There are many improvements made in Pandora Tomorrow (PT) compared to its predecessor that make it a much more enjoyable game to play. You once again take on the role of Sam Fisher, an intelligence agent out to save the day. The story once again is a bit one note, relying on an individual out to kill millions, this time resorting to releasing a virus (ala Resident Evil) that will wipe out a large chunk of the population. The story never really grabbed me, instead feeling like an excuse to visit a variety of locations for your missions. And there are a VARIETY of locations. Compared to the original, the locations are a lot more varied instead of the same old office building.
As for the gameplay, there has been significant improvement here. The controls are a lot less clunky and Sam’s moves make sense. This coupled with a bit more health so the occasional fire fight doesn’t always result in instant death makes gameplay a lot easier. There is also the ability for alarms to decrease over time resulting in a lot fewer insta-fails. PT provided me with the feeling that I was playing as a secret agent as opposed to Splinter Cell’s constant frustration.
The graphics have also improved with the cutscenes in particular given a makeover so that they don’t look like people with bizarre puppet mouths anymore. With the HD remaster the graphics hold up considering the game was released in 2004 which is a testament to its original graphical prowress.
Verdict
Pandora Tomorrow is a marked improvement over its predecessor but with a story that lacks substance it became more of a chore to play despite more fun and less frustrating gameplay.
+ Fun gameplay
+ Great graphics
+ Varied locations
– Rubbish story
7/10 Good
