Hi I am Mathieu Ferland, I was the Producer on the first Splinter Cell and I am the Producer of SCCT from Ubisoft Montreal.

The story is set in 2008 - Sam must investigate a local event which eventually draws all of the characters in the game - and the player - into global action. That event is the kidnapping of an American Citizen in Peru. Now, a kidnapping is not normally of interest to Third Echelon, and Sam Fisher is not a hostage rescue specialist. But Echelon pays attention, because the victim has information that any country in the world would love to get their hands on. So Sam will be sent to secure the information held by the victim. Of course, things are never as simple as they seem and Fisher will need to discover the motivations behind the kidnapping that will lead him into an even bigger threat, mostly into Asia, but also in New York.

Peru, New York City, Korea, Panama, Hokkaido (Japan). Sam will have to infiltrate areas like a cargo ship, a penthouse, a PMC office - Sam will even have to ‘rob' a bank as a diversion!

The game proposes 10 missions for solo campaign and 4 for coop. Moreover, the versus mode will be here again, with an improved version of SCPT adversarial mode and with new missions. It's quite a lot of content, and all gamers will find something they like, for sure. Note that coop mode can also be played offline (split screen).

Yes. SCCT introduces new characters, especially Sam's new field runner: Will Redding, responsible for all logistic and equipment on the field.

Yes, we're glad to have Mr Ironside back to perform Sam's voice.

The structure of the game has changed in order to make the game more flexible. Casual gamers will enjoy the game's primary objectives, while hard core gamers will discover hidden paths, mix different game play systems or get specific rewards. We tried to remove the trial & error type of gameplay that was too frustrating for many. Now, the game boundaries are wider and the game will forgive certain failures to an extent. There is always another way around, sometimes more challenging, sometime more story driven, adding more replay value to the game. Besides this major improvement, we've been working very hard on the game experience (tension, proximity feeling, strong action), the technology, the attitude of Sam, and obviously, our new cooperative mode for Live players and also for offline gamers (split screen).

Our objective was to develop a less linear game that would allow players to make several choices when facing challenges. Having more of an open level-design approach brings more freedom to the player, more replay value and ultimately, more fun! Because the players can now save anywere, it allows them to take more risks and to try more interesting strategies. Instead of shooting because they want to reach the next check point, they'll investigate, try a non-lethal gadget, shoot on a fire extinguisher to knock out an NPC etc. Tension is really high in the game, but now player can control their level of stress and avoid frustrations by playing the way he wants to play: the game supports it !

So in terms of gameplay, the essence of stealth remains in the game but you decide how you want to play it. One of our main focuses is proximity - you'll need to get closer to the enemy if you want to succeed. Going in a room full of guards guns-blazing is probably not the best idea to stay alive, but you can try it anyway if you wish to. A good example for gameplay could be described in this example: you find yourself exiting a vent that leads you in a room guarded by two NPCs. They haven't noticed your presence so you're faced with many choices. You can try shooting at them - but one little mistake and they will alert their friends and work together to force you in a corner.

You could try shooting the sprinklers to create a diversion or use sticky shockers to electrocute them with the dripping water from the sprinklers. You can approach one of them slowly - grab him and interrogate him to get valuable clues, or just finish him with a precise knife attack and then go take care of the other NPC. As you can see, lots of possibilities, in term of gameplay, can be done in one very small area! Now, what is even more interesting is that you can also move back, look for another entrance in the same area and try to reach the objective with a completely different tactic, because you're now coming from behind the enemy, or from the roof, or from the vent etc.

In terms of new gadgets, we have a new vision mode that will allow you to gather more information about the area you're in. We've also added what we like to call the Optically Channeled Potentiator (OCP), which is attach to your SC 5.7 Pistol and makes electronic devices go berserk for a few seconds - shut down lights without destroying them, for example. You'll be able to use more than one sticky cam at a time and swap between them as well. You can also hack keypads if you've missed a password somewhere. Again, more depth in every aspect of the game!

We've made huge changes to the enemy AI. A lot of work as been done on it, in order to assure the best and most realistic reactions possible. The way NPCs will work together, talk to each other and respond to stimulus in the environment is outstanding. With more open-ended levels, the AI must react properly in their environment in order for the game mechanics to work. Ultimately, the enemies have more ‘barks' (verbal reactions) and communication between them, they have stronger search patterns and they have gadgets to support it. The AI in SCCT far surpasses the previous two SC games!

One of the strong focuses of the game is proximity. So we had to create moves that truly translated that idea. You'll find that getting closer and closer to the enemy, in a dangerous situation but completely in control, is a very rewarding feeling, and that's what the game is about - strong emotions from being closer to danger. The split jump in previous Splinter Cell games was a nice visual representation of this feeling. In SCCT, players are even more rewarded for getting closer to danger. They'll experiment close stealth actions and cool new moves in that matter. I really like the neck snap move, where Sam is upside down, hanging with his feet and twisting the neck of an enemy below. Basically, players will get plenty of new moves from throwing enemies off ledges to kicking doors open to surprise them, not to mention all the cool new knife attacks.

Besides technical issues, I should say that non-linear gameplay is very hard to develop, because we need to think about every possibility, to deeply integrate the storyline to fit those possibilities and to make sure that nothing can break the game's logic. This increases testing and adds a lot of bugs to be addressed but in the long run, it makes a fantastic game that will please any kind of player.

Our development studio in Montreal has always been very strong in graphics, and we're always trying to be ahead of our time and to lead the industry on that area. For Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, the approach and our ambition are to consider our technologies as a whole, and not only the graphics part (even if graphics has always been an important value for Splinter Cell franchise). AI, animation system, online network, sound engine, development tools and of course 3D rendering are all important elements we're investing a lot into in order to produce THE game we've got in mind. Regarding graphics, we've been implementing normal mapping, per pixel specular lighting for reflections and a bit a procedural texturing. Development of soft shadows also contributes a lot to nice visuals.

Those are great additions to Splinter Cell Chaos Theory technology, but I would say that what makes the main difference is how well these elements are used by SCCT's experienced dev team. Graphics are still very important for SCCT, and for any game, as it is the first contact with the gamer's most important physical sense. We all know how important a first impression is and this is an extra motivation for us to provide the best, and only the best.

We're introducing a new type of multiplayer mode for the franchise, which gives a brand new experience to the players. The coop experience is highly based on trust where partners need to rely on each other. They will need to execute new moves to reach otherwise unreachable areas in a map, they will need to synchronise their actions to pass through security, etc. One player alone cannot complete a coop level and will need a partner he can count on at all times. One of the things that will be particularly interesting is the fact that with more tension and power comes more dependency and trust. So the stealth gameplay is multiplied because even if you are well hidden, your partner might not be so lucky! This Coop mode can be played either in System Link, on Live or split screen on Xbox.

Of course, you'll have the opportunity to discover new maps of the versus mode created in Pandora Tomorrow. Six new maps will in fact be available, six missions.There will be also new abilities, new moves, new gadgets and it could be played both online and offline.

Be patient :-) - the game will be released in March 2005, and it will be worth the wait!