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5 Responses to “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction”

1. 
   B. Kester
   Sep 1st, 2010 at 11:29 pm

   Review by B. Kester for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction
   Rating:
   I have been a fan of the splinter cell games for some time. The reason I like them? The sneaking, the waiting, the timing, the planning, the gadgets, the overall experience. While Conviction is fun and I do not regret buying it, they really dumbed down the experience and it lost something in the translation.

   For example, previous games allowed you to kill a guard (though your stealth score was penalized for that) and then move the body someplace where it is less likely a guard will find it. That’s gone in Conviction. Kill a guard, his body stays right there likely to be discovered. As a whole, the “remain stealthy” part of the splinter cell series was out and out ignored in Conviction (unless a mission specifically requires it, and that’s not very many). Being stealthy is why I like this series!

   In that regard, the whole stealth score is gone. Getting spotted doesn’t do anything except make you have to either deal with the guards right there or find a hiding space (again for the missions that don’t require stealth).

   Granted, the simpler control mechanism is nice, but if the trade-off is losing a good portion of the previous style of gameplay, I’d rather have to deal with the more complex controls!

   Also, they give you pointers and highlights in-game which help you maneuver in cover. The addition is nice, but I feel like they’re babying me through the experience the whole way. I’d rather be able to disable this as an option, because as an experienced splinter cell player, I think I can determine without the help what I can and cannot use for cover. The only plus to this is the ease at which you can move from cover to cover just by hitting a single button/key press.

   There are some other things about the game that are nice. The P.E.C system is cool and gives me as the player some things to try to accomplish while also playing the game. The ‘execute’ system is pretty cool, too… if you perform a hand-to-hand kill, you can then mark/tag enemies and perform a single button/key press execute on them (instant death/headshot, but how many and the range depends on what weapon you’re using and how upgraded it is).

   I don’t like the way they force the interrogation stuff, which is much different from previous splinter cell titles. I always liked interrogating a guard while taking him to his grave. The interaction with the environment in Conviction is okay I suppose but it’s more like watching a cut scene where you press a button/key once in a while.

   Definitely lost something in the translation.

2. 
   Omar Nazif
   Sep 2nd, 2010 at 12:08 am

   Review by Omar Nazif for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction
   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.

3. 
   Sepp Seitz
   Sep 2nd, 2010 at 1:05 am

   Review by Sepp Seitz for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction
   Rating:
   I had some fun playing this game, but overall I was disappointed for the following reasons:

   -the controls can be odd and awkward.

   -the story is weak. There is no cohesion, it is a string of events that are supposedly building up to a climax, but there is no climax. The one big event that happens is briefly presented, and then it’s already gone. It’s like a bad movie.

   -this is not a stealth game. It was advertised as a game where you have to blend with your environment. Except for the hiding in shadows and hanging from ledges, rain gutters, and so on I didn’t find I even had time to check out the environment before I had to already interact with the enemies. The most stealth I found is in the special ops, which are extras.

4. 
   Matthew Osorio
   Sep 2nd, 2010 at 1:47 am

   Review by Matthew Osorio for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction
   Rating:
   Don’t get me wrong, the Splinter Cell series has always been great games but when it comes to Splinter Cell: Conviction, it kinda falls. Splinter Cell: Conviction has a great story but is too short and the game was too easy for me even on the hardest difficulty. The multi player is good but can be tedious after a while of play. At least you get to play the new Ghost Recon beta this summer if you have this game.

5. 
   Juliet Capulet
   Sep 2nd, 2010 at 2:40 am

   Review by Juliet Capulet for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction
   Rating:
   This game was purchased for my husband and reviewed by him.
   
   As a big splinter cell fan, I was excited to see the new one coming out. Dispite all the bugs we purchased the game right away. So far, no freezing. But overall the game has been a HUGE disappointment! It’s as if in an attempt to simplify the actions they have made too many things work off the same button and you constantly have to watch what you are doing before you press anything. On top of that you have lost so many of the things that added to the stealth of the game and made it enjoyable.

   Examples:

   -You can’t throw items to distract enemys. Such as cans, bottles and rocks, like you could in the last two.
   
   -You can’t whistle to get someones attention.
   
   -You are missing your night vision and infrared.
   
   -Can not taser or shoot rubber bullets.

   Other Cons:

   -When you open a door, he stands in the doorway making you totally visible to enemies.
   
   -If you are standing close to any pain of glass or breakable object, when you jump down from something it will break and you will become detected.
   
   -Walking next to windows it will give you the option to “open the window”, then all of a sudden it will change to “jump”. Why would you want to jump through a window! So, of course the window breaks and they detect you.

   After reading site reviews, it just seems as if this games objective is TOTALLY different than the first. But they really should have released this under a different title. If you are looking to buy this game because you enjoyed the previous additions, then don’t. You too will be disappointed. Even that being said, it was very poorly written and the glitches make it very hard to play through smoothly.

   Over all you just have to REALLY watch your EVERY action! The first two games you felt like you were playing a game with character that knew how to act like a spy. You were still in control, but his moves made it easier to move through the game stragicly. Now he just acts like he’s never done this before. Sometimes he jumps off something and stays in the crouching position and sometimes he stands up right in someones line of sight. It make no sense and with limited actions, it makes it very hard to control. Also whoever designed the layout of the game, how the maps are configured and where you can hide or be seen, really had no idea what they were doing. It’s really very sad. Needless to say this game will be traded in, probably before completion.