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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.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Audio/Music: 9/10
Plot/Scripting: 9.5/10
Overall: 9.5/10

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