Conviction
After the questionable Double Agent, Splinter Cell Conviction was a game that underwent a number of changes and delays on its way to the final release. Seen as the first real “evolution” of the series, the team at Ubisoft Montreal originally showed technical demos of a grizzly Sam Fisher interacting with environmental objects like chairs that he could grab and use against his enemies. The game was extremely action oriented, with a camera that (if I’m remembering correctly) was actually detached from Sam’s shoulder and was pulled back to facilitate something more of a brawler. This was only shown in beta form, and was subsequently put “on hold” as the game was supposedly just not coming together how they had hoped. Conviction then resurfaced about a year or so later with a better graphical look, and a more classic Splinter Cell camera angle. That was pretty much the only similarities it had to the old Splinter Cell games.
Conviction turned out to be pure action. Depending on how much of a puritan an SC fan was, this was either a cool change or a cardinal sin. There is practically no stealth in Conviction, and on top of that, the choice of going non-lethal was completely removed. The Sam Fisher in Conviction was a cold-blooded killer. This led fans (myself included) to think of Conviction as more of a red-headed stepchild to the series as opposed to a true sequel.
Analysis
Conviction is the Splinter Cell game nobody asked for, but that doesn’t mean its necessarily a bad game. In fact, after playing the game through for this feature, I have a newfound appreciation for what the developers were trying to do. In order to truly enjoy Conviction, one has to set aside every instinct they know about the series. Approaching each scenario with the question of how you can get from point A to point B without being seen, without raising alarms, or without incapacitating bad guys is the wrong way to go about it. The reason is simple; you don’t. The game is not designed for not killing bad guys, and not causing a scene. The sooner you can come to grips with this, the more enjoyment you’ll get out of it.
That’s not to say it’s our fault for feeling like a fish out of water. For the past four games we had been conditioned to leave no trace, to get in and get out undetected, to be a ghost. Now here we are leaving a trail of bodies like bread crumbs and not really giving a shit who they were or whether they were really bad people. If they have a gun, they need to be taken out, plain and simple.
If you’re new to the series and are unfamiliar with why the series took such a dramatic turn, the answer comes in two parts. One, because the developers were no doubt feeling like the series was stagnating after the so-so reception of Double Agent, and felt like they needed to change it up. Two, because for once, the story actually dictated it. I’ve decided that Conviction, for better or worse, could not have been made any other way if the story was going to be effective. This is just my opinion, but hear me out.
In order to explain Conviction, allow me to go into a little bit of spoilery backstory. Double Agent began with Sam Fisher learning that his only daughter, Sarah, had been killed in a car accident. More specifically, someone ran her over. This news forms the basis for Double Agent’s scenario. Sam literally has nothing left to lose, and goes deep undercover in John Brown’s Army in order to learn what they’re up to and stop them. The game ends with Sam being forced to either kill his friend and Third Echelon director, Lambert, or blow his cover in the JBA. This is a choice that the player is given, and in my playthrough, ends with Sam blowing his cover and fighting his way out of the JBA base. However, the canon ending, and the one that Conviction plays off of, is the one where Sam kills Lambert, then saves the day, but ultimately becomes a fugitive from Third Echelon and the NSA.
Conviction begins with Sam being off the grid, and after Grimsdottir contacts him from out of the blue, gets pulled into another conspiracy plot to assassinate the President of the U.S. This time it’s Third Echelon’s new director that’s behind it, putting Sam at odds with pretty much everyone he used to work with. On top of this, Sam also learns that Sarah is still alive, and her death was faked (as was his, to her) in order to diffuse a threat against her, and at the same time manipulate Sam to do what they needed him to do in the JBA.
So, needless to say, Sam is a bit pissed off at pretty much everyone, including Grimsdottir, who facilitated the fake death. He’s not worried about stealth, he’s not worried about leaving anyone alive, and he sure as hell isn’t worried about what happens to Third Echelon. He has plenty of weapons at his disposal, and with no “stealth rating” or any such score being kept between missions, there’s no reason to hold onto any of it. Go in silent if you want, just know that you’ll be shooting your way out eventually.
As soon as you can accept that, you’ll probably find quite a bit of enjoyment from Conviction. The less time you waste sneaking around trying to take out each guard silently, the less frustration you’ll feel when you die from something stupid and have to do it all over again. Because while Conviction is a solid game, it’s not perfect. There are some design decisions that don’t appear to be a big deal at first, but start to get fairly aggravating later on, as the difficulty ramps up.
One of these is the checkpoint system. I get that a faster, more action-oriented game like Conviction may not hold up as well with a “save anywhere” setup similar to Chaos Theory and Double Agent, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that some of the checkpoints are just poorly placed. An in-game conversation between Sam and an NPC which is immediately followed by a trial-and-error shootout can get a bit irritating if the checkpoint is before the conversation. Each death means sitting through that same conversation yet again. Another instance was a hallway of lasers that is preceded by a room of armed guards. The guards are relatively easy to take out, but the lasers can be a point of frustration as a simple wrong move or heaven forbid accidentally tapping the wrong button can lead to instant failure, which means going through the room with the armed guards again. This particular scenario had me taking out the guards no less than six times because for whatever stupid reason, I was having a difficult time navigating the security lasers.
Another gripe is the fact that Sam is nimble, but not necessarily quick. Later parts of the game have guards lobbing grenades with pinpoint accuracy, and if Sam is crouched against a wall or behind an object, good luck getting him up and out of its fairly large radius before it detonates. I experienced many good runs come to an abrupt and frustrating end due to a grenade landing at his feet.
Another small complaint is that while Sam has a large number of guns to choose from, I found myself using the MP5 almost exclusively, as its cross-haired ACOG style scope made for some easy-peasy headshots. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal if the recoil spray wasn’t the size of a bus. Trying to hit anything with a fully automatic weapon was just a waste of bullets.
The last nit-pick I have is with the stealth indicator. It’s gone completely, and instead when Sam is concealed, the screen goes black and white. I don’t have a problem with this, in fact I think it’s a cool effect, but my only small, tiny gripe is that the game and lighting is really good in the game, but rarely do you get to experience it in all its glory because if you’re playing stealth, you’re looking at the game in black and white the majority of the time.
Does it hold up?
In hindsight, including this question is becoming more and more irrelevant as the games get more recent. The short answer is, yes it does. The controls are responsive and the graphics look just fine. The story narration is very well done, as is the voice acting.
Is it worth going back to?
Previously, I would’ve said no. It’s not much of a Splinter Cell game. But this time around, I thought of it not so much as a stealth game gone astray, but instead as an action game akin to the old 24 television series. In fact, if you swap out Sam Fisher with Jack Bauer, you get a pretty damn good 24.
Conclusion
Conviction is a great game to play when you’ve played the previous Splinter Cells and are ready to just shoot some people already. No walking on eggshells, no sneaking around whistling and making clicky noises. As Sam is finally let off his leash, so is the player. Can’t sneak past that guard? Don’t really want to? It’s okay just shoot him. The game not only doesn’t penalize you, a lot of times it encourages it.
Catch up on the previous entries in the Splinter Cell Re-visited series:
Part 1: Introduction to Splinter Cell
Part 2: Splinter Cell
Part 3: Pandora Tomorrow
Part 4: Chaos Theory
Part 5: Double Agent
