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Games => General Gaming => Topic started by: MysterD on Thursday, May 03, 2007, 02:04:38 PM
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Splinter Cell: Conviction has been revealed (AKA Splinter Cell 5) (http://kotaku.com/gaming/splinter-cell|-conviction/splinter-cell-conviction-revealed-257189.php)
Splinter Cell: Conviction Revealed [May 03, 2007, 11:24 am ET] - 19 Comments
Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/gaming/splinter-cell|-conviction/splinter-cell-conviction-revealed-257189.php) has word that the next installment in the Splinter Cell series is to be called Splinter Cell: Conviction, offering details from a magazine called Magaza Pelaaja:
The game takes place in broad daylight this time, but don't worry, it is still a stealth action game. At the beginning of the game, Sam learns that Anna Grimsdottir (Anna is the person in charge of intelligence gathering for Third Echelon, and an old friend of Sam's) is in danger so Sam joins up with Third Echelon once more in order to help. Unfortunately, 3E is not what it used to be, and Sam frequently gets incomplete and bad intel, as well as the wrong equipment. All this, and the 3E bosses are in the middle of a political squabble for control. Sam eventually finds out that the threat is actually coming from inside Third Echelon itself, so he leaves and basically becomes a fuigitive. Looks like Sam is on the wrong side of the law once more, this time for real.
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Bah, I hate the broad daylight shit.
It was really poorly done in Double Agent and ruined the feel of the Splinter Cell.
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Yea, it seems like the series is moving more and more away from its roots, kinda like what happened to Tomb Raider.
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This sound like 24 or something. I haven't played Double Agent yet, though am enjoying Chaos Theory.
Day light sounds stupid.
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Shit, I really need to catch up.
I did finish SC: Original.
I got SC: PT and SC: CT -- ain't even began those.
Ain't bought SC: DA yet.
And now, Conviction's coming.....
I'm falling WAY behind....
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This sound like 24 or something. I haven't played Double Agent yet, though am enjoying Chaos Theory.
Day light sounds stupid.
Chaos Theory is quite amazing. Double Agent sucked, plus it is plagued with technical problems.
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You said it iPPi. DA was plagued with bugs, and Ubisoft refused to release any more patches. They only made two patches which only had a few minor fixes. Then they just gave up on the game. They didn't even fix the save bugs!
Daylight was irritating in DA, but hopefully Conviction will do it better. By the way who's developing it? Ubi Montréal? Coz those are the guys I have faith in. Ubi Shanghai did a shit job with DA.
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Dude I bought R6 Vegas to play online, and they still haven't fixed the online component. Plus they hardly refined the engine, and everyone seemed to have problems.
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Funny how DA sucked. That was the only SC game I was ever even remotely interested in.
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I think that did it.
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Holy crap.
Conviction now is not planned until around 2009-2010 now. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6194962.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6194962)
Ubisoft raises guidance, lacks Conviction
Publisher ups full-year outlook after 26 percent climb in Q1 sales to $264 million; Splinter Cell now due before March 31, 2010.
By Tom Magrino, GameSpot
Posted Jul 24, 2008 11:40 am PT
Ubisoft made a number of poor predictions concerning its fiscal-year outlook in 2007. Fortunately for the publisher, those goofs were due to conservative expectations in regard to its total revenue, and Ubisoft raised its guidance several times before finally reporting €928.3 million ($1.5 billion) in full-year earnings. On the back of a strong first quarter, the publisher said today that it would be kicking off fiscal year 2009 with another mea culpa, revising its guidance upward for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2009.
Beating its initial guidance of €154 million ($241 million), Ubisoft said today that its fiscal first-quarter sales hit €169 million ($264 million) for the period ended June 30. That figure marks a nearly 26 percent climb over the same period last year, when the publisher posted revenues of €134 million ($210 million).
Ubisoft attributed the success to a number of factors, including continued strong sales of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Assassin's Creed, and Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, as well as another strong showing from its casual Games for Everyone lineup. The publisher noted that its Petz, Imagine, and MyCoach series accounted for a full third of the company's first-quarter sales, up from 11 percent a year ago.
"Ubisoft delivered a very robust showing in the first quarter of 2008-09 against a particularly dynamic market backdrop," said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. "This achievement was especially fueled by ongoing strong growth for our Games for Everyone range, where we are continuing to strengthen our leadership position. We are notably very pleased to see our latest work, My Weight Loss Coach, ranked among the best-sellers for the Nintendo DS."
The publisher's track record notwithstanding, Ubisoft took a stab at projecting its second-quarter performance, saying that revenues would see a similar 26 percent hike to €160 million ($250 million). The publisher believes that growth will be driven for the quarter by the launch of Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway for the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3, casual games for the Nintendo DS and Wii, as well as the release of Soulcalibur IV (which Ubisoft is publishing in Europe).
As mentioned, Ubisoft also said today that it has raised its guidance for its fiscal full-year sales. Previously pegged at €1 billion ($1.56 billion), the publisher now believes that sales will hit €1.02 billion ($1.59 billion), thanks to gaming-industry market conditions, its first-quarter performance, and the reception of its upcoming games that the publisher received during this year's E3 Media & Business Summit.
One game that will not be contributing to that growth will be the oft-delayed Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction. As part of its financial report, the publisher noted that Sam Fischer's next excursion has once again stalled. Ubisoft now expects the game to arrive during its 2009-2010 fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.
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Oh well. I was sorta hoping that Splinter Cell would become just a relic of the previous generation. It seemed like interest in the series was falling off and that they made the mistake of making too many games in too short of time.
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I mean, damn -- that's quite the delay. And 2009-2010 is not much of a pinpoint, in that timeframe. A very uncertain one, too.
I mean, what did they do?
Scrap the current game and restart?
Possibly restart w/ a new story?
With a different or brand new game engine?
Or take the current Conviction and just port it over to a new engine?
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Judging from Ubisoft's (specifically Ubisoft Montréal) previous release schedules I'd wager SC Conviction will come out around November 2009.
Like Sy said, they made the mistake of releasing too many games too fast. I think the real problem here is that they split the franchise between two studios; Ubi Montréal (the original developer) was doing great and Ubi Shanghai was doing a half-ass job of it with a lot of inconsistencies. I just don't think it's a coincidence that the two SC games by Ubi Montréal (original & Chaos Theory) rock and the two by Ubi Shanghai (Pandora Tomorrow & Double Agent) are riddled with technical bugs and suck.
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I don't recall having much of an issue with Pandora Tomorrow, but I did think that the levels and story were somewhat disappointing compared to the original. The first one and Chaos Theory were definitely the best of the franchise, and I have already expressed my distaste for Double Agent.
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I definitely think Chaos Theory was the best of the bunch.
DA did have a shot, if it wasn't such a damn technical mess -- with saved game/profile issues and performance issues galore.
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For those who didn't see it on G4TV, here's the E3 2009 gameplay vid of Splinter Cell: Conviction. (http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/696294/TheFeed.html?utm_source=g4tv&utm_medium=twitterblog&utm_campaign=twitterblog_thefeed&intcid=twitterblog_thefeed)
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Wow.. I coulda had an orgasm watching that!
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Wow.. I coulda had an orgasm watching that!
Why didn't you? :oP
Yeah, the SC: Conviction previews at E3 was awesome. This one really does look quite promising.
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAH!
*nerdgasm*
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X, Pug stole your nerdgasm!
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D your homosexual fantasies mustn't become part of the internetsssss....
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D your homosexual fantasies mustn't become part of the internetsssss....
Pug, don't make me go all Sam Fisher on you, chump! :OP
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Why didn't you? :oP
Well, I was in a less than private setting. :P
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Well, I was in a less than private setting. :P
Makes sense.
I really can't wait for Conviction. I was really surprised how good the E3 2009 vid of this one actually turned out. After it being delayed and then scrapped and restarted, I was not so sure how the hell this might actually have wound up looking. So far, looks like they made the right move in restarting the game from scratch.
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Looks pretty good. It seems, at least from this video that you are able to 'queue' your actions and just let the computer pull them off -- like when he breached the door, shot out the lights, killed the guy, then grabbed the other dude. It seemed too smooth to be player controlled.
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Looks pretty good. It seems, at least from this video that you are able to 'queue' your actions and just let the computer pull them off -- like when he breached the door, shot out the lights, killed the guy, then grabbed the other dude. It seemed too smooth to be player controlled.
Well, you don't let the computer pull it off. You can see who and where you want to attack ahead of time, through walls and stuff.
And then, you can try and actually pull it off.
It's the new Plan And Execute Feature.
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Yeah, but isn't it automatically executed after you manually plan it? At least that's what it looked like in the vid. Most notably in the window entry part, where Sam targets the two guys and then takes them out instantly without the player's crosshair going over them! The system seems pretty cool so far.
I'm really glad they scrapped the original game we saw back in E3 2007. This vid has me really anxious for some SC stealth action!
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I think I like it... it gives the game a more cinematic feel.
Anyway, I think it's shaping up to be a decent game.
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SP portion of Conviction will take around 12 hours or so, according to Maxime Beland of UbiSoft. (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3175048)
Splinter Cell: Conviction creative director Maxime Beland wants people to finish his game. Accordingly, it looks like Sam Fisher's latest adventure will be clocking in at around 12 hours.
"I want people to play my games and finish them," Beland recently told Official Xbox Magazine.
"We're going to ship with difficulty levels, at least a normal mode and realistic mode - like we did on Rainbow Six Vegas. And realistic is going to be really fucking hard - you're going to need stealth, two bullets is going to kill you, the enemies are going to be super-lethal."
Normal mode, however, will be "for normal gamers, that are going to spend 12 hours playing our game and not 30 because they're dying all the time."
For those worried about getting their money's worth, Conviction will of course also feature a robust multiplayer mode. Should be plenty to keep fans busy when it arrives this October.
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The difficulty never really seemed to affect me in any of the SC games. For example in Chaos Theory after I finished the game on Normal I went back to replay it on Hard and I didn't notice any difference except that the enemies were slightly more aware i.e. you need to maintain a slightly lower level of sound when you're right behind them. I was kinda miffed that this seemed to be the only difference so I jumped back into Normal mode and started testing out how many liberties I could take before I could get overwhelmed. That's when I realized that I had played it way too meticulously the first time around. I was too cautious for the "Normal" difficulty.
Counting the "death rate" into gameplay hours is not proper. That shouldn't be factored in to a game's span!
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Counting the "death rate" into gameplay hours is not proper. That shouldn't be factored in to a game's span!
No kidding. I assume he's simply trying to head off any complaints. Fortunately for him (unfortunately for us) 12 hours for a shooter is pretty decent, it seems.
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Conviction delayed until 2010 (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/59717)
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Ubisoft announces a release date for this game.
Feb. 26th, 2010 for Windows and X360. (http://bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?action=viewthread&threadid=102518)
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I hope there will be a PS3 version of this game some time down the line. It's pretty much inevitable.
I'm also not liking what Ubisoft is doing with their Collector's Editions (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/collectors-edition-splinter-cell/59973). This time around, this CE will have an additional game mode, more weapons and armor. An entire game mode is only available for people who buy the CE version of the game! That's fucking retarded.
I didn't like the fact that with Assassin's Creed II, several maps (3 PoP style maps) were locked unless you bought the CE, but I did manage to get a copy of the CE (just not the Gamestop version so I'm missing 1 exclusive map). Now, while this content does not affect the main campaign or storyline in any way, it's still a part of the game that's just 'locked away' unless you have an unlock code.
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Just another way to rip you off, same as with DLC. We made this awesome complete game! Except it'll cost you an extra $20 to actually get it to that point...
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Well, that's pretty crummy of them.
I always liked the CE's that pack extra stuff that is not in-game stuff - like art books; comic books; game's original score soundtrack on CD; action figures; some sort of kick-ass cool packaging (i.e. Fallout 3 CE for a case is a lunchbox; some CE's use a tin case to put your game in; etc; the huge oversized book-like case for LOTR Online: Mines of Moria - Special Edition or Age of Conan CE); etc etc.
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Don't get me wrong, I like Collector's Editions as well, but it's hard to justify a CE purchase for every single available game. Hell, the only reason why I got the AC2 CE was because the preorder price was the same as the normal edition.
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Don't get me wrong, I like Collector's Editions as well, but it's hard to justify a CE purchase for every single available game.
I agree w/ you.
I always keep my eyes on for the inevitable price drop for a CE - if there's still any left looming around, of course, after the game's been around a bit.
Hell, the only reason why I got the AC2 CE was because the preorder price was the same as the normal edition.
That sounds like a good deal to me. :)
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Their justification is that the extra money they make from the CE is what allows them to have the resources to create the extra mode.
Obviously that's bullshit.
I hate all this nickel and dime b.s. that gaming has turned to.
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This is what we all feared when the "Horse Armor" incident came around. It was a precursor to this sort of behaviour. Suddenly games are incomplete and you have to buy the bits at an added cost to make it whole again. Mission/expansion packs are going out of style in favour of petty DLC.
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Their justification is that the extra money they make from the CE is what allows them to have the resources to create the extra mode.
Obviously that's bullshit.
I hate all this nickel and dime b.s. that gaming has turned to.
Pug, if this shit keeps up, it's almost gotten to the point where I am thinking about just NOT buying a new game upon release anymore. I'll just possibly wait a year or so for them to say they're done w/ the DLC for this game and I'll likely buy the inevitable GOTY Edition that packages Original Game (all patched-up in a much better state) + ALL DLC in the box.
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Apparently, it is literally set in stone to be released on April 13, 2010 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6249491.html)
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Delayed again.
Pushed back to April. (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62571)
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You're a month late on that info D.
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Haha that's odd of MyD :P
The relevance of the recent article is that explains why they had to delay to 13 April.
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Splinter Cell is getting a 250G Xbox Elite bundle too. (http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/03/02/xbox-360-splinter-cell-conviction-special-edition-bundle-coming-april-2010.aspx)
Same deal as MW2 and FFXIII: 250GB Xbox 360 Elite, 2 wireless controllers, standard edition of the game - $399.
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So apparently the campaign is pretty short... 5-7 hours long. (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/107/1076530p1.html)
But, it appears there are a lot of extra game modes that are playable both alone and with another, including co-op story, co-op/solo terrorist hunt, co-op/solo horde/defend mode, competitive 1v1 with AI enemies on map, and Infiltration (which isn't explained).
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Some of the most fun I've ever had in multiplayer gaming was the terrorist hunt mode in Rainbow Six 3 for the Xbox. No objectives or story to clog shit down, just a bunch of bad guys to kill with a few friends. Also unlike horde modes, it didn't have that sense of panic and urgency, it was just a casual and fun gametype.
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Yea it should be really good. Unfortunately it's only for 360, and I'm not sure I can justify a Gold subscription for one game. We'll have to see.
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PC Requirements unveiled.
Yep, it will require The U-Play UbiSoft Online Only DRM. (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1855820#post1855820)
Recommended specs:
Supported OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Processor: 1.8 GHz Intel Core2 Duo or 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon X2 64
RAM: 1.5 GB Windows XP / 2 GB Windows Vista, Windows 7
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 9.0c–compliant video card (512 MB recommended) (see supported list*)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c–compliant sound card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM drive
Hard Drive Space: 10 GB
Peripherals Supported: Mouse, keyboard, headset, 12-button gamepads with analog sticks
Internet Connection: Broadband Internet connection
*Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 / 7900 / 8 / 9 / GTX series
ATI RADEON X1800 / X1900 / HD 2000 / HD 3000 / HD 4000 / HD 5000 series
Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported. These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game.
Note: A permanent high speed internet connection and creation of a Ubisoft account are required to play this video game at all times and to unlock exclusive content. Such content may only be unlocked one single time with a unique key. You must be at least 13 to create a Ubisoft account.
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I'm guessing U-Play is only required for the PC version? It was in Assassin's Creed 2, but it was just something you could just access from the menu system so you could spend your points.
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I have decided I will no longer buy Ubisoft games new, on any platform. I do want to play AC2 on the 360, so I will track down a used copy when the game gets cheaper. I will try to make sure before buying that no proceeds from the used sale go to Ubisoft.
Needless to say, I will never buy the PC version of this Splinter Cell game, or any other Ubi release, even if I had a decent gaming PC.
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I'm guessing U-Play is only required for the PC version? It was in Assassin's Creed 2, but it was just something you could just access from the menu system so you could spend your points.
U-Play is a requirement and handles the DRM for the PC version, in which you must be online to play period.
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U-Play is a requirement and handles the DRM for the PC version, in which you must be online to play period.
Right but my question was, do I need to maintain an online connection to play the Xbox version? Probably not, but I was just curious.
Also, SC:C demo is out on Xbox Live. Probably Gold members only. They confirmed no demo will happen for PC.
When you melee someone down and gain the Mark and Execute "charges", you hear a panther sound and see scratch marks. It's a bit more stylized than that sounds, but you do hear a sound and see 3 lines over by the UI element that shows if you have the "charges".
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Right but my question was, do I need to maintain an online connection to play the Xbox version? Probably not, but I was just curious.
Don't quote me on this - but, I don't think so.
Also, SC:C demo is out on Xbox Live. Probably Gold members only. They confirmed no demo will happen for PC.
Bleh.
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Panther claw here, at 4:13. Sort of cheesy, not sure why they went with that. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qocu2joNvng#t=4m6s) (YouTube link)
Demo seemed pretty decent, but I'm not without complaints. The first time I killed someone, I tried to pick up the body. Either you can't, or I just didn't find the right button. And guards do notice dead bodies. The enemies seem to be setup for Mark & Execute. You'll have one enemy off to the side that you can melee down unnoticed, then 2 or 3 you need M&E to take care of. It makes the game feel specifically setup for that mechanic. Also I noticed at one point I passed a checkpoint and all the guards were alerted. I was not in the open, there were no living guards anywhere near me, the game just alerted them because that's what's supposed to happen at that part of the game. Though I was able to sneak around the alerted guys, it was still annoying that I did everything right, and they still found me out. If I'm going after a specific target, I'd like to be able to get to him/her and kill them without anyone else knowing I'm even there.
Anyway, it's got some cool stuff, and it'll be nice to jump back into the SC series with some fresh ideas and graphics. I'm gonna play around with the demo more when I get the chance and see just what you can and cannot do.
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I took a look at the collector's edition of the game and I'm kind of tempted to preorder it. The Future Shop here also some more exclusive goodies if you preorder it there too -- a headlamp, a case, an illuminated coaster, and a code for the SC3000 gun in game. That goes along with the CE that has the custom USB card, 2 in game items, steelcase, comic, and art book. Plus, there's another $5 preorder incentive too. So it comes down to $75.
Somewhat tempting but I've been spending quite a bit on games lately so I think I might not get this just yet. We'll have to see.
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haha for some reason I was expecting to hear a panther growl or something. That wasn't so bad.
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God, this is going to be a challenge for me. I crave Splinter Cell stealth action but I abhor Ubi's new DRM.
That's like God offering me my ideal woman then adding "... but she's HIV positive." FAAACCK!!!
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Doing the right thing is often more difficult. Stand up and be counted!
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F it, I am buying this.
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F it, I am buying this.
PC or 360?
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PC baby.
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PC baby.
Even w/ the annoying online-only DRM?
You're a trooper, Pug....
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(http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/813762250_7Sg8T-L.jpg)
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Played the demo for a bit today. It's very, very different than the traditional Splinter Cell games. I'm also not completely sold on a couple of the game's core concepts. The mark and execute is a cool feature and to prevent its use on a regular basis you have to 'recharge' the ability by taking someone down using hand to hand combat. It just seems a little overpowered and makes the game easier. To compensate it seems that you get lots more enemies around.
Another thing I don't like too much is the black and white feature that indicates you're in the dark. Drowning out all the color just makes it harder to see shit.
It's also lacking some polish -- the game doesn't look particularly great and some animations are kind of awkward.
I don't know if I'll be getting it at launch... will have to play the demo a couple more times to decide. It's also the first time I've played a Splinter Cell game on a console. I've played the last four on the PC and it just seems the controls are fairly complicated this time around. The controls feel quite clunky on the console and will take some time to get used to them.
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Is it true that you don't/can't hide bodies anymore? I found that shocking.
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Is it true that you don't/can't hide bodies anymore? I found that shocking.
Well, I pressed a bunch of random buttons and couldn't figure out a way to do it. I also checked the control mapping in the settings menu and saw nothing about picking up bodies. I also specifically noticed guards reacting to bodies, so wether or not you can hide bodies definitely has at least some impact on gameplay. I'm not sure if a guard would go alert though, since the guard I was watching was already looking for me. He saw the body, said "oh shit", and kept looking in that area. What would he have done if the guy had just been missing?
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C'mon, Ubisoft - get your shit together, will ya? (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178748)
Splinter Cell: Conviction Limited Edition Shipping with Defective USB Drives
Price lowered to alleviate frustration, replacement program may be coming.
By Frank Cifaldi, 04/09/2010
Some Splinter Cell: Conviction Special Edition packages may ship with a faulty USB flash drive, according to Ubisoft.
Speaking to 1UP today, an Ubisoft representative relayed that some of the drives shipping next week are "likely" to be defective, and that the company is working on a solution for customers who may receive the faulty units.
To help alleviate frustration, Ubisoft also confirmed an immediate price drop of the Special Edition, from a suggested retail price of $79.99 to $69.99.
The publisher plans to post a notice at the official Splinter Cell site with information for those who receive a faulty drive. At press time this was all the information available to us.
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IGN gives it a 9.3 with a pretty glowing review (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/108/1082854p1.html)
Given the game's short length though, I'm still quite undecided on picking it up at launch, especially since I've got a whole bunch of games that I need to finish up first. I think I will wait.
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IGN gives it a 9.3 with a pretty glowing review (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/108/1082854p1.html)
Given the game's short length though, I'm still quite undecided on picking it up at launch, especially since I've got a whole bunch of games that I need to finish up first. I think I will wait.
IGN Video review (http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/902601/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction/videos/splintcell_vdr_040910.html) says SP is around 5 hours.
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Which means I won't even consider a used copy of this game. (Ubisoft, remember?)
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5 hours? Screw that. Sorry that's just too fucking short. Inexcusable. I bet it is because they had to scrap everything and restart development.
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Supposedly the co-op compensates for the meager SP campaign.
Still, for a 5-hr SP I'd expect the starting to be no more than $50, with a drop to $30 after the launch grace period.
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Supposedly the co-op compensates for the meager SP campaign.
Still, for a 5-hr SP I'd expect the starting to be no more than $50, with a drop to $30 after the launch grace period.
According to IGN's Hillary whatever-his-name-is - the Co-Op Campaign can be played without a player or with a player...
So, is the Co-Op a totally different story/campaign?
EDIT:
Actually, Page 2 of Hillary Goldstien's (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/108/1082854p2.html) review talks about Co-Op.
Co-Op is a separate story entirely AND a prequel to Conviction's Main SP Campaign.
There's 4 environments to get through, in that prequel.
Who knows how long or short those environments are.
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I think the co-op campaign is about 3 hours in length. Then there's terrorist hunt, horde mode, and competitive MP.
Everything is basically very short, but there are a lot of options. That said, I cannot justify paying full price for a game that is lacking so much SP content.
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It is sad that this seems like the first Splinter Cell I'll be going for on the console.
The coop may be quite nice, but really, will they have it on PC? (I mean split-screen... it doesn't count on LAN if it means buying multiple copies).
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It is sad that this seems like the first Splinter Cell I'll be going for on the console.
The coop may be quite nice, but really, will they have it on PC? (I mean split-screen... it doesn't count on LAN if it means buying multiple copies).
They better put Co-Op Portion in on the PC version - even if at the very worst, we can ONLY play it Solo with AI (which console versions do support). That's better than just not having it at all.
Though, they really should add at least some support for Co-Op Portion Online through their servers and/or LAN.
About having two controllers and/or two KB/mouse set-ups for ONE PC - I'd be cool w/ that. Hell, allow us to run Split Screen OR the option to run TWO monitors (instead of Split Screen) - that'd be awesome.
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GameSpot Review
8.0 for X360.
Kevin Van Ord reviewed it.
Kevin's complaints:
short single-player (6-7 hours); the game's much easier now; stripped-down stealth elements (no body hiding/dragging; no lockpicking).
Video Review - Hi Def. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/tomclancyssplintercellconviction/video/6257745/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-video-review?hd=1)
Video Review - Standard Def. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/tomclancyssplintercellconviction/video/6257745/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-video-review)
Written Review. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/tomclancyssplintercellconviction/review.html?tag=topslot;thumb;2)
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Haha it's funny how Assassin's Creed 2 (an action game with some stealth elements) implemented body carrying but Splinter Cell (a series known for tactical stealth gameplay with some action elements) removed it :P
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Haha it's funny how Assassin's Creed 2 (an action game with some stealth elements) implemented body carrying but Splinter Cell (a series known for tactical stealth gameplay with some action elements) removed it :P
Sam's getting sloppy at his old age.
He needs to hide bodies and lock-pick again.
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Yup, the USB drive shows up as an empty 500MB removable drive.
I guess if this is what is "defective" bout it, they could just offer all that content as downloads. Of course, people who don't read up about this stuff would never know about it.
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Just saw the gamespot review after the IGN one. Kevin Van0rd does a better job than IGN:
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/tomclancyssplintercellconviction/video/6257745/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-video-review
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Man, the birthdate selection screen there is almost completely unresponsive on my PC (in Firefox). I clicked on the year down scrollbar twice, waited 20 seconds after each click, then settled for 1991. I'm 19 today! Maybe Steve Jobs is on the right track about Flash after all.
That looks great. If only there were more than half a game's worth of play time.
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Man, the birthdate selection screen there is almost completely unresponsive on my PC (in Firefox). I clicked on the year down scrollbar twice, waited 20 seconds after each click, then settled for 1991. I'm 19 today! Maybe Steve Jobs is on the right track about Flash after all.
That looks great. If only there were more than half a game's worth of play time.
Flash sucks bad, but at least its a standard. You have to wonder what Apple has up its sleeve. Is it going to try it's own format in the Flash/Silverlight space?
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Last time I contemplated installing Silverlight, I was dissuaded by the requirement that I agree to auto updates whenever MS sees fit to install new shit on my system. No thanks.
Someone just needs to take flash and make it, oh, about 1000% more efficient. I'm all for good standards, not shitty ones.
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Last time I contemplated installing Silverlight, I was dissuaded by the requirement that I agree to auto updates whenever MS sees fit to install new shit on my system. No thanks.
Someone just needs to take flash and make it, oh, about 1000% more efficient. I'm all for good standards, not shitty ones.
I remember on my old 1800+ XP Flash was fine for years and all of a sudden Youtube and Flash videos in general started taking up massive resources and having problems. I don't know if it was people encoding at a higher quality by default (if that makes sense) or something like that, but it was certainly Flash based. I know I reformatted at least once while this was going on and it still happened.
Flash is a pretty big resource hob, but as Scott said, at least it's standard. Adobe is also starting to do a decent job of optimizing it (I guess). I was reading a while ago that a substantial part of the problem is how easy it is to code for Flash....people don't code efficiently even on major sites and that can have a pretty profound effect. I don't know shit about it really, so I don't know if that's true.
What I do know is that Apple's tirade against Flash probably has very little to do with performance and more to do with control over their "walled garden". Allowing Flash onto the platform pretty much gives developers a back door they can use to skirt around the app store, either with .FLV files that can be opened on the device or web-based applications. I mean, they are certainly correct about Flash draining battery and using CPU power, but the same can be said about H.264 and HTML5.
I've seen benchmarks of Flash vs. HTML5 on various devices. Not surprisingly, HTML5 ended up being less resource hungry in OSX....but that was the only platform. In Windows, Flash was still faster in all browsers. On the Nexus One, the Flash player killed the HTML5 player (I honestly don't think that means jack though). Of course, HTML5 probably will be more optimized before we start seeing it all over the place. On a side note, and I don't know what this really means but Coreplayer on my WinMo phone has the option to play either flv or h.264 files of varying quality for all youtube videos. I don't know if it's a bandwidth issue or a cpu issue but flv is always the way to go. At identical image quality the flash videos always play a lot smoother while the h.264 are jerky. So, flash is certainly a resource hog but compatibility and standards aside, it doesn't seem that there's really a much better option at the moment.
Oh, and Cobra, you might want to update Flash. A story that came through on google reader a couple days (weeks?) ago said that the newest version has finally enabled hardware acceleration and that it made a pretty bid difference in some cases.
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HTML5? I thought everything was shifting to XHTML1.
Edit: Ah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5). I see that HTML5 is the successor to both HTML4 and XHTML1.
Edit 2: My previous edit isn't totally true. There is an XHTML version of HTML5 being developed called - wait for it - XHTML5.
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H.264 is a lost cause on my system. I don't even try to play HD videos encoded with that shit anymore.
I'll give Flash updating a try, though I doubt anyone cared about Gen-5 Nvidia cards when they did hardware optimizations.
I'm not blind to the fact that my biggest problem is old hardware. For now, dancing around the issues is my only recourse.
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Just saw the gamespot review after the IGN one. Kevin Van0rd does a better job than IGN:
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/tomclancyssplintercellconviction/video/6257745/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-video-review
0WN3D. (http://www.overwritten.net/forum/index.php?topic=2024.msg85662#msg85662)
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HTML5? I thought everything was shifting to XHTML1.
Edit: Ah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5). I see that HTML5 is the successor to both HTML4 and XHTML1.
Edit 2: My previous edit isn't totally true. There is an XHTML version of HTML5 being developed called - wait for it - XHTML5.
Well, isn't that confusing as fuck. It's worse than ISO manual classifications.
H.264 is a lost cause on my system. I don't even try to play HD videos encoded with that shit anymore.
I'll give Flash updating a try, though I doubt anyone cared about Gen-5 Nvidia cards when they did hardware optimizations.
I'm not blind to the fact that my biggest problem is old hardware. For now, dancing around the issues is my only recourse.
Yeah, but that's not THAT old. It's not like you're on a Celeron 900 and Geforce 2. I also wouldn't be surprised if Flash optimization for slower hardware was Adobe's number one priority at the moment. Netbooks are exploding and people want to watch flash videos on them.
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Oh, and WTF D?
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Oh, and WTF D?
I beat Pug to the punch w/ the GameSpot review.
EDIT:
ActionTrip Review - 7.9 (out of 10)
Written review. (http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/360/splintercellconviction.phtml)
All of this sounds very cool doesn't it? Sure it does. So, why in the hell am I still not playing the game? I'll tell you why. Because the game is short. Very short. And I'm one of those gamers who doesn't buy video games for co-op or multiplayer. I want the single-player to last as long as possible. This is one of the main reasons why I enjoyed Ubisoft Montreal's recent endeavor, Assassin's Creed 2 (360). Anyway, that's just me. I guess it's safe to assume a majority of gamers will appreciate what these guys have done with the new multiplayer facets.
...
The main goal was to appeal to a wider audience; that much is obvious. As a result, emphasis was put on co-op and multiplayer. Then again, we are certain that a great number of gamers will still buy Splinter Cell: Conviction for its single-player mode. As it stands, if you decide to go solo, you'll find that the gameplay is really fun, but as soon as the end credits start rolling, you're gonna want your money back. It simply must be said that fans of solo play were neglected, since the content in that respect is poor. What's more, Sam's abilities to deal with enemies stealthily were trimmed down somewhat in favor of more action, which, in our book, is a step back for the series. Yes, we get that Sam's older now and fed up with everything, but there's always room for cool new moves, combos, take-downs and whatnot. So, again, the single-player should've been longer.
EDIT 2:
1Up Review: A-
Written review. (http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3178775)
But as I said earlier, while the game is very well put together, it's also over all-too-quickly; experienced gamers can probably expect the single-player campaign to last about five to six hours. That would be perfect for an episodic game or a budget-priced downloadable title, but no matter how high the production values, $60 for such a short experience feels a bit overpriced.
...
The co-op campaign adds a completely separate story (a prequel of sorts involving a rogue terrorist group and WMDs), and requires you to work together with a friend via either splitscreen, online, or linked 360s. You get the same abilities, interrogation tactics, and storytelling devices as the main game -- plus you have to work together to overcome some obstacles. But the story is even shorter than the main game (a little over two hours). Like the main single-player component, the co-op is engaging and arguably more fun than the regular campaign, since you get to share in the covert operations -- even so, it doesn't add enough content to really justify the game's steep price.
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Interesting:
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/63302
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Oh hey, Action Trip has a review out (http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/360/splintercellconviction.phtml)
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Interesting:
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/63302
You notice that devs have started finding ways to give DLC away for free, despite MS bitching about it? They just add some in-game store instead of using the XBL marketplace. SC:C does it, Mass Effect 2 has the Cerberus Network, BFBC2 has the VIP store, and uPlay sort of does it. (BTW I already have the points to unlock either the SCAR assault rifle or Infiltration mode, because of uPlay points I earned in AC2. I haven't even started the single player in SCC yet, just played a little Hunter mode.)
And yea, that article says the free machine pistol may be available early. When I got home with the game on Tuesday it was available for me already. It's not bad, but the silenced shotgun was a bit more satisfying. You dont need a headshot with it, and you sort of feel like a badass, but you can still get stealth kills with it.
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I think they've always been doing small DLC for free, or at least been able to - new cars in Poject Gotham, songs in Rockband. My understanding is that there's a very strict size (and maybe content) limitation. I don't think this gets around Microsoft as it's still getting delivered on their framework, just in-game rather than in the Live store.
But yeah, it's getting turned out more and more. Probably as a direct measure against used games sales, at least in cases like Cerberus.
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In the case of SC:C it looks like Ubi providing free DLC is an effort to try to counter the "this game is too short and not worth the expense" arguments. So far, that's been the major highlight in every review, favourable or otherwise.
I would have said this is Ubi's way of trying to sell the uPlay crap but this applies to both PC and consoles (plural assuming a PS3 version is in the works).
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Got it on the 360. They definitely lost a sale with me.
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Got it on the 360. They definitely lost a sale with me.
Oh man, how bad? Give it to me straight, doc!
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No, I mean they lost a PC sale.
I've seen the reviews and I know what to expect.
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Not sure why it took this long for this to dawn on me but Conviction looks more like a Bourne Conspiracy game than a Splinter Cell game! Right down to Sam's new look! He's a spitting image of Jason Bourne! The action and even "mark and execute" are a lot like the Bourne Conspiracy game on PS3! The difference being that in the Bourne game you don't mark instead you just quick-kill any targets in your lone of sight when your adrenaline bar has enough stock.
Now that I think of it, the game's not original at least from a gameplay perspective.
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As unhappy as it makes me, I am glad I didn't get the game on the PC, because I doubt it has splitscreen coop.
I played the singleplayer stuff for half an hour, before hitting up the co-op with my brother. We just completed the first mission, which took us about 90 minutes (mostly because were playing at the highest difficulty, and goofing around a touch).
But there are I think 4 or 5 coop missions, all of which should last about 5 hours, which is pretty good.
The coop stuff is like playing Rainbow 6 Vegas: Splinter Cell edition, in part due to the familiarity of the Unreal Engine again. It is actually quite a bit of fun... and some of it is actually really bad ass.
What I played of the singleplayer felt good, but a little too scripted and a touch overly streamlined. The production values are top notch, though the visuals on the 360 don't feel any better than any other Unreal engine powered console title.
There are a couple of changes, that are immediately noticeable. First of all, the entire screen goes black and white when your character is hidden. It is a design decision that has the pros and cons you'd expect. Obviously it feels pretty dynamic, and improves the way you play... but at the same time it feels a bit gimmicky. Plus, be prepared to play almost the entire game in black and white.
The other is the cover system, which is actually quite awesome because it makes you feel like you are actually working towards moving from cover to cover, rather than simply hitting the jump button while in cover, as you would in games like Gears or Mass Effect 2.
In Conviction you have a lot of choice when looking for cover, and you actually must look for it actively by focusing on the base of potentially shielding objects, rather than hitting the combination of buttons blindly.
As I said, this makes things feel more natural, and you are far less likely to run into frustration.
Overall, I think the game is worth the full price on console, if you are able to find a buddy to do coop with.
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So we played more of the co op, and it is a lot of fun. This is to Splinter Cell, what R6:Vegas was to the R6 franchise.
It involves a lot of streaming down and stuff, but concentrates on giving you a tight experience. While the first coop mission was actiony, the second was a great stealth mission. Yes, not being able to hide bodies is pretty crappy, but other than that, the coop missions are quite fun.
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OK this game is AWESOME. The singleplayer campaign has a great story, and really, feels like Arkham Asylum with guns.
The black and white thing isn't as bad in the singleplayer. You have spend as much time in light as you do in the shadows.
I remember Que had quite a few complaints about Splinter Cell in the past. Well, this seems to address all of them. It is probably the best Splinter Cell since Chaos Theory.
What I love is the freedom of movement it allows. Even the best Splinter Cell games in the past felt wierdly restrictive.
I said it was heavily scripted, but that was really the initial stage.
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Well, I caved. I hate myself but I did it. I bought SC Conviction on PC.
I have already experienced some truly unplayable moments due to Ubisoft's DRM. The server could disconnect/reconnect intermittently and that literally means your game would be intermittent as well. It was horrible. My sad realization is that I am a glutton for punishment.
However, not to let my purchase go in vain I decided to test some private server settings as with Assassin' Creed 2. The good news: the game launches without the Uplay crap, the bad news: it closes down quickly with a message "unable to connect to Ubisoft server" which just tells me that the AC2 private server hack would work with a little configuration to suit Conviction.
Anyway, it is a top-notch game, though it suffers from quite a few notable bugs. Considering how short the singleplayer campaign is, the multiplayer is a significant part of the game. I have yet to be able to play. Apparently the majority of people who bought the game have not been able to play. It just sets there at the matchmaking screen indefinitely. The few who have been able to play online were either playing with friends in private matches or lucky; yet even the lucky suffered terrible lag and occasional disconnects.
In terms of performance, the game suffers a bit at times. According to the boards ATI users have suffered the most, with ATI's 10.4 Catalyst drivers claiming to have alleviated the problems, many posters (myself included) have not noticed any difference at all in framerates. My game still crashes on occasion as well.
One other common complaint s about the X360 controller either not working at all or not being mapped correctly. I tested it with my wired X360 controller and it seems to be working perfectly fine. Other players said their wired controllers didn't work though. I'm not sure what the problem is exactly.
Apparently a patch has been released but was only auto-updated a fraction of the players. Some people claim the game auto-updated and they have v1.01 installed, which fixed a few issues, but other like myself haven't seen any updates at all. No patch has been listed on any website either.
It's a really odd series of events.
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Well, I imagine that there will be a cracked .exe eventually. I may even look into that if things are this bad ;)
As for the controller issues, it's probably the same thing as with Assassin's Creed 2: the wireless controllers aren't working correctly while the wired ones are. I found a fix when I was having that problem, but I don't remember having it at all with AC1. Weird.
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The Ubi DRM proved to be even more of a failure.
I finally managed to play online by communicating with players from the Splinter Cell forums and setting up private matches. We were playing, all was well, but then the bitch-ass DRM fucks up and can't connect to Ubi's server, even though we're both (me and the other player) online with steady internet connections. So yeah, Ubi fucked up big time.
Hopefully the crack will be out soon. My one concern about multiplayer now is if the online matchmaking goes through play or not. I know I have to log into my Ubisoft account, which is the same as my R6 Vegas 2 and all other Ubisoft games, so it might not be dependant on Uplay.
Such a piss-off that a great game is stifled by this crap.
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I've been playing the singleplayer. I finished it and while it was short it was great.
Visually, the game's pretty impressive especially when you consider it's the same engine they used in Chaos Theory (modified Unreal Engine 2.5). The one shortcoming s the inconsistent performance but I'm sure a patch will fix that in time.
On another note, I was doing a little bit of reading and I discovered that there was another version of Splinter Cell: Double Agent which was developed by Ubisoft Montréal and released exclusively for PS2 and Xbox; it is otherwise known as the "Generation Six version." Apparently it got glowing reviews and played a lot like Chaos Theory and included a coop mode much like it. By many players' accounts it should have been the only Double Agent release across all platforms.
I just checked some screenshots and videos, Goddamnit, it's the game I wanted to play when I got SCDA. CRAP!!
This leads me to conclude that something's no quite right at Ubisoft corporate. Some of the decisions they've made (and are likely still making) are fundamentally flawed.
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This leads me to conclude that something's no quite right at Ubisoft corporate. Some of the decisions they've made (and are likely still making) are fundamentally flawed.
I award you the title Master of the Obvious. Congratulations!
;D
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I award you the title Master of the Obvious. Congratulations!
;D
Haha we need to have an annual OWnet awards ceremony ;D
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SC:C has been allegedly cracked by Skidrow.
Releaselog (http://www.rlslog.net/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-skidrow/)
I'll confirm if the crack is working.
If it is, I'd like to prematurely say "Suck it, Ubi."
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SC:C has been allegedly cracked by Skidrow.
Releaselog (http://www.rlslog.net/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-skidrow/)
I'll confirm if the crack is working.
If it is, I'd like to prematurely say "Suck it, Ubi."
UbiSoft still got $60 (or so) from you.
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UbiSoft still got $60 (or so) from you.
Yeah, but not from the rest of intelligent society.
Plus, if they don't fix Conviction I'll just have to compensate ;) That way I can satisfy both my guilt and buyer's remorse.
Anyway, the crack does work but on for singleplayer and LAN. Online multiplayer is a no-go unless you use virtual networking and LAN it anyway.
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Anyway, the crack does work but on for singleplayer and LAN.
Good.
Online multiplayer is a no-go unless you use virtual networking and LAN it anyway.
Bleh.
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Hamachi should work right?
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Hamachi should work right?
I believe so, apparently so does Tunngle. I just don't have anyone to try it with.
It's pretty hard to find people who want to play stealth games. The one guy I did manage to play a few rounds with plays Conviction like it's Quake or something run 'n' gun, which would be fine since he draws all the attention but the problem is if he dies "mission failed." Still whatever we were able to play before Ubi DRM got in the way was pretty fun.
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http://pc.ign.com/articles/108/1087205p1.html
Looks like IGN are holding off on the PC review because they simply can't get online.
Here is what gamespot had to say:
Sam Fisher is mad--and after playing the PC version of Splinter Cell: Conviction, you might feel a little cranky too. Conviction tells Sam's conspiracy-driven story in a brilliant way, and its slick execution moves are fun to perform, particularly in the game's cooperative mode. Unfortunately, these sharp strengths are dulled by a number of issues that will have PC players feeling like second-class citizens. The co-op play that made the Xbox 360 version a winner is seriously injured here due to the mind-boggling omission of voice and text chat, and the precision of the keyboard and mouse controls dissolve much of the tension the short campaign tries to generate. Glitches and bugs, some related to Conviction's stringent online-only copy protection, also undercut the goodwill the game's memorable moments inspire. All of this white noise obscures the great game lurking behind it, making Conviction the latest console-to-PC port that fails to do its platform justice.
So glad I didn't get the game on PC. Ubisoft's PC games have been terribly frustrating for me during the past few years, which is why I didn't go for this on PC.
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Man, Pug - Kevin VanOrd has done it again (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/tomclancyssplintercellconviction/review.html) with another nice slam aimed directly at Ubi's horrible PC DRM. I love it. He's just not been pulling any punches.
EDIT:
Conviction looks a bit dated but nonetheless attractive, a likely consequence of the older Unreal 2 technology that brings it to life. Fuzzy textures, some blocky geometry, and some jagged edges betray the engine's age, yet you get the sense that developer Ubisoft Montreal squeezed a good deal out of it. Smart use of color versus the deepness of the black-and-white stealth effects makes certain environments, such as a carnival outside the Washington Monument, really stand out. It's best not to look too closely at the grainy textures when traversing war-torn streets, but the abandoned vehicles strewn about and a decrepit-looking fuel station make the dusty level feel uncomfortably--and appropriately--hostile.
It's surprising that the game doesn't perform better. On PCs that exceed the recommended system requirements, Conviction is prone to frame rate dips and the occasional stutter. Even the overly compressed cinematics suffer from similar frame rate jitters when the camera pans across the environment.
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Yeah, it's been pretty rough.
Good news: Skidrow have also cracked the multiplayer allowing legitimate users to go online while still bypassing the DRM.
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Yeah, it's been pretty rough.
Good news: Skidrow have also cracked the multiplayer allowing legitimate users to go online while still bypassing the DRM.
We knew it'd only be a matter of time.
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Amusing "secret" dialogue (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8ZfCLh1sK0) :P
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Patch v1.02 is out.
- Added DLC support
- Fixed many disconnection and divergences issues in coop modes.
- Added Multi-GPU support for SLI/Crossfire (remaining issues on ATI side)
- Added ATI Eyefinity support (we are waiting on a validation by AMD for theEyefinity Ready official stamp)
- Some configuration specific divergences fixes, crashs et minor bugs
- Graphic glitches when running in low visual quality:
- Improve performances and some flickering issues.
- Low-end video card optimizations.
- Fixed Microsoft Wireless X360 controller not being detected properly with some drivers.
- Fixed interaction buttons overlapping in certain resolutions/aspect ratios.
- GTX400 Nvidia video card support (removed the error message)
- Various minor fixes.
Some people are reporting a loss in framerate but I've actually noticed a performance boost. At least on my system it's actually running better.
The matchmaking system seems to be functioning now too. When I tested, within 10 secs I connected to another player. That said, the game still lacks any form of chat/voice communication. Most people have worked around that by joining TeamSpeak an Ventrilo announced games.
The game still needs some fixing but I'm grateful for this for the time-being. Although this really should have been a 0-day update.
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Yahtzee's SC: Conviction review/editorial. (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1684-Splinter-Cell-Conviction)
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I don't know if you guys played SC: Conviction on its hardest difficulty, but I found this article interesting - b/c it talks about how playing it on its highest difficulty needs you to be much more Stealthy than any of the other difficulties. (http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/125242-achievements-change-the-way-i-play)
As I play through Splinter Cell: Conviction, I find myself confused at some of the criticism levelled at it, specifically that it focuses more on action than on stealth. However, I realize that I’m playing it on the hardest difficulty for the achievement, and as with Mass Effect 2, difficulty changes everything. I’m forced to stay in shadows, to use my gadgets whenever possible (especially the explosives that can clear a room in seconds), and to sit in a corner and watch guards walk by until I memorize their pattern. I’m forced to actually be stealthy. As I play Hunter mode and try to get the achievement for not being spotted, I learn to be even more stealthy. I don’t use explosives, too noisy. I use flash bangs and EMPs to blind enemies and then kill them. My quest for achievements teaches me to be a perfect hunter.
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I played on the hardest difficulty as well... always do with games where stealth is a well fleshed out option... it can be a bit too hard when you are battling in open combat... but it isn't too bad.
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So I just finished it. I was on the last mission as I typed that previous message. The game was without doubt, very good, but definitely fell short of excellence.
There are moments early that offer lots of stealth options, and the first half of the game finds a great balance between stealth and action. Unfortunately, the last half felt far more third-person action. Don't get me wrong, it was still good fun, but I felt it was easier to raise hell than sneak from the shadows.
Overall the storytelling was good, and the soundtrack was just top notch.
Good solid game, but I'd still rank it below the first splinter cell, and Chaos Theory.
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Ahhhhh....now that's in the right place, Pug. :P
I remember in the last 1/3rd of Assassin's Creed 1, the game felt like it went from Stealthy game to an action game - and now it happened again w/ SC: Conviction?
Haven't UbiSoft Montreal from making such decisions? :o
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The only thing I really noticed on Realistic difficulty is that the consequences for getting spotted are more dire; the detection bar is quicker and I may die more quickly. In terms of difficulty it's kinda the same as all previous Splinter Cell games: I play it so stealthily that I don't notice any difference on the higher difficulty.
Overall I like the game. It's different from the rest of the franchise but it is still a stealth game, it's just mainstreamed. How mainstreamed? I've seen girls play it relatively well. I don't mean to discriminate against girl gamers but looking at the stats most girls would put shooters and stealth games aside in favour of RPGs and MMOs.
I have finished the main campaign 3 times now, once on normal and twice on realistic. After the patch my performance went up noticeably so I had to go through the game at a full 1920x1080 resolution. It is crisp. Regarding the gameplay, there is some degree of variety to the game; it's not 100% the same each time. The baddies are occasionally scattered differently.
Online is quite a bit of fun too. So far I've only played Hunter, Last Stand, and Face Off. All pretty good but I really just want to play the coop story! I managed to connect to one guy who had a coop story game going, completed the first segment (roughly 10 minutes) and got disconnected. It's getting a little frustrating.
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Insurgency $DLC announced. (http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction/1090573p1.html)
Ubisoft Announces Premium DLC for Splinter Cell: Conviction
By Mike Sharkey | May 17, 2010
Four new maps coming to Deniable Ops mode in less than two weeks.
Ubisoft has been trying to whet the appetites of Splinter Cell fans with free downloadable goodies every Thursday. Now that they've had a taste, Ubisoft is ready to find out if gamers are ready to pay for a Sam Fisher score. Insurgency, he first premium (read: paid) DLC pack for Conviction, is coming soon.
Ubisoft made the announcement today in a brief press release that describes Insurgency as additional content for Conviction's Deniable Ops modes. Brand new missions for Archer and Kestrel will take gamers on a journey from San Francisco to New Orleans in four additional maps.
"Sam Fisher may have his conviction, but Black Arrow is still out there - waiting for him," Ubisoft said in a statement.
And for you achievement junkies, Ubisoft added that the DLC will offer up 250 new points for unlocking.
Insurgency is set to launch on May 27 for the Xbox 360 and Windows PCs for 800 Microsoft Points/$9.99.
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Yes Ubisoft, I'm going to pay you some more money for 4 maps to play online--wait, the online mode is still broken, isn't it? Yes, it is.
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Yes Ubisoft, I'm going to pay you some more money for 4 maps to play online--wait, the online mode is still broken, isn't it? Yes, it is.
I'm sure the pirates, hackers, and/or modders might fix that. :P
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I'm sure the pirates, hackers, and/or modders might fix that. :P
Sort of, I've been playing it using Tunngle. It's a virtual network tunneler, so we're all able to connect and play like a LAN. The best part is we don't ave to use the broken matchmaking system at all, we just use the LAN server browser. Yet all these minor successes are nothing but workarounds and not final solutions.
Ubi need to get their shit together.
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Sort of, I've been playing it using Tunngle. It's a virtual network tunneler, so we're all able to connect and play like a LAN. The best part is we don't ave to use the broken matchmaking system at all, we just use the LAN server browser. Yet all these minor successes are nothing but workarounds and not final solutions.
Ubi need to get their shit together.
It's a damn shame Ubi can't get their matchmaking system, DRM, and online working right - especially since it's probably a major portion of the game, since the SP is quite short.
At least Gearbox fixed their MP-issues on GameSpy w/ Borderlands PC...
Bring back PC gaming-style dedicated-servers, geez...
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Weekend Deal on Steam...
Splinter Cell - Elite Echelon Pack on Steam = $45.99.
Includes: Splinter Cell, SC: Chaos Theory, SC: Double Agent, and SC: Conviction - Deluxe Edition.
SIDE NOTE: SC: Pandora Tomorrow is NOT in this collection. (http://store.steampowered.com/sub/4158/)
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Started this today and been playing.
While I do like it so far, I got one complaint already - I can't hide dead bodies! Seriously, WTH? :o
The Mark and Execute is cool and feels very VATS-like. Actually, it's more like that pistol specific skill for targeting X amount of enemies in Alpha Protocol.
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It's the same thing, you mark targets and push a button (or release in AP's case) to execute. I just find it works a lot better in SC:C because you're not on a timer when you're marking targets.
I only truly started enjoying SC:C when I changed my mentality on the game: I had to stop thinking of it as a Splinter Cell title. Other than the theme and storyline it has very little to do with its predecessors. After that point I started to see it in a different light.
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Overall, the game was just a touch underwhelming. It is a pretty good game... just not a great one. It has a few cool gimmicks, but there isn't anything surprising after the opening bit, which I remember was quite awesome.
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Just finished the Single Player Campaign. Yeah, it was pretty good - even though is not as stealthy as I'd have liked. Sure, there's duck and cover and you can get into the shadows that way, too - but, that's not the stealth I'm looking for - even though I do like that addition.
More so than anything else, I really miss some of the old stealthy elements such as hiding dead bodies and being able to roll the sneaking-speed and movement of your character while sneaking.
I really like the new way of embedding objectives and videos right into the game-world and black-and-white signaling you're in the shadows.
I still think SC: Chaos Theory is the crowning jewel of this series.