[Nemesis6]

What are you guys' opinions of this game? Personally, I don't understand how they can charge money for this, and then have the audacity to foist their DRM on the customers who walk into the trap. Now, the story seems compelling enough. I'm a sucker for good storytelling, so I'll tolerate some mediocre gameplay, but the gameplay here is not mediocre, it's something worse; it's dumbed-down. I think it was gamespot's video review that mentioned how this was "one of the best cover systems ever"... In combat, the controls are just way too frustrating for me to be able to get an overview of the situation, and combined with the constant bad performance, every shot at an enemy is a struggle with the mouse lag and poor FPS. The previous Splinter Cell games were awesome, so I wanted to give this a chance. I got to the stage where I have to turn the power off at the airfield, then something I should have expected happened: Autoaim kicked, and right when a guard noticed me. At that point, a terrible truth dawned on me: "Of course! That would make sense because with a controller, you would not have time to aim at him in time!"

The reviewers seem to be loving it so far - http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/tomclancyssplintercellconviction?q=Splinter%20Cell%20Conviction

Gamespot seems to be the only sane ones reviewing this, or maybe they're the only ones reviewing the steaming pile of garbage that's the PC version... 

[CP5670]

I was looking forward to this game at one point, but I don't care much about it anymore. From what I'm seeing in the gameplay videos, it seems to be a badly programmed console port and they have changed a lot of what made the first three SC games so great. The "mark targets" thing practically makes the game play itself. I guess Ubisoft decided that the stealth gameplay of the earlier SC games was too hard for casual gamers. I'll probably get it at a sub-$10 price eventually like I did with Double Agent.

The reviewers seem to be loving it so far - http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/tomclancyssplintercellconviction?q=Splinter%20Cell%20Conviction

I like the disparity between the user score and the review average.

[headdie]

well so much for that then, yet another classic franchise hits the flames due to lazy programming and big bucks corporate culture.

[Dilmah G]

They should've gone the whole hog and just called it 'Rambo-Cell.'

[MP-Ryan]

I maintain the last (and best) Splinter Cell game was Chaos Theory.  Everything since has been badly-written trash.

[carbine7]

I second that assertion. I thought I was actually going to play a SC game, but I was wrong. Welcome to Gears of War, clean and stealth(ish) style.

[Lukeskywalkie]

I maintain the last (and best) Splinter Cell game was Chaos Theory.  Everything since has been badly-written trash.

I doubt I would put it so starkly, but generally, yes. SC3 Was splinter cell at its best.  I just finished a second playthrough of conviction, though, and it's got some good points.  I really like the retcon on double-agent - and any time the story focuses on Sam, its very interesting.  The larger conspiracy is stupid, though, and nearly incomprehensible the first time through, even with narration.  I like the melee kills, even without the combat knife.  the missions are pretty evenly split between stealth-ready (and good), or action-heavy (and bad).   It's just sad to see the old ways die the same way rainbow six did, and by the same creative director, no less.  I don't think conviction is terrible, and even double agent had its moments, but this dude seriously needs to take the word 'creative' out of his title.  the mark and execute system? Rainbow six Vegas.  The cover system? Vegas.  the gunsight? Vegas.  Health system?  Sonar Goggles?  HUD?  Dude, man.

Did he really have to go meddling in a genre he doesn't like that much?  The game succeeds as a stealth game despite the changes, not because of them.  When I would infiltrate an area (a word that doesn't mean 'kill everyone quietly - use a dictionary!), scout the enemy, stalk past some, and silently take down others, it was a blast.  Every time enemies would literally appear (as through skylights, or, in one instance, magic flashbang) without allowing me to plan, prepare, and hide in the shadows, I rolled my eyes and cursed his name.   This guy's idea of a crescendo is 'more bad guys, no hiding!' The entire last level is gunfight after gunfight - just like assassin's creed I, this game doesn't know what its strong suit is.  Add in the pedigree, and you've got a lot of jilted gamers.

I want a direct sequel to Chaos theory, too.  Really.  But if you take a few of the high points of chaos theory (multiple entry points, high character flexibility, a goddamn light and sound meter), and throw them into the new mix, I think that would be pretty kick-ass too - because when Conviction lets you go stealth/guerilla, its pretty damn awesome. 

It's just too many damn gunfights, same as RS:V - seriously, the body count for these games is ridiculous, considering the subject matter.  I'll accept the guerrilla sam f., if the designers stop funneling me into killing sprees for every finale.

PS, a word about 'deniable ops': insulting.  It's just the co-op, minus the objectives, for people with no friends.  Only 3 save points per mission, and the first one has a required kill count of 80.  80!  Every reviewer praised the co-op, even a few suggesting it had better co-op than CT. No, it doesn't. It's not even very cooperative, comparatively.

[CP5670]

CT was definitely the highlight of the series and is one of my favorite games of all time.

I really like the retcon on double-agent

What did they go back on? DA's story on the PC felt unfinished and had a lot of things that were not explained well. Apparently the PS2/Xbox1 version of DA (which was a different game with the same name) had a similar but much better story with all the holes filled in.

[Nemesis6]

Yeah, Chaos Theory was really awesome. It was my first introduction to Shader Model 3.0, too, I think - With the patch, that functionality was added, and boy was it awesome. I think I'm gonna have a go at it again. But damn was that game hard!

[Jeff Vader]

Yeah, CT was and still is friggin sweet. The ragdoll physics were cool (I often ended up trying to place unconscious bodies in some really weird positions on railings, chairs and whatnot), having more baddies to interrogate gave some more life to the game, the OCP was nice, since you didn't have to waste all your bullets on lamps (and it was funny to bluescreen computers with it)...
I think it was partially easier than the previous Splinter Cells. Having the sound-o-meter made it easier to figure out just how loud you were moving. And in general you could move faster than the minimum crouching speed, while still not making too much sound (unlike in the previous games). Also, not having those "Don't touch the ground or the mission's over" limitations gave some much needed freedom. Of course, there were things that made the game more difficult. Mainly that if/when the baddies spotted you, they would shoot really accurately and quickly. Or if you messed up too badly, they'd start wearing helmets 'n stuff.

They should've gone the whole hog and just called it 'Rambo-Cell.'

I've heard some Jack Bauer comparisons too.

[Angelus]

As a fan of the Thief series, i loved the the sneaking around, avoid the guys with the guns part of the Splinter Cell series.
In most situations, i can decide if i want to sneak past a guard or if i want to snipe him and sneak past the second guard.
Now that this has been taken away, the game is the average "go there and shoot someone" shooter. Because of that and the DRM ****
i not gonna buy that game. I play SC 1-4, or the Thief series, to get my "Stealthy-Sneaky-YAY" fix instead.

[Lukeskywalkie]

CT was definitely the highlight of the series and is one of my favorite games of all time.

I really like the retcon on double-agent

What did they go back on? DA's story on the PC felt unfinished and had a lot of things that were not explained well. Apparently the PS2/Xbox1 version of DA (which was a different game with the same name) had a similar but much better story with all the holes filled in.

Im using the term a bit liberally - it's more 'Star Trek 2009' retcon than 'Superman Returns' retcon.  My trouble with double agent was how casually they killed off Sarah, and how consequence-free the ending really was, despite all the setup.  It was smart to deal with Sarah's 'death' further (and actually tell that sam is upset, even motivated, by it), even though DA was just like 'oh, yeah, drunk driver killed her. moving on'.  I was really bugged by that, made me happy to see the subject explored again.  Also, using The 'Kill Lambert' storyline is a hell of a lot more interesting, and gave the whole third echelon plotline a lot more weight.  That was the only monologue from Vic I really liked - right at the end of the Third Echelon mission, Sam running from the explosion in slow motion.

[CP5670]

Yeah, the incident with Sarah is barely explained at all. I think DA (the PC version) might have had an extra mission there that was cut from the final game. There are a number of places in DA where you get this impression.

[Nemesis6]

[Dilmah G]

Hahahahaha!

[Angelus]

That pretty much shows Ubisofts policy, and that of most of the Game companys too...also ouch.
 

[MP-Ryan]

Yeah, CT was and still is friggin sweet. The ragdoll physics were cool (I often ended up trying to place unconscious bodies in some really weird positions on railings, chairs and whatnot), having more baddies to interrogate gave some more life to the game, the OCP was nice, since you didn't have to waste all your bullets on lamps (and it was funny to bluescreen computers with it)...
I think it was partially easier than the previous Splinter Cells. Having the sound-o-meter made it easier to figure out just how loud you were moving. And in general you could move faster than the minimum crouching speed, while still not making too much sound (unlike in the previous games). Also, not having those "Don't touch the ground or the mission's over" limitations gave some much needed freedom. Of course, there were things that made the game more difficult. Mainly that if/when the baddies spotted you, they would shoot really accurately and quickly. Or if you messed up too badly, they'd start wearing helmets 'n stuff.

I never found Chaos Theory all that unreasonably hard in terms of the game itself either, but if you wanted the 100% stealth rating it could be a *****.  I finished the game with 100% on every level, and not a single kill that the plot/video didn't force.  I had stacks of unconscious bodies in the first few levels and they took forever, until I realize I could sneak past a lot of them and avoid the stash the body annoyance.

It was just a very, very polished game in general.  The previous SCs had some unnecessary gameplay limitations, whereas CT gave much more freedom of movement, but was much more unforgiving if you screwed up (baddies with laser-like aim and perpetual paranoia).  All in all, a nice balance.  Double agent eliminated a lot of the fun of planning and executing an infiltration by forcing you through a lot of hoops being the "double agent."

[CP5670]

Yes, the great thing about CT is that it allowed you to approach situations in different ways. I usually go for 100% stealth too. In fact, I like to do it by grabbing and interrogating everyone, since every enemy in the game has something unique to say (unlike the other SC games). This can be very difficult to do in some parts though, with the shootout in the bathhouse level being especially unforgiving. CT also had an excellent and fairly long co-op campaign, with a story that runs parallel to that of the singleplayer game.

DA had its moments, but the gameplay was dumbed down (repetitive JBA levels and no light/sound meters) and the bugs in it were totally game-breaking. It was the buggiest game I have seen in years, and I had to think of hacks and workarounds in numerous places just to complete the game.

[Nemesis6]

Speaking of Double Agent -- I never finished it. I had just gotten to the point where you have to make landmines for an upcoming mission, and what happened was... I think what happened was that all my savegames were all corrupted. Either by patching the game, or it simply happened on its own. They were there, but I couldn't continue off of them; a error would appear saying they were somehow corrupted and/or somehow incompatible.

I tried playing the game recently, but apparently, the game has started BSOD'ing computers. That's what happened to me, and a lot of other people are reporting it. I played it back when I had an 8800 GTX, running a 260 GTX now.

By the way, one thing I don't get: Chaos Theory has better graphics than Conviction; it looks better, so why on Earth does Conviction run so terrible? I'm just puzzled as to how they could have failed so miserably that you need the latest 480 GTX just for a PLAYABLE framerate. It's all very confusing! 

[headdie]

Speaking of Double Agent -- I never finished it. I had just gotten to the point where you have to make landmines for an upcoming mission, and what happened was... I think what happened was that all my savegames were all corrupted. Either by patching the game, or it simply happened on its own. They were there, but I couldn't continue off of them; a error would appear saying they were somehow corrupted and/or somehow incompatible.

I tried playing the game recently, but apparently, the game has started BSOD'ing computers. That's what happened to me, and a lot of other people are reporting it. I played it back when I had an 8800 GTX, running a 260 GTX now.

By the way, one thing I don't get: Chaos Theory has better graphics than Conviction; it looks better, so why on Earth does Conviction run so terrible? I'm just puzzled as to how they could have failed so miserably that you need the latest 480 GTX just for a PLAYABLE framerate. It's all very confusing! 

wild stab in the dark but i would say coding efficiency or lack of or often triggered error correction