Courtesy of gamecrazy.com
Way back in June 2009 during E3 during Microsoft’s presentation, Splinter Cell: Conviction gameplay was shown. Being an avid Splinter Cell fan my mind was blown. My only problem was that I had a single console at the time which was a Playstation 3. The game is a console exclusive for the Xbox 360. One month later I purchased my 360. Fast forward to March 18th 2010, the demo for Splinter Cell is on Xbox Live.
These are my thoughts:
For one thing, the demo is extremely short. It starts with a video explaining what Sam Fisher is capable of by showing action from the previous games. Next you do the bathroom interrogation which was shown at E3. Then you shoot a couple dudes and learn the basic mechanics outside of a building. You break into the building with seven guys inside. The cool thing about this is that from what I know there are two ways to break into the building. You can go through the front door or walk around to the side, scale a pipe and climb through a window. Inside, you eliminate the targets by what ever means you choose. Sam has an assortment of gadgets as well as two guns (pistol/SMG) he can use to kill baddies. After this room Fisher slides down a pipe to the basement level of the building where you take out more baddies.
Liked-
- The increased speed and fluidity of Sam’s movement. you can really move through levels quickly if you know what you’re doing.
- Sonar goggles. I think these should have been in Batman AA. They let you see how many people are in a room but everything’s not detailed out. They really work great and allow you to plan out your attack.
- Mark and execute. You earn 1 M/E ability every time you achieve a stealth kill. By pressing RB you place a mark over an enemy’s head or other things like lights. After all of your targets are marked, pressing “Y” will execute them. This is great for taking out large numbers of enemies quickly since you can M&E up to three targets at a time.
Hated’
(ok “hated” is strong, let’s just say didn’t like as much)
- Like previous Splinter Cell games the A.I. isn’t great. They often stick to one path and repeat themselves over and over and over again. Seriously.
- Another minor annoyance I noticed was that you never know for sure how many M&E’s you have. There are three arrows next to your gun but they never change color based on the amount you have earned.
- I’m never sure if I’m in the shadows or not. In previous SC games there was a light meter on screen to show how visible you were to enemies. Now when you enter a room the color is desaturated and only shows enemies so I was never certain if I was able to be seen or not.
- There is no “knock out” option. If you take a human shield your only choice is to kill them. I know Sam’s pissed but does everyone in his path deserve to die?
The game is still a day one purchase regardless if anything is changed from the demo or not. Try the demo if you have a 360.
