[Tap In]

from recent issue of Finnish video games magazine Pelaaja article

Info from that magazine.

• A team of 110 people at Ubisoft Montreal have been working on the game for 2 years. Game is coming this December.
• With the Xbox 360, Ubisoft Montreal were brought new technology and power. They wanted to take everything out of this technology, just like they did with the last Splinter Cell and console generation. This produced a chain-reaction in planning, and the consequences could be a shock to many fans of the Splinter Cell series. The time for lights and shadows was over. Conviction takes place in broad daylight. Sam is no more an agent but a fugitive and an outlaw. But the difference between practicality and playability isn't necessarily as big as one would think. Conviction still is a stealth game.
• In the beginning of Conviction, Sam gets a hold of information concerning a danger that threatens one of his long-time co-workers, Anna Grimsdottir, familiar from the previous Splinter Cells. In order to help Anna, Sam returns to Third Echelon's paycheck but soon realizes that the agency is but a mere ghost of what it used to be.
• The current situation within the agency is evident in the complications Sam faces during the first missions of Conviction: information is inaccurate, Sam has been given unsuitable gear, and the situations requiring fast and decisive action are missed by the bickering of the bosses about authoritive statuses and the course of action.
• As it soon becomes evident that the tracks of the danger threatening Anna lead directly to Third Echelon, Sam quits the government job and decides to save Anna on his own. This decision turns out to be fatal, as Sam is declared a fugitive. Looks like Sam is on the wrong side of the law once more, this time for real.
• The people at Ubisoft admit that the twist in the story was created to flesh-out the character of Sam Fisher; the cold, government puppet, familiar from the previous Splinter Cells, didn't provide enough ground for understanding and sympathy. Instead, the Sam who left behind the agency and became a fugitive is a much more elaborate and humane character, being driven by his own feelings and goals.
• As we said, the game is played mostly in broad daylight, with the crowd working as a "dynamic cover" for Sam. The game's interface helps the player using two itmes: there is a "hero instinct" meter of sorts, which allows Sam to see enemies with infrared style vision, and a danger meter which shows how close you are to being spotted. Seasoned stealth players should be used to features like these. The close combat has been likened to the "Bourne" series of movies and books. The player can only kill mercenaries and terrorists, but can fight and incapacitate guards and civilians.
• The physics engine is central to gameplay this time around, you can use items as weapons, block doors with furniture etc. -- some really cool stuff there. Also, the enemy AI is dynamic, so your enemies react to what you do and act differently each time around.

Also, it's possible we could see the game unveiled at the upcoming Ubisoft event in Paris (May 22nd-23rd).

• You won't have to use force or sneak around as long as you don't act suspiciously.
• According to the article, every single object that is rendered on screen has physical properties and most of them can be used by Sam. For example, Sam can pick up furniture and use it as a weapon, or throw printers at enemies or papers in the face of enemies to gain the upperhand in fights.
• Melee fights are much more than "press this button to hit" this time around. There's different context sensitive attack buttons and as mentioned before lots of environmental interaction.
• The lead programmer states the fact they are exclusive to the 360 allows them to do much more than if they were multiplatform. He also states that he doubts they would be able to achieve what they are doing on the 360, on the PS3, even if it were exclusive to that platform. Specifically mentions the lighting effects they are doing on the 360.

[Rangers]

Yeah the scans of this look pretty impressive..hence all the sudden excitement.

[Skrying]

Hope it is up to the same quality as the first Splinter Cell, which remains to be the only game in the series I truly enjoyed. Glad that it is coming to PC as well, I hope the port is much higher quality than the last Splinter Cell game however.

The gameplay sounds interesting. Is there a trailer or any videos yet? I'm curious to see what it looks like compared to what I have an image of in my head right now.

[Rangers]

Originally Posted by Skrying

Hope it is up to the same quality as the first Splinter Cell, which remains to be the only game in the series I truly enjoyed. Glad that it is coming to PC as well, I hope the port is much higher quality than the last Splinter Cell game however.

The gameplay sounds interesting. Is there a trailer or any videos yet? I'm curious to see what it looks like compared to what I have an image of in my head right now.

There's foreign language scans out recently, which are allowed on many forums, but not B3D.

[AlStrong]

geebus... another high profile game for the 360 this Fall/Winter..
I think this is the only time I've ever truly wanted a game to be delayed just so that the title doesn't get looked over...


Anyways, interesting choice about using the crowds. I guess I need to know more or see it first. I wonder what sort of sacrifices they'll make just to display all the people rather than focusing on fewer characters.

The lead programmer states the fact they are exclusive to the 360 allows them to do much more than if they were multiplatform. He also states that he doubts they would be able to achieve what they are doing on the 360, on the PS3, even if it were exclusive to that platform. Specifically mentions the lighting effects they are doing on the 360.

That's um.. a bold statement. Any ideas from a hardware feature standpoint? What could be so special about the lighting?

[Dr. Meaty]

All of this is great except...I wanna play Splinter Cell. I don't like the sound of all this broad daylight stuff. It almost sounds similar to Assassin's Creed in a way (daylight, blending into crowds, etc.).
I haven't seen any scans yet, and I have a feeling this could be an amazing game, but I'm still kinda waiting for the next-gen SC I had in mind when I first bought my 360. Double Agent was okay,(except for the goddamn daylight level), but this next one has pretty much been my most anticipated 360 game, and I hope it still plays like Splinter Cell.

[expletive]

There's almost too much coming this holiday season for 360. Its early tho and this could easily slip into early 08 which wouldnt be the worst thing imo.

The scans floating around, the look like concept art to me is that right?

Originally Posted by NRP

Oh god, this is going to start another troll war.

Agreed, everyone just slowly step away from the quote and move on...

[NRP]

Originally Posted by AlStrong

That's um.. a bold statement. Any ideas from a hardware feature standpoint? What could be so special about the lighting?

Oh god, this is going to start another troll war.

[Dr. Meaty]

Originally Posted by NRP

Oh god, this is going to start another troll war.

A- You're right, it probably will.
B- Wow, those screens do look pretty damn good
C- Sam's a Lumberjack and he's okay!

[Tap In]

Originally Posted by NRP

Oh god, this is going to start another troll war.

doesn't have to.

it's just the same comments you hear from exclusive developers on either side, promoting the platform.

that said, I think it's OK for everyone to just finally admit that each system has its own hardware strengths and weaknesses (rendering them relatively equal overall) and each dev, especially exclusive is going to take advantage of each of those strengths and minimize the weaknesses to show their game in the best light. no pun intended.

this game looks like SC meets Assassins creed.

[assen]

Originally Posted by Tap In

(rendering them relatively equal overall)

Oh God, this is going to start another troll war.

[Tap In]

Originally Posted by assen

Oh God, this is going to start another troll war.

yea God forbid someone suggests that they are similarly capable (due to different hardware strengths). Let's just keep pretending that what we are seeing in games (they keep looking close to the same in most cases) is not really happening.

[Falkster]

Looks damn good so far, I love the lighting. Best of all, there's hair!

[kyleb]

As it soon becomes evident that the tracks of the danger threatening Anna lead directly to Third Echelon, Sam quits the government job and decides to save Anna on his own. This decision turns out to be fatal...

That is either a huge spoiler or a misstranslation.

[Rangers]

Originally Posted by Falkster

Looks damn good so far, I love the lighting. Best of all, there's hair!

Fairly dodgy looking hair imo..not sure why Fisher couldn't have been bald, I thought he was anyway..guess he just always wore a skullcap.

The lighting though yes, excellent.

[StefanS]

Ok guys, could we please move beyond all the usual comparisons? SC vs MGS and Forza2 vs GT:HD... Frankly, it's getting a bit annoying.

[Ether_Snake]

Well it would be nice to know what the PS3 can or can't do that would make this a pain or not possible on PS3. I doubt it can't be done, and I would presume better could be done in fact.

And hey it's a developers forum for the most part, it's fine to get info on the subject raised by the developers themselves.

[infinity4]

it's always those who can't afford a ps3 and a 360 that start trolling

i am sure it will come to ps3 some time like SC : DA did.

[almighty]

Seems like its a dodgey translation, http://n4g.com/News-38137.aspx

[Zassk]

At last, news about Splinter Cell Conviction. A decent preview article. It sounds like this game is heavily influenced by the success of Assassin's Creed. Last I heard, this game is still slated for release in Q2.

http://www.gamer.tm/preview.php?id=2268

[AlStrong]

mm... I wonder why they've been delaying and delaying. Possibly to avoid the 2007 Holiday bonanza. I hope they've done some extra extra shiny polish to the game since then.

[scooby_dooby]

Can't wait for this game, SC 3 was amazing, but SC 4 a huge let down, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what the MTL team can do now that they are putting out a true sequal.

I love the idea that it's influenced by AC as well, I just hope it's not too heavy of an influence.

[RenegadeRocks]

Somehow, the gameplay video they showed really put me off it wasn't "Splinter Cell" in any way, and AC has already shown that the social stealth is just a gimmick. I want tension and taut gameplay in SC, not open world roaming .

[Squilliam]

Originally Posted by RenegadeRocks

Somehow, the gameplay video they showed really put me off it wasn't "Splinter Cell" in any way, and AC has already shown that the social stealth is just a gimmick. I want tension and taut gameplay in SC, not open world roaming .

It was a cool idea, they didn't quite pull it off. It was tacky really. But I saw potential in it, it certainly made sense actually and opens up a lot of gameplay possibilities if done right. I would say that would be one of the reasons AC sold so well is because that whole mechanic is new and different. It made my jaded eyebrows lift in surprise... Thats for sure.

[Tap In]

I love Assassin's Creed and the open game play sandbox and "alive" city really intrigues me. I hope they stay the course with that game play mechanic and continue to improve on it with splinter Cell. I think the biggest problem is people (and some myopic reviewers) expected one thing and when they got another, they didn't like it. AC is gorgeous with amazing animation and controls and has so much game detail going on for a first generation use of that engine, that I really think it is a masterpiece in its infancy.

It has great potential IMO, especially for gamers like me who enjoy open world roaming game play side missions without being led around by the nose.

AC to me is possibly in my top 3 - 5 games of this generation so far. I'm hoping SC takes that and makes it even better which in turn may make AC2 my number one game of the generation. .