The Digest: Splinter Cell: Conviction is the way Sam was meant to be portrayed; a highly trained operative that is just as graceful as he is lethal.  After taking nearly a 4 year hiatus from the hands of eager Xbox owners, Ubisoft has rewarded patient fans with the complete package.  Welcome back Sam, it’s good to see you.

THE FACT SHEET

RELEASE DATE: April 13th, 2010
PUBLISHER: Ubisoft
DEVELOPER: Ubisoft Montreal
ESRB RATING: “M” for Mature
GENRE: Action-Adventure

PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction is the fifth installment in the wildly popular Splinter Cell series. A stealth-action combat game centered around the continuing adventures of black ops agent Sam Fisher, Splinter Cell: Conviction continues where the storyline of the earlier Splinter Cell: Double Agent left off. Packed with a mix of an engaging story, classic Splinter Cell stealth action, unique co-op gameplay and new gameplay mechanisms that are applicable to both single player and multiplayer modes, it is a worthy addition Splinter Cell catalog of games.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

• A New Level of Splinter Cell Action
• Blockbuster Experience
• Jaw Dropping Visuals
• Explosive Xbox LIVE Play
• An Exclusive Co-op Story Mode

The story falls in line with the typical Tom Clancy mix of betrayal, lies and conspiracy.  Much like the games new mechanics, Sam’s world is flipped upside down and he’s out for blood.  I won’t really go into much detail, as to not spoil the many plot twists that occur throughout the single player campaign.  Basically, you are thrust back into the world of espionage with the threat of an EMP set to be unleashed by a terrorist group.  While it was interesting, it wasn’t exactly memorable.  Conviction’s main bad guy isn’t in the game enough to really develop his character, which makes him entirely forgettable.   Everything wraps up a little too quickly and not in the most compelling manner.

Ubisoft creates an intense atmosphere that perfectly fits into the tone and presentation of the game.  Reprising his role as Sam Fischer, Michael Ironside lends his gruff voice to portray a furious Sam.  The plethora of brutal, but incredibly efficient takedowns show just how mad he is.  The same goes for the ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ he applies throughout the game.  While you’re confined to a relatively small area, these interactive cutscenes move the plot forward and they’re great to watch, especially since you control the action.  The single player campaign is relatively short and seems even shorter than the actual amount of time invested because each mission seamlessly transitions to the next.  Ubisoft achieved this fluid storytelling by hiding the loadscreens with cutscenes to keep you occupied.  This way you’re never left sitting around with nothing to do.  Keeping your focus on your surroundings, the developers incorporated objectives with projected text and videos.  This helps the gameplay smoothly flow by keeping everything from distracting you and instead letting you do what Sam does best.

The cover system they implemented here should be emulated by all games.  Sam is able to flow from one cover point to the next with ease.  Like his codename, Panther, Sam moves around with incredible speed and agility.  This helps in getting around patrols and to better position yourself for a takedown.  Unlike most games, you’re not pinned down to one point of cover.  Holding the shoulder button sticks you to the nearest cover and you let go when you need to make a quick escape.  You can easily maneuver from one spot to the next by pointing at the nearest cover and with the press of a button, you snake your way over to it.  If you’re detected you can seamlessly escape and disappear into the shadows.

Being a member of an elite black ops organization, Third Echelon, affords you certain luxuries.  Sam is used to having the most sophisticated gadgets for surveillance and combat available to him.  However, being a destitute ex-spy, Sam will start off with the bare essentials: his hands and a pistol.  Eventually he’ll expand his arsenal to include everything from EMP grenades to his trusty old sticky cam.  My only grievance with the controls, albeit a minor one, came from the gadget/grenade selector.  When you’re surrounded and need to make a quick escape you don’t have the time to watch enemies and scroll through to say, a flashbang.  Throughout the game you are awarded points for performing certain tasks and moves.  These points go into upgrading all your weapons and toys.  For instance, you can upgrade the range and power of a gun or add an extra mark for executions.

In video games, it is often difficult to effortlessly take out several enemy units with single, well placed shots.  However, a trained operative as deadly as Sam would be able to accomplish such a feat blindfolded.  This is where Mark and Execute (M&E), a brilliant feature incorporated into Sam’s arsenal of moves, comes into play.  M&E is a reward for getting up close and brutally taking down your mark.  After painting your targets (up to 4 at once with the upgraded five-seven) and they’re all within range, with the press of a button you watch as Sam precisely executes each of them.  While this was a controversial new feature since many saw it as an easy out, you have to work to earn M&E.  Also, the way patrols/guards are set up, it becomes impossible to take out pairs or groups without being spotted.  Once you see it in action, you’ll understand why this feature is vital to the game.  You can also, of course, choose to ignore it and just not use it.  The game also comes with an auto assist for aiming that allows you take small liberties, particularly for taking headshots.

A staple of this series was the ability to hide bodies.  This way patrolling guards won’t be alerted to your presence.  The difference here is that Sam wants them to know he’s coming and uses that fear against them.  While you can take the stealth approach and sneak past most guards without them ever knowing, what would the fun be in that?  You’re the predator and each stage is your jungle.  Blend in with the shadows and stalk each of your prey.  If you’re spotted, a silhouette will appear as your Last Known Position.  You can use this to your advantage to flank your enemies as they close in.

Light has always been a trademark of the Splinter Cell series.  It’s given a shot in the arm with Conviction.  The light meter has been replaced with a very innovative new feature to indicate your visibility.  While simple in concept, it makes for very fluid transitions between light and dark.  When you are hidden in the shadows, the screen goes black and white.  However, when you’re out in the open the color fades back in and you are vulnerable to detection.

The Co-Op mode is a prequel to the main story.  You take on the role of either an American agent named Archer or his Russian counterpart, Kestrel.  Teamwork is pivotal for the majority of this mode.  You’ll be up against larger waves of enemies and certain actions require a partner, such as breaching heavily fortified doors.  You can also share marks so if someone is out of your range, but within your partners, you can perform dual executions to take down groups of enemies in a swift action.  When one agent is taken hostage or downed, your partner can come in and take down the threat or revive you with a nice charge.  If you need to maneuver yourself through a maze of guards, your teammate can watch from a vantage point and warn you of an incoming patrol.  So as you can see, having someone to watch your back comes with many advantages.

Deniable Ops further extends your playing time with some new modes.  Last Stand has you protect an EMP from waves of enemies either by yourself or with a partner.  In hunter, you are tasked with clearing each area of patrolling guards.  However, if you like going the methodical stealth route, then you can play infiltration.  To unlock that mode you must register through Uplay and use your accumulated points to get it.  Finally, there is the 1v1 multiplayer mode, Face Off.  Your placed in a stage and pitted against another spy with the addition of a room full of patrolling guards who want to kill you both.

Conclusion: Splinter Cell: Conviction has been a long time coming.  Was it worth the wait?  Well, I believe it is far and away the best Splinter Cell game in its long history.  This reinvents the stealth action game and then kicks it up a notch.  With a stronger story and characters, this would’ve been rated a 10/10.  However, don’t let that keep you from playing this game, it is well worth your time.  Remember, the campaign is just one part of the whole package.

Single Player: 9/10 | Multi-Player: 9/10

Second Opinion

By: Patrick Tretina

As impossible as it may seem, Sam Fisher is back again for Splinter Cell Conviction and is as angrier than ever.  From the moment you pick up the controller, you can feel the rage running through Sam’s veins. His aggressiveness has not only been built into the dialogue and the storyline, but infused directly into the game play as well. Everything from the vicious take downs to the erratic interrogation techniques are a clear indication that Sam is far from putting his daughter’s murder behind him.

The story is set three years after the conclusion of Splinter Cell: Double Agent, where Sam’s daughter was brutally murdered.  His government agency, Third Echelon, having played no part in attempting to find a suspect certainly did not go well with Sam.   Fisher is brought out of retirement when new evidence surfaces about his daughter’s estranged killer.  Lucky for Sam, the new evidence leads to a prominent terrorist group who just so happens to be planning a major attack on our nation’s capital. To make matters worse, Fisher has gone solo and will stop at nothing to find who murdered his little girl.

The new Splinter Cell installment has proven to be far superior from its predecessors in many aspects. The game is played like that book you can’t put down and will have you spending all night in campaign mode until you beat it. The reason, no in-game loading screens to remind you to take your eyes off the screen to peer at the clock and realize its 4:45 in the morning. The game is also in constant action mode so you’re never sitting around waiting for lengthy dialogue clips to roll by. Instead, the cut-scenes are filled with enough action to keep you entertained and well informed, not to mention the maps are being loaded simultaneously while you’re drooling over the cut-scenes of the intense story line.

As promised, the game is no longer plagued by sloth-like stealth techniques that use to take forever to kill a stationary enemy. This time around, stealth is all about speed and intensity, making Fisher’s takedowns all that more rewarding.  Conviction also uses an all new in game cover mode, which allows for more flexibility when lurking through the shadows to gain an edge on a room full of enemies. You are no longer stuck to one motion while pinned in cover, instead you have free reign to move quickly and easily when needed. The game will have you feeling like a stealthy bad-ass in no time.

To compliment your newly acquired stealth-swag, is the all new interactive interrogations feature.  Instead of watching cut-scenes of Fisher grilling his foes to submission, you become thrown directly into the art of interrogating. These fun moves are rather easy to pull off yet they maintain a unique dimension the Splinter Cell series has never seen before.

Despite the single player campaign taking a little over 6 hours to complete, the game comes packed with a co-op campaign with completely different levels and missions. The co-op can be played on split screen or over Xbox Live as well. The developers have also added some bonus feature within the co-op that are well worth the time exploring.

All in all, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a ridiculous upgrade from the previous versions within the series. Then again, I wasn’t much of a fan of the last Splinter Cell, which might say a thing or two about my bias for the previous games.  Never the less, the new installment is definitely worth the price of admission or at least a spot atop your GameFly query.  Then again, you could go on with your boring life playing the same old game you’ve been playing for the past two years and not experience the phenomenon that is Splinter Cell: Conviction.