Splinter Cell director says Metal Gear Solid's "clear rules" showed the team "how stealth should be done" and "set the rules for any stealth game"
Jul. 6, 2024Sam Fisher pickpocketed a few tricks from Solid Snake
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Ubisoftdevelopers working on the original Splinter Cell borrowed a thing or two from Metal Gear Solid’s influential, stealthy ‘action espionage’ way of doing things.
Hideo Kojima’s 1998 action-adventure, Metal Gear Solid, by no means invented the the act of sneaking around intricate, zig-zagging levels all while unarmed, but it did somewhat popularize the stealth genre in general. Metal Gear Solid’s complicated anti-war storyline and sometimes indulgent, always ambitious cutscenes are probably what garners the most attention nowadays, though the game’s careful infiltration is what snuck into other series.
Speaking toRetro Gamerin Issue 261, the original Splinter Cell director Francois Coulon reveals the team looked to Solid Snake’s antics for inspiration when creating Sam Fisher’s similarly hush-hush debut. “MGS showed us how stealth mechanics should be done,” says Francois, specifically pointing to the classic game’s “clear rules” that always clarified what was happening and how to react.
“It is a complete and consistent set of rules that set the way for any stealth game,” Coulon continues. “Remove one of its elements and the experience will be dull, frustrating, or ridiculous. MGS was perfectly executed in that regard. No frustration - you know when you lose and you don’t blame the game for it.”
Things have come full circle for both stealth icons in the decades since their debut as publisherKonamiwent back to the drawing board with aseries of re-releasesand an upcomingMetal Gear Solid 3 remake, and Ubisoft is kind of trying the same approach with a Splinter Cell remake that was announced three years ago and has sincegone MIA.
While we wait for both, why not check out thebest stealth gamestip-toeing around?
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
Get hundreds of hours of RPG goodness for $30 with this bundle of 8 games that includes the first two Baldur’s Gate games, which are absolutely worth playing
Xbox teases “something little is coming,” pushing community manager to immediately shut down handheld and “Xbox 720” speculation
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 first reactions are in, and they’re glowing: “It’s the closest Hollywood has made to a Dragon Ball movie”
