The stealth-espionage genre was made mainstream with 1998's Metal Gear Solid, but Kojima's series faced stiff competition from Ubisoft and the "Tom Clancy's" brand almost immediately. Splinter Cell dialed up the realism and ripped-from-the-headlines stories in place of the outright goofiness of Metal Gear, added a revolutionary lighting system for more stealth opportunities, and gave us one of the most iconic characters of all time: Sam Fisher. Played by Michael Ironside, Fisher's gravelly voice and snarky personality made him an instant icon.

Not all Splinter Cell games have stood the test of time. A few simply feel dated by today's standards, but the very best Splinter Cell games remain absolute stealth classics. These are the Splinter Cell games ranked from worst to best.

Splinter Cell Essentials

Easily the weakest Splinter Cell game (not counting ports) Splinter Cell Essentials is a very weird game and anything but essential. It was billed as a sort of companion game to Double Agent, but released a full six months early after the latter game was delayed. Essentially (sorry) an alternate take on the events of Double Agent, Splinter Cell Essentials features a mix of new missions and flashback missions that are basically lifted from previous games.