The Splinter Cell franchise was born in the shadows but by the time the series hit Double Agent, the fourth Splinter Cell installment, Sam Fisher was walking about in broad daylight just like our favorite contract killer, Agent 47. Not only has the series' game mechanics been changing over the years but the entire series itself has begun sporting a grittier and more mature undertone. The first game to take the series in that direction was Chaos Theory, one of the finest Splinter Cell games ever made, developed by Ubisoft’s very own Montreal studios (who by the way are even working on Assassin’s Creed). Now after taking a backseat while Ubisoft Shanghai worked on Double Agent, Ubi Montreal are back with Splinter Cell Conviction, the brand new Splinter Cell game that plans on redefining the concept of stealth as we know it.


After the events of Double Agent Sam’s decided to retire from the hectic spy business and is enjoying the good life when he gets news that his good friend Anna Grimsdottir (in case you didn’t know, she’s the one who provides Sam with Intel on his OPSAT in all the Splinter Cell games) is in danger. As all valiant heroes he quickly rises to the occasion without a moment’s hesitation and heads straight for the Third Echelon, but things have changed over there and it isn’t the same organization he was such an integral part of. To make matters worse, it seems Anna is in danger from certain member(s) of the Third Echelon itself and so he decides to matters in his own hands, but this pisses the agency off to no end and Sam finds himself at the receiving end of their wrath; running around like a man on the run ensues.


Since this series is headed in a new direction, the first noticeable change that’s apparent here is good old Sam’s appearance. For starters he looks a lot older (but he still looks badass) sporting a gruff beard and since he no longer works for the Third Echelon, gone are the tight wet suit (which he apparently hated) and night goggle days; in Conviction Sam will spend most of his time roaming around the streets of Washington D.C. (where most of the game will take place by the way) clad in a pair of blue jeans and a black hoodie. Since Ubi Montreal have scrapped the whole sneaking in the shadows bit, most of the game will take place outdoors, in broad daylight and the trick here is to blend into the crowd and slip by unnoticed a la Assassins Creed (co-incidence? I think not). To blend into the crowd Sam will be able to mimic the actions of certain strangers so he could sit back on a park bench and soak up the sun or he could casually walk alongside a group of people or even strike up a conversation with a stranger … bottom line, make sure you DO NOT get spotted.