I really enjoyed the experience of Splinter Cell: Conviction. It felt like a season of the late, great TV show ’24′.
I must state that I have not played any of the previous Splinter Cell titles. This was my first experience and therefore I cannot speak to the importance of stealth in this game compared with previous titles. What I can say about stealth in Conviction is that the game does a great job of mixing in enough to make the experience unique.
Conviction was a relatively short game. I finished in less than 10 hours, easily. Probably more like 7 or 8. But every one of those hours was fun and memorable. I think that matters so much more than attempting to meet some arbitrary quota for game length. Conviction will keep you involved from the start all the way through to the end, and for that alone I think it’s a must-play.
One of the best aspects to Conviction is how the game lets you pick your own path on how you take out a group of guys. You can run in, guns blazing, and wipe everyone out. Or, you can use some serious stealth and not be detected as you go from enemy to enemy performing take downs. Or, my personal favorite, rigging up the space with an explosive, marking a few enemies, and finding a spot to sit while you wait to pull the trigger on mayhem. The variety is seemingly endless at first, but as you progress you’ll find only a few real options. I don’t think it’s a problem, however, because the items you’re equipped with are plenty to carry you through the game.
The biggest downfall of Conviction would easily be the AI in the game. The enemies you’ll encounter are downright stupid and often spew the same quips over and over. For example, if your objective involves closing in on a room inside of a building, as many do, those enemies inside the room will hear what’s going on outside and inform you, annoyingly after awhile, how they’re not stupid and they’re not coming out there. This is a pretty common occurrence but not something that detracted from my enjoyment of the game.
Splinter Cell: Conviction is a great game. Even with the few minor gripes, there’s so much here to enjoy that the experience is just a must-play.
This review is based on the Xbox 360 retail version of the game purchased by Skeptical Gamer.
I’ve been working my way through Splinter Cell: Conviction this week. The first few nights I would play a mission and then move over to some Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Last night, however, I couldn’t put it down. I put in a good 5 hours last night and loved every minute of it.
I had a moment of just “WOW!” during one sequence early on in my session. There’s a scene where you’re infiltrating a building. You come in through the top of the building and I found myself standing at a doorway. I peeked under the door and found a half dozen guards in a well lit environment. With stealth in mind, this is seemingly a tough instance to get through. I looked to my right and noticed a window. So I jumped out the window and strafed across the ledge to the other room. I marked two of the enemies, equipped my remote mines, opened a window towards the back of the room, and prepared to take down the house. I tossed a mine against the wall where I had opened the window and performed an execute on the two marked targets. As soon as that happened, the rest of the guards were alerted to my position. I strafed down the ledge a bit to get out of my known position. Once the guards came to the window, I detonated the mine. As the remaining guards closed in on my position, I performed hand to hand take downs on them, as they fell from the window. With the room clear, I jumped into the room from the window ledge, and moved forward.
Now that was an awesome sequence to the game and one that really got me hooked. Once you learn to think about alternative routes that aren’t glaringly obvious, the game really opens up for you. Since then, I’ve had a number of similar experiences. So many instances of just amazing fun.
I’m back to some console games after a 2 month love affair with World of Warcraft. The one big problem with WoW, for me at least, is that it’s an all or nothing thing. When I have my WoW phases I pretty much only have enough gaming time and interest to play it, and nothing more. As it often happens, I get bored or burnt out of it after a few months and go back to console games.
Yesterday I visited my local Gamestop with a bunch of older games I have no interest in playing again. I walked out with Splinter Cell: Conviction, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and a pre-order for Red Dead Redemption. I wasn’t able to spent a lot of time in these just yet, but I’m really digging Splinter Cell so far. There are a bunch of seriously innovative aspects to the game and the stealth mechanic is just awesome. Only 2 missions in, but enjoying it so far. With Battlefield, I had even less time, only a single multiplayer match, but I think I’m going to dig it.
I’m still due for a Mass Effect 2 review and I will get back to finishing that game up. I had put in a good ~27 hours before WoW sucked me back in, and I absolutely plan to finish it. I also picked up Forza 3 the other night for some quick and fun racing action.
