HOME

- reported by Ah Fatt.


Paiseh Ah Fatt quite long never post liao. Today I went to check out the IT fair at Singapore Expo, but was pretty disappointed with the exhibition leh. Chinese say "to go to a place happily, but to return disappointed" ( this computer does not have Chinese support! ). Got a lot of booths la, but all damn one kind - boring sia! Then all those sales people keep showering you with flyers and raining you with requests to buy their products, damn irritating can? Plus the hall was packed with the lunch crowd, even finding a seat at Burger King also got difficulty la.

Ah Fatt was tempted to get a Kingston 1GB SD card for $26, but in the end never buy because need to save money. So long never write liao, boss threaten to cut my pay or even fire me la. Cannot anyhow spend money now.

Money hor... Lim bei tell you, gahmen go and raise the GST by another 2 percent, say will balance off by helping the low-income, kiss my ass la. Come next year, no need to eat at restaurant liao, then also cannot shopping at those Best Denki stores. So whatever you want to buy, you better buy now, because hor next year sure cannot one. I think your ang pow also will see big hole one.

And that new tunnel is another big joke man. Like what Mr Brown wrote, "We lost a National Library, but we gained a hole!" Eh don't xiao xiao, this hole $34 million one man, and 35000cm long, which can save 4 minutes of valuable traveling time! And gahmen some more put that chee-bye ERP thing there. Use our money finish must suck some more. Ah Fatt clap.











Wa those chee-bye people in Iceland go and send Ah Fatt one stupid game called Hello Kitty - Bubblegum Girlfriends. Na bei I look like small kid is it? Never mind, boss say want me to review it. Ah Fatt will try the game later.

---

GAMING

- reported by Osiris.


As of now, the author has yet to finish the game because it is plagued with too many bugs.

For starters, even though the current-gen and next-gen versions ( the PC is considered a next-gen platform ) carry the same title, the storylines and levels differ. Although the first mission takes place in Iceland, instead of partnering Hisham Hamza, you are paired up with a rookie named John, who later gets killed in the mission. The mission objectives are also different, and your Iceland assignment is called off because a missile is about to explode on the launch pad, unlike the current-gen version where Lambert orders a mission abort. Also, in the Xbox version, Cole Yeagher is a member of the JBA who is discovered to be disloyal, but on the PC he is the pilot of helicopter hijacked by Sam and Jamie for their escape from prison. ( Sam and Jamie escaped over a wall on the Xbox. )

The missions are much shorter compared to the Xbox, and I dare say can be boring at times. The Iceland mission on the Xbox took me around 45mins, while I could easily finish it on the PC in 15mins, possibly even faster if I was using a controller. Yes, it is much tougher to play Splinter Cell using a keyboard and mouse when you are used to two analog sticks and buttons which are conveniently placed. Some missions take place in bright daylight, forcing Sam to make full use of his environment and not just shadows, and the graphics are clearly much better than on the Xbox. Water sticks to the camera lens when you surface after swimming under ice floes ( yup! You can swim! ) , and the exclusive mission Shanghai is also beautifully re-created, with skyscrapers decorating the black sky with their neon lights, and you can even watch the headlights of vehicles move along the roads. However, with all that "bling bling" effects, it is disappointing that after completing a mission, you expect to explore more areas and complete more objectives.



Sam is caught deserting his post to bask himself in the neon lights of Shanghai.









One of two daylight missions, with a beautiful sunset scenery in the background.







The developers at Ubisoft Shanghai removed most cinematics and replaced them with directed moments, giving you the control of the camera during scenes which take place before a mission, for example insertions. In Okhotsk, you parachute down into the icy region and while sky-diving down, you can turn the camera freely and also make Sam do various stunts in the air. This may sound cool, but frankly speaking, most of the directed moments last only for a few seconds. In Shanghai, Sam has to control a spinning chopper and the only thing you have to do is press the left and right directional keys such that the chopper returns to a stable position. Then your control of the camera is taken back, as a cut-scene shows the chopper landing safely on the roof-top of the 88-floor Jin Mao Tower.


Sam parachutes down safely into Okhotsk, if you manage to pull the safety pin in time.








One very obvious change from the previous three Splinter Cell titles is that the HUD has been totally removed. There is no light and sound meter, and you can choose whether to display your selected weapon. The usual "action box" at the top-right corner of the screen has also been reduced to a small box like the weapons selection display, making a very "clean" screen ( but not as sparkling as Gears of War. ) You might be wondering, if the light meter has been removed, how would you know whether Sam will be spotted. Your answer is a special light meter on Sam's uniform and rifle. Green indicates Sam is hidden, yellow warns you can be spotted, and red alerts that you have become a target for potshots. Despite this simplicity in the HUD, it can be confusing at times because even though the light meter shows green, terrorists still can spot you, and without the sound meter you risk making noises which may alert your foes.

Multiplayer features a 3v3 Spy versus Mercenary adversarial mode, with a solo tutorial phase which helps beginners learn the tactics employed by both factions during the game. However there is no lobby system, and multiplayer games often crash, resulting in an "unofficial" boycott of the game by many seasoned players. Moreover, since the PC version only supports graphics cards with shader model 3.0 ( ATI 1300 and above or Nvidia 7300 and above ) , most players who played Chaos Theory's multiplayer on older cards are unable to relive the good old days. Hence, with virtually no one playing PC multiplayer, it is impossible for the author to review this segment.



Spies need to be fast and agile in order to avoid being caught in the powerful firepower of the Mercenaries.







The single-player also has its problems. The game crashes sometimes, and the author is unable to quit a game successfully - the "not responding" window always pops up. Like its 360 counterpart, there is no sound played occasionally, and safes cannot be cracked ( except for the training mission in the JBA HQ ) because the directional keys do not respond. In the Shanghai mission, Sam can even walk through a wall and then fall 80 storeys down to his death! The presence of these bugs has prompted the author, like many other players worldwide, to quit playing and wait for Ubisoft to release a good patch. ( The first patch has been released but it still does not resolve many of the issues in the game. )

To note that the PC version was first delayed, like the other platforms, from its initial launch date in March to September, then November, then pushed back a week after the 360 version's launch, and it is still ridden with many bugs which should not have appeared on a well-established game, this is really a letdown by Ubisoft. Many players had thought that perhaps the delay in the launch could have been used to ensure most issues have been fixed, but to much disappointment this did not happen. Perhaps this is another reason why Ubisoft Shanghai should not be employed to develop another Splinter Cell title, after what was considered a failure in the form of Splinter Cell's second title Pandora Tomorrow.

So if you are planning to get this game - don't, at least not before a patch which can fix most of the bugs is released. And also make sure that your graphics card supports shader model 3.0 before buying.

p.s. It has been reported on the Splinter Cell forums that the Nvidia 8800GTX card, despite being the newest on the market, cannot run Double Agent. The graphics, especially Sam himself, become deformed.

---

GAMING

- reported by Osiris.


Veteran spy Sam Fisher returns in the fourth installment of the Splinter Cell series, and this time he is going deep undercover in a terrorist organization on US soil. Splinter Cell Double Agent was released on all major platforms, with a huge media emphasis being placed on the Xbox 360 version. However after reading the next review, you will realise why old is still the best.
















In the Xbox version, the game plays as a flashback of all the sequence of events which took place when you were a double agent. You start off with a routine mission in Iceland, but with a partner named Hisham Hamza, who is working as a agent for both the NSA and the CIA. Halfway through the mission, your boss Lambert suddenly calls off the mission and orders you to head to the extraction zone. Sam refuses to leave, and his partner follows suit. However Lambert tells Sam that he would not abort the mission if he did not have a good reason. ( Could it be due to the ongoing conflict between the Socialists and the Terrorists? )



Sam and Hisham rappelling down an icewall in Iceland.








Aboard the V-22 Osprey, Lambert informs Fisher that his daughter Sarah had been killed by a drunk driver. Fans who have played Splinter Cell since the first game, or read the books, will know that Sarah is the last closest kin to Sam, after his wife's early death. Fisher is unable to take the news well and breaks down, but Lambert needs him mentally fit for another important assignment, and perhaps the most dangerous of all - infiltrating a terrorist organization and pretending to be one of them while destroying the terrorists from within.



You will encounter many high-tech security measures when entering restricted areas in the JBA HQ.








Hence the NSA fakes a series of robberies to strengthen Sam's cover ( this part is not explained in the game ) and send him to Ellsworth Penitentiary, where he becomes acquainted with cell-mate Jamie Washington, a member of terrorist organization John Brown's Army aka JBA. After helping Jamie to escape from jail, the bespectacled man is grateful for Sam's help and offers him a place in the JBA. Sam of course accepts the invitation.

From here the tension begins to mount. You will receive objectives from both the JBA and the NSA, sometimes opposing, and you have to choose whose orders to follow. Your decisions will affect the trust of both parties, which is represented in the form of a slider trust meter. It is best to remain the slider in neutral, but too much trust on either side will either blow your cover or result in you being disowned by the agency. There are also moral decisions which you have to make in game. Aboard a cruise ship in Mexico, you can choose to detonate a bomb your partner has planted, or you can choose to sabotage it and save 2000 lives. In Africa, the JBA boss discovers that one of their partners, Hisham Hamza, is in fact a double agent and orders you to take him out. The NSA however wants you to extract him safely. It is these little decisions which may affect the outcome of the game.












Note I mention the word 'may'. This is because despite the emphasis Ubisoft has played on this new trust system, it really does not seem that important whether you choose "decision A" or " B". The impacts of these choices on the game seem so trivial that you can always easily change things around in the next mission. However you may miss out on certain cinematics or bonus missions depending on your decisions.




Sam has a love interest in the game.. ^^









The levels in Double Agent are clearly much bigger and longer than its predecessor Chaos Theory, with every mission being broken into two parts. However the graphics were a letdown, and in some cases, the 2005 game seemed somewhat more beautiful than its successor. All the missions take place at night, or in a dark environment, but in some missions Sam does not always have his trusty equipment like his SC-20K rifle or even his trademark goggles. This really tests the player on his stealth abilities and pushes the genre to the limit. The A.I is still disappointing, because at times when you are so close to the enemy you would think that they would spot you any moment, they just walk on. However when you are sneaking behind a guard to grab him, he suddenly whirls around and you might have to reload from a save-point just to retain that stealthy status in the game.



Sam proves that he is still as lethal even when only armed with a combat knife.








For the single-player part, the Xbox version features one exclusive single-player mission ( Money Train ) and seven additional minutes of cinematics which help explain the game more clearly than its next-gen consoles. Fans of Chaos Theory's co-op play will be pleased to know that co-op mode has returned with more missions. Ubisoft has also scrapped the Spy versus Mercenary mode for the new Spy versus Spy multiplayer. ( I admit that I have not played any multiplayer mode yet, because I do not have Xbox Live, but stay tuned for an update on the co-op offline gameplay. )

Yes, the Xbox version may not feature spectacular visuals or new gadgets as seen in its next-gen counterparts. However Ubisoft Montreal, which designed the current-gen versions, has managed to keep the key elements which has made the Splinter Cell franchise such a successful game series. The storyline could have been established further, but other than a few hiccups, this is still Splinter Cell, and perhaps the best on the Xbox console. ( Its closest competitor would be Chaos Theory. ) The different choices and alternate endings increase the game's replay value and you would want to try the game on a different route just to see how you can perform better or wreck the whole operation.

If you do not know, many gamers who have bought the Xbox 360 version have traded it for the Xbox version. Find out why in our next review on the PC version, which is a port of the next-gen console version.

---

WORLD AND IT

- reported by Osiris.


The Rotters Int. team received a supply drop of computer games in Iceland, courtesy of an agent inserted by our C.S.T ( Close Support Team ) at GameAxis, Singapore.

Stay tuned for reviews of these games, as well as the delayed news podcast of the ongoing conflict in Iceland. As it stands now, the conflict is beginning to tide down as frequencies of artillery bombardments on both sides decrease. However we still do not know when this war will end. Updates to follow soon.

---

WORLD

- reported by Osiris.

This is the transcript of the interview with Colonel Andrews Hang-Sheng.

Osiris: Good evening Colonel. Now that the war against the Socialists has begun, do you think it is necessary to resort to conflict to resolve the political issue in Iceland?

Andrews: Yes, of course. For years we have been tolerating the misconduct of the Socialists, which has gotten from bad to worse. They disrespect us during Parliament and I think it is only through war that they will learn their lesson.

O: But the Socialists say the administration has disrespected the core values of the Istimewa Treaty, which gives them the right to freedom of speech. Why is it that the Socialists' webpage had to be taken down?

A: We feel that the webpage was part of a major psy-ops to deflate our party members' ego and morale. Yes, the Socialists have their right to speak what they want, but when the administration deems it inappropriate, then the Socialists have to be responsible for their actions.

O: This is a question which the international community still demands answered - who started the war?

A: Obviously it was the Socialists. They attempted to shoot down the plane of our President and this is a clear act of war. Hence the army has to respond with firm action.

O: But the Socialists say that you shot down their supplies plane first.

A: Who says that! The supplies plane was part of our response to the attack on the President's plane. We did not start the war - the Socialists did. Anyway it was them who wanted the war, not us.

O: What is the role of the 66^th Armour Division in S.Rajacurry?

A: Their orders are to re-take the refugee camp and eliminate any opposing force. If the Socialists are ungrateful to what the administration has given them, then we will take it back.

O: There are US troops in S.Rajacurry. Are there any reports of exchange of fire between the Americans and your troops?

A: Not at the moment, but I strongly believe that the Americansss are helping the Socialist troops. Our tanks, despite possessing immense firepower, are unable to break down the Socialists' strong defenses, something which our intelligence reports have not predicted.

O: When do you think S.Rajacurry can be re-captured?

A: Once the defenses have been destroyed, we can take it back.

O: Are the Terrorists facing difficulties in combating the Socialists' F-22s?

A: The F-22s are stealth fighters, so our radars are unable to pick them up. By the time the anti-air defenses pick them up, they would have bombed our positions. Therefore we are using the F-18s to patrol the clear blue skies as an early warning system.

O: And finally, when do you think this war will be over?

A: We still hope that the Socialists will see that there is no point in fighting and give up peacefully. A truce will benefit all Icelanders, and we can once again sing our national anthem with pride and gusto.

O: Thank you Colonel. And that was Colonel Andrews Hang-Sheng from the Terrorists' Army. This is Osiris, reporting from Mein Blork, in Iceland, for Rotters International.

---

WORLD

- reported by Osiris, in Mein Blork, Republic of Iceland.

Ever since tensions mounted between the two political parties, the people of Iceland have yet to hear from their President, who had been away on a koi-hunting expedition. Last Friday, President Bobby K finally spoke in front of a 2000-strong crowd of Socialists, making his stand clear that the Terrorists will not give in to the Socialists' demands, and urged all members and supporters of the opposition party to disarm peacefully.

His offer of an olive branch to the Socialists was not well-received, since throughout his speech, which had been written at 4am that day, the President condemned the misconduct and acts of treason of the Socialists. The President also gave the Socialists an ultimatum of 48hrs to comply with his orders.

The fighting between the Socialists and the Terrorists ensued even as the ultimatum had passed on Monday. Sensing that his speech had not taken effect, and the people were losing respect for their leader, President Bobby K immediately called an emergency meeting with senior officials of both his administration and the Socialists. The 450-strong Socialists had planned to boycott the meeting after learning that the venue had been changed to the convention centre at Ni Aunt, but decided otherwise after military vehicles turned up at S.Rajacurry amidst the heavy fighting to transport them to the meeting place.

During the meeting the President acknowledged the contributions of the Socialists, although he did not apologize for the strong and offending speech made on Friday. However the Guest-of-Honour of the meeting also stressed the importance of a ceasefire, saying that the prolonged civil war will lead to the downfall and self-destruction of the country.

The exact details of the meeting are yet to be disclosed, but Rotters Int. has learnt that the Socialist officials present at the convention centre were each awarded a certificate of appreciation, a move which the President hopes would improve the situation. The certificates were all empty, and the Socialists were told to pick up the actual awards on the 13th. The Socialists are wary of President Bobby K's intentions; many suspect that the Terrorists had laid a trap in the capital city to capture all of them when they turn up to collect their awards.

At S.Rajacurry, the fighting has worsened, with both sides taking heavy causalties. On Thursday, Terrorists fired artillery shells on the Socialists refugee camps and killed at least 36 people, including 18 children. The Socialists retaliated by launching a heavy air-strike on Terrorists armoured positions, destroying six of their Merkava tanks. The Socialists are still awaiting the arrival of their armour units, who had been stationed in nearby UK. Military planners told Rotters they were afraid that the supply planes transporting these vital support units would be shot down before they could deliver their cargo.



A Terrorist Merkava tank scurries away from the Socialists' air-strike.





( This report has been delayed due to unforseen technical difficulties. )

---

SINGAPORE

- reported by Ah Fatt.

Sweltering
'
Polluted air. At least for now.
OMG!
Rainy.
Erratic.

Weird.
Evil.
Alternates between hot and hotter.
TMD!
Humid. I can swim in the air!
Englanders will bake like lobsters.
Really xiao eh!

Sian.
Unlikely to get better.
Crap.
KNNBCB!
Seriously fucked up.

These are a few phrases commonly used by Singaporeans about their sunny little island. (All results based on a recent poll of Singaporeans aged between 1 and 1000 conducted by Singapore Met.)

---