Splinter Cell Conviction Review

8.5

Format Xbox 360

Developer Ubisoft

Publisher Ubisoft

Genre Action

22 Comments

Conviction marks the first time the Splinter Cell series has broken away from its tried-and-tested stealth formula. While the changes are by no means revolutionary, a new sense of style and violence make Sam Fisher's long-overdue outing a refreshing if not quite revolutionary experience.

The root of the game's new direction comes from Sam Fisher himself; It's all gone wrong for our All-American stealth master: After his own agency, Third Echelon, set him up so that he was forced to off his best mate Irving Lambert and his daughter was 'killed' in an 'accident', Sam is left with little to live for. Of course, there's a Hollywood rule that states when a badass military type goes into retirement, he's going to be back on the scene sooner rather than later.

So we join Sam - a little older, always frowning - sitting in an outdoor market when he gets the call. No explanation just, "Your life's in danger, do what I say," as gunmen close in on Fisher's position. Of course he puts out all the classic "I'm outta that game for good" lines but it's not long before Sam's back into his old shady, crouchy lifestyle.

The marketplace serves as a quick tutorial of the basic game mechanics but you're also introduced to a whole new take on objective display systems as well. Sam's mission bullet points are printed on the surrounding environment as you play rather than on a pause screen or some PDA that your character has tucked away in their inventory. The text looks like it's being shone onto a wall or floor by a searchlight and it actually bends around your body if you walk through it.

This is all part of Ubisoft's efforts to make the game more cinematic, making sure that you're always in control and constantly flowing from one objective to the next rather than having to stop and start all the time. There's no map either and Fisher's thoughts and flashbacks are either projected as flickering films on walls or subtly integrated into the soundtrack. It all adds to the immersion and you're rarely given the chance to put your pad down.

Crouching behind stalls to get from one end of the marketplace to the next you're familiarised with the game's cover system. This works in a similar way with icons of light indicating your options as you hide from roaming henchmen or anyone else looking to put a bullet in you. Small double arrows highlight potential cover and indicate the direction in which you'll pop out should you decide to open fire yourself. Using the left analogue stick you can cycle through your cover options before pressing A to make Sam dash to his next crouching spot.

Take Out
If you manage to get within grabbing distance of an enemy it's bone snapping time. Pressing B unleashes a context sensitive hand to hand take down. They're all quick, brutal and final with Sam sometimes butting a guy with his gun or shooting them point blank through the neck. Satisfying? Yes, incredibly.

Performing a close-combat take down opens up the opportunity to use Conviction's 'Mark and Execute' system, a new feature that does exactly what its name suggests. Marking up enemies using the RB button places a triangle over their head which will change from grey to red if they're in range. Press Y and Sam will take them out in slow-mo with pin-point head shots.

It's a feature that could have been horrendously over used but with it being restricted to two shots before it has to be replenished with a new takedown, you're forced to really think about how you use it.

Better yet is the fact that a lot of the time you don't feel like you need it at all. That's not to imply that Mark and Execute is a wasted feature - it's more a testament to the game's tactical freedom. With pipes to climb, lighting rigs and fire extinguishers to shoot, stealthy CQC takedowns and human shield options - not to mention the good old pick 'em off one at a time with a clean headshot approach - each situation you find yourself in really is yours to work through however you want.

We found that, in a room with more than a few enemies, it's always sensible to mark up at least two of them, that way if you do find yourself with your back against the wall you've got a chance of evening the odds in an instance.

The most satisfying point for us was being surrounded by four soldiers in an airfield, having marked two of them previously. As they drew their weapons, in a 'now or never' moment, we hit one with an unassisted head shot before hammering Y to initiate the execution. As one soldier had moved behind a jeep we thought we'd left it too late, but good old Sam managed to squeeze a shot through the two side windows to nestle the bullet neatly in the poor guy's brain. The remaining troop found himself getting all kinds of smashed against the jeep door soon after.

Keeping in line with this new rough and ready attitude are the various opportunities to interrogate people. With Sam alone and desperate for answers, this is where the violence is cranked up. Attacking certain people with the takedown button will see Sam grab them by the neck and start asking questions. If you're not getting the information you need, look around for something that could be painful, press B, and Sam will get creative. Our favourite is punching a guy's head through a ceramic urinal. Devastating.

Darkness My Old Friend
The heart of Splinter Cell Conviction still resides in the shadows though and, like your objectives, the stealth aspect works visually, with the screen turning black and white when you're hidden. It's a nice idea and again it contributes to the new style of the game and frees the screen of potentially distracting dials and indicators. The only problem is that, if you are taking a particularly stealthy approach throughout, you've basically bought yourself a black and white game. Also, since maintaining a certain level of invisibility requires moving in the shadows, your environment is already pretty dark.

Couple that with the sonar night vision you pick up later in the game, which blurs when you move as a disincentive to keep it on all the time, and you feel less like a stealth super soldier and more like a blind man with a gun.

Stealth is used differently here though, again because of the game's new attitude, you can't drag bodies into hiding because that's no longer Fisher's intent. Your objective is to get through a room as quickly as possible. It's as if Fisher is saying, "I don't care if you know I'm here, I'm still going to get you". That's the point, if you play your cards right it doesn't matter how many people know you're in the same room as them, as long as they don't know you're behind them when you're about to strike. You move in and out of the darkness like Batman zips to and from the rafters, taking out the enemy before just in time to muffle his alarm.

If your cover is blown, your last known position is marked by a frozen, ghostly image of yourself and it's up to you to get as far away as possible from it before the enemy closes in. This is another nice little feature and you can integrate it into your tactics by luring henchmen to a certain spot. It does demonstrate some of the dumber aspects of the enemy AI, however, since once you've been spotted enemies will just fire at that one spot relentlessly, convinced that you couldn't possibly have had the wit to move to a different location.

These are small qualms, however, in a really nice looking game that gives the player new levels of control and really allows them to assess a situation then execute a plan, which is immensely satisfying if successful. Get it wrong though and Conviction will do you no favours. Since rogue Sam is on his own without luxuries like bullet proof armour, it only takes one good shot, maybe two to put him down.

We only wish that there was more of it. With the game weighing in at a mere five hours for speedy players, a lot of fans will feel they've been left short. Thankfully the multiplayer mode and Deniable Ops mode - much like Batman Arkham Asylum's Challenge Rooms - provide a bit more longevity and playing with a friend adds yet another dimension to the tactical approach of the game as you flank enemies and clear out rooms with efficient, systematic teamwork, covering each other at every corner.

On the whole, Splinter Cell Conviction moves the series in a couple of new directions, with new elements that are well thought out and polished. It doesn't do anything groundbreaking and sometimes abandons these fresh ideas for much shallower out and out gunning, but it's consistently solid and satisfying throughout.

The key is that none of those new additions are overused and ultimately the game is still routed in stealth, which is what Fisher does best. If this is the new direction of Splinter Cell, if Sam never finds full time employment again, then we're quite looking forward to the old man's future.