A Little Older, A Little Wiser

This week I’m taking a look at Splinter Cell Conviction, the sixth installment in the franchise.  For those not familiar with the series, it follows the exploits of Sam Fisher, a secret agent working for a top secret government group called Third Echelon.  The game relies on stealth tactics to neutralize your enemies, rather than the traditional run in and blow them all away game play of many action titles.  

Splinter Cell Conviction takes somewhat of a detour from the previous games, adding more action and making Sam an all round bad ass.  New mechanics include Mark and Execute, which gives you the ability to tee up multiple targets (usually while your hidden) and proceed to shoot them with one button press.  This adds an element strategy to clearing out a room full of people, giving you the opportunity to choose your targets, mark them, kill them then get the hell out.  Another mechanism is the last know position silhouette, which appears when you’ve been seen by a guard, but have managed to hide from them. Again useful for strategies, as guards will investigate your last known location, giving you the chance to sneak up on them.

The game itself has become more brutal, and rawer, than the previous titles.  Sam is no longer working for Third Echelon, instead following leads on his daughter’s killer. As part of his investigation, you’ll need to interrogate people, and by interrogate I mean beat the living snot out of by throwing them around the room as well as smashing heads into window, mirrors and walls.   

There is still plenty of sneaking around though, and more windows to jump out than you can poke a stick at.  The single player is however quite short, clocking in at about 7-8 hours of game play.  Luckily there is an entirely separate co-op campaign (which I’ve been unable to play, due to no one on my friends list having it anymore), as well as various multiplayer modes.  

So how does it rate? 

Game Play: 8/10. The game flows quite well, with all mission prompts incorporated into the environment. The gun fights are fluid, and the controls are not complicated at all

Sound: 8/10.  Michael Ironside returns to provide the voice of an aging Sam Fisher.

Graphics: 8.5/10. The graphics are lush, with a very gritty, real feel

Replay Value: 7/10.  At only 7 odd hours to finish it’s over quick, but there are a slew of challenges to go back and complete, and the multiplayer extends the shelf life somewhat too. 

Over All: 8/10. A great addition to the series, and showing that an old dog can be taught new tricks (especially tricks that involve shooting lots of bad guys)

Next week: Call Of Duty Black Ops. Can it live up to the hype?