JVN - Splinter Cell : Conviction Review

Test of the highly anticipated Splinter Cell Conviction on Microsoft's XBOX 360.

"Splinter Cell: Conviction marks a new turning point in the series from Ubisoft. Once stealth game an extreme measure, which has subsequently been able to evolve intelligently, this fifth installment appears today as an action game. A welcome development or a betrayal ?"

That's the question the webzine tries to answer through its review.

[Pennywise]

When does the embargo lift on SC:C reviews?

[JeffGUNZ]

idk man, I have been thinking the same thing all day. I thought there would be more reviews by now.

[Pennywise]

When a company holds reviews so late it makes me think the fish is bad and they are still trying to serve it.

[Greywulf]

Someone already pointed it out, but Ubisoft is a french company..

Its 5 hours. No Mercs vs Spies...

What a flop.

Uncharted 2 runs all over this. As does MGS4 with more replayability. I bet the devs will sell mercs vs spies, and bots will be forced to buy it since they have nothing else to do.

[clarkjudo]

Too much replay. Most have stayed up to late having fun playing it over and over and over .... again ... over and over ...

[AliTheBrit19]

Hopefully soon

[BeaArthur]

I just can't put much stock in what a website that goes through translate google says about a game. They are entitled to their opinion but it looses something in the translation.

[raztad]

That's quite disappointing of you Bear. Xenophobic much? JVN is a FRENCH site and if you havent noticed it, Ubi is a FRENCH company. Oh the irony.

[Pennywise]

When does the embargo lift? Where are the reviews for this game? Doesn't it come out tomorrow? Why would a company hold reviews so long?

[Hank Hill]

In others words you'll only support a site if they give it a high review.

[blitz0623]

Please do not look at Alternative Sources. A desperate PS3 fanboy has spoiler titles posted right there. Mods need to do something ASAP. This is gonna turn out like Heavy Rain, FFXIII and GoW3

[DelbertGrady]

I read the review and their comparison to Uncharted 2 felt very out of place.

[Raf1k1]

Can't anyone get these alt sources removed?
In case anyone has seen them yet they're spoilers so don't look. The comments about the alt sources made me take a look and spoiled part of it for me.

[DMason]

Isnt this the same site that bashed Heavy Rain? What does this site have against French devs?

Maybe Ubi should blacklist them.

EDIT: Dont worry about the spoiler tags in the alt sources, none if it is true. I just played through the game and none of those things happen.

[BeaArthur]

raztad...it's not Xenophobic at all. I'm not French and I don't know anything about their culture. Which would include how a french individual would review a game like this. Not to mention, as I already stated, you loose a little something in the translation. Their evaluation isn't as clear to me as it would be if this was from an English speaking site that I am familiar with. And what does Ubisoft being a french company have to do with anything? I didn't say I don't play games that were developed by companies from other countries, I said I don't invest much (on a personal level) in what a company that has to go through translate google has to say about a game.

Hank Hill...and I said that where? You presume to knowing something about me? I read reviews from multiple sites, good or bad. I keep track or reoccurring themes because that is how you get a true evaluation of a game. If 20 people say the same thing it must be true. Since you are apparently incapable or reading what I say let me try and explain it so even you can understand. I don't like reviews from sites that have to be translated because I am unsure as to whether the message is broadcast correctly. I have had this position forever, don't think you know anything about me.

[Hank Hill]

Nice stealth edit there.

[BeaArthur]

Hank Hill...once again you presume to know something about me. I hit edit instead of reply by mistake and by the time I realized it I had already erased the original post. It's irrelevant because although worded differently the message is the same.

[Inside_out]

As soon as this guy compared this game to UC2 and Gears, I knew he knew nothing about gaming...Haven't played the game ( releases tomorrow )...BUT did enjoy the demo as well as all the vids released by Ubi...The controls are as smooth as silk...so right there, calling them clunky is a joke...Comparing a super agent with flash grenades, emps and sticky cam/noise distraction/bomb and an arsenal of modern day super guns ( 468,MP5 etc )and the mark and execute to UC and Nathan " I only use AK47 " Drake tells me he's clueless...lol...

Maybe he wanted a demon yeti to chase him around the warehouse or maybe chase one himself...lol..." who killed my daughter " you ugly monster...Where's the stealth in UC???...please don't tell me the Museum level you play once and is terrible...Maybe the lack of cinematics and cut scenes, long enough to make a coffee in the kitchen every 2 mins threw him off...Probably missing some AI luv like the pretty ladies in UC...can't argue on that point, they were sweet...I bet he was disappointed he didn't have that idiot villager to talk to you in a foreign language and listen to Drake go huh a hundred times...this is fun...Take the villager on a mission...bla, bla bla...quite you idiot, I'm about to mark and execute....LMAO...Probaly didn't have 10 helo boss battles to entertain him...Maybe the AI in Conviction didn't stare at walls like the heavies...and the worst, Conviction actually made him have to play a game instead of Watch it.....moving on...

[Syronicus]

So you won't accept a review if it is not written in your native language? Would this apply to a review that was more favorable?

[Hank Hill]

Of course not. You know if this site gave the game a 9 or 10 he would've been all over this review and this site. Typical fanboy hypocrisy.

[BeaArthur]

Syronicus...doesn't matter if it's good or bad, I don't get anything useful out of reviews that are written by people who do not share their first language with me. Call it racism, Xenophobia, call it whatever you want that is how I feel about the matter. I mean come on, the article is comparing this game and Uncharted 2.

Hank Hill...I love that you actually call me a fanboy when I am the farthest thing from it. Again, I don't care what score this site gives. In fact I don't think it's even a bad overall score, I figured its metascore would fall somewhere in the low to mid 8's. Please explain how I am a hypocrite? What proof do you have of that?

[4Sh0w]

"Of the eight hours of play offered by conviction, how many sequences will we learn?"

So is it 5 or 8hrs, well obviously it depends on the one playing the game but generally speaking reviews are done on medium difficulty and the length should be about the same, aahh well I'll get to see for myself tommorrow.

[cayal]

"I just can't put much stock in what a website that goes through translate google says about a game."

Numbers aren't translated.

[INC NATE2131]

Ok you know what dont even bother with these stupid ps3 fanboys, you want to know whats real funny is how everyone disregaurded the german magazine that gave gow3 a 6.75/10 notice how that got never blown up, but some ps3 fanboy had to find some bullshit article and blow it up on this fanboy site. IL TRUST IGN WITH THE 9.5 THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

[shadow2797]

@cez of rage

Been waiting to say that for long? It's like you have a grudge against a great game for being great. I mean, you seriously made fun of the game for having cutscenes. Cutscenes, I might add, that are regarded as the best in the industry. UC2 is far from MGS, 98% of the time you're playing.

And UC2 had a lot of stealth, actually. There are several entire areas where I can use stealth to take out everyone without being seen.

No, they don't play exactly the same, but they're close enough to warrant a comparison. Even the "last known location" is in UC2, you just don't see a ghost.

I'm not sure what you have against Uncharted, but you're blind if you don't see some similarities between the two games.

[GeoramA]

It is a 5 hour game afterall...

[PrimordialSoupBase]

Depends on how you play really. If you play it as a straight shooter and bludgeon your way through everything, 5 hours is about right. If you try to be precise akin to previous splinter cell's (reload, try to perfection) it takes 8 - 10. Level design is quite open ended and merits replay.

[Obama]

No way you can complete mgs4 in 5 hours when you first play it. You can speed run it in 5 hours but first play through requires an average 15-20 hours.

As for SCC many claim the game is 5 hours long in first play through. That's the difference.

[Army_of_Darkness]

MGS4 was no way 5hrs. short... it was way longer than that! I have like 20hrs. on it with my first play through and I died only a few times...
SSC however, sounds disappointing. took them this long to develop and all you get is 5hrs?! well, its a good thing we have online multiplayer these days, otherwise developers would have no excuses to cover up for short campaigns...:-/

well... lets just hope alan wake does better at least length wise.

[NaiNaiNai]

thats funny cause I beat MGS4 in 6 hours on my first run..

maybe you all just suck at games.

>.> but then again I can beat mirrors edge in 42 minutes.

[clarkjudo]

"The main campaign will apparently last up to 12 hours and can be replayed in a variety of different ways. Each time we replayed a level, there were different routes to be explored and new strategies to execute. " - Gamestop.com (UK)

"We've only really touched upon the single player aspects of the game, not mentioning the additional co-op campaign which offers up to four hours or more play time, and the adversarial Face Off mode which again can offer limitless amounts of replay value. So to conclude, that for your $60 a five hour experience is simply not good enough, yet what gamers need to look at is the entire package, and remember that there's far more than 5 hours worth of entertainment with this game." - MSXBOX.COM

[Obama]

I really don't believe you Nainainai. To beat mgs4 in 6 hours you will have to rush through everything, avoiding enemies and know exactly what to do in each fight. You doing that in your first play through??? I doubt it.

[NaiNaiNai]

obama you cleary didn't play all of the other metal gears.

all the bosses had the same bloody weaknesses.

but what ever if your to stupid to know this. fine i'll let you be.

[thor]

You must also have skipped all of the cutscenes; cutscenes being part of the experience. You can say they were too long and don't count - but I bet splinter-cell has at least 2 hours of non-interactive content. MGS4 is quite a big game.

[divideby0]

After playing the demo, I keep saying low 8s....
7.5 even for the demo is to low a score.
IGN is so full of BS these days, I used to believe their reviews now I just glance at time for all the consoles

[raztad]

IGN is not a good place to go for a review.

I read above JVN is not good at reviewing either, so I guess SC fans would have to wait for more reviews.

[clarkjudo]

Then I guess you will have to say the same thing about Game Informer's 9.0?

[clintos59]

Also IGN gave it the same score as GOW3 so im thinking that since they reviewed it that high it was as epic as GOW3. Not gonna take credit away from this site but ill wait for more reviews to see if its worth buying.

Those who are wondering why wouldnt I buy it, well I cancelled my xbl account a little after the release of gears of war 2 because of the standby cheaters & because that ticked me off since gears of war is my favorite series on the 360. So now if anything pops on xbl my little brother always updates me & tries to convince me to comeback on xbl since he is a 360 fanboy (little turd) lol.

Anyways ill wait on more reviews to pass judgement, even if I dont buy it, I know my little brother will, and ill just play the campaign after he is done.

[Obama]

IGN doesn't want to anger either side of the fanbase. If you haven't noticed IGN always give high scores to all noteworthy titles.

[Hank Hill]

Obama is right. In order for IGN to remain the #1 gaming site they don't want to anger either side and always gives a 9+ to all big games on both sides. That's why their review is almost always first to be revealed.

[divideby0]

didnt IGN score both versions of FF the same ?

[PS360_37]

I still yet to disagree with a review score that IGN gives to a game that I have played.

[Al Bundy]

You obviously haven't played GTA4.

[clarkjudo]

No offense, but your brother might be trying to tell you something. Look at things less seriously, Gears of War is just a game franchise. And information about the 5 Hour Campaign has no merit. Consider when you rush through a game. Something needs to be addressed.

"The main campaign will apparently last up to 12 hours and can be replayed in a variety of different ways. Each time we replayed a level, there were different routes to be explored and new strategies to execute. " - Gamestop.com (UK)

"We've only really touched upon the single player aspects of the game, not mentioning the additional co-op campaign which offers up to four hours or more play time, and the adversarial Face Off mode which again can offer limitless amounts of replay value. So to conclude, that for your $60 a five hour experience is simply not good enough, yet what gamers need to look at is the entire package, and remember that there's far more than 5 hours worth of entertainment with this game." - MSXBOX.COM

[PS360_37]

lol you are correct. I have not.

[Mo0eY]

OMG, it's Sam Fisher on a Floppasaurus Rex!!!

[Socomer 1979]

Its a sad day for gamers when they have to rely on the co-op online play to legitimize buying splinter cell. What the hell happened to single player? Oh yeah thats right, microsoft told ubisoft to chop it out for DLC. You are forced to pay for online with xbox360 games. FORCED.

[Troll_Police]

84% average already and it will only get lower once the game is released and they can't hold back the plethora of bad reviews anymore. I predict a 78% on Metacritic.

[Al Bundy]

7.5, looks like another false alarm.

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi_]

Hmm...i don't think i will bother getting this for my PC now!!! ;-D

YEP...out on the 30/04/10 on PC...

[clarkjudo]

Do not get side tracked just yet by empty minded opinions by those who did not have time to play it in its entirety. And people depend on these people for their "professional" yet personal and opinionated reviews?

[monkeybizz]

Reviews being delayed till day of release only means one thing. Lack of confidence in the game. That way if the game sucks (which it doesn't really) they can sell loads and people will fall flat on their face for buying crap.

AC2 reviews were out way before street date, and that was Ubisoft too.

[Hank Hill]

Totally agree. God of War 3 and Mass Effect 2 reviews were out long before they were released because the devs were confident in their game, unlike with this game.

[Pennywise]

I was trying to say this in the nicest way... But I totally agree. You can buy the game in 9 hours and 2 reviews can be found. One of which are by stupid IGN.

[tudors]

To me it looks a great game but whenever you trying somthing new not everyone will like it, I played a bit of the demo and will give it a rent (money is tight I cannot buy them all) to see mainly what the multiplayer offers, I have not read the entire review but from what I can gather it's objective which is all you can ask for, this score to me sounds like someone who was not quite sure what they make of the new formula, without playing too much of the demo I was not 100% on the mission objectives plastered all over the place, but I will give my honest opinion once I have had a longer play with it.

[jjesso1993]

it was in development for 5 years and i just cant see why they could not of made game longer the game its selfs is really good its good story good missions good ending but its to short.

[corywebb93]

Wow this game is so good it makes metal queer solid4 look like the 8 hour movie it is,
I been playing this game for 10 hours straight i havent even sleeped all night or feed my small child,Pathetic ps3 owners Sam fisher would blow that emo old man sam fisher to pieces with a shotgun and feed him to hungry pigs

[Obama]

Sam Fisher would blow Sam Fisher to pieces??? TIME PARADOX!

[nikoado]

Fission Mailed...

[3 p I c]

5 hours campaign.. 4 to 5 hours coop story.. other modes for coop and the possibility of spies vs mercs in the future. Sounds good to me!

[BeaArthur]

Nice avatar.

[3 p I c]

Haha thx yours also. love boondocks! Season 3 starts in May!

[bjornbear]

its one of those one-off low score reviews f sure =) every great game gets it, right 360 fanboys?

thank you

[radyboy]

i am playing on the hardest level (realtime).
that 5 hours thing is probably false but the game is not stealth anymore , it is an action game .
it is all about mark and execute . i have a gun that can now mark and execute 4 people in 1 hit of the Y button.
IGN is really full of bullsh1t these days . they obviosly get payed to rate high.
you have very limited gadgets , and the ones you have suck.
there is soo much swearing in the game even in arabic.
ubisoft have stooped to a big low .
the days of true stealth are finally and unfortunately over.
its weird when a game like splinter cell is trying to imitate modern warfare , it is ugly and doesnt suit it.
the game deserves no more than a 7/10
R.I.P. splinter cell

[seinfan]

How about you DON'T abuse the M&E feature? It probably is broken (I haven't played the demo or the actual game), but that doesn't mean you are somehow forced to use it. Seriously, there were levels in SCCT where I could run to the next objective, gun people down, throw grenades at them etc. but I always chose to do a stealthy job. If you are unable have patience and show restraint from an apparent broken feature, perhaps games aren't for you.

[A change in the wind]

That must have been one fat check IGN got from MS.

[AliTheBrit19]

Well by that logic any 360 fanboy could just claim that Sony must have bribed IGN for all the high scores they have given to PS3 exclusives

Right? and it would be just as dismiss-able as you suggesting IGN got paid by Microsoft

I mean my god, do you truly believe the crap you write? have you any idea how real businesses and companies work in the real damn world?

[Def Warrant]

Only problem is ps3 exclusives have been proven superior on countless occasions. Always setting the bar destroying the competition.

[AliTheBrit19]

And there lies the problem

How have they been "proven" ?

Opinion? that doesn't count for anything does it, one mans masterpiece is another mans mess.

Review scores? well look above for that one ;) apparently "proven" can be brushed aside by words like "fanboy" and "pay cheque"

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

And here come the no name sites trying to get hits. Sorry but the big guns have already called it a AAA title. :) IGN and Game Informer is all I pay attention too.

[Ninji]

What else is new?

[mirroredderorrim]

Lack of reviews = Ubi do not want pre-orders hurt by opinions