Stealth is not one of my stronger points. I’ve always been a bit too gung-ho. Even in games like Command and Conquer, I seemed to take a shoot first, ask questions later approach. Needless to say, sometimes it was my downfall.
As such, the continuing adventures of Sam Fisher have never been something that I’ve followed in any real sense. I remember a brief love affair with the original game on the Xbox back in 2001/2002, but that ended abruptly when I came up against an Oil Rig level, that after around 2 hours I couldn’t make any progress on at all. That painful memory is still ingrained in my mind as a result. Understandably then, I was intending to approach Splinter Cell: Conviction carefully and cross my fingers that either a) the game-play mechanic had improved in the 8-9 years that have passed; or b) my own skill at games had improved in said 8-9 years and I wouldn’t be bloody stumped like I was last time.
In anticipation of the release of the game, I had played through the demo (downloaded from Xbox Live) several times; each time attempting to approach the scenario it gives you in a number of different ways. I felt quite prepared for Conviction.
One glaringly obvious thing about Conviction (or SCC from here-on-in), is the effort that has been made to make this game take a step away from the polished techno-savvy look of the previous games. SCC is gritty and you can see this in more than one place: from the unkempt look of our character to the shaky and realistic ‘camera’-work. It’s impressive.
One of the many hand-to-hand kill methods...
The control system is thorough enough and you are quickly introduced to the majority of it through an opening ‘interrogation’ (i.e., where Fisher finds a target and smashes their head against things until they tell him what he wants to know) and then a stealthy market-based hunt (plenty of blood and head-shot action if you want it) and infiltration of a mansion (sneaky-sneaky). It’s all good fun and a really simple but effective way to quickly introduce you to how to play the game.
- …That saves me writing a caption. ^_~
SCC is a very story-driven game, as are a lot of titles these days, so it’s quite difficult to get into a massive amount of detail about it without spoiling things. On average, an amateur player of stealth games like me would probably find each level/mission taking somewhere in the region of 45 minutes to 1 hour. That being said, there were several scenarios where it took me 15-20 minutes to suss out the best way to approach something and eventually get by it. There are a couple of interesting levels. A flashback level, which takes a step away from Sam Fisher’s usual escapades; and a level where one of the aims is to sneak through a fairground, trying to stay in the shadows, taking out suit-wearing watchers, who are looking for you, for example. It breaks from the norm. It definitely has to be said that this particular Splinter Cell has a much faster pace than any of the previous games.
Michael Ironside (of Starship Troopers and Stargate SG1, to name but a few) returns to voice Sam Fisher. His gruff tones provide excellent atmosphere as our grumpy hero goes through the game. In addition to this, the soundtrack is also atmospheric and quite dynamic too, occasionally rising to epic crescendos during exciting, action-packed moments. Frankly, Sam Fisher has every right to be grumpy though. This game is set after the death of his daughter and him running out on the Third Echelon Company that he was part of for so long. The crux of SCC is Sam Fisher’s revenge against the people who wronged him. As good a motivation as any, I suppose. In this sense, the plot is a little loose and times and often clichéd as a result, not that this particularly detracts from the game-play experience.
It's best not to f**k with Fisher.
New elements, such as Sam’s Sonar goggles (gained later in the game) that allow you to see through walls and floors and the brilliant marking system (allowing you to make note of enemies that you want to shoot, via sight, sonar, or camera and press a button that executes them all in one swift action… the only stipulation being that you need to have carried out a hand-to-hand kill first) freshen the game, and make it that little bit more accessible for new players like me.
Since the video-game BAFTAs took place, this game is likely to get compared to the critically-acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum… There really is no comparison to be drawn as, despite being a game that is entirely based around stealth tactics, the game styles and ideas are a world apart from the comic-book action of Arkham. The Splinter Cell series, in my humble opinion, still stands apart from other stealth games (and likewise for other titles, such as Metal Gear Solid, too) with its own unique take on the genre.
My 10-hour journey with Mr. Fisher was quite interesting. From time-to-time, we got confused and ended up stuck in the same challenge over and over again. Occasionally, we definitely forgot how to be tactical and went in with all guns blazing. In fact, Fisher even commented upon this sometimes (after all the enemies had been taken out) by saying things like “Well, that could have gone smoother”. These moments were amusing and, again, make you appreciate the minor details that we see in games of the current generation.
It seems to me that, despite not being an outstanding game, Splinter Cell: Conviction has rather a lot going for it. It has the core Splinter Cell game-play and ideals which fans of the series will enjoy; it has an accessibility that newcomers to the series (or genre) will enjoy; and simply because of the sort of game it is and the fact that situations can be approached in many different ways, it has a longevity and replay factor that is not often seen these days. This actually makes Conviction a game that is probably worth a purchase, and if not, certainly worth a rental.
