This was a review that I held close to my heart. All it’s life, Splinter Cell stood to be an innovator of the stealth shooter series. For those of us faithful to the series- there was never a dull moment. Taking us from Georgia to Tokyo to South Africa and beyond, we followed Sam Fisher through turmoil and distrust. We were shocked when we found out Nikoladze’s diabolical scheme to destroy America and we were dumbstruck when we had to shoot our closest friend, Lambert.
But now, we dive even deeper into the heart and soul of one of the world’s deadliest men as we embark on a new adventure of conspiracy and destruction.
Splinter Cell: Conviction is a wild story following Sam Fisher’s discovery that the death of his daughter, Sarah, was a hoax created by a branch of the CIA he used to work for, Third Echelon, as an elaborate way to make him fly no-holds barred into an enemy base as a Double Agent.
Instantly, you’re thrown into chaos. With an army of tools at his disposal, Sam has taken down government conspiracies, Apocalyptic warheads, and even won a few wars before they have begun. But in more recent days, he’s become a cynical, angry man, and it’s apparent in everything he does, from the way he walks to the way he talks, even slapping around some people to get his point across. And why not? After losing the only person that humanized him, Sarah, he had nothing to live for, and fled Third Echelon.
Right away, you’ll notice that there are no training wheels. No one wastes your time by thrusting you into a cheesy “Look soldier, this is how it’s done” level. Darkness is your best friend, and you’re completely unprepared save for the generic pistol Sam always carries.
But this is where it gets interesting. As you play, you notice that tool tips, objectives, and key points to the game aren’t so much written or spoken as they are… Seen. From the beginning, Ubisoft implements an innovative and unparalleled system known as Projection Technology that displays all of the tips, tidbits and tools right in and onto the environment. As you move from room to room, you may hear dialogue and, turning the corner, could find yourself face-to-face with what seems to be a flashback, or a piece of information on your target, projected onto the glass walls, or the upturned tables and cabinets that often serve as your cover.
This new system is not only cool, but keeps the pacing of the game quick and fast. From level to level, you will never see a loading screen, unless you die. Rather, you’ll find you’re being driven deeper into the story by listening to an interrogation of one of Sam’s oldest friends, Victor Coste, as he’s explaining the events that you then play out. As he describes each location and the situations, the game flies through the astonishingly detailed and meticulously designed levels, so that you’re always engaged and instantly begin the mission as the prior scene ends. It’s a little thing, to mask a load screen as a cutscene, but it pays off brilliantly.
If some of you are still concerned that this game is a “sneak-n-peek”, let me assure you that it is nothing like its predecessors. Right out of the gate, it is an adrenaline-pumping, decision-making, life-or-death action shooter, with the perk of being able to sneak up to your enemy for a stealthy take down, or jump from cover-to-cover eliminating your targets.Often you’ll find that having a plan beforehand does help, but isn’t exactly necessary.
The biggest change is Sam’s ability to Mark and Execute his enemies, a system that really brings a sense of lethality to the game. In order to use this ability, Sam needs to perform a hand-to-hand kill, which activates the power. Then, at any point in time, the player can “mark” a certain number of enemies, depending on their weapon and upgrades to said weapon, by tapping the Right Bumper and executing the targets by pressing Y. The kills are automatic headshots which makes taking down larger groups of enemies easier and more streamlined. But it’s not all a walk on the beach, it get tougher and tougher to earn the skill back, enemies become more deadly, and hand-to-hand kills become scarce, so the Mark and Execute should be used strategically.
What’s really interesting is Ubisoft’s new U-play rewards, which seem to be points you can earn for achieving certain goals, [not to be confused with Microsoft Gamerpoints] such as taking out a group of 5 enemies with a single grenade, or navigating an entire level without being seen. These in-game points can then be used to upgrade weapons, adding laser sights, reflex triggers and even extended clips.
All in all, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a completely different game from it’s predecessors, but still feels comfortably at home with those of us who had followed from the beginning. Utilizing the Unreal Engine to its fullest, Ubisoft has outdone itself. No one should miss out on this masterpiece of an adventure.
