Splinter Cell Conviction

[GiantYoda]

After playing the hell out of this game I'm confident enough to finally write a review. Here's my thoughts.

 

Prenote: I've never beaten nor liked any Splinter Cell game ever created. The controls feel too stiff, the stealth is painstakingly annoying, and the combat and story feel subpar. But back to the point at hand.

 

Story: Pretty much everything sums down like this for those who haven't heard. Sam kills his best friend Lambert after finding out he planned the death of his daughter who also forced him out of Third Echelon leaving him to go rouge. Sam runs away to Europe faking his own death in attempt to blend into society avoiding in hopes of avoiding detection from Third Echelon and the U.S. government. Of course there wouldn't be a sequel if Third Echelon wasn't involved in discovering Sam and forcing him to do some old fashion dirty work except this time Sam doesn't have a superior to tell him 3 alarms will end the game, and being spotted results to instant death. Instead Fisher plays by his own rules on his own terms to find out who killed his daughter and why his former employers betrayed him. Overall the story sounds very Bourne esque with double crosses, moles in secret agencies, and crazy gun/hand to hand fights along with a few awesomely brutal interrogation situation. Think the Bourne series meets Taken.

 

Presentation: First off the game looks decent for current gaming standards. Conviction runs on the dated Unreal 2 engine rather than the Unreal 3 engine, which is surprising since scenery, shadows and lighting looks pretty good for old technology. There still pop in textures, frame delays and odd animations once in a while, but they're hardly noticible when you're busy hiding in the dark hunting down armed guards. Levels are linear of course but there are definitely multiple routes of navigation that leave players imagining the possible ways to take out enemies. Rooms always end up at the same destination but there are at least two ways of getting there. Compared to the old games, Conviction sure as hell isn't an eyesore of green. While hiding in the dark, the theme drops to black and white accentuating key environments and danger with the use of lighting. Rather than forcing your eyes to adjust to a screen full of green hue. everything is highlighted allowing you to tell objects and people apart. It also provides a sense of security knowing you're hidden without relying on a two bit light sensor telling you whether or not the place you're standing in is dark enough.

 

Gameplay: The control scheme has taken a 180 compared to the Splinter Cell of old. No longer do you have to painstakingly creep behind targets just to have them turn around the exact second you plan to punch them in the face. Hiding and sneaking around and past enemies is no longer a necessity. Instead Sam is a hunter in the shadows. He doesn't wait to walk away unscathed, he waits for the prime opportunity to break your neck and shoot three dudes in the face with one motion. Players are introduced with a new snap on cover system similar to many popular 3rd person shooter games and a "move to cover" command that allows easy movement from place to place without stumbling in front of enemies or objects. In fact Sam has become more agile with age with the ability to leap over cover, climb heights and skip along ledges with speed and easy. Overall the game's pace is fast and heavy even though stealth remains to be its main attribute.

 

 

Of course you get a gun, a lot of guns actually. Sam's arsenal has widened since he no longer needs to utilize government issue weapons. But of course Sam's favorites the FN Five-Seven and FN SC3000 remains in the series and are unlocked later in the game. From Mk.23's, AK-47's, MP5's, Conviction holds the largest arsenal in Splinter Cell history. Although most players will end up sticking to only a single useful pistol and only a handful of silenced assault weapons in order to maintain a stealthy stature the game demands. Gadgets are back except they're more targeted towards assisting in easing your way to killing enemies rather than disabling them with non lethal force. Sure you can use flashbangs and EMP grenades to escape hairy situations. But its much more fun to blind them, break the neck of the first baddie, and mark and execute the remaining 4 on the fly while they remain stunned. Playing the mass killer leads to risky rewards and easy deaths, but the Conviction doesn't push you completely for trying. Also, Ubisoft reveals more weapons every Thursday for those willing to replay levels.

 

The "tag and execute" ability adds in new strategy for those looking to take the easy way out in a tight combat situation, but it doesn't mean its a problem solver. In order to execute enemies you have to earn the right to use it by taking out enemies by hand. This means sneaking behind enemies and brutalizing them, plucking them from windows into a two story doom, or climbing from above and landing on their heads. Hand to hand combat is simple, fun and rewarding for those who do it right. The combination of a spot on targeting system with crosshairs that finally shoot dead center, awesome physical take downs, environmental hazards, tech gadgets and the ability to tag and execute makes Splinter Cell Conviction tons of fun for devious player who lavish in experimenting with henchmen doom. Tagging can also be done through peering under doors and later in the game, scanning through walls with the use of sonar goggles. Even though you can see through objects with the sonar goggles, its impossible to move around without a screen full of fuzz in your face. Use it during downtime to utilize it to great effect.

 

The number one peeve I had with the old Splinter Cell games was how the developers never pointed out in a clear manner level direction and primary targets. If I had a nickel for every time I got lost in a level or killed a target who I was supposed to interrogate, I'd have enough to pay for the money I spent for my previous collection. Rather this time the game wittingly tells you exactly what to do through projections marked on environments. Its as if players are peering into the thoughts of Sam as he goes through his missions. Objectives are clear and becoming lost is harder since the game has been streamlined. Everything is simplified in a clear manner. Everything has been stiffened to the point where accidents rarely happen.

 

Overall: Saying from a non Splinter Cell fan, I absolutely LOVE this game. The co-op is awesome when you have someone capable of talking and planning (so play with a friend.) The story isn't all that thrilling, but the game play is tight and intuitive. Though there is one really terribly thought out and boring mission with a flash back into Sam's past in Iraq. Getting past it makes you appreciate the new game mechanics more. After finishing the game and the co-op at a combined total of 15 hours I wanted more out of it. Its fun alone and its fun with a friend. I can wholeheartedly recommend it to those who are a fan of stealth and action games. If Ubisoft continued to go down this direction I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another Splinter Cell sequel.

[Theos Sairin]

very comprehensive review... tho i do ask, what's your marks out of 10 for each thing i.e

 

story

presentation

gameplay

overall

 

i must say, from the sound of this review it seems ubisoft have finally got round to removing some of the more annoying features, i think i will buy this =D

[Semi]

Well splinter cell is not a bad game. It have really good plot and of course Sam Fisher with his glasses:)

But for me MGS is better but maybe this two games are different. BTW nice review:)

[GiantYoda]

Honestly if I had to give it a number grade, it would be a 8.9 out of 10. It has replay value but it will get old after a while.

[Sharp]

awesome review, i really liked this way more than the other Splinter Cell games... but i still loved the older ones though. it required more thought process, but in this one, with the exception of 2 missions, you can just go balls in like its CoD

[D4Rk3lEmEnT]

awesome game.

[Vaan]

I feel like the switch of combat was driven mostly by the change of scenario in the story, but it doesn't feel Splinter Cell anymore. If you were a fan of the previous games, Like Chaos Theory, Convictions combat almost feels like a betrayal to the series. It focuses more on Gun play and violent take downs than sneaking and gadget use. I always loved that pain staking creeping you had to do. The game was never about shooting or killing, it was about being a ghost operative across enemy lines. Still overall a great game, I had a lot of fun playing the co-op.

[GiantYoda]

Its definitely a Splinter Cell game catered to those who hated the first 3 games. But its still fun as hell

[Sharp]

They took out the best multi-player ever created...

 

Spys vs Mercs.... thats hit was awesome.

[Bropo]

I love this game mostly because i can replay a level and execute rooms of people a different and unique way all the time its a lot like a torture game for me lol