Every now and again great video game series have to go under some major changes in order to continue flourishing. For example where would the Super Mario series be now without the incredibly stellar Super Mario 64? It’s totally different from the two-dimensional games that came before it. Prepare to bring out your ski mask and goggles once again because Sam Fisher is returning. Splinter Cell: Double Agent, after some delay, is slated to be available this September. After getting some hands-on experience with this fantastic next generation title at E3 I can say with certainty that things will not be the same for Sam again.

The game starts out with Sam on your run of the mill NSA mission; sneaking around in shadows towards the objective. All of a sudden Lambert cuts in on the earpiece calling the mission off, and it’s obvious that something isn’t right. Sam returns to find out that Sarah, his only daughter is dead from a car accident with a drunk driver. With his only connection to normal life gone, Sam is maddened by grief and tries to lose himself in his work. He volunteers for the most dangerous work the NSA has to offer, becoming a double agent, and in this case it is means he’ll have to infiltrate and down a terrorist organization operating inside the US.

In order to move up in this organization and find out their end-game Sam needs to make many difficult decisions. In one stage, the leader of the organization hands you a gun and tells you to execute an innocent civilian -- what do you do? Do you take the gun and put one right between his eyes; effectively earning respect within the organization, or do you let him live, losing confidence and trust within the group. Forget black and white here folks, things are all grey with the new respect system. After all, what’s one innocent life when it comes to saving millions? What if that life is a fellow US double agent? Or even someone you know? Ubisoft’s new system of choice leads off into branching storylines that change the story dramatically as you play. The game will even have three to five different endings depending on the paths you take.

At the heart of the game of course is stealth, yet it’s somehow different. As someone who has played every console Splinter Cell, I can tell you it is really fresh, yet somewhat similar. At the beginning I moved Sam around in jungle-camo and Ray-Bans instead of his black signet outfit. Maneuvering Sam through an African town in broad daylight was somewhat strange at first. The stage felt like the prior Splinter Cell multiplayer games when one would control the mercenary character. I zigged and zagged up the roadways picking off terrorists with my assault rifle as I went. There is no hiding in shadows here and in typical SC fashion it was challenging and fun. My playtime was cut short however as a nearby terrorist took me out from the inside of a nearby window.

Of course Splinter Cell has always been about awe-inspiring moments of super-spy coolness. I went on to watch a designer during a demo play session as he was navigating a glacial area. He dove into the water and swam to a nearby area where a guard was patrolling overhead. He actually knocked on the ice getting the guard’s attention. The puzzled guard walked right overhead as Sam broke through the ice, causing the guard to fall right in. Right at that moment Sam adds injury to insult by stabbing the guard in the chest and climbs back above ground. Also if that doesn’t tickle your fancy Ubisoft will be making context sensitive attacks for each of the different missions. From skydiving to infiltrate a desert training area or rappelling down an eighty-eight story building, there’s something for everyone.

A feature worth mentioning here is the new dual objectives. Just because you are working for a terrorist organization doesn’t mean you can’t try to sabotage them as well. In each mission you need to complete objectives for the terrorist group and for the NSA as well, at the same time (a’la Alias). Tension is built as of course with each dual objective you risk blowing your cover.

Finally I need to clear up the nasty rumors regarding the SC E3 Trailer. After watching the trailer there was quite the uproar as people noted that Michael Ironside was actually absent and someone else took his place. Well in a recent interview, Ubisoft officials have gone on record stating Michael Ironside will return as Sam Fisher -- look for his return in Splinter Cell Double Agent this September.