Splinter Cell: Conviction Demo Hands-On

Sam Fisher's much anticipated return to kicking ass and taking names, all while cloaked in shadow, is close at hand. On March 13th, just 3 weeks away, you will be able to take control of this super agent and dive head first into the fray. Until then, the demo will give you a taste of things to come. This has been my top anticipated title of the year so I am really taking a close at this game and dissecting every piece that I can. So without further adieu here are my impressions of the demo.

It's pretty apparent from the onset that this demo is just a sliver of the full game. A short cut-scene prior to gaining control of Fisher is really unnecessary in my opinion, but this is because it's a demo and the gameplay here is the main draw for me. After a brief glimpse of the controller layout I am in control of my old digital friend again. A short tutorial tells you what button to press to move into cover, perform a hand-to-hand kill, and then mark and execute. In less than a minute I had taken out 3 guards with ease. Now, my first reaction to the cover mechanic was "Cool." I could move between areas of cover while relatively close to a guard. However, as I kept doing this I wanted to test a few things. I found out that timing was everything. While staying hidden is pretty easy when ample cover is available, guards are not stupid and motionless. They move their heads, and change their field of vision all the time. If I watched closely, I could slip by a guard whose stationary but looking the other way. If timed wrong, I was detected immediately and fired upon. This held true throughout the demo level. Some areas of the level don't provide the best cover, and when guards are walking about and looking in all directions, you have to start using your other skills. Which brings me to the mark and execute feature.

First off, you can't just mark and execute baddies willy nilly. You have to earn this perk. Take a guard out sneakily with a hand-to-hand move and you will earn some stripes. It's completely bad ass to watch Sam in action when you pull off some of these moves. It's important to note that the system is dynamic without being overpowered. For instance you only get 3 marks with your pistol and 2 with the MP5 or shotgun. Plus it's too easy for guards to go out of range right before you hit the execute button and since there are more than 2 or 3 guards in the vicinity, you won't always be able to clear the room in sequence. Which is great, because it makes you think in a more tactical way. There is so much variation here, that I literally played through the demo 10 + times and never once had the same exact experience. Not only that, when guards get alerted to your presence you have 1 second to take them out before their buddies take notice and come after you, and they WILL continue to look for you even if you disappear from sight. This portion of the AI is pretty impressive, because even if the guards know what area you are in some of them won't run right in to your crosshairs like mindless zombies, instead they will take cover and wait for you out of sight. If you get to impatient and go looking for them, you can get owned real quick. An advantage that Sam has to augment this somewhat is the "Last Known Position" system. If you're detected by a guard and then you move quickly, a silhouette of Sam will appear in ghost-like fashion and give you the ability to flank while they stay fixated on your previous spot. Nonetheless this doesn't last long before they start looking elsewhere.

So to sum up, I really like the demo. The guns and aiming system are solid, the controls are responsive, I dig the clever mission objectives displayed on in-game objects and walls, Sam moves and feels right during combat and stealth movement, the gadgets are really cool (especially the sonar goggles), and the replay is incredible for a demo. Some might think the game is too hard at first, and I admit I did too, but after a few trial runs I was thinking more about how differently to achieve my goal, rather than just sulking in defeat. I'm hooked on this one already and can't wait to try the full game, co-op, and deniable ops and then do it all over again. Get ready people, Sam Fisher is back.