Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction is an action-adventure stealth game released in 2010. It was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published together with Microsoft Game Studios and Ubisoft. The game follows Splinter Cell: Double Agent and is part of the Splinter Cell series. Key members from the Rainbow Six: Vegas team, including creative director Maxime Béland, worked on the game. It was released for Windows and Xbox 360 in April 2010. Gameloft later released a handheld version for Apple's iOS in May and July 2010. Additional versions were made available for Android, Windows Phone, and Bada, as well as a side-scrolling 2D version for mobile phones.
Critics gave the game positive reviews, praising its gameplay, visual style, and story. However, some noted that the campaign was short and that the game shifted away from the stealth focus seen in earlier titles. By July 2010, the game had sold 1.9 million copies. A sequel called Blacklist was released in 2013.
Gameplay
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Splinter Cell: Conviction adds several new gameplay features to the Splinter Cell series. One feature is called "Mark & Execute," which lets players mark enemies or objects and shoot them quickly without aiming at each one individually. Players can choose which targets to focus on first, such as shooting a light near a guard to distract him and then targeting another guard. Another new feature is "Last Known Position," which happens when a player loses sight of an alerted guard. This creates a shadow that shows where the guard thinks the player is, helping the player move around enemies.
Other changes include the ability to question characters in real time and use objects in the environment against them. Mission goals and important story events are shown on walls in the game to keep players focused on the action. Some features, like blending into crowds or using improvised tools, were planned but not included in the final game. Creative director Maxime Béland said these ideas were inspired by the movie The Bourne Identity, but the team decided not to use them to avoid taking too many risks.
Some features from earlier games are no longer in Conviction. For example, Sam Fisher no longer uses his special night/heat vision goggles or his multipurpose SC-20K rifle, which were key in previous games. These have been replaced by Sonar Goggles, which help see enemies through walls and support the "Mark & Execute" feature, and the SC3000, a regular assault rifle without special abilities. Sam’s light sensor is also gone, but the screen now turns gray to show when he is hidden. Players can no longer move or hide dead bodies, nor can they knock enemies unconscious, as tools that helped with these actions are missing. Lock picking and hacking mini-games are also not in the game. Instead, Sam has pistols with unlimited ammo and silencers to help him eliminate enemies quietly. Other weapons like battle rifles, shotguns, and submachine guns are available, but pistols are considered the main weapon.
Ubisoft wanted to make Conviction easier to play. Creative director Maxime Béland said earlier games, like Chaos Theory, were very difficult, which made some players lose interest in the story of being Sam Fisher. He compared Sam Fisher to characters like James Bond or Jason Bourne, who move quickly and kill enemies without making noise. Béland said Conviction focuses more on action than previous games, offering a faster-paced experience.
The multiplayer mode in Conviction includes split-screen, System Link (for Xbox 360), and online co-op. It also has a "Deniable Ops" mode with four game types: "Hunter" (kill a set number of enemies), "Infiltration" (kill enemies without being seen), "Last Stand" (protect a bomb while enemies try to disarm it), and "Face-Off" (a competitive version of "Hunter"). "Face-Off" is the only competitive mode, as it allows players to kill each other. The other modes can be played alone or with a partner. The game does not include the "Spies Vs Mercenaries" mode from earlier games.
Co-op game director Patrick Redding explained that stealth in Conviction is based on new mechanics like "Mark & Execute" and "Last Known Position."
Plot
The game's story is split into two parts. The main part is the single-player campaign, where the player controls Sam Fisher three years after the events of Splinter Cell: Double Agent. The "Prologue" part is played in the multiplayer co-op mode, where two players control agents Archer and Kestrel 10 days before the campaign begins.
Archer, a Third Echelon agent, and Kestrel, a Russian Voron agent, are sent to Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to stop unauthorized groups in the Russian military from selling advanced warheads on the black market. Information from criminal Andriy Kobin leads them to drug and human trafficker Valentin Lesovsky, who is helping with the sale. Archer and Kestrel are ordered to stop Lesovsky and his associate, Boris Sychev, and to obtain Lesovsky's contact list.
After completing their mission, Archer and Kestrel are sent to the Russian embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, to gather information about an arms deal led by former Russian GRU Colonel Leonid Bykhov. They watch the deal and see Bykhov betray his associate, Tagizade, by ordering his death. Archer and Kestrel stop the destruction of weapons crates and learn the weapons are Block II JDAM missile guidance kits. They question Bykhov and discover he is working with Major General Kerzakov, who is located in the Yastreb Complex, an underground fortress beneath Moscow's Red Square.
They infiltrate the complex and find the location of the EMP warheads. They disable the JDAM kits using portable EMP devices and download data to trace the EMP devices to the Mozdok Proving Grounds. They sneak onto a supply truck, enter the Proving Grounds, and secure the EMP devices with Kobin's help. During their escape, Third Echelon director Tom Reed orders Archer to kill Kestrel. At the same time, Kestrel reads Archer's OPSAT device, forcing him to defend himself. Either player can die, but in the official ending, Kestrel fatally shoots Archer. Kestrel, overwhelmed with grief and unaware of Kobin's presence, is shot in the head.
A private military company called Black Arrow interrogates Sam Fisher’s former Navy SEAL teammate, Victor Coste, who begins to share details about recent events.
After leaving Third Echelon, Fisher travels to Valletta, Malta, to investigate rumors that his daughter, Sarah, may not have died in an accident. Suddenly, Anna "Grim" Grímsdóttir, a former colleague, contacts him and warns him about an upcoming attack by hitmen. Sam stops the attackers and pursues their contractor, Kobin, who was responsible for Sarah’s death. He enters Kobin’s mansion, defeats his guards, and begins to question him, but a Third Echelon Splinter Cell team stops him before he can gather useful information.
Grim and Black Arrow take Sam to Price Airfield in Virginia for interrogation. However, Grim releases Sam, revealing she is working undercover for U.S. President Patricia Caldwell, who is investigating suspicious activity involving Director Reed, Black Arrow, and stolen Russian EMP technology. She also tells Sam that Sarah is alive and helps him escape the airfield.
Sam then meets with Coste at the Washington Monument to receive equipment. He also learns that Lucius Galliard, CEO of Black Arrow, has assigned them to protect White Box Technologies, a company specializing in EMP technology. Sam infiltrates White Box Technologies, witnesses Black Arrow mercenaries removing unneeded scientists, and hacks a secure computer to retrieve data about an EMP operation for Grim’s team. He escapes after fighting mercenaries and triggers an EMP to hide his tracks. Later, President Caldwell sends Sam to the Lincoln Memorial to listen in on a conversation between Reed and Galliard. The discussion reveals a group called "Megiddo" is funding the operation, which will happen in 24 hours. A hitman kills Galliard before fleeing, and Sam chases him but fails to stop the assassin, who is killed by a car bomb.
Sam then goes to Third Echelon headquarters, where he receives advanced sonar goggles from Grim’s friend, Charlie Fryman, and searches Reed’s office for information. He finds Kobin there and interrogates him. Kobin reveals that Reed works for Megiddo and plans to activate three large EMP devices in Washington, D.C., and assassinate Caldwell during the chaos, allowing Vice President Calvin Samson to take over the presidency. Reed would then be promoted. Kobin also says Grim gave him orders to fake Sarah’s death. Grim confirms this by playing an audio recording from a former director, Irving Lambert, who discovered a mole in Third Echelon plotting to harm Sarah. Lambert staged her death to protect her but could not identify the mole. Grim urges Sam to destroy the EMP device at the Michigan Avenue Reservoir, as Sarah’s apartment is within its blast radius. At this time, the Third Echelon building’s self-destruct protocol activates, and Sam escapes before it explodes.
With Coste’s help, Sam attacks the Michigan Avenue Reservoir. After fighting Black Arrow mercenaries, Sam marks the EMP generators for Coste to destroy from the air. Sam is then extracted by Coste and reunites with Sarah before the remaining EMPs are activated, disabling most of the city’s electronic defenses and causing chaos. Shortly after, a surface-to-air missile destroys Coste’s helicopter, but all three survive. While Coste takes Sarah to safety, Sam travels through downtown Washington to reach the White House, which has been taken over by Black Arrow mercenaries and Third Echelon operatives. After defeating the corrupt Vice President, Sam reunites with Grim.
Grim and Sam must enter the Oval Office without alerting Reed, who may kill the President. Grim shoots Sam in the shoulder and pretends to detain him, allowing them to enter safely. Reed prepares to kill Sam and the President, revealing that Caldwell planned to shut down Third Echelon after Lambert’s death. Reed plans to frame Sam for assassinating Caldwell to prove Third Echelon is still needed. Sam and Grim stop Reed, disarm him, and kill his guards. Sam questions Reed while U.S. Army soldiers extract Caldwell. Reed admits he is the mole Lambert was investigating. At this point, the player chooses whether Sam or Grim kills Reed. In the official ending, Grim kills Reed.
As Coste finishes his story, he mentions that Sam promised to protect him as he would a brother. At that moment, an alarm sounds, followed by an explosion and gunfire. The interrogators leave Coste behind.
Development
A sequel to Double Agent was leaked online on September 21, 2006, through a 2GB rar file. This file included 75 concept art images of games not yet announced, which were uploaded to Ubisoft's public FTP site. The leaked images showed dark scenes of the Washington Monument under military control and views of Washington, D.C. from the roadside.
Conviction was officially announced on May 23, 2007, when Ubisoft released a game trailer. The trailer showed a rougher-looking Sam with long hair and a full beard. Sam could blend into his surroundings, move objects like tables and chairs, and fight enemies directly. These changes made the game look less focused on hiding than previous games. The lighting and shadows in the game also improved compared to Double Agent. The game was originally planned for release on November 16, 2007. However, it missed its launch date, and on May 19, 2008, Xbox World reported that Splinter Cell: Conviction was "officially on hold" and had been "taken back to the drawing board." Ubisoft did not confirm this, but they said the game would be delayed until the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
The game returned at E3 2009 with a new visual style and a more casual-looking Sam. Developers said the new version of Conviction had been in development since early 2008. They noted that gameplay had changed significantly and that the game's look was much better. The game was given a November 2009 release date at E3, but it was later moved to the first quarter of 2010. After initially setting a release date of February 23, Ubisoft delayed the game again until April. On February 4, 2010, Ubisoft officially announced that the game would be released on April 13 for the Xbox 360.
Conviction supports AMD's multi-monitor technology called Eyefinity.
On July 16, 2007, it was announced that composers Kaveh Cohen and Michael Nielsen, working with music house Groove Worx, would create the game's score. This was their first video game score. On October 25, 2007, Soundtrack.net shared news about the game's music recording session, including photos of the orchestral music being recorded. On January 28, 2010, a message on Amon Tobin's website stated that he would contribute to the game.
On March 29, 2010, an interview revealed that Michael Ironside considered not returning as Sam Fisher because he felt he could not add more to the character. However, he changed his mind after Ubisoft sent him a copy of the script.
Release
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction is available on the Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, iOS, and Java ME platforms. Ubisoft has confirmed that the game will not be released on the PlayStation 3. Max Béland, the creative director of Splinter Cell, explained that the game was originally developed for the Xbox and that Ubisoft has a strong partnership with Microsoft. The PC version of the game uses Ubisoft’s new DRM system, which requires a permanent internet connection to play.
The game was released in four retail versions: the standard version, the Special Edition (called the Shadow Edition in Britain), the Collector’s Edition, and the Limited Collector’s Edition. The Shadow Edition was only available in Britain through specific retailers and included alternate box art, a SPAS-12 silenced shotgun, early access to the SC3000 weapon, and a special "Shadow Armor" skin. Pre-orders also included a projector torch.
The Collector’s Edition was exclusive to the United States and Canada. It included a USB flash drive, an artbook, two decal stickers, a comic book about the game’s story, and two in-game items: an MP5-SD3 sub-machine gun and a Third Echelon spy suit. Because some USB drives were defective, Ubisoft reduced the price of this edition by $10.
The Limited Collector’s Edition was available in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific region. It included a high-quality box with a Sam Fisher figurine, a steel-book DVD case with the game disc, a manual, a game soundtrack CD (24 tracks), and a card with five bonus in-game content codes.
Some stores offered their own versions of the game. For example, GameStop pre-orders included a SPAS-12 code, Best Buy pre-orders included a SC-3000 code, and Amazon.co.uk released a Limited Edition with a standard game disc, a DVD case, the SPAS-12 code, a 32-page comic, and a DVD about the game’s development. Play.com’s version included the standard edition and a carabiner torch.
In March 2010, Microsoft released a special black Xbox 360 Elite console bundled with the game. The console included a 250 GB hard drive, two wireless controllers, a headset, an Ethernet cable, a composite A/V cable, and the standard edition of the game.
On May 27, 2010, a version of the game was released for iOS devices. Developed by Gameloft, this version had a simplified story that omitted the prologue and some characters, but it included a new speed boat level set on the Potomac River.
In June 2010, Ubisoft announced a version for Mac OS X. It was originally scheduled for October 19, 2010, but was delayed until February 17, 2011. A version for Windows Phone was released in February 2012 as part of the "Must Have Games" promotion.
The game released weekly unlockable content every Thursday through the in-game "Extras" menu. This content included weapons, gadgets, multiplayer skins, and Deniable Ops maps. The game also used Ubisoft’s Uplay downloadable rewards program, which allowed players to earn points for completing tasks and use them to purchase in-game content. On May 27, 2010, the only official DLC map pack, titled The Insurgency Pack, was released. It included four new Deniable Ops levels and nine new achievements worth 250 Gamerscore.
On April 19, 2012, a closed multiplayer beta was made available to owners of Splinter Cell: Conviction on Xbox 360, as well as to people who preordered the game from GameStop or PlayStation Plus members.
Soundtrack
On April 13, 2010, Ubisoft Music, along with composers Michael Nielsen and Kaveh Cohen, released a 16-track Official Soundtrack to Splinter Cell: Conviction. This soundtrack was only available on iTunes.
When the Limited Collector's Edition of Splinter Cell: Conviction was released, it included a CD titled "Original Soundtrack" by Michael Nielsen and Kaveh Cohen. One track on the CD was composed and produced by Amon Tobin, who had previously created the soundtrack for Chaos Theory. No list of songs was included on the CD or its packaging. However, on April 18, 2010, Nielsen shared a track list for the CD on his Myspace page.
On April 20, 2010, a news post appeared on Amon Tobin's website after the release of most of his contributions to the Splinter Cell: Conviction soundtrack.
Reception
Splinter Cell: Conviction received mostly positive reviews from critics, according to the review website Metacritic. IGN's Alec Meer gave the game a score of 9.3 out of 10 and awarded it an "Editor's Choice Award." Edge magazine's Tim Ingham scored Conviction 8 out of 10, calling it "in reach of greatness." He praised Sam Fisher's ability to make any environment into dangerous places with a single button press. Some critics noted the game's short length and the use of too much black-and-white visuals. GameSpot's Kevin Van Ord gave the game an 8 out of 10, highlighting its cooperative mode and storytelling but criticizing its short length, fewer stealth features, and predictable interrogation scenes. GameTrailers scored it 8.9 out of 10, praising its voice acting and calling it a strong addition to the Splinter Cell series. Game Informer gave it a 9 out of 10, and GamePro awarded it a 5 out of 5.
Some PC reviewers were less impressed. GameSpot's Kevin Van Ord scored the PC version 6.5 out of 10, citing bugs, missing features, connection problems, and a higher price than usual for a PC game. PC Gamer UK gave it a score of 87 out of 100 but advised against buying it due to current DRM restrictions.
At the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Splinter Cell: Conviction for "Outstanding Achievement in Animation."
In the United States, Splinter Cell: Conviction sold 486,000 units in April 2010, making it the best-selling game of that month. By July 2010, the game had sold 1.9 million units.