QJ asks: Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher is the new Jason Bourne – is that what you want?

When Ubisoft Montreal revealed the fifth installment to Tom Clancy‘s Splinter Cell – Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction for the PC and Xbox 360– developers of the game took out the visage of the stealthy, one-man army of an elite counter-espionage cell and fleshed out the man behind the night vision goggles and black-as-night stealth suit.

Now without Third Echelon and without the aid of close friends, Sam Fisher dons a hooded sweatshirt and jeans and uses commotion and crowds to evade detection. No longer blessed with advanced technological gizmos and gadgets, he thwarts enemies and the threat of capture using his immediate environment. In short, he’s becoming a lot like the C.I.A.’s Jason Bourne.

And a lot of the fans are not happy about it. We’re talking about the hardcore sneaks and spooks of the days of Metal Gear on the NES and Famicom, and the ones who are still playing Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory over and over…and over again. And who could blame them?

It’s great that Ubisoft is tying down a story, past, and personality to the same man who thwarted Displace International and the impending nuclear apocalypse wrought by the hostilities between Japan and North Korea. But should they really do so at the sacrifice of a tried-and-tested gameplay feature? We mean, that’s what made Splinter Cell stand out from the rest anyway.

Click Full Article to continue reading about our take on Ubisoft’s new direction for Sam Fisher.

When Ubisoft Montreal revealed the fifth installment to Tom Clancy‘s Splinter Cell – Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction for the PC and Xbox 360– developers of the game took out the visage of the stealthy, one-man army of an elite counter-espionage cell and fleshed out the man behind the night vision goggles and black-as-night stealth suit.

Now without Third Echelon and without the aid of close friends, Sam Fisher dons a hooded sweatshirt and jeans and uses commotion and crowds to evade detection. No longer blessed with advanced technological gizmos and gadgets, he thwarts enemies and the threat of capture using his immediate environment. In short, he’s becoming a lot like the C.I.A.’s Jason Bourne.

And a lot of the fans are not happy about it. We’re talking about the hardcore sneaks and spooks of the days of Metal Gear on the NES and Famicom, and the ones who are still playing Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory over and over… and over again. And who could blame them?

It’s great that Ubisoft is tying down a story, past, and personality to the same man who thwarted Displace International and the impending nuclear apocalypse wrought by the hostilities between Japan and North Korea. But should they really do so at the sacrifice of a tried-and-tested gameplay feature? We mean, that’s what made Splinter Cell stand out from the rest anyway.

And it seems to look that way for us, since Ubisoft’s lackluster TMNT: The Game hit an all time low in the gameplay and enjoyability department. Independent and big name reviewers alike agreed that the game should’ve been better. Heck, when this blogger picked up his copy for the PC and played through the first hour of the game, God knows he blurted, “Even TMNT: Battle Arena played better than this (insert expletive here).”

And he swore no game could ever make him say that. Ever.

And what’s the particular characteristic that Ubisoft slapped into the shell-shocked game adaptation? The use of platforming gameplay and ironically misplacedPrince of Persia: Sands of Time acrobatics. It’s quite similar to Ubisoft’s change of direction for Splinter Cell: Conviction toward the mechanics of Altair in Assassin’s Creed (for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3). Mere coinkidink? Methinks, heck no.

So the developers of the “biggest world studio yet” thought they should be a little more creative and stay away from repetitive gameplay. Okay, granted that we gamers asked for that, how is this new game going to offer anything fresh? Instead, it looks like it could take out the glamour and authenticity of Assassin’s Creed if this game happens to come out before Altair could ever make a debut.

So where exactly should Splinter Cell: Conviction stand? If anything, Ubisoft should listen to the people who made the game the hit it is today: the fan base. Otherwise, you can consider this fifth installment pretty much the final installment to the series – in spirit, genre and franchise-wise.