The 10 Best Tom Clancy Games, According To Metacritic
Though he rarely did anything more than promote them, Tom Clancy carved a unique legacy in the realm of video games, developing a fanbase that may have not been familiar with his literary work. Ubisoft made many games that bear the Tom Clancy moniker, but fans are quick to think of three specifics franchises he put his name on.
Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and Rainbow Six are all beloved game series, and most are still releasing games to this day. But this does raise the question, which games are the best? Metacritic has some ideas.
10 Splinter Cell: Conviction (2010) - 85
Though it did derive some controversy, as it strayed away from the normal Splinter Cell style, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a stellar game that doesn't get the love it deserves. While it does have stealth elements, Conviction focuses far more on action than the previous games, which may not be everyone's cup of tea.
Sam Fisher's first wholly Seventh Generation game, Conviction's narrative and updated visuals were praised upon its release and still hold up, more than 10 years later. Also, this was the last Splinter Cell game for Sam Fisher's original actor, Michael Ironside, who couldn't return for the next game due to being diagnosed with cancer, though he thankfully beat it.
9 Rainbow Six (1998) - 85
Long before Operation North Star, Rainbow Six was a little PC game developed and published by Red Storm Interactive, a studio founded by Tom Clancy himself. Fans are fairly familiar with tactical shooters nowadays, but back in 1998, which was possibly the best year for video games, what Rainbow Six was doing was unheard of.
At the time, Rainbow Six caught fans off guard, as not only did the player have to use their head to survive, let alone win, they could be killed in one shot, ratcheting up the tension of the game. For its time, the game was brilliant, though its graphics haven't aged very well.
8 Rainbow Six 3 (2003) - 86
By the time the third game was released, Ubisoft had gained the I.P., putting several studios to work developing this new entry. Rainbow Six 3 continues the legacy established by the previous games, with its tactical gameplay scenarios being just as tense, if not more so.
There were two versions of Rainbow Six 3, but if one were to twist a fan's arm, they'd probably say that the version for the original Xbox was the superior one. Regardless, the third entry is a fantastic game that blows the original out of the water.
7 Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (2007) - 86
Set immediately after the events of the original game, Advanced Warfighter 2 feels less like a sequel and more of an extended expansion, as it does little to revolutionize the already stellar gameplay. The game sees the Ghost team from the first game returning to Mexico to stop an insurgency group from unleashing nuclear warheads
Though not as good as the Advanced Warfighter, the game is a solid experience that any fan of tactical shooters should try out. That said, be aware that the game is somewhat infamous, as it doesn't portray Mexico in the best light and relies on stereotyping and racist tropes.
6 Rainbow Six: Vegas (2006) - 88
While the first few versions of Rainbow Six were great, Vegas was when the series began to hit its stride. Unsurprisingly set in Las Vegas, Rainbow Six: Vegas follows a new Rainbow Six group who are sent into Sin City to stop a terrorist cell from attacking key locations in the town.
Vegas experiments a bit with the gameplay and mechanics, including a far more forgiving health system, though it's still best to not get cocky. Though many Rainbow Six games would be released after Vegas, this game is Rainbow Six defined.
5 Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006) - 89
2006 was a busy year for Ubisoft, as not only was Rainbow Six: Vegas released, but the fourth entry in the Splinter Cell series came out. After his daughter is killed by a drunk driver, series mainstay, Sam Fisher, is assigned by Third Echelon to infiltrate a terrorist group known as John Brown's Army, but where the story goes next is up to the player.
Though the prior games toyed with it, Double Agent properly implements player choice into the game's narrative, giving Fisher the choice to maintain his cover or act on his emotions. While both the various console versions have their differences, the game's plot structure stays the same.
4 Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (2006) - 90
Ubisoft's original Advanced Warfighter was a must-play game, especially on the then-brand-new Xbox 360. Set in the then-future of 2013, Advanced Warfighter sees a Ghost team infiltrate Mexico City to stop a spec-ops group from activating a nuclear "football."
While the prior Ghost Recon games were more strict in terms of being tactical, Advanced Warfighter toned that element down, though thankfully doesn't completely remove them. The mix of standard FPS action with tactical gameplay helps the title stand out from the other military shooters that were available at the time.
3 Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2004)- 93
In many ways, Pandora Tomorrow is the same game as the original, only its narrative has been improved and certain gameplay elements have been tweaked. Featuring a video game narrative better than many movies, Sam Fisher's adventure to stop an Indonesian militia from spreading smallpox, the game is more focused on its story, whereas the original's got lost in its revolutionary mechanics.
While players back in 2004 could easily get lost in the main game's fantastic narrative and more difficult gameplay, they'd also have loads of fun with their friends in the Spies vs. Mercenaries multiplayer, though this function would be improved in the next game. Though Pandora Tomorrow is a phenomenal game, it's still perhaps the weakest of the original Splinter Cell trilogy.
2 Splinter Cell (2002) - 93
The tagline for the original Splinter Cell was "Stealth Action Redefined," a statement that was far from hyperbole. Though Metal Gear Solid and Thief had made the genre popular, Splinter Cell went further with it than any game that came before.
Following Sam Fisher, as he investigates the disappearance of CIA agents in the country of Georgia, the game was the first Tom Clancy game to have a unique lead, with Fisher's cynical demeanor really gelling with fans. While later games would refine the stealth mechanics, Splinter Cell did a lot to change the game and is still worth a go today.
1 Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005) - 94
Not only is Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory the best Splinter Cell game, it's among the best stealth-action games ever. Released only one year after Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory sees Sam Fisher attempt to stop a war between the U.S., North Korea, and South Korea, facing many twists and a crushing betrayal along the way.
The game's darker narrative and implementation of a mechanic where Fisher can kill during an interrogation prompted the ESRB to give the game an M rating, but that did little to affect the success of the game. Chaos Theory was a financial juggernaut, receiving critical acclaim and being heralded as one of the best games of all time.
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