Ubisoft respond to Splinter Cell demo criticism

With all the moaning going on about the Splinter Cell Conviction demo, Msxbox-World gets to the bottom of the issues and asks Ubisoft some pressing questions.

[kidnplay]

Good interview :)

[Tompkins]

Now I'm more stoked for the game. However, that picture is what I'd like to do to some of the whining babies I've seen.

[darthv72]

My only issue was length of the demo. I liked it overall and had no other issues to speak of.

[Jim Hawking]

Yeah, what was the problem? This isn't quite as tactile as the other games, but there have been four of them. I appreciate the switch up.

[Bnet343]

I thought it was kind of ironic that people complain about games being the same: "Oh it's just another Halo" or "Oh it's just another COD" So here we have Ubisoft changing the direction of Splinter Cell and suddenly everyone is pissed. It's like, what exactly do you want? When Capcom changed the direction of Resident Evil with RE4, no one seemed to care about that change, but suddenly with Splinter Cell it matters lol.

[DelbertGrady]

The only thing I didn't like was the voice acting, which was very poor imo. Fortunately all the other aspects of the demo were awesome and made it easy to overlook. Loved the end.

[WildArmed]

My main grudge is the game baby feeds you.

Maybe they'll add a QTE sequence when you execute (melee one.. B i think).. because as it is now.. it's just too easy..

I think the mark and execute was a very good idea... I loved it.

The AI was kinda dumb though.. either it sits in one spot or rushes in to die. But it's a demo. I expect the game to dazzle xD

umm.. yeah Length of the demo was short.. a run in realistic takes barely 5mins..

oh that brings me to my last point, I honestly didn't see much change between realistic and easy.
The enemy pretty much didn't care when their pals dropped dead nearby them.

But with all that said, the GAME IS GONNA ROCK!
Will have to pick this up day one.. it's my most anticipated game of April so far! :D

[na2ru1]

I was going to say the same.

[thedarkestfaction]

What about an accurate representation of actual gameplay graphics. The pic they showed in the article looks nothing like the demo gameplay.

[DelbertGrady]

Looks exactly like it. Adding depth of field blur when the camera is close to Sam was a nice touch.

[mikeslemonade]

Well after playing game of the year and epic3 we're are little bias because the quality was just so much better before. When we jump on this system the games just don't stack up. The graphics aren't there besides the 5 minutes in the bathroom set piece, the controls are clunky, and the gameplay is just not fluid.

[Dr Pepper]

@ Kigmal

Did a lot of people say that about Splinter Cell though? I'm fine with adding some things and changing others when releasing a new installment (as a recent example, Mass Effect 2 did this quite well in my opinion), but completely leaving out the hardcore-stealth gameplay that made people like the franchise so much? What if Hitman 5 released and you couldn't use the clothing of others or hide their bodies? I doubt people would appreciate that.

And I really don't know what he was talking about with: "We believe we have found a good balance that provides all the traits our long time fans have come to love" because, as I've listed in the other thread, they've taken a ton of those "traits" out.

Oh and another thing, I've asked two people to guess Fisher's age (in the demo), and both said 30. He was over 50 in the first game. Really Ubisoft? I mean, I know he looked slightly younger in Chaos Theory but damn...

[The Lazy One]

you can still do everything you could in the old ones for the most part. They are just giving you more tools to do things that should be fluid more fluidly.

It is still a stealth game, as the interview says. It's just a more fluid rapid stealth than a slow cautious stealth.

edit: also, he doesn't look 30. He doesn't look over 50, but he definitely doesn't look 30. I imagine a 50-55 year old that actually spent time taking care of themselves and keeping themselves in shape could look quite like that.

[Dr Pepper]

@ The Lazy One

"you can still do everything you could in the old ones for the most part"

If you don't count hiding bodies, needing to conserve ammo (unlimited ammo, in a splinter cell game, sigh), knocking people out, needing to study enemy paths and figure things out for yourself (Conviction highlights objects to shoot when in the shadows being one example), whistle from your location (not from the camera), etc.(believe me, there's more), then I suppose that you can do stuff you did in the other games. :/

I don't want to appear like I'm attacking you or anything (people can get way too defensive on this site), but I think I made my point. In my opinion, they left way too much out of this game.

[The Lazy One]

with the exception of hiding bodies I wouldn't say any of the others are completely out. Ubi said the demo is modified to appeal to a larger audience, and a lot of the things are easily changed. Others are either in there or helpful rather than harmful.

You still can track enemy movements and study their paths. I did it in the warehouse area the first time I played the demo. The things you can interact with glowing is more a function of it being a game. I'd rather it let me know what I can shoot than shoot something that won't react in any way causing everyone to shoot me.

[Dr Pepper]

The fact that it highlights objects when you step into the shadows doesn't make you think it's holding your hand a bit too much? Because that's the feeling I got. There are other ways to let the player know, even if it's just the reticule turning red when passing over a part of the object (which it already does). It feels too easy when it blatantly makes it color in a B&W environment.

And when I was talking about studying enemies paths, in both the demo and a gameplay vid of another level, a lot of the enemies don't move. A guy in the window in the demo, and the vid, just stood there waiting to be pulled out, instead of letting the player time it (or letting them sneak in unnoticed, like in the multiple levels of chaos theory, or even double agent). It's things like that that are bugging me.

[The Lazy One]

the dude in the window and the dude just inside the door are there for the demo so you can have a chance to do cool stuff. If you go after either of them the other one will disappear in fact. It's a good thing those little things are bugging you, as they said specifically enemy placement is considerably different in the actual level.

And I would say highlighting the objects is just making things easier to see in a dimly lit black and white image. Even still, what's wrong with holding a novice's hand? Does it make you angry that less skilled players can actually play the game now? It's also an intro level in a demo. Are you expecting it not to hold your hand?

[Danny Dan]

When you see pretty much the same gameplay... people whine [and give lower scores]. When they switch up the gameplay... people still whine... -.-

[interrergator]

this is just a taste of wats to come

[Inside_out]

WOW...this game is gonna be epic...gotta feel sorry for those PS3 kids...like watching threw a window...LMFAO...

How dumb are these haters claiming the GAME is bad based on a 10 min TUTORIAL DEMO...He said there will be other gadgets level specific, maybe that will shut them up about the whistling...LMAO...I can't hide the bodies, oh what's the use already....LMFAO...Never really liked old spintercells...This one looks insane..

Anyone who has run through the demo, and has not scene Ubisofts demo walk through, it's available to watch at Gamersyde website...1 is stealth, the other assault...great quality...trying to mimic the developers alot of fun and will impress you...especially the assault one...still can't clear that factory floor the way he did it....lol...

[fallingdove]

@ Cez

Really? Feel bad for PS3 kids? I haven't seen the demand for Splinter Cell: Eddie Bauer on the PS3 side. Is this really a hot title on the 360? I have seen more hype for Alan Wake and Reach.

[themyk]

don't worry about us ps3 kids and just play your game and enjoy it.

you don't have anything to feel sorry about. us ps3 kids already got a few great exclusives. GOD OF WAR "cez" hello.

and guess what i don't feel sorry for you xbox kids while i'm playing that. cause i could care less about xbox kids.

c how that works?

[WildArmed]

dang dude.
Take your kiddy ass to the open zone.. you stink of fanboism..

@2.0
But yes.. the game is gonna be AWESOME!

[corneliuscrust]

if it isnt a horde of PS3 fanboys trying to be heard through hating on everything, it's whiny 360 fanboys yelling just as loud about even more moronic stuff.

It is not needed here.

[shadow2797]

"Is this really a hot title on the 360? I have seen more hype for Alan Wake and Reach."

It's my most anticipated 360 title of the year so far. I have little to no interest in either Alan Wake or Reach. I might change my mind on Alan Wake, depending on reviews, but SCC is still the best 360 game in the lineup IMO.

[mastiffchild]

Personally, I was al;ways a little more hyped for SC:C than a lot of multi console gamers I know as I was always of the mind that Ubi and MS had been careful as all hell with the game(and I never imagined it was just a timed exclusive either as MS seem to have been very involved from a very early stage with the game and it's previous incarnation being canned. I suspect there's a lot of MS dollars been fed into the dev of the game and as a result it's a proper exclusive that should do really well on the 360 performance wise)and taken a series reboot, a needed one at that, very seriously.

The demo, however, isn't as amazing as I'd hoped but, hey, it's a demo and not representative of the game at large and demos are AKLWAYS too easy as they never want o put people off who MIGHT pick a game up. Honestly, the demo wasn't FOR us. Wasn't for gamers who are fans of the series or know what to expect from reading up on the game etc, etc but for those who may be newer gamers or totally new to the SC franchise. The most we fans of the series could really hope to get from the demo was a bit of a feel for the pacing and look of the game and to see the few cool moves shown off(which are there to WOW newbies really, imo, anyway)and how a couple of new mechanics actually work.

So, while it hasn't made me more keen for the game I really shouldn't have thought for a minute a demo would do-nor should anyone else. If you're on the fence just wait on the reviews(from a site/reviewer you trust/has similar tastes to yourself)or the reactions of some gamers who play the same kind of stuff you do. Demos can't often make or break a game(though, saying that I think the VC demo on PSN put off more people than it tempted to buy the excellent game-Sega demos are VERY misleading at times)for me and shouldn't for others. they're only much use if you don't have a clue about something to begimn with and then they can drum some interest up.

SC:C could just be good or could be excellent-either way it's going to be well worth playing. Series fans might feel it's a little too altered for their tastes as Ubi are going for a bit of a wider demographic(sensible going for more action when you think that action has been doing better this generation compared to pure stealth and with shooters being so prevalent right now I always thought SC:C would go more in that direction. Though I think it's said too often and also overstated there's something to be said for the 360 demographic's tendency towards the shooter, too, because of all the Halo fans(and the performance , in sales, of Halo/Gears/COD)on the platform. We shouldn't be shocked at more ammo, for instance and should still wait to see whether some levels are more "classic" SC than the tutorial demo we've got so far.

People seem to be worrying about a lot of things when we aren't even sure exactly what's changed, what we can and cannot do from the old games and what's been added. It's ONLY a demo and wasn't, probably, aimed at you if you're reading this article to begin with, imo. Plus, I don't see what having a PS3 could have to do with a game not even on that platform to start with-didn't stop me enjoying GOW3 or U2 because I own a 360. Hell, even if I didn't have a 360 to play this on(or a PC I guess-as it's still an option for me and most people with even a decent rig)why on earth would I(or anyone) want it to be crap?N4G puzzles me sometimes-competition is great for all of us. Kratos looking a billion dollars pshes games to compete on the 360-no? So wouldn't a great SC game on 360 also push PS3 games even further?

Wait for the game, hope it's good(whatever you play games on yourself)and wait for the response from other devs when they, hopefully, rise to the challenge thrown down. If it isn't all we'd hoped for then we're hardly going to be short of other outstanding experiences this year, now are we? I just wish that AW was still coming out on PC as well as 360(or had been canned on PC a lot more early and a lot more fairly-as that's my issue with Remedy/MS whoever made the decision)so I could justify buying it more readily!

[Corrwin]

"We are keeping what we love about stealth games, but increased the pace and the number of innovative features."

Sounds like it...

Ubi's at it again.

[JeffGUNZ]

Did you even TRY the demo, it's NOTHING like it.

[Cernunnos]

Wow, he didn't really answer any of the questions, he just talked around them.

[bjornbear]

welcome to the world of PR and interviews =P

they can't really say much...other than back up the game and promise it will be better

unfortunately big SC fans are saying its been trimmed and simplified, and non big SC fans love it because in the end its probably fun, just not as deep as the others

then again, its a demo ffs, just wait for the game and judge then

[Mo0eY]

He got his tips from Sarah Palin. ZING!

[WildArmed]

lol
I think he has limited info to disclose and he wanted to get to it w/o running into a law suit xD
After all, they are saving the main stuff for exclusive show-offs on G4TV etc etc.

But the interview really hyped me up lol

[BubbleSystemSuck]

i think is becouse Xbox 360 is going to be more casual

[bjornbear]

they are coming for games' souls....and they are starting with our games =(

[divideby0]

graphics were really meh...camera was TERRIBLE in cramped spaces...
funny but the thing I did like about it was that it was less stealthy.
without a Multi player demo this game is a non buy for me...
way to short for what the game is....this is by far not a AAA title than can get buy on a short SP camp...so I need a MP demo

[Bnet343]

You're saying the game is short, yet you have not even played it. Makes me wonder why you have so many bubbles. You never have anything smart or constructive to add tot he topic.

[divideby0]

^ I read the article and that is where I am getting the "short" comment DIRECTLY from them,,,, they had to comment on the CoOP adding to game length to make the Camp sound longer than it is.

Dude there is a diff. between not agreeing with ones comments and saying they are not smart....grow up...
my op is diff. than yours...and I wont say yours are not smart, I respect them...so just grow up and respect others or if you cant take others opinions, PLEASE use the ignore list

and I only put one comment here, so where do you get never
and there was some harsh criticism about the demo, hence the article, so I am not the only one
and if you didnt think the camera was farked in the crawl space..no comment from me

[kaveti6616]

You guys are worse than Germans in World War I. In Christmas of 1914, the Germans and the British were stalemating each other in the trenches. On that day, both sides amicably entered each other's trenches and shared family photos, gifts, Christmas food and all that good stuff. I'm talking about people who were there to kill each other. The fighting resumed the next day, but it's interesting to see how these people were so kind to each other, if even for a small period of time, but these 360 and PS3 fanboys never take a day off.

[2FootYard]

Conviction is the worst game I have ever played. It has the worst glitches I have ever seen. When the demo started Sam fell through the street which caused him to appear over the level and hover while rapidly spinning. The AI is absolute garbage; half of the time the idiots just stuck their faces in the wall and hollered like a tarred coon or they were constantly rolling across the floor dodging grenades that never even existed. And the blond strange man with the pony tail was gay. When he asked that scientist whore "How God damn stupid are you?", my ears started bleeding and I pissed my pants.

[AngryTypingGuy]

Dude, what game were you playing? I thought that the demo was great! It would be nice to hide bodies, but this version of SC focuses a little bit less on stealth than in the past. I have no doubts that this will be a great game.

[DelbertGrady]

Sounds like he's playing the PS3 port or something.

[Arnon]

You don't even play in the street from my time playing the demo. It says "Sometime later" and you're hiding behind a cement block outside of an abandoned building.

You sure you played the demo? :x

[JeffGUNZ]

hahah Soda, you always make me giggle.

[blakstarz]

Hmm...doesn't sound like its gonna match the critical acclaim like its predecessors, but could possibly..the technical feat they clamied was not in the demo at all, so I hope they keep on their promise on the final build.
And to the Xbox fan squads, please refrain from bringing PS3 folks into the mix, what do they have to do about the current state of this new installment? Not a thing....focus on the game.

[Gun_Senshi]

While I understand that you want to make the game more mainstream for sales, you broke the heart of all splinter cell fans that supported you all the time.

[JeffGUNZ]

Nope, I have been a Splinter Cell fan since day one and I loved the demo. It had that movie "Taken" feeling in it. It feels more personal, more raw, more emotional than the others. I like that darkest side of sam.

[rawd]

Another Xbot facepalm failure of a game. But it will sell millions! SALES!

[KingKionic]

From Article :

"The demo doesn’t feature the hardest enemies you’ll face in the final game. Remember, Sam will come up against more than just Black Arrow mercs (which is all you see in the demo). More capable enemies will have different levels of aggression and tactics. When you face more elite operatives in the realistic difficulty setting you will be challenged. A good example of this is when Sam goes up against other Splinter Cell agents."

My hype level has hit over 9000 .

[KeiserSosay4788]

Just finished it.....sweet....I agree with the voice acting being poor, except for viper(lol). It's much easier for me to take it seriously, unlike mgs4 IMO. The nanomachine ID weapons weapons thing was kinda weak to me. It also had an almost soap opera story and the long cutscenes didn't even explain some of the scifi tech very well....not really believable to me versus the first mgs....the vampire guy in the second was kinda gay too. Hideo just took some of the characters too far imo, especially compared to how awesome the first was....I dunno I just like to take stealth games seriously and after the first mgs it was kind of hard to. So, I guess my point is that even though thepresentation in mgs games is far better than sc games it's easier to take seriously than the last few mgs games

[asyouburn]

in mgs's defense, i remember all the characters from metal gear, but i couldnt tell you ANY of the names of ANY villian from splinter cell. not busting on the game, SC have great gameplay, just not memorable characters. and the first MGS was just as insane as the newer ones. psycho mantis especially is nowhere near believable.

[RAM MAGNUMS]

& Brutally rape splinter cell all over again???

JEEZ, Kojima! Your masterpiece is Timeless.

[Inside_out]

@themyk ...nice, tell me...how's the multi-player...co-op interesting, I know, have a PS3, sad isn't it...Is that what you show your friends ( if you have any ) when they come over...Right, 1600 ft monsters killed by naked guy with bear heads on his hands...okay...LMAO...

@FallingBirdDROPPINGS...I see, no hype, not a good game...interesting...BTW, this game has had a ton of hype...remove head from sand to see it...lol

@cornelacrustyA$$...WOW...noth ing to contribute but sarcasm..huh...hard to formulate an opinion is it...If you want no one to speak maybe you should start with yourself...Maybe we should ask king crustyA$$ for permission to speak...Talk about Moronic...

@STD007...if being a fanboy means defending a game like SC Conviction against unwarranted lies...count me in...

[plb]

I played the demo and wasn't impressed to be honest. It was just meh..was expecting more.

[BX81]

Was I the only one who thought the demo was ok other than the fact, graphically it looked like crap! I thought this game was supposed to be a great looking game instead it looks the exact opposite. It seems fun and I'm sure the co-op is going to be fun I just wanted a better looking game.

[asyouburn]

i think they have done a great job on this game. generally i like splinter cell, but double agent sucked balls. the only thing that kept me coming back was spies vs. mercs. but whats up with the gamestop commercials for this game? they make the graphics look like utter sh1t, which sucks cuz the graphics are pretty good. my girlfriend saw that advert and was like "thats the worst looking game i've ever seen". they did the same with bioshock 2 which looked way better than gamestop would have you believe.

[karan8624]

THIS IS BS!!!!

[thegreatest7884]

I still think it was a bad idea to have the team that worked on Rainbow Six Vegas take over for this Splinter Cell. It's way too action oriented, and stealth is nearly obselete now.

[XDF]

April 13th = Splinter Cell Conviction and Ghost Recon Future Beta

May 3rd = HALO Reach Beta

May 11th = Lost Planet 2

May 18th = Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption

July 12th = Crackdown 2

What a wonderful next few months it is going to be for X360 fans.

[no_more_heroes]

was to get people like me interested in games like this. The only complaint I have is that it was kind of short, but given the way I played the demo, I know I can go back and play it at least 3 completely different kinds of ways. Never really been interested in Splinter Cell before (or stealth games for that matter; Chaos Theory was too tedious for me), but maybe, just maybe I'll get this.

[ShadesMoolah]

Then Ubisoft succeeded.

[GenerationWinner]

Every game that is exclusive to microsoft will be bashed on n4g by sony droids to hurt the sales but you have never succeded lol. today is another sad day for ps3 cause its gonna be hacked by a little boy. ahhh the golden days of the droids sayin "haha ps3 can never be hacked" hahahahahaha as allways we xbots have the last laugh and many many more to lol laughs to come. We are used to comic fony days now.

This game is AAA for sure the demo is awsome and the game will even be more awsome for me since i live in MALTA and some of the story is based on MALTA.

[jeseth]

shouldn't you have a Wii avatar with a name like Generation Winner?

[vampireghost]

It's a damn demo stupids....get over it. these demos are based loosely on the beta code and provided to you the gamer to try it out. It is not full code. you should be happy they decided to even put out a demo for you in the first place...god what a bunch of cry babies! go back to your COD and noobtube someone already and leave the good games to us hardcore fans. hey!, I hear your mom calling!...Did you remember to take out the trash little johnny?

[SephireX]

So hiding bodies won't disappear in the full game? They just put that in the demo for the fun of it? Double Agent was a challenging game. I hope this will be the same but I'm having my doubts.

[ATi_Elite]

is it just me or did the "Shotgun commercial" look like ps2 graphics?

I really do think those were PS2 graphics in that commercial