After lengthy delays and gameplay overhauls, "Splinter Cell: Conviction" has finally been released for the Xbox 360 (with a PC release coming later this month). It's a major shift for the franchise, as it offers a more action-infused take on the stealth genre, but are the changes for the better?
The Basics
"Splinter Cell: Conviction" features two main modes. The first is a single-player only affair, which has players controlling Sam Fisher as he tries to investigate who was responsible for the death of his daughter. The second mode is a separate co-op campaign with unique maps and characters and details the events that occurred before Sam's quest began.
The Highs
Stealth Re-imagined
If you've played a stealth game before, you know the feeling you get when you accidentally step out of the shadows and are spotted prematurely by the target you were trying to take out. Usually this feeling involves frustration over having to restart at the last checkpoint, as it's invariably game over. "Splinter Cell: Conviction" goes another way.
Unlike previous entries in the series, Sam Fisher is agile, speedy and extremely deadly in just about any circumstance. You can't run and gun your way to victory, but you can outfox multiple enemies, even if they've spotted you. And innovative cover system does wonders for this, as you can slide to any piece of cover by looking at it and hitting A. This makes the usually awkward experience of trying to find your next spot of cover a much smoother affair.
Mark and execute helps this, as well. Performing a melee kill lets you mark up to four more enemies and, so long as they're in range, you can take them out in an impressive display of marksmanship. It allows for an added level of strategy as you try to string your melee kills into one another so you can constantly have a "mark and execute" in the hopper.
All in all, the changes to the stealth mechanic just make you feel more deadly...something that was missing from recent "Splinter Cell" games.
Co-Op Plus
Ubisoft put an impressive amount of work into the co-op campaign of "Splinter Cell: Conviction." Not only does it feature new characters and maps, but new gameplay concepts are introduced as well, as the two players can share a "mark and execute" pool, working together to take down as many as 8 enemies at once.
The co-op campaign is lengthy, too, coming in at a solid 5 hours. Paired with the 6-7 hour long single-player campaign, and there's definitely a lot of meat on these bones.
The Lows
The Story
As with just about every Tom Clancy game, the story in "Conviction" is far from original or engaging. There's a reason "24" eventually got canceled: You can only do the "mole working on the inside" thing so many times before it becomes boring.
Sam's quest for revenge is focused and sort of interesting, but about half way through the game this devolves into standard Tom Clancy conspiracy nut-ism.
The same can be said for the co-op campaign, which was almost impossible to follow. Every mission ends with the interrogation of some random baddie and generally you have no real stake in what they have to say. It felt more like I was just performing actions to get to the next mission, rather than discover a deeper layer to the web of intrigue.
Thankfully the story issues for both modes don't really hinder the solid gameplay offered by each.
No True Versus Mode?
In addition to the single-player and co-op campaigns, there are a few modes which offer some additional value (but not much). Basically they're single-player or co-op affairs where you have to kill all the enemies on the map, or defend a specific point. All of the modes only allow for two players in the game, and there's only one mode which is remotely adversarial. Basically it's just a deathmatch, but AI soldiers are thrown in to make it more interesting. Alas, it doesn't help much.
These additional modes are passable as extras, but they're a far cry from the meaty versus modes of "Splinter Cell" games past. The whole Mercenaries vs. Spies concept is never really attempted in "Conviction," and that will certainly be a disappointment for some. Having played these modes, I can't really see the point, apart from achievement farming, once you've already played through the co-op campaign.
The Verdict
Though flawed in some areas, the core of "Splinter Cell: Conviction" is strong. Ubisoft did a great job reinvigorating the franchise's gameplay, and hopefully it'll bring it new folks who have long shunned the stealth action genre. An enjoyable co-op campaign is just the icing on the cake.
(Afterthought: If you're not connected to Xbox Live, you should be wary about picking up "Splinter Cell: Conviction." While playing the co-op campaign on an Xbox 360 debug, I ran into system RAM issues and eventually a crash. Ubisoft reps responded, saying that they were aware of the problem and that a day one patch would be released to rectify it. Unfortunately it seems that the patch released today has caused Xbox 360 consoles to freeze at a certain point in the game, likely requiring yet another patch. So yeah, if you don't have Xbox Live, you may want to think about skipping this one.)