As you may know, I am a huge fan of shooters. I’ve often thought the ability to sneak around tactfully is far underused in the genre, but I’ve never had the patience for full-on stealth games like Metal Gear Solid. Ubisoft has hit the perfect middle ground with Splinter Cell: Conviction. With a short but intriguing story, great graphics, fun game modes, and well-polished gameplay, SC:C redefines stealth gaming and has me sneaking like a pro.
I actually haven’t played any of the previous Splinter Cell games, so I was hesitant to start in the middle of the series because I don’t like missing large chunks of back-story from games. Luckily, with Splinter Cell: Conviction, it didn’t matter that I hadn’t played its predecessors; I was told all the information that I needed to know and was instantly engaged once the first cinematic started.
As has been said many times before, nothing is original anymore in terms of story-driven entertainment. While Splinter Cell: Conviction’s story seemed somewhat familiar, the game managed to make it pretty convincing that this was one story that I haven’t heard (or at least heard told in this way) before. I was also convinced to try the other Splinter Cell games, if for no other reason than to see how the characters got into the situations they were in Conviction.
Splinter Cell: Conviction’s graphics are very appealing. There are very detailed characters and environments, and real-time damage to the walls and room furniture – but then, running on Unreal Engine, how could the graphics not be great? While amount of detail in SC:C is great, there is something in the graphics that is missing: emotion. The game’s story is an emotional one, but it’s hard to actually understand the emotional impact of a cinematic when the characters’ faces are frozen. Fisher, the main character, has a perpetual expression of anger, but other than that, it’s as if all of the characters in the game got way too much Botox before filming – the only muscles that ever move on characters’ faces are the ones controlling their mouths.
Fisher’s story isn’t the only one you get to play in Splinter Cell: Conviction. In the co-op mode, there’s a completely different story that you get to play, one of two other agents. This story takes place before that of the single player campaign and requires teamwork to survive. On top of the single player and co-op campaign modes, SC:C on offers a variety of other 2-player modes such as face-off and Deniable Ops. Before you decide that you’re “finished” with the game, trying out each game mode at least once is a must.
The variety of game modes are only fun if the gameplay is polished, and the gameplay in Splinter Cell: Conviction is extremely polished and smooth. I’m not usually one to have much patience for sneaking games, but I find the stealth in this game very enjoyable. You don’t have to sit there and wait for NPCs to walk by, you can just bust in, hide in the shadows and take people out one by one. I have to say, the cover system in Conviction is the best cover system I’ve ever had the pleasure of using in a video game. There’s completely smooth transitions from cover to cover, it actually works and feels great to use it. When you are behind cover or in shadows, the screen turns black and white to show that the enemies cannot see you, which just makes everything easier for the player.
Overall, Splinter Cell: Conviction is an awesome game, and I’d recommend it to any shooter or sneaking game fan that wants something a little more up-to-date.
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