Splinter Cell: Conviction HD Review

App Name:	Splinter Cell: Conviction HD
Platforms:	iPad
Publisher(s):	Gameloft
Version Reviewed:	1.0
Genre(s):	Action
Release Date:	August 5, 2010
Price:	$9.99
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I do not currently own either an XBox 360 or a PS3, and so my exposure to the Tom Clancy games is somewhat limited. I was excited, therefore, to see Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction HD for the iPad. Rather than try to port over an entire console game, as they did with Prince of Persia, Gameloft has here tried to recreate the game in a more portable version. The result is one of Gameloft’s uncommon missteps.

On the surface, this game will strike you as a fun actioner. You will enjoy yourself as you run through the streets of various world locales, gunning down thugs and hiding from the cops. The game generally keeps up the pacing so that there’s never a dull moment. It provides a robust destination point system, so you can keep track of where you’re going and what you need to do. And there’s the occasional break in the action where you get to disarm a bomb, beat up a thug for information, or don your infrared goggles to find the right path.

The controls will feel very familiar to you if you’ve played Gameloft’s other first-person and third-person action titles (NOVA, Zombie Infection, etc.). It’s something Gameloft has pretty much nailed, and they don’t try to change a good thing here. They do carry over the Mark and Kill feature from the console version: if you can remain undetected and get in the right position, you can mark multiple targets and then let Sam shoot them automatically — head shots every time. Finding these sweet spots is itself hit-and-miss, but it’s still fun.

It’s all done with an excellent visual and even some cinematics ported directly from the console games. The little touches of flavor — like the computer-zooming map that transitions between levels, or the level text incorporated into the scenery — will please the part of you that loves spy movies. The shading of dark and light also looks great.

First impressions can be a good thing, but when you look a little deeper, Splinter Cell: Conviction’s warts begin to show. First, what’s up with this plot? I get that they were trying to condense a popular console game — and a sequel no less! — but I was barely able to follow what was going on in the game. I had to go read a plot synopsis of the Xbox 360 version to connect the dots — you know, little things, like “Why am I suddenly playing a different character in the second level, and why is he in Iraq?”  I know that plots are no big deal in these sorts of games, but jeez!

The interface also suffers from some issues. It’s just not as well calibrated as it has been in other Gameloft titles. For example, there’s a snap-to aiming feature. And it does help you track a target, but it often doesn’t result in a kill; sometimes it will lock you onto a shoulder or a thigh. It’s basically useful for pointing you in the right direction, but you still have to chase a moving headshot.

Then there’s the entire hiding in shadows, diving from cover, and avoiding detection mechanic. It’s a core part of the gameplay — we’re told early on that Sam is a covert specialist after all — but it just does not work well. The shadow vs. light spots are hardly distinct, for one. For another, the ability to dodge from cover spot to cover spot is haphazard; it ignores a lot of potential cover areas. Why can I hide behind this corner, but not that one? Other times it will only “activate” a cover if you adjust the camera a certain way. And, most frustratingly, it will sometimes place you in an odd position relative to the cover (like on the corner of a car — right on the corner, where you’d technically be exposed to anyone looking).

Gameloft has mitigated the awkward controls and dodgy cover system by making the AI is as dumb as a sack of bricks. So long as Sam is in the shadows, he will usually remain completely unseen and undetected, even if the enemy is literally standing over him. And when Sam is detected, the AI hardly puts up a hard fight. They’re super easy to dispatch, usually just standing there and shooting, even if you’re right next to them, pointing a gun in their face. This dumb, nonthreatening AI takes a lot away from the game, as it makes being stealthy and sneaky far less necessary, and thus far less appealing. Why sneak around when it’s quicker and just as effective to run-and-gun?

I literally stood there for ten full seconds before executing this idiot.

And this sort of stinks, because the game clearly WANTS you to be stealthy. Sam’s character is built around stealth (we’re told early in the game that darkness is “just the way [he] likes it”). There’s a wealth of moves and tools for being stealthy. But there’s little in-game impetus to do that.

Gameloft, please look into the interface a bit … and PLEASE ramp up your AIs. Make them smarter and deadlier. Make us want to stay hidden. Make us NEED to stay hidden. It will go a long way to making this a top-tier game for the iPad. Until then, Splinter Cell: Conviction HD will stand as a flawed translation of a notable console game. It’s not a failure, but it is a notable misstep for a usually solid company.

Our Score: 3 out of 5.

About the Author

Writer@Large Brian P. Hudson is an educator and freelance writer currently living in Dearborn, MI.

 

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