Features
Luke Dormehl
11:44, 8 Oct 2013
An ode to Tom Clancy and the awesome games his literary works inspired
Tom Clancy’s rapid-fire and technology-heavy thrillers redefined a genre -- and sold several thousand stealth warship-loads of books in the process. With Clancy’s recent untimely passing at the age of sixty-six, Know Your Mobile thought it was the perfect opportunity to look back at the master thriller writer’s career… as an unlikely video games innovator. Here are a few of the most memorable titles which carry his name.
THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER
Before the Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell series turned Clancy into a video game “name” to rival Tim Schafer, Will Wright and Shigeru Miyamoto (and before Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin headlined the 1990 film of the same name) The Hunt for Red October was a 1987 multi-platform game for Atari ST, Amiga, Apple II, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and IBM PC.
Combining submarine simulator and strategy game, the player controls the Red October as it navigates toward U.S. waters while avoiding the Soviet Navy. Controllable entirely by mouse -- and with some neat AI that sees the Soviets change tactics with each game -- this may not match the complexity of later Clancy video game adaptations, but it was ahead of its time nonetheless.
TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX
A bunch more Hunt for Red October games followed for the next decade until Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six was released in 1998. Originally for PC, this tactical shooter was later ported to Mac, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color.
Unlike the balls-to-the-wall FPS Quake-alikes, which were all the rage at the time, Rainbow Six eschewed firepower for a more tactical apporach; focusing on stealth, tactics and night vision goggles instead of railguns, rocket jumps and chainsaws. The result was immersive, difficult, and ridiculously popular. Indeed, between Rainbow Six and 1999 follow-up Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear, it sold 450,000 copies between 2001 and 2002 alone.
TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX 3: RAVEN’S SHIELD
We’re skipping a few Rainbow Six sequels here, but 2003’s Raven Shield really was an artistic highpoint for this particular series. While moving toward mainstream first-person shooters like Counter-Strike, Raven’s Shield still managed to amp up the realism -- resulting in a game that felt as close to reality as any in this series. And when it comes to Tom Clancy games, that’s no bad thing.
TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX: VEGAS 2
Eschewing some of its trademark realism for a more fun (and in some ways stereotypical) tactical shooter, Vegas 2 is still a Rainbow Six game to remember. If you’re looking for a recent Rainbow Six game, this might be Know Your Mobile’s recommendation. It doesn’t hurt that it will likely be in bargain bins either.
TOM CLANCY’S GHOST RECON
Why stop at one super-successful video game franchise when the market is clearly demanding more? First bursting onto PC screens in 2001, and following onto Mac OS, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube over the next couple of years, Ghost Recon was yang to Rainbow Six’s yin.
Taking place in the far-off futuristic world of 2008, players take control of the titular Ghosts: a squad of fictitious United States Army Special Forces soldiers from Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group.
Playing out from a first-person perspective, Ghost Recon changes the gameplay up, but still manages to hold on to the white-knuckle tension and tactical approach that made Rainbow Six a winner. No wonder it sparked a franchise.
TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL
Representing Clancy’s third successful video game series in half a decade, Splinter Cell appeared in 2002, introducing the world to highly-trained NSA Black Ops agent Sam Fisher.
Although Clancy reportedly objected to the character’s tri-focal goggles, they have gone on to become an iconic part of the character’s look, enabling him to stand out against a background of almost total darkness. For those unfamiliar with Splinter Cell, literal darkness plays an integral role in proceedings -- since Sam is encourage to stay in the shadows and use concealment whenever possible.
To this effect a “light meter” is displayed in-game, which reflects how visible the player character is to enemies. Upon its release, GameSpot praised Splinter Cell as possessing “hands down the best lighting effects seen in any game to date.” Oh, and voice actor Michael Ironside was superb in the role of Sam Fisher.
TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: CHAOS THEORY
Okay, we’re skipping 2004’s sequel Pandora’s Tomorrow on the grounds that, while it sold 3 million copies and added marginal improvements (including a multiplayer mode) it didn’t do too much to mess with the magic of the original. One could argue the same was true of Chaos Theory, but it had another unique innovation which added a whole new level of challenge: sound.
While retaining the emphasis on sneaking in the dark, Chaos Theory meant that players also needed to stay silent while doing it. Its co-op multiplayer mode was also a destroyer of hours.
TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST
The first wholly-new Splinter Cell outing for the current gen (PS3 and Xbox 360) consoles, Blacklist was released this August, making it the newest game on our list. Introducing a new gameplay mechanic that allows players to highlight targets and take them out in rapid succession while on the run, the game was praised for its story and gameplay mechanics by practically every reviewer -- although most took issue with the replacement of long-time Fisher voice Michael Ironside in favour of voice actor Eric Johnson, who also performed motion capture duties.
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Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard
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