Splinter Cell: Conviction

FACT: Terrorists have terrible peripheral vision.

I wrapped up the campaign in Splinter Cell: Conviction over the weekend. Chaos Theory was, to me, the pinnacle of the stealth genre-- releasing me from the hellscape that is Metal Gear-- so it was impossible to walk into Conviction without some major expectations. This latest entry in the series took some major risks by introducing major changes to the core gameplay mechanics. Fortunately, these changes worked out well for the most part, and helped to freshen up the gameplay. I always like to support the noble experiment, so I applaud Ubisoft for having the guts to take chances with one of their biggest franchises.

In many ways, Conviction is far less "hardcore" than Chaos Theory. They've stripped out many of Sam's abilities: no more split jumps, no more moving bodies, no more whistling or throwing rocks to distract guards. Vertical movement is more limited and situational, with far less pipes and whatnot available for overhead sneaking. CT had you monitoring two separate meters-- one for light and one for sound-- as well as enemy line-of-sight in order to stay hidden; Conviction only requires you to stay in the shadows. Gadgets are much more limited this time around, and even the iconic goggles have been dropped from three vision modes down to one. (I don't mind that last change, though. Chaos Theory required you to play most of the game in green-tinted night vision, while Conviction is able to showcase the environmental art.)

But, in place of these lost abilities you are given much more ground mobility and far greater combat prowess. Conviction introduces an elegant cover mechanic that would feel right at home in a 3rd-person shooter (Epic, take notes). You're also given access to a HUGE number of guns, all of which can be upgraded through CoD-style challenges. While previous entries punished you pretty severely for being spotted, Conviction has no detection limit, and at times even encourages you to get into intense firefights. Don't get me wrong though, it hasn't become Gears of War. When you're detected, you're severely outmatched and you know you screwed up. The difference is that now you feel like you have a decent chance of surviving a firefight, rather than resigning yourself to loading the last checkpoint. It's also extremely satisfying to break out the mark-and-execute ability when you're cornered-- it tips the tables in your favor very quickly, but never feels too overpowered.

The overall effect of all these changes is to make Conviction feel faster paced, more accessible, and more action-packed than its predecessors. It's still a stealth game, but Ubisoft has put the emphasis on stealth as a means towards murder, as opposed to the "stealth sim" feel of earlier games.

Garmin for your subconscious.

Conviction also introduces some very interesting aesthetic and storytelling elements. Mission objectives-- and sometimes, Sam's own thoughts and emotions-- are displayed as word projections on in-game objects. Some folks might complain about this surreal effect in a supposedly "realistic" game, but I found the effect quite striking and creative. There were also the much-publicized interactive "enhanced interrogation" scenes, which were kind of a let down as they were little more than button-timed Jack Bauer simulations. But at least they moved the story along in a fun way, and were certainly more interesting than receiving orders over a headset. Unfortunately the story was, as usual, completely banal and forgettable. But who cares, right? This is a Tom Clancy game-- just like in a kung fu movie, the story only exists to move you from one cool set piece to the next.


Now that I'm finished with the campaign, I probably won't be revisiting Conviction very much. The game does have some great potential for co-op-- there is an entirely separate co-op campaign, and Deniable Ops has some meat on them bones. But I don't have any friends who are into Splinter Cell, which leaves me to play with the dregs of society in matchmaking......ugh. All in all, though, I was very satisfied with Conviction and I think it was $10 extremely well spent. (I nabbed it in a post-Christmas mega-sale at Best Buy.) I'm psyched to see where the series goes next.

Next up: Mass Effect.