I’m a quitter. I’ve quit a lot of things in my life. Jobs and judo, girlfriends and games – I’ve quit it all. Now, I’ve quit games for a number of reasons. Usually, it’s because something better came out. For example, I stopped playing Dante’s Inferno when God of War III came out. Not that there was anything wrong with Dante’s Inferno, but I just was too excited to play God of War III. I stopped playing MAG because I had no one else to play it with. Heck, I’ve even stopped playing games just because my friends stopped playing it. Never before have I stopped playing a game because it was just too horrendous to continue to subject myself to.
Not until this week.
Understand that I tried. I picked up Splinter Cell: Conviction after playing through the demo I downloaded from XBox Live, and I had a fairly good idea of what it would play like. Excitedly, I cracked open the case, popped it in the tray, and started up a new game. Hours later, I set down the controller, thoroughly disgusted. I couldn’t stand to look at Sam Fisher’s rugged face another minute.
Lackluster graphics and sluggish controls left me feeling like I was observing, rather than being immersed in Ubisoft’s world. That being said, there were several parts of the game that I loved. The cover system was intuitive, and the hand-to-hand combat animations were entertaining enough that I briefly considered my career as a spy. The mark and execute command helped to alleviate the completion of what would normally be impossible scenarios. The designers seemed to leave one straggler behind, ripe for the picking, so that the execute command could be used. Due to that, I felt like a majority of my time was spent trying to figure out how to sneak up on one guard, and flicking light switches on and off.
When Sam Fisher wasn’t throwing light-switch raves, he was hopping fences like he was running from the cops – which he very well could have been, as far as I can tell. Replacing the sneak-o-meter is a throwback to the 1950s: things go black and white. Impressive, except for when everything around you is enveloped in darkness, you’re wishing for the most basic spy equipment – the night vision goggles. No such luck.
Instead, Fisher is equipped with some sonar goggles stolen straight off the set of The Dark Knight. So not only are light areas pitch black (meaning you could be standing in a spotlight without knowing it), but you can only see your surroundings once every few seconds. Though this comes in handy for seeing combatants, or rather, potential victims on the opposite side of a wall, I find that it’s more of a hindrance to be stumbling over potted plants and trying to run through a non-existent doorway.
The story closely resembles any number of Harrison Ford movies, where a family member is kidnapped and he must go through extraordinary lengths to save his [insert family member here] and stop the evil mastermind from “trying to take over the world.” Honestly, I can’t verify this because I didn’t enjoy the game enough to complete it, but if I managed to glean anything from the first 5 hours, it’s that.
I had a friend of mine tell me how great the co-op was, so I decided that since I’d be playing with a friend, it couldn’t possibly be worse than the solo campaign. Well, I was right. The co-op was much more fulfilling. Playing through with a friend definitely makes this game fun, but a lot of my same complaints about the single player mode still hold true. The main difference? Now two people are walking into walls and throwing raves in basements.
Definitely check out this game. I loved playing Spies vs. Mercenaries since it was out on the PS2, and if you’re competitive like me, the online multiplayer may be worth the $60 purchase. For everyone else, there’s always Blockbuster.
Microsoft presented a new batch of Xbox 360 games that received Xbox One X enhancements via Xbox One backward compatibility, and here you can watch how they run.
Nothing wrong with more games. As someone who just fundamentally hates xbox, I am pretty jelly that xbox gamers get real BC.
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Finally ninja gaiden 2 is BC, I've been waiting on this since they announced BC.
Yeah i thought ninja gaiden was gonna get remaster because it wasnt announced for backwards compatible til just now tho i would've been up for joy if they announced max payne 3 for backwards compatible today instead
Ninja Gaiden 2 is the main game I wanted bcthen alone one x enchanced is this game is more fun than bloodborne
facts, once you beat a souls game and do ng plus, you have the game downloaded. Once you return to ng1 and 2 you still can get your ass handed to you lol, the regular enemies are a threat, still attacking even when they are on the ground dismembered.
Agreed dark souls, bloodborne, and sekiro are overhyped games and dont compare to ninja gaiden 1 & , ninja gaiden 3 sucks.
What does BB have to do with NG2?
Why not insert Contra Shattered Soldier while you're at it.
Ninja gaiden was once considered one of the hardest games ninja gaiden 2 has rpg elements so does bloodborn they have similar combat but ninja gaiden 2 just looks better doing it plus its fast pace and flashy combos removing limbs of foes remember 360 put more enemies on screen than ps3 on this game 360 had more dismemberment of limbs than the ps3 vs.360 had a better gpu but ps3 still to this day has an awesome cpu the ps3 had the prettiest ninja gaiden because of native 720 p while 360 pushed 640p now the one X has both higher rez and 360 style dismemberment But Ok for you contra ps2 version and nes
I do think ninja gaiden 1 and 2 are better than souls games, but they aren't even comparable
Again. Why'd you pick BB?
Ninja Gaiden has ninja dog mode = easy
NG2 has a jump and block button
BB has none of those.
You could've picked a Devil May Cry or Bayonetta game. They're more similar to NG2 than BB.
What does PS3 have to do with this announcement? Your insecurities are showing.
I think they are being compared because of difficulty but I dont even think that is comparable imo. Ninja gaiden games are better though that's just facts.
Amazing news! NG2!?!? Three Splinter Cell games!!! Fable 2&3 (the first is already enhanced)!!! This is what separates Microsoft's version of BC from others...its that they enhance both the performance and visual quality of these titles to keep them current in a lot of cases, instead of playing them exactly how they played and performed back in the day. Whats even better...I don't need to do ANYTHING but download the new patch...amazing.👏
Keep it coming Xbox!
Neil writes: "Every single month we hear the same old thing about the Xbox Games With Gold titles. "We don't want that rubbish - we want decent games, we want AAA blockbusters, we want something different". Well, the free Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles being given away during the month of July pretty much tick those boxes. What's the chances there will still be complaints?"
Tom clancy and virtua fighter are great death sqaured is pretty cool idk about assualt
Splinter cell conviction is great, vf 5 is fun. Haven't played the other two so I'm excited to try them out.
Great month for 360 titles, X1 titles remind me of early days when all they gave away were indies, I hope they dont start doing that again.
Now that there's gamepass, expect bugger AAA to have priority in that, more money for both the dev and Ms more likely
Vf5 fs is the best fighting game of all time abd backwards compatible, so it is a huge win in my book.
No these are pretty awful. Virtua Fighter is great and so is Splinter Cell but those are 360 titles.
Carlos writes: "Xbox Backwards Compatibility has shown a strong start to 2018 with a number of top titles being made available to play on Xbox One, but whilst this week doesn’t bring quite as many new arrivals as the past few weeks, there is still one addition for us to get stuck into once more... and it’s one that’s sure to prove a popular addition."
Don't confuse the Xbox gamers. They have enough problems to deal with... : P'
No confusion at all. Just another game added to the list if anyone gets nostalgic.
"new"? an "old" Tom Clancy Adventure can be enjoyed on xbox one due to back capat is worth the return"
*Fixed*
nice review
but one thing. you said you like the online better but you gave to online -1
why.
but great review though
Nice to know you have a girlfriend, really. I mean its totally not off topic. You must be a very successful guy :)
I was really looking forward to this game over the past year, then the demo released. I was very unimpressed with this game after all the hype I read.
I actually loved this game... It is one of the best games I have played in a while... But you need patients.... It is not a run and gun.. maybe you should stick to halo...
Control 8
Video quality 7
Sound 6
Story 7
Immersion 10... You have to plan your attacks
Final Comment:
Name another game where you can jump off the ceiling taking down one guy, pop another with a headshot without setting off an alarm, and then quick kill 4 guys in a row... then maybe you use the second to last guy as a meat shield against the final kill... oh.. and dont forget the interrogation of the boss... man that is fun stuff.. a creative way to make you feel like you are still in the action while the narrative progresses.
PS.. you know you can shoot out the lights so you dont need to be hitting any switched... pps.. the pistol has unlimited ammo.. nice!!!
You didn't finish the game, same old N4G, approving things that shouldn't be approved.