Review! Splinter Cell: Conviction

This isn’t the Splinter Cell you remember. There’s no incentive to not kill every guard in the area. There’s very little stealth, and grenades are waaaaay to plentiful. But it’s a fun ride, and gives you the best tour of post-turmoil DC this side of realism. Not since Fallout 3 have I had so much fun at the Lincoln Memorial. And that’s just one of many famous DC sites you will visit, as Tom Clancy is used to doing in both his books and games.

   Of course, there are plenty of dark warehouses, office buildings and even a carnival to hide Sam Fisher from the nearly telepathic guards. If this had been the Splinter Cell of old, this would be a thrilling ride full of tension and stealthy knife kills. But this is clearly 2010, and after we have all been desensitized by games like MW2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Ubisoft must think we need to litter the ground with bodies and bullet casings to have fun.

   Let me be fair. It is a very fun game, with an excellent story and dialogue, but for fans of the series and the genre it practically defined, it is a bit of a letdown. The mediocre visuals don’t help this game rise above the rest, and the noticble lack of Sam Fisher-ness (no knife! can’t whistle!!) makes this just another “meh” game of 2010.

Verdict: 75%

~ by wesjanson on April 23, 2010.