This is definitely a cool game, probably on its own merits even a pretty awesome game, but there is definitely not the same level of involvement here as in the old Splinter Cells as a somewhat obvious result of there being way less stuff to tinker with. This game makes a lot of sense in the context of the story and the type of encounters you enter into, and it's definitely pretty much providing what was missing from 360 Double Agent, which kinda tried to do what this game is doing but it wouldn't gel with a set of gameplay mechanics made for slow stealth and shadow lurking, but there are simply fewer elements to the gameplay and it has a bit of that Uncharted way of getting to be a bit monotonous as they pour yet another bucket of men into your environment.

But similar to Uncharted there is a very fun, dynamic intensity to encounters all the same that does kinda enter your bloodstream and makes returning to the game after pausing for a while a delight. It is inherently a very fast paced, very dynamic game that allows you to experiment, mix things up and attack a scenario from different angles and with subtle differences in your approach. It's not as vast as Chaos Theory in this regard of course, because it's gone from being a sim to being a much more straight forward actioner, but it still serves the fiction and the name and the character well. It still decidedly feels like a Splinter Cell game.

Although some cringe at the mere mention of PoP08, there is a very similar philosophy between the two series and how they've evolved with their respective *next gen* entires. No matter if you liked PoP08 or not, the difference between SoT and that was very much changing the dynamic of stopping to think -> doing, jnto being able to haul yourself forward, ie start by doing and then just react and adapt as you go. Conviction applies that exact same thinking to the Splinter Cell formula and really does allow you to charge into a situation and then if you're quick on your feet you can just bend the game to your will as you go.

That sense of being in the moment is one I enjoy thoroughly, but shooting dudes does become a little bit taxing eventually and I find myself taking breaks from it. However, returning to it has an odd calm washing over me, so it definitely has that addictive draw - that x factor - that is key to this type of experience.

I've a few thoughts on the story and - a favourite topic of mine in games lately - character consistency, but I'll return with those later. I think it's time to eat something.

EDIT: Actually, worst thing about it (well, without thinking too hard about it anyway); FLAPPY RAGDOLL TOSS. It's just awful when you try to do a context sensitive wall takedown where you mash the guy's head against a desk or a wall or whatever, and it doesn't connect, so you do the flappy ragdoll toss instead. AAAH, LOOKS SO SILLYYYYY!

Nah, there's no going back to Chaos Theory with this approach. Those Splinter Cells were pretty much gunning for stealth simulation, you'd step in glass in those and you'd be noticed. After five games like that I am prepared to leave that approach behind though, and when I feel like experiencing that again, they all work brilliantly on the 360. Chaos Theory and Xbox Double Agent especially look FANTASTIC when played on the 360.

The game it's turned into has so fundamentally moved the gameplay to another place entirely that you can't just retrofit the old stuff onto it. In the same way, PoP08 is made for the vast, sprawling, flowing platforming of that title, and if you just stick that stuff in a room and ask the player to figure out how to traverse the environment, SoT style, you would feel that the controls were "calibrated" for a different experience.

I don't WANT to slow down to the point where I have to mind the sound of stepping in glass in Conviction. I don't want to slow down to the point where I'm using heat vision to see the finger prints a guard just made on a keypad, or using a clever mini game to hack it to get through a locked door. I don't want to remotely access wifi on computers to shut off cameras, I don't want to have to trace power lines though walls to cut power, I don't want to have to choose between breaking a lock, lock-picking it and luring a guard through it in order to not make other guards suspicious of how it was opened/noticing that the lock is broken.

That was all SUPER rewarding in a slow, tactical way in the old Splinter Cells, and it's the essence of what makes those games absolutely fucking brilliant, but this new one is about adrenaline even when you're keeping out of sight, and it'd be absolutely maddening to force the old style of world fidelity on this one.

It'd also be a disservice to a superb game. I finished it promptly yesterday and started replaying it today. I'll prolly write an Opinion of it for M7 so I'll save up some writing enthusiasm for that, but yeah it really is a very, very good game in ways that the demo prolly didn't really prepare people for. I'm not saying there's a whole lot more, core gameplay wise, to the full game, but the way encounters are laid out prolly has you playing the game in a way you didn't expect, and it brings out nuances in it in places you weren't prepared to look.

Awesome, that makes me really happy! :)I'm honestly really surprised by how good the story is, personally. The script is excellent, too, even making a fairly routine (to Splinter Cell vets) eavesdropping sequence fully enjoyable simply because the dialogue itself is genuinely good.

It ties in heavily with Double Agent, too, which is also surprising. It's not super obvious what version of DA, as it's in fairly broad strokes and it picks components from the possible outcomes (since DA was heavy on the choice and consequence thing) to establish as canon, but it actually capitalises far more on the very story setup of Double Agent than that game itself did.

Usually when you pick up threads from past storylines the whole thing ends up feeling really forced and contrieved, but I really don't feel like that's the case here at all. Replaying Conviction, paying special attention to details I thought were missing, I find that even those are properly addressed, albeit not lingered on for too long. It retroactively even elevates DA's storyline for me. This is a short, sweet, compact story so it doesn't go out of its way to become rediculously elaborate, but that really isn't a bad thing, especially in a game.

GOW3 comparison is rediculous. This isn't He-Man as performed by lady with english accent reading things backwards for fakey "depth". I love God of War, for the record, but that story is told with iconography and broad, visual strokes in the same vein as the greek myth it draws from, not with a semblance of good writing.

EDIT: One thing about dialogue though, both Anna's and Sam's voice actors are pretty frequently dropping the "aboots" in this game. They must've been working with canadian sound people deaf to it, as Sam's meant to be american and Grim - though her parents are immigrants from iceland - is born and raised in the US.

@Ronsauce

It's weird, I don't notice it that often. I listened to a podcast once where the Bioware guys let loose some aboots, so I guess it's when the audio is isolated that I pick up on it. In this case it's usually when Anna speaks to you in your ear or when Sam is interrogating people. They don't slip on every "about" either, it's usually the less emphasised ones that get away. :)

It's no biggie, of course, just kind of amusing when you think about how deeply patriotic and through and through american Sam is as a character.

The controls feel different because they accomodate more playstyles and more actions than cover based systems like this normally do. You have a plethora of things you want to be able to do from cover, including selecting items, accessing sticky camera feeds, setting up remote mine traps aswell as marking targets.

The amount of stealth in the game is a comment on how you decided to play it, not on whether or not there's stealth in it. By stealth, I don't mean wallhugging yourself around every single corner, but you can remain undetected for long stretches of the game, even while being aggressive and taking multiple guys out at once. The challenge system in the game (which is AWESOME) keeps track and awards you bonuses for using different tactics, and if you're not naturally inclined to experiment with that stuff and lack the imagination to do anything but just gun people down (a half feasible tactic even in older Splinter Cells, if you were so inclined) you can look at the list of challenges for things to try out.Hearing this often means one thing; you were fucking up often. That stealth you're telling yourself isn't in here? You're just not using it!

A lot of design choices benefit the gameplay alone, and people get their panties in a twist about how it impacts the graphics or "realism" or whatever. This particular indicator is very useful when you dive deeper into the cat and mouse game that goes on here. Sometimes you want to be seen just by one dude, and the indicator shows you just how many guards are "about" to spot you in a situation, and how many do once you expose yourself for long enough. Diverting an entire room's attention to a single spot after marking the front row of people, then going around them, earning your execute ability from the guy in the far back and taking the rest out is one of the most basic things you can do with the system, but it's certainly rewarding in your baby steps towards getting into this game proper.The black and white thing has been the subject of much whining yeah. People reckon it messes with the graphics of the game, after being fully comfortable playing the majority of the old splinter cells in a variety of trippy vision modes. At any rate, this is a videogame, and it is one where a lot of design decisions make sense once you stop just looking at it and start playing it. The screen turning black and white almost subconsciously gives you feedback on when you're hidden and when you're not. You're supposed to mind your surroundings in this game, not stare at an indicator in the lower right like you did in the old games. This game is all about openings, "going for it", things you need to catch.I assume you mean sonar goggles. Thing about the sonar goggles is it's not Terminator vision. The mark and execute ability puts actual icons over the heads of enemies for reasons in addition to being able to gun them down. It also means Sam tracks them and is mindful of them. Turning on your sonar and marking dudes, then turning sonar off lets you easily tell where they're going. This game isn't about going slalom around dots on a radar, you're actually asked to be aware of your surroundings. Again, being "in the moment".I'll just let that hang there.Stripping the game of all its mechanics, giving you two weapons with unlimited ammo and a panhandle camera for 15 minutes? Narratively it played its role awesomely, but gameplay wise that's easily the worst part of the game, and that was your favourite? Why do I bother replying to these things...

Anyway, yeah, I grossly disagree with everything ManFear is saying and find half of it to be outright misinformation. Hopefully my inability to keep quiet about these things when I prolly should to save my sanity and so forth, will offer counter commentary and have other people pick what they reckon sounds just about right for them. :)