The lowdown:
You can only imagine that Sam Fisher must get a good pension, because he doesn't seem to have an easy life. This time his role as a double agent in a terrorist group forces him to constantly make difficult moral choices, from big set piece decisions on whether to execute hostages to simple choices in-game such as whether to help out civilians. Although there are few significant changes to the controls this time around, for once most of the game doesn't take place in the dark. Stealth is still paramount though, especially since two onscreen trust meters track whether you're still in favour with both the terrorists and the NSA. The terrorist base also acts as a sort of hub world which you keep returning to between missions and slowly explore and unlock as the game's story unfurls.

Most exciting moment:
The expanded Spies vs. Mercenaries multiplayer game now has even less connection to the single player campaign, with the spies using only hand-to-hand combat and moving much faster than Sam Fisher. It now supports a total of six players at once and is one of the few online action games to offer a genuine alternative to the normal first person deathmatches.

Since you ask:
The next Splinter Cell game is subtitled Conviction and is due out some time next year. Controversially it has been announced as an Xbox 360 and PC exclusive only, with no PlayStation 3 or Wii versions currently scheduled.

The bottom line:
The best Splinter Cell yet, particularly in multiplayer mode.-HARRISON DENT