Mechanically speaking, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is the best and most sophisticated stealth game I have played in my life. The game gives you a ton of tools to complete any given objective, and the combination of both light and line of sight make this a game where you have a ton of options. It also has extremely strong level design, levels are much more open-ended than in OG Splinter Cell. It almost reminds me of an immersive sim at times with the amount of options, tools, and paths to completing a level. This is not even to mention the objectives that can be based on your choices in previous missions. The story, writing, and characters are all rather simple and passable outside of Sam Fisher himself who is an extraordinary badass as per usual. The story exists to serve the gameplay, and it’s good enough to not get in the way of the best stealth experience in my life.

DKC is on the harder side for a retro platformer, lots of 'gotcha' moments included, which means it takes a trial and error approach unless you have abnormal reflexes, although you have a stock of lives to tip the scale.

It does have elements that's shunned contemporarily, like its water levels. Other gimmicky levels are pretty good, some cart and slippery ice stages are spikes in difficulty, but I've grown to enjoy these as well in moderation.

While some platformers leave skill moves as a player advantage, DKC expects you to get accustomed to using them regularly or else you'd be hemorrhaging lives. Losing one of your Kongs is a good buffer but for some stages you'd better be holding dearly to Diddy since he's much more useful in obstacle heavy levels. Donkey is much better for eliminating enemies but Diddy is my - and others'- favorite.

Artistically I love its style. A good variety of cool designs keeps you well entertained, even water levels aren't rough on the eyes, despite how simple they are visually. With special mention to cave levels squeezing some extra flair just when you thought you got used to them.