I am not playing much right now. Boo to that. But there are some good games coming over the horizon that are worth talking about. Let's start by talking about a sneaky 'un.
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Splinter Cell: Conviction
I really was going to boycott every Ubisoft game that comes out now. Honest. The DRM has been evidentially causing people a lot of grief so why would I be dumb enough to get Splinter Cell: Conviction?
Well because I've got a long-love for this sneaky game. I was so mesmerized by the possibilities with the first one, and though I never actually played the second or third (Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory), I will always remember the ground breaking concept of skulking around third-person view, with super gadgetry and REALLY using night vision for something other than shooting people dead in the night.
Plus, Tom Clancy was good at building a believable modern world in his stories that were filled with espionage intrigue, where corporate giants and the government were entangled in the dirtiest of ways, no one could really say who was good or bad, and you as the player and as Sam Fisher was viewing all this shit as an outsider.
Double Agent detracted from this slightly, it was their attempt at refreshing the near-dead series, and understandable enough, how much more interesting could a sneaky game be after you beat the horse to death with three games. It failed thanks to sheer technical bugginess (I got the copy for my birthday, and I never got very far because it didn't work) and it just isn't Splinter Cell if you aren't spending a major portion of your time in the shadows waiting to sneak past an annoying guard.
Splinter Cell was Metal Gear Solid without the explosively bombastic storylines or characters. It was Thief without the supernatural crap. And it certainly had more stealth than Assassin's Creed. It was the serious man's adventure. You could imagine that shit going down in real life, and just like Sam Fisher, it was hard as nails. And unapologetic about it.
So I'm hoping the latest Splinter Cell, in its reincarnation, doesn't lose too much of that hardcore serious vibe. I know Sam Fisher's angsty at losing his daughter, and he's pretty much channeling Liam Neeson from Taken, but Ubisoft please don't lose control on the story for some Hollywood-styled action. The game's been dumbed down (for console audiences, heh) and more action than stealth driven, but if they can keep presenting a world-view that is sickeningly twisted and yet frighteningly prophetic of real life, then I'm sold.
One good thing. I'm glad Ubisoft didn't stick with Sam Fisher's hobo look. That was just not very becoming.
Oh and, five hours is REALLY short for game time. Those five hours better be mind-blowing.
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