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Splinter Cell: Conviction

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    Splinter Cell: Conviction

    Well say what you will, they've definitely changed the Splinter Cell franchise for (want of a better word) a more casual experiance, whilst no doubt mystifying fans of the series by omitting the very staples of what makes a Splinter Cell game.

    - The removal of hiding bodies from guard patrols.
    - Mundane lockpick/ safecracking/ bomb difusal mini-games.
    - Conviction seems a lot more streamlined in mission structure, and thus lacking secondary objectives and such. Though makes sense, as you don't work for Third Echelon.

    To name a few things.

    However, what i do like is that in previous iterations, sometimes the waypoints weren't very clear at all. now we have stylised floodlit objective markers which speeds things up considerably.
    Now, the 'mark and execute' feature.
    At first when i heard about this, I thought it was the win button and could be abused no end (which it can still be) and practically make encounters worthless, though there is still some sort of satisfaction when you've achieved a quadruple hit. but still it seems easy enough to refil the function on a regular basis, and really, i only use it when I'm in a pinch. More specifically the latter stages where it gets a little bit messy.

    One thing that remains from Splinter Cell of old, is nearing the end of the game it places emphasis on non avoidable zerg-rush tactics of the enemy where you've just got to survive wave upon wave of elite soldiers.

    The AI is moronic and good at the same time.

    Moronic:
    I kill one guard.
    Another arrives to investigate, and mentions that an intruder is in the vicinity.
    I kill him too. Then another arrives.
    I kill him three.
    By the end, i have a pile of bodies in more or less the same area, where each and every guard that gets alerted will die like the previous one.

    Good:
    Flanking (on the odd occasion)

    On the whole, yeah, good-ish game. Probably average on the whole compared to the series as a whole.

    On a side note:
    The credits reel... Jesus H. Christ-on-a-bike... Ubisoft Montreal must've credited every single person in the world. Because there's not enough credit roll music as it eventually runs out, which leaves 5 minutes of static.
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    #2
    Im really enjoying this personally, the ebb and flow of the game feels spot on. It got some issues with AI sure, and its definately not the best game ever, but its fun and probably the best 360 exclusive for the past year or so.

    My biggest complaint is the graphics -I recently read its Unreal 2 engine, which is certainly showing its age...

    Comment


      #3
      Spot on about the credits, they took so long my pad turned itself off

      Anyway, I REALLY enjoyed it. Splinter Cell purists will have their complaints with the change of focus but I never have a problem with developers doing something different as long as they quality is there.

      Splinter Cell has always mostly been about stealth - infact, the end of level scoring always encouraged NOT to kill, so it was nice to finally be able to use all my guns and gadgets after so many years of basically being told not to. I had great fun in the 'demo level', climbing over the ceiling pipe, marking the 3 enemies nearest the entrance, throwing down a remote charge between a group of enemies at the other end and a sticky camera outside of the office at the back. Then it was just a case of crawling back to my marked enemies, pressing X to blow my charge, pressing Y to execute them all while they were distracted and then switching to my sticky camera and blowing away the final enemy all within about 3 seconds

      Can't wait to try all the co-op/multi stuff tomorrow

      edit: I'd strongly advise going straight onto Realistic and ignore Normal, it's not exactly the hardest game in the world even on the hardest setting.
      Last edited by mr_sockochris; 16-04-2010, 01:30.

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        #4
        Originally posted by mr_sockochris View Post
        I had great fun in the 'demo level', climbing over the ceiling pipe, marking the 3 enemies nearest the entrance, throwing down a remote charge between a group of enemies at the other end and a sticky camera outside of the office at the back. Then it was just a case of crawling back to my marked enemies, pressing X to blow my charge, pressing Y to execute them all while they were distracted and then switching to my sticky camera and blowing away the final enemy all within about 3 seconds
        I can imagine that kind of professional hitman-style sequence of events is what highlights the Mark and Execute feature at its best.

        How long did it take to finish on Realistic difficulty? Are cries of 5-6 hours accurate?

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          #5
          It's a really good game, not the best in the series (Chaos Theory takes that award) but still highly enjoyable nonetheless.

          As mr_sockochris quite brilliantly described, it is all about those moments that make you feel like an absolute super cool hitman. The stealth mechanic certainly has some flaws (thanks to some ropey AI) but for the most it works pretty well. I like the fact that you have to be a little risky to actually gain the reward of the mark and execute ability, it adds some nice balance to proceedings.

          I reckon I am coming to the end of the game now and it hasn't been too hard (playing on normal) which kind of makes me wish I started on realistic. I think I have put in around 5 hours at the moment, so the reports of the single player being around 6 hours long are probably not too far off the mark. I do think that length is about right though as if it was longer then it probably would have outstayed its welcome. Doesn't really matter too much anyway as the addition of co-op and deniable ops should give the game some added longevity.

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            #6
            Length of the single player is about right. I'm starting to want it to end so I can get into some MP. The first several hours are great. The controls are nice and you feel like you're Jack Bauer. I'm starting to grow tired of the single player now. As I feel that there's nothing new to experience after the first few levels and it started to feel a bit repetitive or the levels are feeling a little bland.

            I'll plod on.

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              #7
              The opening and the

              Third Echelon HQ

              mission have been the highlights for me so far. That particular mission summed up the predicament Sam Fisher finds himself perfectly. Oh and I loved the ending of it.

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                #8
                I think the PEC Challenges are nice. Something else to get stuck into whilst replaying the game. They're basically mini achievements that stack towards an actual achievement. It's defo worth a look.

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                  #9
                  Nobody else felt it was more gears of war than splinter cell then?

                  Not that I thought it was a bad game obviously, just very action orientated at times.

                  I have to say that on "normal" I found the game very easy apart from one section that was controller smashingly frustrating.

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                    #10
                    I didn't get a Gears vibe, still felt like Splinter Cell game to me. There are a couple of sections that kind of force you not to use stealth but nothing too major. Without spoiling anything, the situation Sam Fisher finds himself in (pretty good story actually) is complimented through the gameplay quite well. The core gameplay is still all about the stealth and not being spotted because, well, if you do then 99% of the time you won't get very far.

                    I will agree though (as someone who love his stealthy games) it was quite easy on the normal difficulty, I actually didn't find any section to be too taxing at all. Out of interest, which section did you find frustrating?

                    Anyway, just finished it and I really enjoyed it. I didn't think it was too short either, the length suited what was on offer perfectly. I know I said it before but, man, the feeling when you execute an attack on a room full of enemies perfectly is just great, you feel like a super slick hitman.

                    Oh and I though the cover system was very well implemented. I actually think it follows closely behind cover systems in Gears of War and Uncharted. I didn't get frustrated once and I didn't encounter any glitches either.

                    The only thing I would say is graphically (as someone mentioned) the game isn't that impressive. It doesn't look terrible by any means but I expected slightly better if I was to be honest. For example, Sam Fisher himself looks great but all the other character models are quite sub-par.

                    It's not the best game in the series but, for me, it is definitely a very good addition. Loved the way it ended and I look forward to Mr Fisher's next outing.
                    Last edited by ezee ryder; 16-04-2010, 16:23.

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                      #11
                      At times I've found myself wanting to tap on a wall to alert a guard Also, I've felt the need to move bodies.

                      I really enjoy popping heads with my silenced pistol and the silhouette trace of Sam that gets left behind after being detected is a great idea.

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                        #12
                        Sounds like my concerns are true, that they've taken the Splinter Cell out of Splinter Cell. I think I'll wait for the price to drop before I get this.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by hoolak View Post
                          At times I've found myself wanting to tap on a wall to alert a guard Also, I've felt the need to move bodies.

                          I really enjoy popping heads with my silenced pistol and the silhouette trace of Sam that gets left behind after being detected is a great idea.
                          You can use the sticky cameras to alert guards, I used them quite a few times towards the end of the game and they worked perfectly. I somewhat agree about the body moving but taking into account Fisher's state of mind I guess he isn't too fussed about that. Maybe that is why the developers chose to leave that ability out of the game. Hmm.

                          Either way I get what you're saying though. MGS related avatars ftw!

                          Originally posted by MJ View Post
                          Sounds like my concerns are true, that they've taken the Splinter Cell out of Splinter Cell. I think I'll wait for the price to drop before I get this.
                          I wouldn't say that is true actually. As I mentioned earlier, it still felt like a Splinter Cell game to me. Sam Fisher isn't a Third Echelon agent/spy anymore and that is reflected in the gameplay. Stealth/not getting spotted is still a big part of the game but you can also tackle scenarios with a more action oriented approach if you wish. The majority of the time you won't be too successful but, hey, it's an option.

                          If the development team had stuck with their original concept (Sam Fisher the hobo!) then, yeah, that would have been them taking Splinter Cell out of Splinter Cell but that is not the case with Conviction. It is still very much a Splinter Cell game and the ironic thing is that some reviews I've read have actually marked it down for that.
                          Last edited by ezee ryder; 16-04-2010, 16:51.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            The bit I found hard was on the last level

                            after you interrogate the vice-president, and then guys come at you from every angle with

                            very little cover and absolutely no chance of being stealthy.

                            Hated that bit, and died about 8-10 times, not looking forward to that on my realistic difficulty playthrough.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Ah ok. I did that first time, no problems.

                              That area was pretty much covered in darkness so I found cover behind a table, marked four guys "furthest" away and when the closest guy came near me I took him out via the B button. Once that was done I quickly executed the four guys I tagged. There were another couple of guys lingering around but I just threw a sticky camera near them, made noise, took the guy out that came near it (via detonation of course) and just shot the other dude in the head as he came to check what happened.



                              Epic!

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