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Some interesting new details.

Ubi Soft announced today it's nearly finished with the PlayStation 2 version of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, including several upgrades and extras exclusively for Sony's console.

In development with Ubi Soft's Shanghai studio, Splinter Cell (due in March 2003) was an exquisite-looking game on Xbox, and has had to endure transitional changes from the powerful Xbox to the more complicated-to-program-for PS2. But according to Ubi Soft, the game has come through the process with flying colors. Ubi Soft has added new levels, gadgets and cinematics to the PS2 version for starters.

Re-creating the dynamic lighting and shadow system from the Xbox version, the game now offers new weather and ambient environment effects, such as hazy heat, reflective surfaces, sea waves and depth and focus blurring.

Additionally, Ubi Soft will bring the excellent sounding special effects from the Xbox over, using a triple streaming process to separate individual voices, sound effects and music, then rendering them in Dolby Pro Logic II for realistic and chilling effects.

"We have added stunning visual and sound effects that have never before been seen on the PlayStation 2 -- really maximizing the capabilities of the system," said Tony Kee, vice president of marketing, Ubi Soft. "Then we added more of what made the Xbox game so cool, adding new levels, gadgets and cinematics that really make Splinter Cell on the PS2 an incredible gameplay experience in its own right. Yet again, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell will change how gamers look at their consoles!"

Source: IGN