YouTube - Splinter Cell Conviction - E3 trailer
Sam Fisher can no longer rely on his trusted bag of tools and iconic goggles. He's gone beyond being a double agent. Now he's a fully fledged fugitive without the intel of 3rd Echelon or the support of his friends. Those custom gadgets can't be found at your local hardware store. This time around, Fisher is going to need more than just a dark corner to survive. It's a whole new game and we'll be taking an in-depth look at five ways it has changed over the next few days. If you thought you knew what Splinter Cell was, get ready to see how UbiSoft is changing all of the rules.
In time for the holiday season this year, the Splinter Cell franchise is going to receive its fifth installment on Xbox 360 and PC. To say that things are going to be different this time around for Sam Fisher is the understatement of the year. Conviction is taking the idea that the Splinter Cell franchise is just a series of stealth games and tossing it right out of the window. The gameplay mechanic of hiding in the shadows while patiently waiting for the perfect moment to get the drop on a terrorist has been scrapped in favor of a more active style of play. The famous night vision goggles and gadget bag are gone. Fisher's immediate surroundings will become his inventory. Sam Fisher is the new Jason Bourne, constantly hunted and forced to improvise around every corner.
Conviction is so different from what we're used to seeing that at first glance you might wonder what makes UbiSoft think this should even be called a sequel to the critically acclaimed and groundbreaking series. That's why the first of our five days of Splinter Cell Conviction coverage begins with the evolution of the franchise and how Conviction continues to hold true to the philosophy behind the series. To do that, we start from the beginning.
The original Splinter Cell used dynamic lighting to change the face of stealth.
In the quest to justify new hardware purchases, gamers are incessantly searching for the title that offers a "next-gen" experience. The definition of "next-gen" changes depending upon who you ask, but there is no question that at the time of its release in November of 2002, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell offered it. Taking advantage of new techniques to generate dynamic lighting, UbiSoft Montreal created a style of stealth action that showed gamers how new technology could deliver new experiences. As Mathieu Ferland, Senior Producer on Conviction, put it, "In fact we had a strong theme (The Splinter Agent), a strong technology (Dynamic Lighting) and that allowed the birth of a new and great game play, Light and Shadow Stealth."
The light and shadow stealth gameplay mechanic continued to grow throughout the last generation of consoles, but remained true to the core gameplay concept. Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow introduced the online spies vs. mercenaries game mode. Chaos Theory, widely considered the star of the franchise, presented a polished and complete version of that original vision. It even included concepts and mechanics that did not make it into the original Splinter Cell game. "When we created the original Splinter Cell, the idea of multiplayer co-op was already there. However, we had to wait until Chaos Theory to make it reach the public," said Mathieu Ferland.
Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory brought new multiplayer modes to the mix, but stuck with the same formula.
But how much further could UbiSoft take the light and shadow gameplay? Adding more gadgets and stealth kills or bigger environments doesn't do much to make each new game feel fresh. Playing with shadows to create a style of game was no longer technically impressive and a new generation of consoles was on the horizon.
"It was good, but repetitive over time. After three games, we decided to make a big turnaround in the franchise," explained Ferland.
This big shift began with last fall's Splinter Cell Double Agent. Although the game was not developed in Montreal by the founding team as Conviction is (both the single and multiplayer games are being made in Montreal using the same engine), it began the transition from a trained and deadly super soldier with no personality to a man with a past and a dark sense of humor. It's a natural progression for the character more recognized by his trademark night vision goggles and his jet-black outfit than his face or emotions. Even better, it allowed a core team that had remained together throughout the franchise's history to dive deeper into this character that they had become so intimate with without even knowing anything about him.
"Double Agent doesn't really bridge the gap in terms of game play," Ferland told IGN, "it bridges the gap in terms of narrations, and getting Sam out of order lead missions. Daylight maps were original; however, it was a half step, as the core mechanics of light and shadow were still used."
Conviction takes things the full step.
new moves
----Added 5/6/2009 at 4:35 PM----
the game if for xbox (360)
----Added 5/6/2009 at 5:27 PM----
e3 reviews
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