Splinter Cell: Conviction Hands-On
It's been a while since Sam Fisher has appeared on home consoles, with his last outing being Splinter Cell: Double Agent, which appeared in 2006. The fifth installment into the Splinter Cell franchise, Conviction, is now exclusive to the Xbox 360 platform, and looks to show Sam Fisher in a completely different light.
Instead of being the secret agent working for a big secret agency, Sam is now on the other side. He's an agent gone rogue, and he's looking for answers - from the very people who used to employ his services. Gaming Union recently got the opportunity to check out Splinter Cell: Conviction, to see how Sam performs in his new role.
The first thing that's apparent is that Sam is now a lot more hands-on. He doesn't have to play by the book any more, and this is perfectly displayed during the opening sequence of the demo, where he's interrogating a man who he believes has information. Being able to fully move the suspect around, Sam can use objects to "persuade" him to divulge some information. For example, his head can be smashed against a wash basin. After getting the information he wants, Sam then heads out to try and reach his next objective.
This is where the more stereotypical stealth action comes into play. Obviously there are numerous ways to play the game, and every player has their own style. The demo, which was originally shown at E3, was at that time played through from the perspective of pure stealth. It showed off the Sam's new moves, while also placing emphasis on the executions, with Mark and Execute. However, it's very possible to use this with a more bold style of play. The Mark and Execute system can be used at any time after the targets have initially been spotted, but players are rewarded for being stealthier. It means, that should a player want to try and 'run and gun' they can incorporate the Mark and Execute system into the middle of their fire fights, and they can even pre-plan to even the odds.
The developers are really trying to emphasise that the game will try to adopt PEV (Prepare, Execute, Vanish) a system. Players can hide in shows, prepare their strategy, execute that strategy and then vanish. Great strives have been taken to make sure this is seamless, especially from the perspective of the enemy AI. Whereas before, enemies had an uncanny knack of knowing where a player was, now, it shows visually where Sam's last known position was from the guard's perspective. This allows players to devise new strategies on the fly, as they know where the guards will be looking.
The controls in the game are pretty good, although they are geared more towards the stealth style of play. It certainly doesn't control like a typical third-person shooter, as while it's possible to play this way, it's not necessarily the intended way.
Overall, Splinter Cell: Conviction looks like it's coming along nicely. The real emphasis of the game is that it's entirely up to the player how they want to play the game. The new design features really give the player a lot more creativity in how they want to progress and it's nice to see. Be sure to check out the game when it's released on the 26th of February, 2010 on the Xbox 360.
