Splinter Cell, an evolution

We all remember (whether fondly or not) the blocky graphics and rubbish dialogue voice overs of the PS2 as a console. Hours of wondering why Lara Croft had borrowed Madonna's boob cones and if you were constantly talking through a cardboard tube. By far and wide, my favourite game series was born amidst these now eye wateringly bad game visuals, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.

We first met gruff NSA trained protagonist Sam Fisher in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell on PS2 in 2002. The storyline was set and very well played through gameplay and cut-scenes alike. If you were expecting a smooth control setup and character movement to be fluid from the start, you probably shouldn't play it. Boxy graphics on all characters (hands resembled shovels with lines on), copy and pasted textures for levels and surrounding areas and guards/npc pre-programmed patrol/walking patterns make it a cringe-worthy experience for anyone who is just staring to discover the delights of the PS2.

Moving on to 2004 gave us Pandora Tomorrow, a slightly improved game pasted onto the framework of the original, this time we take Sam out to Indonesia to contend with a completely different terrain and bad guys. A valiant attempt by Ubisoft to venture out of their comfort zone but not a memorable one, unless you count the amount of times you had to hear a set piece of dialogue because you died for a silly reason.

2005= Chaos Theory, some people's favourite instalment in the franchise (not mine). Attempting to ease tensions between a few Asian countries including China, Sam is now a little easier to control, easier to hide and starts to be an enjoyable character to play as. Hand-to-hand combat improves with the adage of a knife to his weaponry, useful in a new option; interrogation, a welcome addition to Sam's skills.

[Having never owned a PSP, I have never played Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials, I apologise that I can't include it here]

Still on the PS2 a year later than Chaos Theory and 2006 gives us Double Agent, now here's a game I can start to be excited about. Not much has changed in the gameplay style and the voice acting but the graphics have improved a tiny bit and the storyline gives us a choice based experience that sometimes leaves you in a quandary for a few seconds. Sam lands himself in a US prison so as to infiltrate an organisation (SPOILER ALERT!!!) hell bent on the release of Red Mercury. This time the player is given a choice after each major action in the game which will show afterwards as swaying your favour towards either the NSA or the JBA (John Brown's Army), a truly good game development that is a kind of predecessor of games nowadays which are choice based such as The Walking Dead.

Temporarily leaving the PlayStation platform, though staying available for the Xbox 360 for some unknown reason, Conviction (2010) ventured onto the PC and brought with it much improved graphics and smoother gameplay, much in the PS3 style. A true pleasure to play, after getting used to playing with a keyboard and mouse in place of a controller. A couple of new features to note are the mission name and location projecting onto walls and other such surfaces instead of written on Sam's PDA, secondly, the "Mark and Execute" function which allows Sam to highlight up to three enemies and, after completing a hand-to-hand takedown, precision kill all marked bad guys in succession and finally the LKP or Last Known Position, letting you know where enemies last saw you and where they will be shooting or converging on. Otherwise, there's an option to play as a two-player or solo as Agents Kestrel or Archer in Deniable Ops.

Three years was a long time to wait and we had all gotten used to the developed graphics of the PS3 by the time Ubisoft gave us Blacklist. 2013 I was 22 and eagerly waited to play this new instalment as I'm sure many others were. New graphics, new gameplay, new storyline and the option to upgrade everything from your Op Suit to the gadgets Sam uses makes me very happy indeed. [SPOILERS!!] Now the leader of Fourth Echelon (formerly Third Echelon), our team consists of new boys Briggs and Charlie while we welcome back a familiar face in Anna Grimsdottir. HQ has now changed to a plane known as "The Paladin" and we no longer see our "mentor" Lambert (See: Double Agent plotline on the internet OR play the game). Keeping the Mark and Execute option and the always effective hiding in shadows while dangling from an overhead pipe choice, there's little change aside from how good this game looks, the improvement on the stealth knife kill and the silent takedown. A much younger (confusingly so) looking Sam is a pleasure to play as and I will continually play the level/mission set in my home country and many other side missions. Oh I forgot to mention the online elements of the game are excellent and fun for a very experienced player of the series too.