In almost four years the name of Sam Fisher has become one of the famous ones in the videogame industry. Often measured up to Solid Snake, the well-trained secret agent from the National Security Agency was one of the new stars in the current-gen games. Lurking in shadows, picking locks and dwelling terrorist is a piece of cake for this fifty years old chap.

The first three Splinter Cell titles starring Sam Fisher were quite enjoyable and sold well, so a fourth title was to be expected. Things are going to change drastically this time however, if we can believe the statements Ubisoft have made. This time the game focuses more on the character of Sam Fisher. What do we really know about Sam Fisher besides that he has a (dead) daughter? Developer Ubisoft really wants us to get closer with Sam. We even get to see him quite some time without his trusty night-vision goggles. Wow, that must be really embarrassing for our friend Sam and quite a shock for us.

Every Splinter Cell title is way better than its predecessor. At least, that's what Ubisoft tells us every time. The AI is improved in every game, levels are wider with more choices for players to make and new gadgets are at Sam's disposal. And indeed, these are the things also enhanced in Splinter Cell: Double Agent Ubisoft tells us; bigger environments, more freedom, better AI and as always, better looking graphics.

This time Fisher is on a mission to stop some terrorists. They're still out there... well, sort of. They're in prison; Sam must go undercover in this dreary prison setting to infiltrate this group from within, and that's where a new gameplay element drops in. You really have to do your best to become one of the terrorists. The choices players make are now vital to the story and mission developments because of this. Kill a couple of innocent people to gain some credits with the terrorists? Or hesitate with the danger of losing their trust? These different choices will result in multiple endings; it truly will be a test of moral character and a battle to cope with the consequences of your decisions.

As you can see on the screens the graphical look of the new Splinter Cell instalments is somehow tweaked from previous versions, however the question remains how these graphics hold up on our good old GameCube. Ubisoft claims that every console gets a special treatment so that the graphics of each version are maximised. No news about the multiplayer modes for the GameCube yet, but including the same co-op mode as in the previous mode seems logic. Unfortunately an online mode for our Cube looks unrealistic.

Ubisoft had better have a bunch of people available this summer because they've quite some work ahead of them. Five versions of Splinter Cell: Double Agent are planned to be released this autumn, a GameCube, PS2 (PS3 possible), Xbox, 360 and PC version. Heck, who knows, maybe even a Revolution version is in development. The game has recently been delayed to this time, so you can imagine Ubisoft are really making some changes to make this game worthwhile. The prison angle seems very intriguing, and we can only hope they spend the extra time to make it as enticing as possible. There's an awful lot more to this game, and it should certainly make for an awesome and original, if not a little disturbing experience. Expect more on Splinter Cell: Double Agent this May, during E3.