Splinter Cell: Conviction is the fifth and latest installment of the Splinter Cell franchise. Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, the story focuses on Sam Fisher, after he’s left Third Echelon. What started as a quest to find who murdered his daughter became something much bigger than he imagined.
The gameplay of Conviction has been, for the most part, toned down to suit a wider variety of gamers. Stealth no longer plays a huge role throughout the game, and while it still rewards players for stealthily taking out hostiles, one can practically run it guns blazing and achieve the same effect. Sam’s pistols also have infinite ammunition, to allow for the run-n-gun style of play.
Interrogation of certain suspects are a new – although unimpressive – feature in Conviction. When you approach certain key characters, you’ll be locked into an area, where you can then interrogate certain NPCs for information (usually by slamming him into certain objects). While this is not only scripted, it shows as nothing more than a way to satisfy the inner devil in you, to torture information out of people (Jack Bauer much?).
The characters are also weird in a way. Sam seems to always frown in this game, and he has an unusually long lip to frown with. Grim….well, let’s just say whoever worked on her model seems to have messed up the physics of her chest. Lip syncing seems to be below par at best. When characters talk, their faces just repeat a set of mouth movements, which may or may not match what they’re saying.
Worst of all, near the end of an adventure of non-stealth gameplay, players will be forced to relive through one of the worst moment of the entire Splinter Cell series: laser mazes. Also, what’s wrong with the cameras having lights to show where they are?
The multi player should be marked as 2-player co-op or duel. All it is is two players running through an extra mission (which is as long, if not longer, than the Conviction single player campaign).
Conviction is an average game at best, straying away from it’s roots and appealing to modern run-n-gun standards. If you’re expecting a faithful sequel to the series, disappointment is in store. If you’re looking for an action game to play until the next big thing hits the shelves, then give it a try – though the $60 price tag, and the new DRM for the PC version might drive some away.