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X’09 PREVIEW
Splinter Cell: Conviction

At X’09 I was fortunate enough to sit down with Steven Masters, the lead designer of Splinter Cell: Conviction, to watch a demonstration of the game and talk to him about it. It’s really something special to be able to talk to people about a project they were so invested in for such a long time, as their level of enthusiasm is unmatched and they bring a lot of experience to the discussion. He was obviously very proud of the game that had helped create, and rightfully so.

Even though I played a lot of Forza 3 at the event, Splinter Cell: Conviction really stole my heart – and this was just from watching someone else play it! One of the issues the design team at Ubisoft was tackling with the game was how to make Splinter Cell, a stealth game, more accessible to everyone without removing the fun for the seasoned players.

From the looks of things, they did an awesome job. The result of their labour of love is nothing short of spectacular. One of the new features in Conviction is the mark and execute command. With this you can basically create an on-the-spot tactical plan for dealing with enemies. You target the desired goon that you want to take down, and they remain in your “queue” until you decide to deal with them. The press of a button will allow you to dispatch each enemy. It’s nice because you can target some members of a group and use the one-button method to take them down while you finesse others with more of a manual approach.

Another neat feature is the last known position marker. When you use this, a ghost image of yourself appears where the enemy last saw you and thinks you are. This allows you to employ stealth tactics to get behind the enemy while they are distracted, often while they’re firing upon the position where they think you still are. It’s pretty neat. Sticky cams, awesome takedowns, incredible graphics, and great sound effects and ambiance really make me want to get an Xbox 360 just so I can play this.

To top it all off, the displaying of objectives as projections within Sam Fisher’s environment makes for a more immersing experience. While we’ve seen similar treatments of titles in primetime shows like Heroes and Fringe, it’s even cooler within the medium of games. Flashbacks, along with characters’ descriptions of events while talking to Sam Fisher, are projected on the background. This allows players to both see the discussion and the content of that discussion. It’s shaping up to be a truly an awesome game.

Splinter Cell: Conviction is due out in North America on February 23, 2010.

Posted in Awesome, Previews, Xbox 360 |