Sneak attack! - Splinter Cell: Conviction

Hand Cramps

Nick Fitzpatrick

May 20, 2010 12:23 AM ADT

Hanging from a pipe, I line up my shots carefully. I am ready to unleash stealthy vengeance upon my enemies below. I stand up and yell “BAM” at my television as if to startle its circuits into submission as Sam Fisher moves with grace, aiming carefully. He hits all of the targets between the eyes. The room celebrates my victory with silent admiration.

Conviction is the newest addition to Tom Clancy’s well-known stealth series, Splinter Cell. With new game play mechanics and a co-op mode that acts as a prequel to the single player story, it holds up well against its predecessors. This game takes place three years after Splinter Cell: Double Agent.

Fisher has since retired from his Splinter Cell years, but soon he will be forced back in to the game when an old friend calls to tell him he’s being hunted by mercenaries. It is found out that terrorists have stolen three military weapons with enough power to short circuit an entire city. Fisher has to help find them. Little does he know, this goes deeper than he can imagine, but he’s not just in for the ride - this time its personal.

The weapons are somehow linked to his recently deceased daughter, who was killed by an anonymous drunk driver. In typical Sam Fisher style, he won’t stop until he finds his daughter’s murderer and saves the day.

There is one big difference between this game and its predecessors. That is the game play. The game’s mechanics have changed, not for the worse, but just to be different. We are introduced to the silhouette shape of Sam that shows were an enemy last saw him. It comes in handy when you want to flank an enemy. In addition, we are also introduced with the execute system. In this new system, we can target enemies and press a button to have Sam automatically kill them. However, to do this you have to have performed a hand-to-hand kill and they must be in range.

Sadly, they have taken some game play mechanics away. Some of these include: the stun gas for the sticky cam, whistling, carrying bodies, and the knife.

With the loss of these abilities, you may feel less in control, but it dose not take too much away from the game. In fact, this game plays differently then any of the other Splinter Cell games. Fisher’s pissed, so he doesn’t have as much patients as he used to. With Sam’s new attitude, this game is at a much faster and exciting pace and stealth will be determined on how you plan ahead and how fast you can act.

The graphics are alright, to say the least, but they could be better. For non-important characters the design seems to be lacking, and could be considered last generation. The environments are well done and so are the main characters. The voice acting is top-notch and complements the script well.

With the games co-op story lasting six to seven hours and the single player campaign lasting just as long, the game is worth the money. If you like stealth games, pick this one up.