excited yet? Check out both videos after the break.
Splinter Cell coming to the Wii
As if Ubisoft hadn't done enough already, they've added yet another game to the "launch window" release. Splinter Cell: Double Agent is currently being developed by Ubisoft's Montreal studios for a quick release on the Wii. Let's use our psychic powers to predict the future, shall we? There will be no online component for the Wii version. The programmers have utilized the Wiimote to create a special, unique control scheme. Some missions will remain exclusive to the Xbox 360 version of the game. Sam Fisher will star in some government-oriented espionage action. (goes to look) Oh my stars, look at that, we're precognizant. On the less skeptical side of things, this looks to be one of the better-looking Wii titles, and Splinter Cell doesn't often disappoint, so chalk this up as another minor victory for the fledgling console.[via Joystiq]
Splinter Cell: Double Agent delayed until October
Need some extra time to glue mag-lites on your Sam Fisher Halloween costume? Ubisoft has pushed back Splinter Cell: Double Agent until October 20. Delays always suck, but in this case we'll assume it's for the best. Presumably, the extra spit and polish is going towards the the game's multiplayer, which is already looking pretty tight according to this hands-on.
Double Agent web site launches
Ubisoft has launched the official Splinter Cell: Double Agent web site in anticipation of the game's September release. You could say the French publisher is a little late to its own party, as some people started celebrating last week by selling used copies of the game.
Double Agent website alive and sneaky
The official site for Splinter Cell: Double Agent is open for business (age validation required). The site is loaded with Splintery goodness like character bios, story info, features, multiplayer info, icons, wallpapers, screens, videos, and lots of flashy, um, Flash. I think you could safely call it a plethora of goodies. The game already impressed us at E3, and I'm sure Ken and I -- like wolves -- will scrabble at every bit until it's released. Like wolves, I say. By the way, is it just me, or is Lambert starting to look a lot like Morgan Freeman? [Via Xboxic]
