Great Story... Mixed-Reaction Game...
The series, through Double Agent, allowed you to bypass scores of enemies by simply being patient. As the series progressed, you were even rewarded with a score based on how stealthy you'd been, and carefully penalized for contact with the enemy. It was fantastic. The stories were great, and the games were great.
On to Conviction...
The game starts off like its predecessors with classic storytelling. It picks up where Double Agent left off, and even incorporates story from before the original game; giving you a full spectrum of what and who Sam Fisher is. The story in the latest edition to the series is great, no denying that. Telling of the story is done through flashbacks and flash-forwards. There are a few aspects of the story I don't necessarily agree with, but I'll leave that to the players. I'm not one for spoilers. Suffice to say that the storyline is acceptable and enjoyable.
The general gameplay is neat. There are several aspects of the gameplay that I really liked.
The first being the 'Last Known Location' system. Once you've been spotted, you know where your enemies are headed; allowing you to maneuver around and flank them. I'm all for this. I think it's a fantastic edition to the game. Too many games have the enemies follow you around a room or map despite the fact that you're hidden and have been since they initially spotted you. This always 'hocked' me off. No matter where I moved, they always seem to find me no problem. Not so in Conviction. It's a bit more realistic. Enemies still flank and what-not, but the truly converge on your last 'seen' location. Kudos to the developers for that!
The next aspect that I enjoyed was the cover system. Sam now sprints and rolls his way to the cover of your choice while minimizing the enemies visibility. I'm all for that as well. It really gives the feel of danger and tactics. The 'smart' aiming while in cover is also very nice. Not always needing to duck out of cover is a neat way to take out an enemy, and gives you more time to set up your tactics while avoiding or taking down your enemy.
Last, but not least - Mark & Execute. This is probably the coolest new feature to the game. Marking 2-4 opponents and taking them down in one swift movement = Genius! It really sets you in the mode of how bad @ss Sam really is when he wants to be. The prerequisite for this action is acceptable too. Instead of just 'doing' everyone in that fashion, the game MAKES you take down an enemy by utilizing Sam's classic stealth before you can activate the Execute. I'm for that.
The graphics are superb. The shadows and ambient lighting etc. are very nice. I don't personally run a high rez (19" monitor at 1280x1024) and even on the lower rez side with all of the goodies enabled, the game looked great!
The sound was pretty good as well. It wasn't fantastic with surround speakers, but with headphones it was very satisfying.
Now...
With the above being said and in 'stone', there are some aspects I didn't care for...
Firstly, they console-fied the game. OH do I hate the developers for going that route.
First, instead of creating the PC game I know and love and porting it to XBox, it almost seems the opposite. The controls for the PC feel SO XBox-ish. I didn't care for this at all.
Second, the Run-'n-Gun... This is NOT Splinter Cell! With that being said, let me qualify: The preceding games focused on Sam's NON-contact with NPC's. The more you avoided, the better you did; and the closer to the lore of the game you were. Splinter Cell was designed to be about avoidance over confrontation. Now I fully understand why Sam is no longer the patient and cool-headed agent he once was, and a certain amount of vengeful "rushing" can be tolerated; however the entire game is more focused on KILLING than simply overcoming obstacles. They take away the ability to simply knock unconscious a foe that is simply in your way, instead forcing you to kill him. I'm truly NOT for that. Even in his mental state, I highly doubt that Sam would go around just 'offing' everyone he came in contact with. I have a huge problem with that, and truly believe that the developers were simply trying to play to a younger audience in order to broaden sales. The older generation of gamers like me, I honestly believe, would rather have the option of total avoidance; rather than being forced to "James Bond" everyone. It was a choice the developers made that I think will destroy many of us older-generation gamers in the series.
Finally, the multiplayer focus. Oh man, I hate this. I run LAN parties from time to time, and I'm all for a good Co-Op game; however the ongoing gaming trend of focusing on multiplayer and not enough on the single player is VERY disturbing to me. The last thing I expected in a Splinter Cell game was that the single player would be shorter and the multiplayer would be in depth. No no no... I can't express how disappointed I am in that. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the campaign; however I'm very saddened that my beloved stealth-thriller is going the way of multiplayer-main.
As far as technical problems go, there aren't many; the the ones there are can be devastating.
There is an unconfirmed problem (as of this review time) with ATI video chipsets. As I run an ATI card, I seem to be among the many that are cursed with random studdering and desktop crashes. There doesn't seem to be any one thing that triggers it for me; as they've happened both inside a building and outside with tons of particles etc. The frame rates are really good, but the crashing is making me desperate for a patch. The retail version already has one, though it doesn't seem to address the ATI errors; however the STEAM version is currently left wanting.
Overall, it is an enjoyable game with plenty of replay value. I, for one, am going to focus on playing it as the original games were intended, and not the new Run & Gun way. I'm determined to see that through, no matter how many times I have to restart a scene.
A definite MUST HAVE for the series fanatics, but it may be the last...