MythicaL

Jesus. Could Ubisoft have fucked up this game more? I mean, did they even try to make the gameplay good? I haven't tried the multiplayer yet, but the singleplayer is what I think of when it comes to a Splinter Cell game, so here are my thoughts:

First of all, the AI is worse than the AI featured in Crysis, and I didn't think anything could top Crysis' classy enemy intelligence. I DON'T want to hear, "You think I'm stupid, I'm not coming out there!", or other variations of enemy dialogue where they search for Sam, every fifteen seconds. It's so cheesy you'll probably laugh, and so annoying you'll probably shut off the game. The AI is also pretty easy to fool, and pretty easy to kill as well.

Also, the pacing is way too fast and unwanted. You're always rushing to get somewhere, and you'll never pay attention to anything that could be considered interesting along the way. This really makes the game seem a lot shorter in length than it really is. In previous Splinter Cells, you were better off being cautious to get somewhere. This actually made you pay attention to the environment, and it gave each level its own unique atmosphere and feel. Not with Conviction! It's very easy to forget what you just played.

The game never promotes free exploration either. Rather, the direction forces you to go down a predictable linear path. Now, this was also somewhat the case in previous Splinter Cells, but it didn't feel like an issue in those games; it is an issue with Conviction.

There are many other things I can say about the game, but overall I am pretty disappointed. One aspect I thought worked pretty well was the cover system. I can easily tell that this fundamental mechanic, as well as mark-and-execute and "Fisher ghost" were given more development time than anything else in the game.

To wrap up, if you want to play a mediocre but somewhat entertaining game this summer, look no further than Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction; you have found the perfect game.

(On a side note, I can't believe Ubisoft continues to supply their terrible DRM method with all of their recent games. Haven't they learned something by now?)

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Always knew I didn't belong in this world. I wasn't made for this. But I'll never forget those who betrayed me, and those who never failed my trust.

Mr cairo

wish i had read this a few days ago i picked the game up on Sunday and even on hard its ridiculously easy

its more Max Payne (minus Slowmo) and that Punisher game from a few years ago

every now and then there are glimpses of the classic Splinter Cell but this feels far to "we will make it very "Console Friendly"

far to easy and not really Splinter Cell

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SFOSOK

On a side note, bought Both Max pains for like 2.50 on steam the other day.

I'm glad I kept double agent and chaos theory.

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BiGBrOwNPimpsta

game kinda sucks... fucking beat it under one week. the last mission is hardly epic. nothing stands out at you, theres no sense of crazy infiltration like the past games. graphics arent even that good....

waste of money

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craig5320

I enjoyed it, very easy, finished the game on realisitc before I even tried out one of the rifles. Before I knew it the game was over, I was expecting another level after the cut scene but that was it.

I haven't tried out the co-op which I'm hoping saves it.

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BiGBrOwNPimpsta

at least this time the game didn't have a big climax at the second last mission, with a terrible unrelated final mission.

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Callandor

Even if I'm not gaming anymore I'm sad to hear that this game wasn't as good. Was a big fan of the Splinter Cell series.

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OmegaRED

It seems Third Echelon moles infiltrated HH because SC: Conviction rocked and I consider it a perfect followup to Chaos Theory. It also more than made up for the garbage that was Double Agent. Sam Fisher is on vacation so I will stand up for SC: Conviction

AI
The AI was spotty for sure but there was also moments where it really did shine. It's been a lot time since I've found myself dying and enjoying it because I was flanked by an enemy during a fight. The AI used grenades sparingly rather than spam them CoD style which was also refreshing. All the best parts of the game involve waves of enemies descending on your position especially if you have little time to prepare or they have gadgets to give them an advantage over you. These are spread throughout the game and they get harder each time. I can't blame the AI too much because Conviction has a very strict stealth mechanic and if you're in the shadows or behind a wall and shoot someone silently then the rest of them shouldn't even notice or they'd regroup which is about the smartest thing to do if they had homed in on my position I'd have felt cheated by the game. The Fisher Ghost effect also creates problems for the AI because they go right for it and that makes it very easy to walk up behind them.

I won't defend the cursing by the AI, I thought these guys are supposed to be professional mercs and assassins not goombas on the Sopranos.

Pacing
Aside from a couple of sections where you have to escape an explosion I found there was plenty of time to search around either because I got lost or just wanted to find a different way of attacking a group of enemies. There's not a whole lot to look at though, no intel or computers to read but we already went through that in Double Agent and it slowed the game down. If you want to talk about being rushed then remember Modern Warfare 2....you couldn't grab a handful of chips without some freakin' guy shooting at you.

If I died more than twice in any area I usually took my time after that and slowly approached each kill with precision. The game rewards patience, taking time to mark the maximum number of targets results in glorious violence. By the time you've got all the best weapons and gadgets you can take real pride in some fantastic kills. Sneaking up to an enemy, using them as a human shield then marking 4 guys with Dark Knight's Sonar vision and pushing your shield through a door and taking them all out before they know what's up never tires (well, I only did that one time but it felt real gooooooood).


So yeah, I liked this game. I'd put it right behind Chaos Theory because the story and characters weren't quite as strong. Think of Conviction as an entire season of 24 compressed into a single game and you'll enjoy it a lot.

I give SC: Conviction 8 Splinter Cells out of 10

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