Splinter Cell Conviction generated a ton of positive buzz at E3 2009. The demonstration for the game proved that Ubisoft was capable of turning the stealth genre on its head and making it far less aggravating by equipping players with the tools and abilities to truly navigate a hostile environment. Plus, Fisher executed a dude in a dingy bathroom -- nothing is better than that.
Below the fold is a taste of what we saw at the event. It’s the first -- and likely not the last -- developer diary for Conviction. Dubbed “Redefining Splinter Cell,” the diary deals with how Ubisoft decided to pull Fisher out of the stealth slump by using a core concept called “prepare, execute, and vanish.”
PEV isn’t abstract. Ubisoft has rigged the game to where you can choose how to play out each scenario. Even if you screw up being the stealthy, all you have to do is take care of the immediate threat and return to the shadow. It’s pretty cool.
By the way, this video took us over two hours to download and an hour to upload. Ubisoft sent this thing out in a stunning one-gigabyte .ZIP file. The hosting for it bombed right before we finished downloading, so we had start it all over again. Talk about annoying. We demand a Conviction cloth map or designer tee shirt in return for our vigilance.
What Brad failed to mention is that within that 1GB file was three files, one of which was 700MB, the other two were smaller, slightly lower quality files. When you consider that we didn't actually need the 700MB one, I think a cloth Splinter Cell map of Sam Fisher's brain is totally called for.
Also, this game looks pretty damned incredible; one of my favorites from E3. I met the game's producer Alexandre Parizeau at a party at E3, and even off the PR/pitch record he was totally pumped about what they were doing. I think it shows. And I'm not even a fan of the series.
I have to agree with the Chesterizer,
the game looks good, and I'm glad that they've revamped the action loop with the PEV as it seems like it will give the player more control to play the way they want to in a given situation.
Wow...this may actually be the first Splinter Cell game I ever give a chance. Usually, I won't really bite on the stealth genre unless it's the ridiculousness of MGS, but this actually looks like a truly revolutionary take on the stealth genre that could pull in fans of all sorts of different genres.
Am I the only one who's a bit perturbed that it seems like they're downplaying the stealth here? You're not SUPPOSED to be able to just run through the levels and slaughter everyone in your path. It's a STEALTH game, not an action or shooter game, a STEALTH game. Don't get me wrong, Conviction looks like it'll be phenomenal, but it seems to be doing away with a lot of what characterized the original games. Reminds me of Fallout 3, in a way.
Hm, i'm a big Splinter Cell fan and so far i'm a little dubious. The 'last known position' device should be a part of the natural AI of the game. Why do they spell it out as if the player is a total idiot? If i disappear into shadows of COURSE the AI should go to the last place they saw me. It's like selling us a mechanic that games have been using for ages, even previous SC games, and calling it novel.
And the real beauty of the previous games for me was the weight and realism in the world. You felt vulnerable, you weren't a superhero. Now Sam can climb hand-over-hand at ridiculous speed and make perfect headshots without having to aim. Doesn't look gritty or tense any more. Looks like they dumbed it down.
I'm holding my breath because I REALLY want it to work. I just hope they don't lose the intrinsic SC feel that made the previous games so good.
DON'T DUMB MY GAME DOWN, GODDAMMIT!!
I personally dont think it will be this quick. Remember this guy knows the level inside-out. He has practiced over & over, so that when it comes to rendering a video he makes it look really smooth and deadly. As with the other games, I expect that a lot of our time will be spent scouting out the levels and enemies before we get a chance to assault them. I think that the animation speed-up [like hanging and moving] is a good thing. We can still take our time about things, but dont have to wait ages for Sam to swing his way across a pipe or ledge that we may have already attempted, but died :)
Having played Chaos Theory over & over again on the PC, I could honestly play the levels at a ridiculous speed on any difficulty. But, when I first tried the levels they took me ages to sneak my way through!
I do agree that the automatic headshot and visual hiding place ques might simplify the game. But, lets hope that they offer us some assist options that we can tweak. I think if anybody knows what they are doing its ubi, they wont let us down :D
@munkee
Yeh, i hear you. Don't get me wrong, it does look sweet and I love the fact that when the shit hits the fan you can create a contingency on the fly without having alarms and a 'three strikes, you're out' type of thing.
But the essence of SC is always summed up in my mind as sneaking into a room where two people are having a conversation. You hold your breath and ever-so-gently sneak up to the computer behind them and play a hacking game, trying desperately to get the intel before one of them turns around and spots you. That kind of tension could easily be negated if you now have the option to auto-target both guys and stroll into the room for two quick headshots.
I'm praying that the gameplay still revolves around not getting spotted at all, and if so I will never have to use the last known position thing anyway.
Here's hoping!
Im happy, it looks good but I second Naim Master... I think the other older hobo Sam would look better for killing. The Sam in this video looks like Drake from Uncharted a little too much.
I thought I would never be excited about another Splinter Cell game, but this looks phenomenal. The gameplay finally got out of it's rut and is really doing something new and exciting. All the abilities they give you (like mark and execute) look like they could make the game a bit easy, but even if that's the case they can be forgiven for how badass it is.
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Contest:
7:20 PM on 07.01.2009
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Also, this game looks pretty damned incredible; one of my favorites from E3. I met the game's producer Alexandre Parizeau at a party at E3, and even off the PR/pitch record he was totally pumped about what they were doing. I think it shows. And I'm not even a fan of the series.
But seriously with the 1GB file.
the game looks good, and I'm glad that they've revamped the action loop with the PEV as it seems like it will give the player more control to play the way they want to in a given situation.
I'm wanting this for a LONG time.
Can't wait to see what they also have in store for multiplayer.
One of my top games to get. This and Alpha Protocol in my mental list surely mean I'm in for a SPYTACULAR time.
And the real beauty of the previous games for me was the weight and realism in the world. You felt vulnerable, you weren't a superhero. Now Sam can climb hand-over-hand at ridiculous speed and make perfect headshots without having to aim. Doesn't look gritty or tense any more. Looks like they dumbed it down.
I'm holding my breath because I REALLY want it to work. I just hope they don't lose the intrinsic SC feel that made the previous games so good.
DON'T DUMB MY GAME DOWN, GODDAMMIT!!
I personally dont think it will be this quick. Remember this guy knows the level inside-out. He has practiced over & over, so that when it comes to rendering a video he makes it look really smooth and deadly. As with the other games, I expect that a lot of our time will be spent scouting out the levels and enemies before we get a chance to assault them. I think that the animation speed-up [like hanging and moving] is a good thing. We can still take our time about things, but dont have to wait ages for Sam to swing his way across a pipe or ledge that we may have already attempted, but died :)
Having played Chaos Theory over & over again on the PC, I could honestly play the levels at a ridiculous speed on any difficulty. But, when I first tried the levels they took me ages to sneak my way through!
I do agree that the automatic headshot and visual hiding place ques might simplify the game. But, lets hope that they offer us some assist options that we can tweak. I think if anybody knows what they are doing its ubi, they wont let us down :D
Yeh, i hear you. Don't get me wrong, it does look sweet and I love the fact that when the shit hits the fan you can create a contingency on the fly without having alarms and a 'three strikes, you're out' type of thing.
But the essence of SC is always summed up in my mind as sneaking into a room where two people are having a conversation. You hold your breath and ever-so-gently sneak up to the computer behind them and play a hacking game, trying desperately to get the intel before one of them turns around and spots you. That kind of tension could easily be negated if you now have the option to auto-target both guys and stroll into the room for two quick headshots.
I'm praying that the gameplay still revolves around not getting spotted at all, and if so I will never have to use the last known position thing anyway.
Here's hoping!
your last paragraph sums it up for me too