2010
ConViction
By: L, The Almighty Bobfish Category: ConViction, Splinter Cell, xBox360
A long time in the coming, and subject to at least two complete reinventions to my knowledge, Sam Fisher has finally returned to our home entertainment systems to continue, and add some much needed perspective, to the events of Splinter Cell Double Agent. In my previous review I touched on the closing levels of the previous instalment being somewhat confusing, with the sudden introduction of new Director Tom Reed coming, literally, completely out on nowhere. But more so than that, Sam is suddenly rogue without any obvious explanation why. Something which frustrated many people, though was explained to a certain extent within the latter version of the game that I also mentioned. And now, to my great relief if no-one else, Splinter Cell ConViction does, indeed, bring with it a great deal of exposition.
It transpires that Sam went under so deeply that only his direct team at Third Echelon, that being Lambert, Anna Grimsdottir (who does return too, but more on that later) and possibly one or two other, unnamed plebs within the organisation. Possibly his handler, Cohen, who featured in the first three games, but seems to have been completely forgotten about now. The point is, Sam’s actions, to the world at large and even the rest of the NSA, appear to be inspired by nothing more than his own selfish ends. And Tom Reed, taking over from Lambert after he is captured skulking around the JBA headquarters looking for Sam, has taken it upon himself to bring in this dangerous, loose cannon. But, of course, this is Tom Clancy, so it isn’t even that simple.
I don’t want to go too much into the plot points, because this game shows a lot of Clancy’s signature twists and turns. Where the previous titles have been fairly straight forward espionage thrillers, with nothing truely staggering in the way of big reveals. ConViction, on the other hand, has some really quite staggering turn arounds. Not least of which being that Sarah is still alive. Though, to be honest, I always suspected that from the way the death sequence was handled. Still, it’s done well, and backed up with solid reasons for why it was done both within the confines of the story, and for the sake of the story, if you understand the distinction. But there are more along the way, especially focused around Grim, who not only returns, but is, for the first time, seen face to face and not just as a voice whispering in Sam’s ear. And let me just say, she is every bit as hot as we were expecting. But that’s a side issue and has no real bearing over her as a character.
The game itself takes place in a similar fashion to the low definition version of Double Agent, with each level starting and ending with a voice over and some degree of exposition from a friend of Sam’s called Victor Coste. Though the actual levels themselves are all, barring one, from the point of view of Sam himself. And right from the very opening we are shown that, at some point, said to be seventy-two hours later (which yes, does mean that the game covers a period of only three days, another change from the usual flow) Grim will take a gun to Sam and shoot him. I’ve heard some people claim that this is poorly handled, and far from building suspense, actual spoils it. But I disagree. It left me wondering what the hell was going on, and why Grim had changed so much. The final explanation came somewhat out of left field, though admittedly in a kind of predictable way, but not in a bad sense. And I, personally, found it to be edifying because what I was hoping and expecting to see happen more or less panned out the way I wanted it to. But, again, I don’t want to give away key points so we will leave it with that.
The gameplay itself is a very large break from the style we have come to know and love. And, personally, I think the game does suffer somewhat for it. However, as far as it goes, what Ubi have done, they have done very well, and I feel that they ultimately got exactly what they were aiming for. However, what I have seen from some of their original ideas, including pre-beta gameplay footage that should still be knocking around on YouTube, I think would have been an almost perfect blend of the original stealth action aspect, and the newer, Sam as an angry killing machine. Still, within the confines of the story, and based on the general opinion of the average end user, I can appreciate exactly why they chose to emphasis the action side of things so much. The gloves really have come off, and Sam is no longer constrained by even the faintest hint of morality anymore. He is angry about the death of his daughter, and as a Father I can truely empathise. This is a much more personal story, and Sam is out for blood. The stealth aspects, thankfully, are still there, and can still be utilised almost just as much, thought the lack of a move body option can be a bit of a pain in the arse at times, particularly during the first section of your infiltration of Third Echelon itself.
The engine, I do believe, is the UT2.5, which has been rendered gloriously. The colour pallet is a little dull, yes, but not completely washed out, going for a mid-tone pastels for the most part, including a very well done grain over the top of everything. And bizarrely enough, this is one of those rare occasions where things actually look better up close. Particularly facial animations. It seems that the grain used blurs a lot of the finer detail until it’s right there in your face, at which point you can pick out the individual threads on Sam’s jumper (sweatshirt for our Stateside cousins) and even the very well rendered freckles spattered across Grim’s cheeks and the nasty little cut that Sam has over his top lip. It is still curious that Ubi did not opt for the UT3 engine, but considering the outstanding job they did with the 2.5, I am certainly not going to hold that against them.
My largest complaint is that the campaign is entirely linear. Though it does allow some degree of exploration within the individual levels, such as alternate paths and the like, the events themselves follow sequentially, one from the other, no matter how you play the game. It is also fairly short, from start to finish taking only about eight to ten hours. A bit of a sticking point for me, but it does go some way to emphasising the breakneck pace and desperate urgency of Sam’s plight. However, there is a large amount of content for the co-op side of things, which can be accessed in it’s entirety either online or split-screen, a good move by Ubi. As well as the series of Persistent Elite Creation challeneges that can be completed in an of the available modes adding some degree of continued playability. And, for once, I did spend some amount of time on the online co-op. Taking the time to play through the full co-op campaign (a gruelling process, but very rewarding) and some of the other modes. All of which are enjoyable for their own reasons.
Overall, this game was well worth the sixty pounds I invested in pre-ordering the Collectors Edition, something which I have never done before, and I am entirely satisfied with the way it ultimately turned. No, it is not my ideal game ever, and there are some things I will lament losing from both the original games, and the initial plans that were discarded in favour of what was eventually released. And the wait…a full three years late, was excrutiating. It was very, very good to know that the wait was justified. But please, for the sake of my hair and fingernails, don’t make us wait that long for the next chapter. And make damn sure you tell us who or what the hell Megido is. As always, I urge you to draw your own conclusions, but ConViction comes with a very heavy recommendation from me.
Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Audio/Music: 9/10
Plot/Scripting: 9.5/10
Overall: 9.5/10
2010
Splinter Cell : Double Agent aka Sam is not a very nice man
By: The Almighty Bobfish Category: Double Agent, Splinter Cell, xBox360
“Prison. A hell of a place to save a mans life.”
Whilst on a, for Sam, simple and straightforward intelligence gathering assignment in Iceland. So simple, in fact, that Sam even has a rookie along for the ride with him. Sam Fisher, the first and undeniably best field agent for the NSAs Third Echelon, is abruptly called back. His mission aborted and as his handler, direct superior and one of his oldest friends, Irving Lambert, tells him that his little girl, Sarah, barely even twenty-three years old, is dead. A hit and run. And just like that, Sams whole world is gone.
After this fairly large introductory level we are shown a rather poignant cinematic of Sam going completely off the rails. Drinking, fighting…well, intentionally letting people beat the crap out of him actually, and tentatively pulling himself together enough to accept the toughest job of his career. Direct, deep cover infiltration of a terrorist organization calling itself the John Brown Army. Headed by one Emile Dufrainse, who has some weird amalgamation of a thick Texan and broad Brooklyn accent. He does this by being sent to Ellseworth Penitentiary as an inmate to make contact with one of Dufraisne’s leftenants. A physically unassuming, but nasty son-of-a-bitch called Jamie Washington. Stripped of all his usual accessories, the first real level of the game has Sam relying entirely on his rather formidable skills.
From here we are introduced to the rest of the JBA and spend some time performing various tasks around their main compound. An environment which you will return to for a total of four excursions. Each time, apart from the last, being given a series of tasks from both Third Echelon and the JBA. It’s a fairly small environment, and each but the final of the four times you will visit it is timed. But it’s quite an interesting little place, with a multitude of different stair ways and ladders and corridors all leading into and branching from each other. And each of the four visits will take you to a different section of the base that the previous doesn’t, which does a very good job of preventing it from becoming repeetitive. The rest of the places you will visit, Kinshasa in particular, are massive, apart from the post credits level, which is only available based on choices you make at three key points in the game.
The story is as solid as any of the Splinter Cell games, and this, more than any other, Humanises Sam. Whilst in the previous title, Chaos Theory, we were shown the best qualities of his personality. Particularly his conversation with a near homicidal Korean General (”they aren’t anybodies men, they’re just men. Husbands, Fathers, sons”) and an optional section where you can rescue two unconcious pilots against direct instruction from Lambert. Double Agent reminds us that Sam is not a nice man. And the one thing in his life that kept him grounded, his little girl, is gone. Sam is pissed. He’s angry, and it shows. His actions and his overall tone is much darker. The way he speaks to people, some of the things he does, show a much more sadistic attitude. As a parent myself (I have a five year old daughter) I found myself empathising with him. Yes, his actions are cruel, much violent than needed, but there is a certain catharsis in punishing the world. Taking back some sense of reparation, however sparing.
Initially I actually played this game on the Wii, because that was the only platform from the current generation I was interested in. My Playstation 3 and X-Box didn’t come until later. But I learned some time later that there are actually two versions of the game, so I picked up this one as well. And I can personally attest that there are some massive differences between the two. For a start, the Wii, Gamecube and Playstation 2 game, which was developed after the initial release, takes place as a series of flashbacks and telephone calls between Sam and the new head of Third Echelon, Tom Reed. Whilst the X-Box, Playstation 3 and PC version is all in real time. It’s worth picking up both, because whilst the basic plot, and even some of the dialogue, is the same, the whole feel of the game, and the specific events, are radically different. The “low definition” version of the game also makes a little more sense. The end of the “high definition” version is very mcuh a “to be continued” moment, with a lot happening quite suddenly, and with almost no explanation. However, it’s pretty obvious from having played ConViction (but more on that later) that this is the start of, at the very least, a three part story. Not just a continuation of the Splinter Cell franchise, but an actual, sequential meta-plot, so to speak. Not just references to prior games, like the return of the Masse kernals and things like that.
The game is not without its flaws however. For some bizarre reason, Ubisoft opted for the UT2 engine, meaning that the game is, well, a little lacking graphically. Textures are flakey, and lots of things shine for no apparent reason at all. Yeah, I know, it’s nitpicking, and I personally don’t care too much about graphics. But when a radically weaker console is pulling out a much smoother, visually balanced version of the same game, then you know you’ve made a bit of a boo-boo. And don’t even get me started on the water. However, animations are extremely fluid, and not as slow and cumbersome as they once were. My largest complaint, I have to say, is the readdition of the interaction menu. For things like light switches, and computers and stuff like that, it’s useful for being able to differentiate one from another, so that you don’t accidentally set off an alarm when you just want to close a door. For trying to grab people you’ve sneaked up on…yeah, bit of a failing. The number of damned times I’ve failed to grab someone because the ruddy menu flicked off, or responded just that little bit too slowly so that they moved away. Not a good call there Ubi. Why they decided to put it back in now, after it being absent since the first chapter, is beyond me. Sometimes, y’all just baffle me.
Overall, however, this is another fine addition to one of the best video game series to date. The progression of Sams character from one title to the next never ceases to surprise, and believe me when I tell you ConViction adds even more. I missed having Grim whispering in my ear at times, but that’s mostly a personal bias. I like the character, and I have a bit of a soft spot for redheads. But, as always, I recommend you judge for yourself. These are just my impressions, and I’m an unashamed Splinter Cell fanboy.
Graphics: 7/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Audio/Music: 9/10
Plot/Scripting: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Final note : Yes, this has indeed been a long time in the coming. There have been a number of factors in my real life that have had to take priority for a while. One of them, I am almost ashamed to admit, is that I have actually been too busy playing games to write about them. But I also have a little girl (as I said above) who takes up a large chunk of my time. And three weeks ago, I finally finished writing my very first, original novel. But I’ll talk more about that another time. For now, I’m just glad to be back.
Sam is a badass: 10/10
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