Preview: Splinter Cell Conviction (X360)

In an instant, Ubisoft laid waste to any preceding definition of Splinter Cell games when we heard this bombshell: “They see you when you want to be seen, and when that happens you're in control.” As a long-running fan of the series – and one accustom to its intimidating solitude - the very concept of having discernible control over a situation in any of Tom Clancy's stealth fests was quite frankly absurd. In many respects, the seemingly insurmountable situations were the very things that defined the game, forcing the player to think smart and think forward, but as thrilling as it was to fight ominously from the shadows, they rarely quenched the desire to unload your weapon with reckless abandon.

Arguably, that's the way it should be; you don't buy a stealth game for the raging shoot-outs, though it was hard to believe the original games descended into them so infrequently without the help of a bored player. However, as Fisher's newest outing demonstrates, the evolution of the on-going story arc and Fisher's waiving connections with government agencies has changed all this. In the beginning his alignment with the Third Echelon meant his actions were largely bound in accordance with the wishes of the big dogs, but now, betrayed and on the run, he's forced to adapt and utilise whatever method gets the job done.

Samthing New

What this really equates to is broadening the options for the player in terms of how they may approach any given scenario. Fisher's agility and propensity to skulk are still the name of the game, but with the death of his daughter forever fresh in his memory, Conviction is propelled with more emotion than ever before, offering up to the player a less calculated but more visceral side to the action. You don't have to remain undetected between kills if you want don't want to. If you fancy it, you can just obtain a shotgun and go nuts.

The opening sequence of the demo does a good job of demonstrating Fisher's sorrowed disposition and utter detachment from his past by jutting in as he's seen roughing up a shaven-headed goon in a dank, run-down bathroom. He's after information, and by the time I take control the goon's already bloodied and bruised, but I use his head to break another urinal and a few cubicle door slats, and the jar is open. He speaks of Andriy Semyon Kobin, the alleged murderer of Fisher's daughter, and directs you to his mansion. Fisher concludes their meeting by smashing his face into the basin mirror. As he slumps down the Splinter Cell: Conviction logo appears where his head made contact. It's a poignant introduction to the new Sam Fisher- direct and merciless.

Splintered

After a short video involving Fisher smashing a vehicle's wing-mirror and pocketing a shard, we find ourselves in a quaint little riverside market just down the road from Kobin's mansion. I brush past a few hapless citizens and make a bee line for the mansion gates, sizing up the two security guards manning the front entrance. With Ubisoft's claim still afloat in the periphery, I decided to take a direct approach by simply walking towards the men firing my handgun, hoping to snatch a couple of lucky headshots before waltzing straight in the front door. It didn't work, and the damage I received as a result meant I had to retreat into the market crowd and hang over the riverside wall.

Fortunately this led me cleanly into two of the new gameplay mechanics – last known position and stealth kills. The point at which I left the scouring watch of the guards was marked with a ghostly apparition of Fisher, highlighting where you were last seen and forming the basis for flanking manoeuvres. Having such a highly visible representation takes a lot of the guess work out of stalking the enemy by providing you with a better idea of their movements, which gives you a better idea of when they're returning to their routines, should you only distract them.

Only one of the two guards I had alerted made a concerted effort to look for me, the other just went back to the gate, so I decided to try my hand at a stealth kill. With my reticule pointing over the lip of the riverside wall I tagged the clueless sap with the right bumper, waited for the dot above his head to turn red as he emerged from behind a parked car, and then pressed Y to complete the sequence. Fisher momentarily leaps out of cover and shoots him in the head, clean and smooth, all within a split second.

Samtagonised

Splinter Cell's new attitude left me with no qualms about leaving his body in the middle of the road, so I moved on to the other guy. History told me I couldn't walk straight in the front door, but a perimeter wall provided a good angle of approach, and Fisher made little work of scaling it. Unfortunately my descent on the other side proved to be less auspicious as I alerted the guard upon landing. In a panic I substituted my handgun for my fists and delivered a series of brutal punches to the face in the style of the Israeli martial art, Krav Magar, something you'll likely recognise from the Bourne films. In doing so I replenished a stealth kill I used earlier on, the total of which varies depending on which weapon you use to perform them.

From there I was free to breach the mansion, disabling the lights with my EMP grenade and either executing the guards with my pistol or snapping their necks, right up until I reached Kobin's quarters. Using the shard of a wing-mirror to look under the door showed that gunfire and the screams of dying men had already alerted those inside, but in the interest of Fisher's new action element, I restrained from tagging the two guards for stealth kills, both now lying in wait behind overturned wooden tables, choosing instead to kick open the doors and start firing from cover. It felt peculiar to be doing something so brash in a Splinter Cell game, but it was also somewhat liberating knowing that the option was there. Again, where Ubisoft demonstrated this section by moving around Kobin's quarters via hanging from the windows, I ran directly through it after my shoot-out, and it had no ramifications on the final scene of the demo: Third Echelon busting through the ceiling before you hurt Kobin and telling you to come with them if you want to know more about the death of your daughter.

In any other Splinter Cell game it would be hard to imagine the new action elements working, but the time is now right for this style of play because both the story and Sam Fisher character both compliment its inclusion. Even better, though, is how Ubisoft Montreal has handled it with respect to retaining the stealth of the originals. 'Action-Stealth' as its getting called. Either way it's both reinventing what some considering a tiring series and creating the most accessible Splinter Cell of the lot.