Good
Unlike the story in the last game, the plot in Pandora Tomorrow is pretty easy to follow. An Indonesian guerilla leader by the name of Sadono is threatening the world with his stockpile of biological weapons, and it's once again up to super spy Sam Fisher to save the day. See, Sam works for a shadowy government group called Third Echelon, which regularly toils behind the scenes to make the world safe for democracy. As you might expect, this isn't the easiest job in the world, although Sam does get a few job perks, like plenty of frequent flier miles and some of the coolest spy gadgets around.
Thankfully, Pandora Tomorrow eschews the dreary Eastern European locales of the first game in favor of some new hot spots. The game spans the globe from Indonesia to Israel, France, and America, and each new area brings unique challenges and gameplay elements to the table. The levels in Israel are in densely populated urban areas, so there's lots of sneaking through back alleys and shimmying up pipes in order to run along the rooftops. The stages in Indonesia, on the other hand, involve slowly moving through tall grass and tents, taking out unsuspecting guards and disarming hidden landmines. This variety of levels keeps the game entertaining, as you are forced to change your strategies every couple of stages.
While the different types of levels are nice, there is one major thing that they all have in common: annoying checkpoints and loads. This is the biggest flaw in the game, and, at times, it's a pretty frustrating one. There are a few moments that you will only make it past one or two enemies before the "Loading" screen comes up again, which really hurts the pacing of the game. God forbid you should die, since the wait between death and rebirth takes a lot longer than it should. It's really too bad, since much of Pandora Tomorrow revolves around trial-and-error gameplay. If you can't make it through an area one way, just keep trying to find the right path until you do. Unfortunately, the long load times often make it seem like a chore.
Sam has still got most of his weapons and gadgets from the last game, including his trusty silenced pistol and SC20K assault rifle. The assault rifle comes equipped with a lot of the same gadgets as the last game, including the airfoil round for incapacitating enemies, sticky and diversionary cameras, and my personal favorite, the stick shocker. Shooting this little guy at your enemy will shock him, making him spasm and moan before falling to the ground. This time around, you don't always need to shoot it directly at him. If he's standing in a puddle, simply fire it into the water and watch the sparks fly. Combine these toys with Sam's night and thermal goggles, fiber optic wire, and camera jammer, and you've got enough tools to sneak into Fort Knox.
