Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction

10 Review to this product

• 

  Omar Nazif
  April 14th, 2010 on 12:19 am

  Rating

  Great game, been playing the story since I got it. Half-way through. Some observations:

  - Great sound, really moody, adds to the atmosphere, reacts to being detected, good for a cue. Great sound acting.

  - Story is well written, engaging, Sam Fisher is the supreme badass.

  - Very good graphics, despite the aging and ubiquitous Unreal engine. Very good level design. Lots of places to flank, cover, hide, and come up from behind.

  - Lots of screen tearing, not too bothersome. Noticeable, though.

  - Control system is awesome, you can pretty much take cover anywhere, even when not up against anything. Moving from cover spot to cover spot is slick, with arrows that point in the direction you’re pointing and slick animations when you move. Controls rival/exceed my personal favorite, the Rainbow Six Vegas series.

  - Shooting is crisp. Headshots kill, enemies sometimes require multiple shots in vitals (neck, torso) to die.

  - Grenades and toys are fun and have good placement when thrown. Good explosions and sonic reverberation, especially with 5.1 surround.

  - Good platforming. Sam moves smoothly, not like an idiot.

  The new game mechanics are sweet and I’m hoping to see them in future games. I think they’re all good. That would include:

  - the projection of current goals (with cool lighting/shadow effects)

  - the projection of backstory effects during cut-scenes (which are not really so cut, they flow with the gameplay well)

  - last known position (i think i’ve seen this in a couple games, not sure) great for creating a diversion, then flanking.

  - tag and kill executions. There is a strange bug where if a guy is tagged, he can be shot, even through solid objects.

  Overall, the game is really fun and a step forward in the right direction. The flexibility of choosing your path to kill made me want to replay a couple levels multiple times to see how cleanly I could clear each room. It’s possible to run and gun, but there’s a good sense of satisfaction to a well-executed kill. Playing on normal mode right now and looking forward to playing on realistic mode. Guessing the story mode is somewhere between 5-7 hours. Supposedly the infiltration and deniable ops mode add quite a bit of gameplay to the package.
• 

  Daniel T. Noe
  April 14th, 2010 on 5:49 pm

  Rating

  I’ve been a fan of Splinter Cell since the first one was released. I am very impressed with Conviction. The storyline is amazing, the graphics are awesome, and the action is jawdropping. My favorite feature of Conviction are the interrogation scenes. You have full control of Sam Fisher while he interrogates the villains. I highly recommend Conviction for any gamer who enjoys action and drama.
• 

  B. Talbert
  April 16th, 2010 on 12:12 am

  Rating

  Awesome new direction for Splinter Cell. Good story driven game. It has more gun play than previous titles yet it still holds true to the stealth genre. Perfect blend of action and stealth.
• 

  N. Johnson
  April 19th, 2010 on 2:22 pm

  Rating

  This Splinter Cell is a lot more action based than previous Splinter Cell games, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun!

  Story: 5/5 The story feels, to me, a lot more like a Tom Clancy movie than some of the other games in the series have. Splinter Cell 1, and 3 were the best games in the series (story wise), with this coming in at 3rd best in my opinion. The co-op story is also a nice addition to the game.

  Graphics: 5/5 Just what you’d come to expect from a Splinter Cell game. I actually like that it goes black and white while you are hidden from the enemies, but this eliminates the need for night vision, which might put fans of the series off a bit.

  Gameplay: 4/5 This is where the game hugely differs from previous games. The gameplay is a lot more action based, with the ability to “mark and excecute” enemies. This only happens once you’ve done a close up kill. So you can’t just run in and mark and excecute everyone. You have to earn it. Other mechanics that have been changed are how you interact with everything. There are little texts by each object you can interact with, which probably is to make it easier for people new to the series to know what they can and cannot interact with. Veterans know that pipes can be climbed, walls can be ran up, ect. Some people may hate the changes. Others, mainly new to the series, may welcome it.

  Game modes: 5/5 While the single player is fun, the co-op is where you are going to spend most of your time. There are many different co-op modes including a story, a “horde” type mode where you have to defend an object for wave after wave. As well as a hunter mode where you go though a level, eliminating enemies, and cannot be seen at all.

  Overall I would recommend this game to any Splinter Cell fan, or action game fan.
• 

  Coolreem
  April 20th, 2010 on 8:24 am

  Rating

  This game makes me feel that I am in 24 and I am playing a role like Jack Bauer. The graphics, gameplay, and sounds are great. The controls are very easy to learn with its “on the job training.” I did not get dizzy or feel confused at all while playing. Your mission is usually displayed in the scene in big letters so you dont have to keep hitting a map button or objective screen.

  If you like action, mystery, suspense, and drama you will not be disappointed.
• 

  D. Wilcox
  April 26th, 2010 on 10:06 am

  Rating

  I’ll keep this short and sweet… This game is by far one of the best games I’ve played lately. Graphics are great, story line is great, character movement is great. I really dig the co-op mode too! The black and white changes when you move into a shadow can be tricky, but I honestly don’t have a bad thing to say about this game.
• 

  Mr. Negative
  April 26th, 2010 on 5:02 pm

  Rating

  This game is a whole new and completely different approach to playing the Splinter Cell that anyone who has played the last 4 titles can attest. I love all of the games in this series, and this last installment has truly made for an interesting play. I like all of the changes, as it gives the game a completely different dynamic.

  I think it is well done on all levels: Story, Gameplay, Game Design, and Player Control.

  Sure, it has it’s imperfections here and there, but, overall, a first-rate video gaming experience.

  I highly recommend it to anyone.
• 

  Cloud
  April 27th, 2010 on 3:14 am

  Rating

  I’m finding it kind of hard to put into words just how I feel about Splinter Cell: Conviction (oh sorry, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction). See, the game originally had “hobo” Sam Fisher for awhile before last year’s E3 when Ubisoft unveiled its dramatic makeover with a focus on more faster, fluid and more dynamic gameplay, compared to the slower-paced, methodical and patience-requiring previous games. Only the game was met with 2 delays from October to February than finally then till April 13th and the demo wasn’t exactly released to high acclaim from some fans saying it wasn’t Splinter Cell anymore and it felt more like a 3rd person shooter with stealth bits which happen to involve Sam Fisher. But given Ubisoft’s pedigree and the delays intending for further polish, how’s the final game? Well that’s kind of where my difficulties since it’s a really fine game on its own and nicely put together yet it doesn’t hit me as “game of the year” which I was kind of hoping it was and it doesn’t feel like the game I’m going to revisit throughout the year. But the campaign is great, co-op’s an absolute blast and owners of the game will be given access to the Ghost Recon: Future Soldier multiplayer beta in the summer so there’s some bonuses there but as far as longevity and breadth of material for such a high price point might turn off people.

  Story: Agent Sam Fisher is no longer at Third Echelon and is gone into hiding though it doesn’t take long before his former colleague Anna Grimsdottir and tells him that people have been sent to kill him. Interrogating the leader, Sam finds out who is responsible for the death of his daughter Sarah and from there Sam delves deeper into the plot inside Third Echelon and the conspiracy behind it all. The reason why I left the story bits so vague and small is that the fun of it is discovering it for yourself and all the twists and turns are more compelling the less you know. Also another reason why I kept it vague is that I haven’t actually played a single Splinter Cell game before, maybe playing Pandora Tomorrow at one point but some of you fresh to the series might be entirely clueless as to what the hell’s actually going on when names, organizations and events are recalled with fans completely in the know and nodding while others are like “um…what?” But the game’s length, normally something that elicits whines is actually a perfect length for the game: it tells its story, it doesn’t bore by excess and it gets out before it overstays its welcome.

  Graphics: Looking at the game graphically, you can’t really say the game’s ugly but when so many games are really pushing the bar as far as graphics go, a game long in development as Conviction as well as Ubisoft’s ability to create some stunning looking games (Assassin’s Creed II, Prince of Persia, Far Cry 2), it’s somewhat underwhelming looking at this one but by no means is it a slouch. Character models are really well-done, lighting’s excellent and some of the scenes with large crowds look stunning. Conviction also adds a color/B&W scheme to its stealth where in hiding, everything’s in monochrome while if you’re in well-lit areas or in danger of being seen, it goes to color which is quite handy though strange at times since the game doesn’t impress graphically in black and white yet it’s recommended you play in it. As seen in the E3 demo, all your objectives and hints are displayed on the environment itself so as opposed to the “press Back button to see objectives” or an on-screen text telling you what to do, it’s projected onto walls and even flashback sequences in certain moments are projected as well. Sometimes it works incredibly well while other times, which have stuff like “anger” and “lies” onscreen is kinda much.

  Sound/Music: Now let me say that everyone in the main cast do their jobs exceedingly well. Michael Ironside returns as Sam Fisher who brings that anger into the role nicely when he needs to while everyone else doesn’t feel out of place. But it’s the enemy VO that is going to seriously grate on your nerves. Like Batman Arkham Asylum and Borderlands, your main baddies have a habit of talking a bit too much and not only that, saying the same thing too much so “come on out, Fisher!” can get repeated ad nauseum by more than one guy which tends to make you want to kill them as fast as possible. Music’s well done but the sound design is awesome and the explosions of grenades are seriously some of the best I ever heard cause those things sound threatening and dangerous for once, same with gunfire.

  Gameplay: Many stealth games are built on assessing the situation and figuring out how to dispatch enemies with little trouble and if you’re caught, doesn’t matter since they don’t know where you are anyway. This also means however that it can become really slow paced to the point where you’re almost waiting a bit too long for the right opportunity to do something which can wear out its patience. Conviction is built more like James Bond or Jason Bourne: get in, get rid of everyone quickly and get out before anyone realizes what the hell hit them. While this makes the game way more intense and action-oriented, it also feels like like a stealth game and more like Uncharted 2 starring Sam Fisher. No problem in it really but in other games it was usually never a good idea to be seen since a whole battalion was dropped on you. Here? Just throw some frags, exploding cameras and remote detonated mines so it becomes less about not being seen entirely but more like somebody who’s shooting and exploding stuff from who knows where. But Sam does have quite a few tricks up his sleeve from the mines, flashbangs to shooting things in the environment that can take guys out. It’s a lot more action-oriented which might turn off the stealth purist but for those on Realistic, it becomes more intense because of making sure things go right without getting caught.

  The new feature Sam gets to play with is the Mark and Execute which works like this: get a melee kill on someone and you have the option to “tag” enemies where pressing Y goes into a cool cinematic of Sam dispatching the enemies in one shot. This doesn’t make it the “win button” as some people were worried about since melee kills are not always readily available or accessible without being seen but it also makes clearing out a room sweeter. For example: say there’s 5 guys in a room, chandelier overhead 2 of them and another 2 on the other side and one right below where you are. Bit too much forces huh? Nope, just tag the 2 guys on the other side tag the chandelier and drop down on the one below, chandelier gets knocked down taking down the 2 while you shoot the other 2. There, room cleared. It becomes immensely satisfying and just looks cool doing it as well. You can add more upgrades to the amount of tags you can do as well as gun stats by going into your weapon cases where you can add more tags, more stronger bullets or better accuracy. While it’s worth it for the achievements, I found it was usually best to just stick with silenced weapons only as some guns can’t be outfitted with one which kind of sucks. Why would I want to bring this noisy assault rifle that gives away my position when I can take a silenced SMG?

  Another added feature is the co-op mode which comes in several flavors from the story mode which takes place prior to Conviction’s story to a horde mode type deal and several others. Playing with a friend is really quite fun though I’d bring friends you know since randoms have a weird tendency to want to treat it as a shooter and constantly get shot at or run off without you than whine about not keeping up. For those of you who want all the achievements you pretty much have to play every co-op mode there is and play them on Realistic difficulty no less so you’re bound to sample them though how great you find them can be a problem. In a cool move, Ubisoft is adding free DLC to the game seemingly every week with new equipment and costumes most likely being added and like I said, owners of the game will be able to play the Ghost Recon multiplayer beta that is supposed to be out in the summer with the full game in the Fall so that’s quite cool. Unlike other betas where you have to get lucky to be picked or to somehow receive a key, if you own Halo 3: ODST then bam, Halo Reach beta and it’s the same here. If you have the game, off you go. Hopefully more developers will start doing this as it lets everyone have a shot at playing while also potentially giving people a chance to love a game they might not even bothered with at it not been included.

  Honestly? Unless you’re a huge diehard fan of the series, I’d wait until this one dropped in price a tad. Even for a game this high profile, the price is a tad high given the amount of content but by no means is the content bad but considering the amount of it, it feels a tad much. But it’s definately a game worth playing, if not outright owning but with May looking to be one hectic month for game releases, maybe you’ll wait a bit.
• 

  R. Gabor
  May 1st, 2010 on 3:27 am

  Rating

  Story, Graphics, Gameplay 5/5. This game is just awesome. One of the most enjoyable games i have played in a long time.
• 

  Damastatoto
  May 2nd, 2010 on 12:00 pm

  Rating

  I’m a big fan of Splinter cell. It have high game ratings and good graphic, but short campaign. Is a great game.