Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow to use adaptive AI

January 5, 2004

Players of all skill levels looking forward to NSA agent Sam Fisher's next adventure will surely appreciate this latest development: Ubi Soft has announced in an interview on the British broadcast network BBC that Pandora Tomorrow will feature an adaptive AI that adjusts the difficulty to suit the player’s skill level -- making the game more accessible for novice players and raising the standard for experienced stealth game masters.

Recent releases like Max Payne 2 have featured adjustable difficulty setting, allowing players to raise or dumb down NPCs' (non-playable characters) toughness, alertness, and overall intelligence. Pandora Tomorrow, however, will present players alternative ways of overcoming a certain situation and will alter the plot (scripted events occur at different times; requirements to complete a level will be raised or lowered).

"We should be able to improve the game for particular kinds of people," said Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubi Soft. "It is about AI reacting to your abilities. If a player is good, [it knows] what to give him and, if not as good, to give him alternatives. If you cannot do something after 20 tries, [the AI] makes sure you still progress."

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, chronicling Sam Fisher's latest superspy exploit, is slated for a hotly anticipated March 18, 2004 release on all major consoles.

-Ramón V.

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