Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction [Preview]

[Da Ill One]

2008 is a Metal Gear year. There are relatively few franchises out there that can make this kind of statement – Snake is perhaps only kept company by Grand Theft Auto and Halo, but the trade-off is a massive shadow cast over any competitors hitting the shelves in the same year. Though it’s unlikely Ubisoft would take kindly to such a description, there’s no avoiding the fact that Sam Fisher’s latest opus, due out in the second quarter of this year, will be squaring up to Konami’s cash-cow at release.

It’s not an entirely fair comparison either, because – while stealth is the lifeblood of both series – Ubisoft has always been careful to give Splinter Cell its own distinct flavour. Indeed, it’s fair enough to say that the series has more in common with the French publisher’s fellow Tom Clancy franchises than it does Metal Gear. No doubt aware of such aspersions, Conviction is set to see Sam Fisher finally step out of the shadows and into harsh light, in every sense imaginable.
This is a game which will turn the series on its head. Conviction is designed to make stealth a matter of setting up diversions and dealing with fluid enemies rather than tracking their movements to sneak under their radar. To put it crudely, from what Ubisoft has been willing to show so far, Conviction will take Assassin’s Creed’s ethos and put it in a modern day setting.

On the run following the events of Double Agent, Conviction catches up with a retired Sam, living out his days quietly in the Mediterranean, but tempted out of hiding to protect his friend Anna Grimsdóttír from a danger unknown. Hooking back up with Third Echelon proves less than rewarding, however, with Sam finding it riddled with red tape and mistrust. Play therefore follows Sam as he goes it alone, giving gamers their first real look in six years of Splinter Cell at what lies beneath his surface.

By thrusting himself back into the limelight, Sam is pushed into learning a new kind of stealth; one that’s less about sneaking, ducking and diving, and more about pure survival. Sam Fisher is being hunted, and – like with Altair before him – it’s the player’s task to carry out Sam’s trials and tribulations without getting spotted, let alone killed. Like a cornered rat, Fisher is primed to lash out in new ways in Conviction. Whether it was a conscious decision by the developers or not, Splinter Cell is now a world away from Metal Gear’s grand mix of paranoia, political propaganda and pomposity. Instead, players will be treated to a more isolated existence, forging new connections and regaining the trust of old ones to survive out on a limb.

Communicating this new world will be no easy task, especially considering the kind of play the franchise’s sizeable fanbase is used to, but what’s been shown suggests that Ubisoft Montreal has put a heavy focus on making the world around Sam feel less cinematic and more voyeuristic. The little nuances of crowd interaction all appear to be here, as is Sam’s own swagger – something which threatens to steal Altair’s crown for realism of movement. These are, of course, only visual components, but they do nonetheless combine to form the kind of next-gen package that so many have promised but so few delivered. In short, Conviction looks the part.

It’s not just Sam’s walk, either. Though smoothness is still an issue, Conviction will make a big leap in other graphical aspects too – perhaps the biggest since Sam’s original adventure hit the Xbox back in 2002. Sam’s world (or at least Washington DC) is rich with reds, greens, greys and browns, displaying the kind of stark warmth usually devoid from stealthy adventures. It’s further evidence of how, rather than simply being an empty promise scribbled on the back-of-the-box blurb, Splinter Cell is stepping out of its own well-worn shoes. And it’s probably about time, too.

While it was Hideo Kojima’s assertion that the original Splinter Cell was "Metal Gear Xbox", in truth Sam has always distanced himself from Snake in a far more convincing manner than the heroes of, say, Sony’s Syphon Filter franchise, where Gabriel Logan’s only distinguishing factor is a distinct lack of quality in comparison. Conviction is Ubisoft’s attempt to give Splinter Cell an even more unique flavour, bringing an almost point-and-click style to a genre that could be accused of being trapped in its own dark alley. Players will be encouraged to improvise; to find solutions that don’t always revolve around gunfire, that form their own riddles and aren’t always straightforward– one action leading to a chain reaction of dominos falling, helping the gamer achieve his or her aim unnoticed.

The crowd will play a major part in Sam’s beautifully disjointed missions. They can either be used for his benefit (setting off mass panic, for instance, will allow Sam to run with and be absorbed into fleeing crowds) or to his detriment, with NPCs reporting Sam to the authorities should he make too much of a nuisance of himself. It’s in these cases that Fisher’s new hoodie will make its purpose beyond the superficial known. Sam will be able to pull up said hood if he feels the need to be inconspicuous, forming a sort of camouflage – a refreshing change from his trademark black cat suit and a token nod to the accidental hilarity of Altair’s ability to ‘blend’ just by walking slowly and pretending to pray.

All these new avenues combined could well ramp up the game’s appeal, lifting it beyond the sneak-and-kill ethos that was Ubisoft Montreal’s initial trademark. The studio isn’t doing away with guns and machismo altogether however, with Sam having to engage in battles using the street’s everyday furniture as cover. Ubisoft has also promised that almost every object in game will be able to be interacted with – often assured this generation, but seldom delivered. If even half of Conviction’s trinkets can be picked up and toyed with, then your average gunfight could turn into full-scale war, with everything – including the kitchen sink – thrown in for good measure.

It’s this merging of an intelligent take on stealth in real-world settings with Splinter Cell’s traditional strength – espionage combat – that makes Conviction the most interesting prospect in the franchise since birth. This is Assassin’s Creed-meets-Ghost Recon. This is Saboteur-versus-Call of Duty. This is a title determined to distance itself from Snake’s shadow in order to take its first steps in a new direction. This is a game that could hand the 360 some serious leverage in the console war and gift the PC one of its most commercial prospects of 2008. But more than any of that, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a title fighting an entirely different war to Metal Gear Solid.

So if all that doesn’t make help make 2008 a ‘Splinter Cell year’ as well, then Sam will deserve to slink back off into the shadows.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction Preview // Xbox 360 Gamer Magazine Online