Splinter Cell: Conviction
Posted: 2010.04.16 (20:54)
So, here we are, three years from the original announcement of Conviction. I've been a huge fan of the Splinter Cell series ever since I got my hands on a demo of the original game. I believe the pinnacle of the series had to have been Chaos Theory. There was an unfortunate turn with the release of Double Agent, which was quite enjoyable but nearly crippled the entire series for good. Following the second announcement of Conviction, which took Hobo-Sam and turned him into Jason-Bourne-Revenge-Sam, there was a lot of doubt growing in the fanbase - and myself - that the new game would be a horrible turn for the series. I just finished the game, so here is my rundown:
The Good:
- Mark & Execute: While I'm cautious about saying this feature was a high point in the game, Mark and Execute was a surprisingly fair addition to the series. Had this been in any of the first three games I would have scoffed, but with the new emphasis on action, it fits quite nicely.
- Deniable Ops and Co-Op: While I have yet to play co-op (which I hear is where the game really shines), I have played the Deniable Ops mode (specifically Hunter) and loved it. It plopped me into a map (a fairly large one at that) and sneak around, classic Splinter Cell style (or as close to "classic" as you can get in Conviction)
- Sonar Goggles: I wasn't quite sure what to think about these before I actually played the game, because it seemed like they gave you too much of an upper hand. However, I was wrong. They are a great addition to game play, and are even less intrusive to the difficulty than were the maps of Chaos Theory and Double Agent (actually DA's maps were awful, because they literally gave away every single enemy in the map). Besides, you don't get the goggles until about two-thirds of the way in, and even then they aren't as efficient as you would imagine (in the Deniable Ops mode you get a clear picture of the surrounding area whereas in the campaign it's a little fuzzier).
- Cover System: The cover system in this game is beautifully fluid and is integrating very well. It may be too perfect, though, because I often found that I could take out dozens of people from the safety of one location, only switching spots when a grenade was thrown my way.
- The Music: While perhaps not as memorable as Amon Tobin's score for Chaos Theory, Conviction certainly had its shining moments with regard to the music (notably at the climax of the game and the last level).
The Bad:
- AI: While I suppose I can't fully comment on the AI here (as I haven't played on the hardest difficulty), there are some frustrating moments in the game when dealing with enemies. For example, when the Last Known Position silhouette pops up, all of the enemies in the room run up and start shooting that area, even though it's clear I'm not there anymore.
- Consistency: If an enemy is wearing a helmet, one shot to the head won't take him down. However, if you are using M&E, it will. Additionally, I can shoot an enemy in the head from the shadows, and at most another guard will walk up to the body, stand there for about three minutes shouting, "Oh shit! He's dead!" - at which point I can just walk up and break his neck. However, many times I'll shoot out one light from the shadows and suddenly the entire room is alerted to my presence. Which brings me to my next point...
- Language: Sure, it's realistic to have guards shouting profanities when they see one of their companions get brutally murdered, but when you have AI acting like a bunch of pre-pubescents shouting "fuck" every other word, I get the impression they're just cursing to try and sound like "one of the cool kids." It would be nice to have the option to tone down the language (ala Gears of War), not because I'm really offended by it, but the rest of my family doesn't want to hear, "I'm gonna fucking kill you Fisher, you fucking piece of chicken-shit pussy!" every three seconds. I think the previous titles handled this fairly well.
- Black and White: When going into the shadows the game turns black and white, and while it had its moments of usefulness it was ultimately annoying to play half the game in monochrome. I enjoy colors, and it's hard to see when everything is in black and white, especially without any night-vision goggles (RIP)
- Length: The game is way too short. It also just kind of ends abruptly (Halo 2, is that you?).
The Ugly
- The Story: This is what I really look forward to in games. Conviction did not accomplish this well. The story is cheesy, predictable, and ultimately pissed me off. I won't spoil anything for you, but the last scene was awful (the one in the White House). It was dumb, unfulfilling, and unrealistic. It came nowhere near the level of tension and sheer awesomeness as that Mexican Standoff scene in Chaos Theory. I do have to give the developers credit though, because they had to work themselves out of the wreckage that was Double Agent, and it could have gone a lot worse (even though they took the worst possible ending from DA and used it as canon.)
The Good:
- Mark & Execute: While I'm cautious about saying this feature was a high point in the game, Mark and Execute was a surprisingly fair addition to the series. Had this been in any of the first three games I would have scoffed, but with the new emphasis on action, it fits quite nicely.
- Deniable Ops and Co-Op: While I have yet to play co-op (which I hear is where the game really shines), I have played the Deniable Ops mode (specifically Hunter) and loved it. It plopped me into a map (a fairly large one at that) and sneak around, classic Splinter Cell style (or as close to "classic" as you can get in Conviction)
- Sonar Goggles: I wasn't quite sure what to think about these before I actually played the game, because it seemed like they gave you too much of an upper hand. However, I was wrong. They are a great addition to game play, and are even less intrusive to the difficulty than were the maps of Chaos Theory and Double Agent (actually DA's maps were awful, because they literally gave away every single enemy in the map). Besides, you don't get the goggles until about two-thirds of the way in, and even then they aren't as efficient as you would imagine (in the Deniable Ops mode you get a clear picture of the surrounding area whereas in the campaign it's a little fuzzier).
- Cover System: The cover system in this game is beautifully fluid and is integrating very well. It may be too perfect, though, because I often found that I could take out dozens of people from the safety of one location, only switching spots when a grenade was thrown my way.
- The Music: While perhaps not as memorable as Amon Tobin's score for Chaos Theory, Conviction certainly had its shining moments with regard to the music (notably at the climax of the game and the last level).
The Bad:
- AI: While I suppose I can't fully comment on the AI here (as I haven't played on the hardest difficulty), there are some frustrating moments in the game when dealing with enemies. For example, when the Last Known Position silhouette pops up, all of the enemies in the room run up and start shooting that area, even though it's clear I'm not there anymore.
- Consistency: If an enemy is wearing a helmet, one shot to the head won't take him down. However, if you are using M&E, it will. Additionally, I can shoot an enemy in the head from the shadows, and at most another guard will walk up to the body, stand there for about three minutes shouting, "Oh shit! He's dead!" - at which point I can just walk up and break his neck. However, many times I'll shoot out one light from the shadows and suddenly the entire room is alerted to my presence. Which brings me to my next point...
- Language: Sure, it's realistic to have guards shouting profanities when they see one of their companions get brutally murdered, but when you have AI acting like a bunch of pre-pubescents shouting "fuck" every other word, I get the impression they're just cursing to try and sound like "one of the cool kids." It would be nice to have the option to tone down the language (ala Gears of War), not because I'm really offended by it, but the rest of my family doesn't want to hear, "I'm gonna fucking kill you Fisher, you fucking piece of chicken-shit pussy!" every three seconds. I think the previous titles handled this fairly well.
- Black and White: When going into the shadows the game turns black and white, and while it had its moments of usefulness it was ultimately annoying to play half the game in monochrome. I enjoy colors, and it's hard to see when everything is in black and white, especially without any night-vision goggles (RIP)
- Length: The game is way too short. It also just kind of ends abruptly (Halo 2, is that you?).
The Ugly
- The Story: This is what I really look forward to in games. Conviction did not accomplish this well. The story is cheesy, predictable, and ultimately pissed me off. I won't spoil anything for you, but the last scene was awful (the one in the White House). It was dumb, unfulfilling, and unrealistic. It came nowhere near the level of tension and sheer awesomeness as that Mexican Standoff scene in Chaos Theory. I do have to give the developers credit though, because they had to work themselves out of the wreckage that was Double Agent, and it could have gone a lot worse (even though they took the worst possible ending from DA and used it as canon.)
Spoiler portion of the review
Despite some serious flaws in the game, and the fact that it isn't really fitting to call it a Splinter Cell game, it is still an amazing game. I would say it's worth the purchase if you want to get into co-op and Deniable Ops, and worth a rent if you want to play the campaign (you can finish within 5-8 hours).Keeping Sam's daughter alive was bad enough, because it completely undoes the emotional trauma Sam went through in the previous game. Not to mention we don't even really get a feel for who Sarah is (we get one glimpse of her in the first game and that's it). What's worse is the fact that we learn that Lambert lied to Fisher about Sarah to get him to do the whole DA thing. Also, Lambert is dead. What the hell? You can't have a Splinter Cell game without Lambert. I don't find it believable that Sam's character would have shot him, nor do I really believe that Anna Grimsdottir would suddenly become the semi-evil, double-double-crossing Sexy Action Chick (TM). She was a light-hearted, caring nerd in the previous games who had no place in the action scene.