After five titles in the series, similar to pre-Resident Evil 4, Ubisoft knew things were getting a little stale. That’s not to say the gameplay in Splinter Cell was bad, but the meticulous mechanics behind tactical stealth games do tend to take their toll over time. It was time for something fresh, something to shake up the formula. And by from the looks of what Splinter Cell: Conviction is offering, this is exactly the kind of jump start the series needed to entice us back into the world of Sam Fisher.
Speaking of which, did we mention he’s now a badass? Oh, we did. Good. Because he’s a fugitive on the run with questions that need answering about his daughter’s death, which turns out to be no accident that the previous game suggested, and believe us, he’s going to get them answered. Walking out of super spy organisation Third Echelon, Sam ditches his sneak suit for street clothes and now isn’t afraid to take a more direct approach to getting things done. Think Liam Neeson from Taken, a man hunting for revenge across the globe, except sporting shaggier hair and an unkempt beard.
Being a desperate man to uncover his daughter’s conspiracy, Conviction offers a wide array of gameplay changes to reflect this shift of character. For one, Sam who is now on his own will have to improvise more. The stealth elements remain, but the player is given more options in situations, giving the game a more natural feel on how to approach certain scenarios. This comes in the way of active stealth, where Sam can fade away into crowds, or hide in other logical places on the go. The environment plays a big role here, because you can duck under a table, or barricade a door on the fly. It’s an excellent change that keeps the fundamentals of stealth orientated gameplay, but keeps the pace moving.
One way to make a fashionable entry.
Continuing with that premise, the way stealth is handled now has been completely reworked. There are no sound or visibility metres this time around. Actually, it’s more simple and clever. If Sam is in the shadows and covered, the screen becomes desaturated using a greyscale presentation. If he’s not in cover, then the screen stays in full colour - it's that straightforward.
‘The last known location’ is another new feature shown during E3, allowing players to see where enemies have broken line of sight with Sam last. A silhouette of Fisher appears on screen, giving you a heads up reminder to where those pesky guards saw you last. You can then plan another route, or perhaps for the more daring, set an ambush.
Perhaps the greatest new addition giving Sam the visceral brutality to the likes of Jack Bauer or Jason Bourne is the ‘mark and execute’ feature. Fisher can tag enemies by blotting them with a red mark, preferably from the shadows. Multiple targets can be queued and then with the hit of a button Sam will take them out instantly, just like that, in rapid succession. It looks as cool as it sounds; with a certain cinematic quality behind lining up three guards, then having Sam take them all out in lethally using single well-aimed shots. Interactive objects can also be queued to tag, highlighted throughout the environment, meaning you no longer have to manually aim to take out lights or traps.
Using the mark and execute feature, all targets need to be in line of sight, which can be a problem if they like to move around. This can lead for some interesting moments if Sam decides to be a little too hasty picking out his marks and can lead them catching you with your pants down. While it looks well implemented with the gameplay shown so far, it hopefully doesn’t make the overall experience feel too completely automatic. It will be interesting to see how the concept plays out through the entire game.
He will find you, and he will kill you.
Close combat will work similarly, with Sam taking out guards in auto-fashion. Arms are broken, faces smashed and, well you get the picture. Attacks can be modified through contextual button pressing, with the environment also usable in certain circumstances. Perhaps one of the more interesting concepts of having Sam up-close and personally are the interrogation moments. These special segments have the player beat someone for valuable intel in the way they see fit. In the end, they all finish with same final answers, but it sure looks fun to get them to confess to the way of your choosing.
The game visually looks excellent, especially the dynamic lighting. A nice touch during the E3 gameplay was seeing mission objectives appear directly plastered on the environment like a light projection. It may be a little surreal at first, but it’s a smart way of reminding the player of the current task at hand.
All these tweaks and changes turn Splinter Cell: Conviction into something new and exciting. The trial and error gameplay encountered at times from the past, has now evolved into something that will hopefully open the idea of trying new things. It seems Ubisoft have just the right blend at the moment to give players an option on what play style they would prefer, hopefully not alienating older fans to this new concept of playing Splinter Cell. Time will tell when we see more of the game, but for now, we are more then excited to see who Sam has us killing next.
Don’t believe us on Sam’s new lethal instincts? Check out the E3 gameplay footage to see the evolution of Splinter Cell.
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