Splinter Cell Conviction demo is on XBL... This looks SOOOOOO ****ing good. http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/03/18/demo-splinter-cell-conviction-demo.aspx Someone play it and post!
I need to try it out tonight hopefully. Edit: We'll I tried it and since I have no clue if people still want a quick review I'll do one just to be safe. First let me say I have played the all the Splinter Cell games on consoles except Double Agent so that did shape how I assessed this game (some features I describe may have been in Double Agent I don't know). From the time I spent with it you basically get a level to play through broken into two objectives. It starts off with you interrogating some guy in a bathroom about information on who I assume will be your main enemy in the game. From there you move on to the actual demo level. The first objective is to sneak into a warehouse and as expected getting started you get all the gameplay prompts telling you how to play the game. Then after you sneak into the warehouse you have to save a scientist and that's pretty much it storyline wise. The gameplay, however, is what we all want to know about and the best way to describe it is familiar, well done, and fun. If you've played any of the other Splinter Cell games you'll feel right at home here sneaking around, shooting lights, doing stealth kills, and so on. The camera is controlled by the left stick and it works perfectly as you are always given a great camera angle. The best feature I noticed is the "Execution Kill" which you earn by doing hand to hand combat kills. Hand to hand kills are simple enough though as all you do is sneak up on someone and press the "B" button. Then to do an execution all you do is aim at your enemy, hit the "RB" which selects your enemy/enemies (number varies by weapon), and then press the "Y" button. It does the Matrix like slowdown effect and you nail the guy right in the head usually. Additionally all of your old staples like sonar/night vision goggles are there by hitting "up" on the directional pad and you can select primary weapons using the "down" button. Additionally secondary weapons are selected by the "left" and "right" directional buttons and this is all done in a very nice interface. Probably the best thing I experienced is how you can string together hand to hand kills with execution kills to make a situation feel totally bad *** (for lack of a better term). Coverage and "lurking in the shadows" controls are also done very well as your possible coverage areas are all well defined and you are given several options to choose from...it's a great coverage system IMO. Overall, gameplay wise, this game is very solid and I couldn't find a huge flaw. The graphics and presentation were also very well done. The graphics looked murky at some points (mostly cut scenes) but great at others so I'm dismissing the bad graphics in certain areas to this just being a demo. Also objectives and key information are done nicely. You'll see your objectives pasted on walls, cars, the ground, etc. and the same for some cut scenes. It's all very well done and the sound is nice as well although some of the voice acting seems a little off to me. Overall I thought the game was fun and it made me want more but I don't think it's a whole lot more innovative than any other Splinter Cell game which depending on whether or not you like Splinter Cell can mean a lot. The demo is definitely worth checking out though.
I just downloaded the full game last night. Haven't played it yet. Will give a full breakdown by tomorrow hopefully.
Can't wait to hear it. Huge fan of the Splinter Cell series. Planning on downloading this for PC within the week myself.
This game kicks so much ***. Where do I start? This is the Splinter Cell that Splinter Cell has always wanted to be. Now you really see how awesome and bad *** Sam Fisher is. I came into this with mixed feelings. It was very interesting to see the new mechanics (hand to hand as well as the new execute mechanic) but I was afraid they'd go too far in trying to make same look like Jason Bourne. I am part of the small group of people that does not think Jason Bourne is awesome, but more like they try too hard to make him awesome. But with Same Fisher Ubisoft really hit a home run. Story This game takes place after all of the other ones. You're one of Americas most wanted and you're still out to avenge your dead daughter. There's not much more I can say without spoiling the whole thing. Just know that it's awesome and know that it's BY FAR the best Splinter Cell storyline ever. Not only is the story very good, but their method of story telling and using text on walls and video flashback on walls to remind you of stuff works amazingly. They've found a way to tell the story and remind gamers of stuff that happened in past games without making it obvious and while still making it cool. Kudos. Graphics The look and style of the game are great. It's not the sharpest game on earth but it looks fantastic. Sam's movements and motions are flawless. But some enemies seem a tad under detailed. The same bad guy model seems to be used a little too often. Bad guys with masks on are fine, but it seems like the same two mask less guys show up way too much. Probably just me being a tard. Either way I doubt there will be complaints in the looks department. The environments are beautiful. Tiny details like litter on the floor really bring the place to life. There's moments where Sam is in public places and it never slows down even with a bazzilion pedestrians on screen. Sound The game made a major over haul in the sound department. They use a lot of music in tense moments as well as important moments to really draw you in. It works very very well. The voice acting is superb but the lips sync seems off a few times. There's still a few unrealistic sound effects that is funny as hell (like the MP5's silencer being absolutely silent) but they hit another home run in the sound department. Gameplay Forget everything you know about Splinter Cell games. Gone are the days of tight restricted movement. Sam is now quick, agile, and deadlier then ever. There's just so many changes. Let's start with stealth and movement. Sam is now much quicker. he can now sprint around and not look and feel out of place. There's also a designated "cover" button. it also doubles as a slide button for Sam to get low very quickly. The whole thing works very well. When Sam is in the cover of darkness, the game turns black and white. The system works great for helping you see when you're in the cover of darkness. When you get close to enemies you can do a hand to hand kill. when you do hand to hands they're 100% quiet and they're awarded with an execution. Executions are a method of Sam's killing that allows him to tag several enemies and kill them all automatically with the push of a single button. It sounds crazy but is implemented very will. The strategy of certain parts involve you taking out one guy in order to execute others. The amount of guys you can tag is limited by your weapon (which can be upgraded now). The biggest downfall for the game is the AI. AI's still do some questionable crap. Even when they're trying to play smart they are stupid. You'll hear them give orders like "Stay put! make him come to us!" while all starring at one door leaving the 2nd wide open for Sam to clean them up through. They also have a very hard time seeing a guy 3 feet from them. They also never seem to use their flash lights effectively. They just slowly look in different places like that idiot in a horror movie. All in All Splinter Cell Conviction is ****ing real. And it's real good. Buy it and love it. Then thank me in the morning. I beat it on Saturday and it stays awesome the whole way through.
Do you work for Ubisoft? That really sounds like you read it from an ad or you saw it on the back of the box.
i wish... unfortunately I'm just a lowly nerd that likes the new Splinter Cell alot and is very bad at Madden.
I had planned on pre-ordering this game but held off because I was afraid I'd waste my money. With this review along with others I may still end up getting it...it actually sounds pretty good.
No. It helps, but the story is brought up to speed pretty well. I barely remember where the other ones left off and I was into this very quickly. Haven't tried it yet but plan to do some co-op tonight. Buy it buy it buy it!
Played Co-op last night (ended my XBL drought) and I was VERY impressed. It's a whole new story line (seems to precede the Single player campaign) and it's pretty tough. We went through 3 very long levels (actually we didn't finish the 3rd). I don't know how many missions there are but we were having a blast.
Beat the co-op missions last night. There's 4 levels total then a final mini surprise level. Each level is VERY long and very difficult. The Stern and I had a ****ing blast doing it. If you suck st games like us, then you'll add 3-4 hours of gameplay to the game easily.
$42 on ebay right now through buy.com http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...69999&PID=1225267&ViewItem=&item=350338532549
