Metascore
85 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 90 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84 out of 90
  2. Negative: 0 out of 90
  1. Great story telling, novel and exciting new abilities, and a well presented package make Conviction a worthy entry into the Splinter Cell series.
  2. Its flaws stand out in the short singleplayer campaign, and its tail end relies too much on the gunplay that the game otherwise relegates to a begrudging last resort. But when it hits its stride, the environments unlock the player’s tactical ambitions in away that is truly empowering, launching you between shadow and light, discretion and aggression.
  3. The emperor is wearing tense, compelling and entirely seductive clothes. It's just a shame his outfit is from the 2005 collection. [Issue#95, p.102]
  4. Whatever stance you take, though, the game's biggest problem is its length, coming in between five and six hours, depending on skill and just how important it is to you to complete the levels with absolute precision.
  5. While co-op kicks an unholy amount of ass, the Fisher campaign wasn’t the drastic departure from the series’ punishing trial and error we were all expecting.
  6. Splinter Cell Conviction might not have the longest or greatest single-player campaign, but it makes up for this with a substantial selection of alternative modes.
  7. We haven't had so much fun with a new Splinter Cell game since 2005's phenomenal Chaos Theory. [Issue#58, p.82]
  8. Ubisoft took quite a few gambles and not all of them paid off, resulting in a gripping thriller with a few potentially bothersome missteps. If you don't mind a little Jack Bauer/Jason Bourne with your Sam Fisher, you'll enjoy the ride.
  9. Conviction manages to make stealth a mass market feature. Mark and execute is a fantastic addition. The co-op missions are the highlight of the game. It’s just too bad the singleplayer lacks big, open missions like in the old games.
  10. The fifth entry in the Splinter Cell franchise is finally here and introduces a way more action oriented gameplay experience than what we're used to. It takes a while getting used to and does enable a run and gun approach. Less stealth, less gadget and more action. While it's not the Splinter Cell of yore it's still a great action experience and the cooperative campaign is great fun.
  11. A necessary reboot that fights accusations of dumbing down with an artful mix of stealth and violence.
  12. The criminally short solo-player campaign... can be beaten in around five to six hours. However, for all its shocking brevity, the campaign’s story is utterly engrossing; it may be completely preposterous, but the story hits harder and resonates more than those of previous Splinter Cell titles.
  13. Conviction is one of the best games in the series, with a new and brilliant control scheme. Sam Fisher's last adventure is one that all Xbox 360 shouldn't miss.
  14. Ubisoft really went the extra mile to give the Splinter Cell series a true reboot with Conviction. Sam is angrier, the gameplay is much smoother and the story more fast paced, plus it has a lot of nice multiplayer options in it as well. Old fans might miss the old Splinter Cell from time to time, but Conviction really is a great game that can be recommended to both new and old Sam Fisher fans.
  15. Splinter Cell: Conviction is faster and more action oriented than previous games in the series. It's getting closer to a third person shooter, but Conviction has not lost its unique Fisheresque soul. This is great entertainment.
  16. It's hard not to feel a twinge of disappointment if you're a fan of the series. Sam's newest adventure doesn't offer the challenge you may be expecting, and recent stealth-action hybrids like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Batman: Arkham Asylum provide much more satisfying single-player experiences. Yet stellar storytelling, fantastic co-op play, and rewarding executions make Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction a legitimately great game that delivers frequent surges of excitement.
  17. Appeals to a whole new crowd that grew up on creating distractions, using every single gadget in their inventory and dragging bodies into shadows. If Conviction is evidence of where Ubisoft is taking the series, they are about to win over a lot of new fans and potentially upset a portion of those already loyal.
  18. The crescendo of the plot builds to a ludicrous point - the influence of (now canceled) 24 is extremely apparent, but as the one-man-army that is Sam careens towards his final goal the narrative goes a little over-the-top - not Metal Gear lunacy, but certainly a climax uncharacteristic of the series.
  19. Conviction is a good game, faithful to the series, with great visuals and a perfect mix of action and stealth. But the solo experience is extremely short, there are several AI flaws, and all of the multiplayer game modes are just for up to two players. Good ideas, but it's not as polished as previous entries.
  20. The most accessible Splinter Cell game yet. It gives you the firepower to shoot your way out of your mistakes, but also makes the stealth side of things fun, rewarding, and significantly easier than just attempting to run around and shoot. Its only serious issue is that it doesn't feel especially substantial or replayable.
  21. You'll find Splinter Cell: Conviction a rewarding experience if you're buying the game for its co-op modes. On the other hand, if you're diving into the action expecting a complex and innovative single-player mode, Splinter Cell: Conviction might seem like a letdown.
  22. There are plenty superb moments as the unleashed 'Sam Fisher' to make picking up 'Conviction' a worthwhile investment. However, the lone wolf gamer should keep in mind that the single player campaign is fairly short, so you will need to head online if you want a little more out of your experience. Now that the lockdown its over, lets get Sam back on that leash, and back to the basics.
  23. Splinter Cell: Conviction is a fun game to play for most of the time, frustratingly disappointing at others. It’s far too easy, has some poor AI, but above all it’s just not expressive enough. Cool as it may be, visually and conceptually, you can only get excited about infiltrating another warehouse or mansion in the dead of night so often.
  24. 75
    Splinter Cell: Conviction features an engrossing campaign and superb co-operative mode. Ubisoft has implemented some serious changes to advance the series and create a worthy stealth-action game.
  25. At its best, Conviction is played as a high-stakes puzzle game, taut and thrilling when everything is going your way. But when cover is broken, the floodlights go up to reveal a mediocre shooter. Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that Splinter Cell: Conviction appears brightest in the dark.
  26. Overall Splinter Cell: Conviction is a let down for long time fans of the series, but as a game in its own right it is worthy of your attention.
  27. It would be sad to ignore this new Splinter Cell for its small flaws, because the game is unquestionably fun.
  28. There's a sense that in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience, i.e accessibility, Ubisoft has appealed to the lowest common denominator. We enjoyed the Splinter Cell series for its complexity, but like Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six before it, such elements have been removed completely.
  29. As for the solo game, Conviction is likely to appeal to more people than any Splinter Cell game to date, which is a shame because UbiSoft has replaced the heady silent stealth play with a middling third person shooter.
  30. Conviction is just a casual-oriented actioneer with simplistic gameplay mechanic and big-budget production values.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 485 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 79 out of 107
  2. Negative: 17 out of 107
  1. No one will stop Sam Fisher, nor do you. Slick control is perfect for stealth and combat, strong voice acting gives life to the awesome story and the flashy black and white ( in the shadow) adds cool effect to it. The multiplayer is appealing, i set more with the co-op mode, versus is sometimes frustrating , but it adds tension. Conviction never felt so good Full Review »
  2. HarrisB
    3
    Look at all these Xbox Mags. They always give Big Points to fairly hyped games, no matter how bad they are. Even the Xbox Gamers dont care about this stupidity. Maybe they are just glad to have another shooter game of its kind. If you are a demanding gamer stay far away from this one. It will be underwhelming for you if you are 10 years of age or older. Full Review »
  3. 5
    I have been a massive fan of the Splinter Cell series, beginning with the first title that was released for the original Xbox. My play through with Splinter Cell: Conviction was, to say the least, average. It's the kind of game where developers take 1 step forward and 2 steps back, despite their passionate effort in 'reinventing' the genre. Length: "Splinter Cell: Conviction's" story mode will last the average player an upwards of around 6-10 hours, depending on the difficulty (mind you, this is not the same "lengthy" duration they claimed and boasted in their interviews. The Co-op portion of the title will last approximately 3-4 hours, again, depending on the difficulty. The rest of the multiplayer length is relatively subjective, because it really depends on the person playing and whether they truly enjoy it or not.

    Controls: Excellent. Some issues with trying to climb up and some such but other than that, the controls were very solid.

    Sound: Again, also excellent. Single Player Story: Not too much peep out of me for this part of the game. It's a pretty interesting storyline, but I wish they did a few things differently. In short - and without spoiling too much - it's just obnoxious playing as Sam Fisher one moment, and than being thrown into Diwaniya, Iraq as a completely different person. It just derails the narrative focus of the game for the sake of telling a side story that is completely irrelevant to the main plot of the game. Co-op Story: Interesting to say the least. It really reveals a lot of the interior motives of a certain someone in the single player story, but only if you play the co-op campaign first. The ending was truly a disappointment although my friend and I had a pretty good laugh the first time we played the ending. Gameplay and design: Now, this is where it gets really nitty-gritty. The game-play and overall design of Conviction is quite clear, it's meant to be played as a run and gun, Jason Bourne on speed style game. There are a huge amount of key and refining features missing that made the originals so damn good. The knife, whistling, controlling your light exposure and movement speed, Night/thermal vision goggles, moving and hiding bodies, hallway split jumping, etc. Big and small things like the ones I mentioned above are just completely eradicated from Conviction, all for the sake of making it fast paced, something the Splinter Cell series is *not* known for. Enemies are just thrown into each section of the level, each one being in a convenient spot for players to make full use of the Mark and Execute feature. So much is sacrificed for one feature, and quite frankly, it's just disgusting to see a title stripped of it's roots and garnished with mediocrity.

    The exclusion of key features is one thing, but the illusion of the stealth in conviction is also another. I couldn't shake the feeling that Conviction was not designed with the originals in mind. For all intents and purposes, Ubisoft felt it would be a good idea to force players into unavoidable gun fight scenarios with little hope for pure stealth. The addition of the Sonar Goggles is more of a burden than it is a boon. Special enemy types are later equipped with these very same goggles, further eliminating the use of stealth mechanics and forcing players to draw their guns and mark/execute their way to victory. These same goggles also completely eliminate the use of one such gadget, the sticky camera (which had it's smoke feature replaced with the explode feature).

    I can go on about how this isn't a true sequel to the Splinter Cell series but this review has to stop at some point and I'm just sick of having to juggle why Ubisoft felt it necessary to try and reinvent the wheel. For me, this title in the series is a 5/10. In short, as a Splinter Cell title, Conviction is complete trash that spits in the face of it's predecessor in hopes of garnering the undivided attention of the fast-paced shooter crowd. As a 3rd person shooter with some stealth elements, it's an average game. Make of that what you will.
    Full Review »