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My pick is Splinter Cell:Conviction.
This game isn't what Splinter Cell fans like me were hoping for. Splinter Cell:Conviction is the weakest in the franchise in terms of gameplay and story. Let's put the issue of DRM aside. The developers and some reviewers have said that this game takes the series into a new direction. Well, if that direction is toward an over-priced mediocre third-person shooter, I agree. The developers attempted to update the genre using a darker Sam Fisher with enhanced abilities and slimmed-down gameplay but missed the mark. This game plays out like a lame episode of "24". I applaud Ubisoft Montreal for adding new gameplay and control elements but they gutted core parts of the franchise in the process. Where's Sam's silent and effective combat knife attacks? Or the pop culture references and witty dialogue between Sam and Grimsdottir? Where's the new stealth move (split jump, SWAT move, etc.) that NO ONE uses but everyone appreciates? Or the laugh-out loud, being caught from behind responses from guards? Where's the colorful level design and atmospeheric background music? Or the computer data hacking which filled in the back-story? And most importantly, why does Anna Grimsdottir now look like Flo from those Progressive Insurance commercials?
There's no real "stealth action" to Conviction. The new formula is simply: sneak, kill, shoot, outflank, repeat. The mission objectives are simple: kill everyone on that level. It felt more like playing "Rainbow Six Vegas". Which is fun at first but the combat quickly becomes repetitive and too frantic enough to savor. The beginning Malta mission is great and showed great promise. It's fun to see Sam as such a bad-*** out for revenge. However, by the second mission the action becomes monotonous, the storyline is stale and there are no surprises. Other reviewers have said that the single-player story is too short. That's not really true, it just feels short because there is no real substance to the game. The plot, including his daughter's "death", just doesn't make sense.
The other negative which kills this game is that the villians and their conspiracy are so weak. Black Arrow is just another evil private military corporation which makes for a very dull adversary and has already been done in Chaos Theory. Director Reed and Megiddo are a lazy plot device. If the conspiracy is as powerful as they say they are, they could easily execute a silent coup instead of using the EMP's. There are so many interesting possibilities with past adversaries who still want Sam dead, like Russia's SOBR, Israel's Shin Bet or Japan's ISDF. Remember killing Russian Spetsnaz (SC1), Talia Dal (SC2) and those Japanese commandos (SC3)? It's a wasted opportunity not to bring back any of his past enemies for another crack at Sam and Third Echelon.
Are there any good points to this game? Sure, the EMP backpack, the Victor Coste narration, the Mark and Execute kills, the interrogation scenes and the weapon selection are all great. These are things that I wish were in past games but these don't make up for what is missing. If you are a devoted Splinter Cell fan you will be disappointed by Conviction. The rumor is that this will be the last Splinter Cell PC game. The Sam Fisher character is simply too old and Ubisoft seems to have run out of story ideas for this franchise. I want Ubisoft to bring back Sam (and Michael Ironside) as the new director of Third Echelon and introduce a new younger Splinter Cell. Because it's a shame to say goodbye to Sam Fisher this way...he deserves better.
Edited by FlystreesVagann, 15 November 2011 - 05:37 AM.
