Splinter Cell: Conviction Reader Review

From playing previous Splinter Cell installments I thought I could pretty much guess how this Splinter Cell: Conviction would feel and play, lots of gadgets and stealth kills very reminiscent of its forebears etc...

After the first few minutes of play I was pleasantly surprised to find that Ubisoft had tried to bring more of a fast-paced action element into the game alongside the stealth portions (which the series has been acclaimed for) so that should you get spotted, the ensuing evasion/fire fight isn't nearly so overwhelming.

Unfortuantely it didn't take long for the game to show its cracks, and evidence of a long and rushed development after it was held back. In my opinion the main downfall of the game is the shooting mechanics, which can often cause you to fail a mission as the accuracy can prove to be woefully poor. You'll be aiming for an unsuspecting bad guy's head, pull the trigger to shoot and for some bizarre reason the bullet will fly off at a tangent and miss, alerting to said bad guy - your presence. You then have to battle the painfully sluggish aiming controls to try and achieve another headshot but the camera is very unresponsive to subtle movements and will jump from left to right like a toddler with sugar rush.

This isn't to say the aiming is dire, but the inclusion of aiming sensitivity controls in the options menu would have helped, but the creative minds at Ubisoft thought it would be a terrific idea not to include them. On the whole the game is a decent stealth/action game, but a lot of the time will cause you to fail - not because of your lack of skill, but the games lack of quality programming and design.

For a series that has been highly renowned for stealth gameplay, in SC:Conviction most of the time a standard session will involve starting off stealthy, getting screwed over by the games restrictive controls and having to run and gun for the remainder of the level.

1. Engaging Story
2. Excellent Co-op mode
3. Nice Variety of weapons & gadgets
4. Mark & Execute mechanic is brilliant
5. Interrogation sequences will make you wince and laugh uncontrollably

1. Lack of aiming sensitivity controls
2. Players can't counter a grab from the AI, but the AI can counter grabs performed by the player
3. Aiming camera keeps shifting to the side when the player draws and shoots their weapon
4. The enemy can know your exact position without actually having seen you
5. Cannot un-equipt sites from weapons once purchased
6. Aiming over cover just plain sucks
7. Sonar goggles are nowhere near as good as the triple lense goggles
8. Weapon accuracy is reduced to zero when even moving slightly
9. Why do assault rifles & SMGs have less marking tickets than pistols?