9 Video Game Recastings That Pissed Everyone Off
7. Irving Lambert - Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
One of the many things that made the original Splinter Cell so successful was its presentation. It might seem trite in retrospect but when it was released it was a big step in games feeling realistic and cinematic. It really did feel like you were playing a film or an episodic show that followed the exploits of Sam Fisher and Third Echelon.
Fisher was only as good as his backup, and the back and forth between him and his boss and old friend Irving Lambert, played by Don Jordan, made the game sing. The slow, methodical and stealthy action of Splinter Cell would’ve lost a lot of potency without the pair’s patter and Jordan’s deep, guiding voice.
There’s no official given reason why Don Jordan skipped out on the sequel but one theory is that, due to Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory being made at the same time by different arms of Ubisoft, it’s possible that Jordan may not have been available for both. Instead, Lambert is played by 24 actor Dennis Haybert.
Haybert’s performance was solid and he provided a good take on the character but it’s telling that he never returned to the role. Sam Fisher was defined in the first game in part by his relationship with Lambert, who in the eyes of fans is and always will be Don Jordan.