Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Essentials

A third-person stealth-action game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft in 2006 exclusively for the PlayStation Portable. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Essentials is a spin-off of the series, once again putting players in the role of Sam Fisher. The story takes place after the events of Splinter Cell: Double Agent: Fisher has been arrested and interrogated at the NSA headquarters, recalling key missions from his career. The campaign consists of new levels and reworked missions from previous games, adapted for portable gameplay. The game retains classic stealth mechanics, such as using shadows and gadgets, but due to the PSP’s technical limitations, controls and enemy AI are simplified. In addition to the single-player mode, there is a multiplayer mode featuring local battles. Essentials received mixed reviews, with critics praising the atmosphere and the attempt to bring the series to a handheld device but criticizing its downgraded graphics, controls, and limited stealth mechanics compared to the mainline games.