I’ve got to admit, I usually don’t hold out too much hope for a game when I hear it’s been delayed. As soon as I hear the release date has been pushed back, I tend to fear the worst. The game must be bad if the publisher is choosing to hold it back, right?
It’s no secret Splinter Cell: Conviction has faced its share of delays. Originally the game was slated to be released back in November of 2007, but was taken “back to the drawing board” on more than one occasion. In fact, the game was delayed a total of three times before finally seeing store shelves.
Can a game that has been re-imagined three times over still come through the other side unscathed? Can fans of the series put faith back into a game that has been resurrected from the dead? The answer to both questions is yes.
The Story
The game takes place a few years after Splinter Cell: Double Agent. A few things have changed. Sam Fisher’s daughter is dead and Fisher has left the government agency known as Third Echelon. It appears Fisher is ready to start a new life when he’s called back into action once again. Is there a chance his daughter really wasn’t killed? Could those responsible for his daughter’s death/disappearance be plotting a major terrorist attack? Fisher has no choice but to jump back into the line of fire.
The Gameplay
Splinter Cell: Conviction breathes fresh air into the stale stealth genre. While the mechanics of the game play out like many other action or stealth titles, Ubisoft Montreal has tweaked a few key aspects, helping the game stand out from the pack.
As Fisher makes his way through environments, you’ll notice you can interact with almost anything. You can nudge vehicles to make alarms go off to distract your foes, and lights can be shot out to give you shadows to hide in. You can also take cover behind almost anything in the game.
One of the best new features is the game’s new interrogation mode. Sometimes you’ll run into an enemy who just won’t tell you what you need to know. That’s when you rough them up a bit. Fisher will hold his foe up by his throat, you can then move him around the screen and look for an object to interact with. See a television? Why not bash your opponents head into the screen? How about that piano over there? Throw him into it and listen to his skull dance over the ivories. Oh, and that urinal! Why not bust it off the wall by smashing your enemies face into it? Yes, interrogation mode is sweet.
Another clever addition is the “Mark and Execute” maneuver. If you get rid of enough enemies using hand to hand combat, you build up a meter which lets you “mark” your enemies. By aiming your weapon, you can preselect who or what you want to shoot. Once you have marked everyone (some weapons allow you to mark more than one enemy at a time) you simply hit the Y button to “Execute”. Fisher will then fire a bullet into each of the enemies killing them all. It’s slick and a lots of fun to pull off.
While you have plenty of weapons and gadgets to choose from in the game (snake cam, EPS grenades, sonar goggles) there are times when avoiding enemies is simply best. You can jump into the shadows and disappear from site if you choose. Normally a game would have a shadow meter to let you know when you’re hidden out of sight. Conviction, however, goes into a monochrome mode when you’re completely hidden in the shadows. It’s effective as you know when you’re hidden. There’s no mistaking it. The new stealth mode does a good job of keeping the screen clear of unnecessary meters and icons so you can focus on the action.
The Controls
All the controls in Splinter Cell: Conviction seem natural. You won’t be playing hand Twister with the buttons–even the more advanced “Mark and Execute” move is a breeze to pull off. True, some actions require practice, and the cover system can prove tricky at first, but within a few levels most players will be skilled enough to progress through the game at a decent pace.
The Graphics
I love the look of Splinter Cell: Conviction. It feels like a movie. The presentation is slick and quite often you don’t see any health gauges or stealth bars which can distract from the action on the screen. Even the tutorials look hot! Instead of having text on the screen telling you where to go, or giving you a hint at your next objective, all clues are projected onto the environments. Clues and in-game flashbacks are projected onto walls giving the game a unique film noir feel. I love the new look!
The Downsides
Splinter Cell: Conviction can hold its head pretty high, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have a few faults. While it’s a great idea to be able to jump over tables, concrete barriers, and stub walls, I kept asking myself “why is the jump command the same button that’s used to pick up a weapon?” If a gun is laying next to a cubicle and you try and pick it up, one of two things will happen: Ideally you’ll pick up the gun, but there’s also a good chance you’ll jump over the cubicle instead. Yes, it happened time and time again! Testers should have realized early on that trying to pick up an item or weapon near an interactive piece of the environment results in a frustrating experience.
My other beef is with the new stealth detection mode. Having the screen turn monochrome every time you’re undetectable is cool at first, but man do you ever play through a lot of the game in monochrome! I’m sure the game is full of rich colours, but you sure don’t get to see them very often. You’re always shooting out lights to give yourself an advantage, but the end result is an environment which is not only boring, but nearly impossible to navigate when many areas are almost completely black. No, there is no flashlight in the game to help you maneuver through dark areas.
The Bottom Line
I was pleasantly surprised with Splinter Cell: Conviction. The game not only looks great, it’s an awful lot of fun to play. It’s clear Ubisoft made the right decision in holding off on the release until it knew it was ready for market. The game is polished, and even the few flaws I uncovered don’t take away from the overall game experience. Splinter Cell: Conviction may be long overdue, but it was certainly worth the wait.
The Good
Great Graphics
Interactive interrogation mode
Top notch presentation
The Bad
Single player game is a bit short
Monochrome stealth mode gets annoying
Why are the jump over obstacle and pickup weapon commands designated to the same button?
8.5 / 10