Splinter Cell: Conviction, Or When Giant Dice Attack

You've no doubt heard the announcement last week that the next installment of the perennial Splinter Cell series of stealth games will largely be set during the light of day. IGN covered this ground-breaking news last week with an in-depth look at the new game mechanics and how the series has evolved to this next stage of evolution.

I'm always cautiously optimistic when a company decides to tamper with a proven formula and strike out towards more innovative game design. Having the inspiration and intention to do something different is great, but we as consumers know all too well the importance of solid execution.

More ramblings after the jump...

The feature on IGN is pretty good and I'll boil down the essential for you. Splinter Cell: Conviction will feature many daylight missions and implement a completely different stealth model. Instead of the light/dark concealment paradigm we've seen in the previous 4 titles, Ubisoft Montreal will allow players to blend in with crowds of people and "improvise" ways to evade his enemies. In case the title didn't tip you off, Conviction sees our Third Echelon hero, Sam Fisher on the wrong side of the law. Stripped of his high-tech gadgetry and intel support, Fisher must now rely on his pure instincts more than ever.

If you're a long-time Splinter Cell fan, you've probably already absorbed this and either exclaimed, "It's about time" or threw your hands up in the air with, "OMGZ THEY CHANGED EVERTYHING THAT IS SPLINTER CELL!!". Or something to that effect. Me, I'm just slightly puzzled. This whole daylight, crowd dynamics business... isn't that the proof of concept for Ubisoft's upcoming Assassin's Creed? The protagonist
for that one is remarkably similar to Sam Fisher, with a drastic difference in time periods to set them apart.

While it does sound like Conviction will push the concept of hiding without shadows even further than Assassin's Creed, I have to wonder why they wouldn't want to make sure it works on one A-list game first before injecting it into a best-selling franchise.

Don't get me wrong. To be able to simulate the feeling of movies like The Bourne Identity and dodge cops through busy streets sounds like a wonderful idea and is very "next gen". Just judging from the tone of the comments made by Ubisoft producers, however, they make it sound like the old concepts of waiting in the shadows is a dead horse. Nothing could be further from the truth. With advances in AI and dynamic lighting technology, the classic style of play seen in Splinter Cell can be made so much more immersive and realistic. And let's face it, although the previous games made nods to realism, they are anything but.

It's still too early to say how the next Splinter Cell will turn out. Credit can be given to Ubisoft for attempting to shake things up a little and after 4 games, it's probably time for Sam Fisher to ditch the black bodysuit in favour of looking like a street bum. Every series, be it games or movies, has that blip, that one sequel that seems oddly out of place alongside all the other episodes. Conviction could be that blip that makes people scratch their heads and take notice. And even if it fails, they can go back to the tried-and-true formula and take that even further into parts unknown. I for one would love that.

Source: IGN