In the context of the many recent big-budget game adaptations for both the big and small screen, a radio play sounds like an odd choice for what was once one of Ubisoft’s flagship franchises. But given that the games were generally at their best in their slowest and most deliberate stealth moments rather than the high-stakes action items of other titles, I’m cautiously optimistic that a radio format will enhance the franchise’s strengths. could play?
Available worldwide this Friday via BBC Sounds
Sadly, Michael Ironside isn’t lending his iconic voice to Sam Fisher this time around. Instead, the spy is played by Andonis Anthony, an actor apparently best known for his work on the long-running (and generally very twee) British radio soap opera. The Archers. He is joined by Daisy Head, Rosalie Craig, Sacha Dhawan and Nikesh Patel. The series has been adapted for radio by Sebastian Baczkiewicz and Paul Cornell, who he says appears to be a prolific writer of Doctor Who TV episodes, novels and radio dramas. his Wikipedia page.
“I really hope fans of the Splinter Cell game enjoy this. Not only does it have all the action, thrills and excitement the game is known for, but it also has more elements. There’s a lot of comedy, the drama is expanded and the horizons are expanded by the characters and what they get up to,” Poulter said in a statement.
Splinter cell: Firewall is recorded in binaural audio, which means it should feel like you’re listening to an immersive surround sound experience through standard headphones.
Although the last official Splinter Cell game (Splinter cell: blacklist) was released almost a decade ago in 2013, there is still life in the old stealth franchise. December last year Ubisoft announced it was working on a remake of the first game in the series, and Netflix also has an animated adaptation in development from John Wick franchise creator Derek Kolstad.
All eight episodes of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Firewall will be available worldwide on BBC’s radio and podcasts app BBC Sounds from Friday 2nd December. The show will also air weekly on BBC Radio 4 in the UK, from 2 December at 2:15pm.
