Warning: game contains copious amounts of epicness. An epicness, like no other before it.
Conviction takes place 2-3 years after Double Agent. If you never played/didn't finish DA, don't worry, you're brought up to speed very quickly. Sam's daughter Sarah was killed, Sam killed his best friend and superior Lambert (!), he quit Third Echelon (which is now highly bureaucratic and under a new leader, Tom Reed), and to add the icing on the cake, there's an impending terrorist attack on the U.S. From the start, you know your not playing a Splinter Cell game... or are you? Where once stealth was about "nice and easy" pacing, Conviction ups the ante and makes stealth all about speed, precision, and awe aspiring moments. Conviction also adds some awesome new features, such as the awesome mark and execute feature and last known position. In past Splinter Cell games, getting detected meant an alarm would get sounded and you'd probably end up dead or losing alot of health. Not in Conviction. As a matter of fact, being detected just makes the game even more fun. Since you have no restrictions, you can take out your enemies however you feel like doing. Playing cat and mouse has never been funner.
I will say this game has a cinematic, jaw-dropping and terrific story, and will keep you on the edge of your seat. And Michael Ironside's dialouge for Fisher is absoultely terrific. He portrays -- via his voice -- the anger in Fisher. And Fisher's actions, takedowns and intteragation techniques all reflect the fact that he is really pissed off. However, even with all this awesomeness, there are some minor flaws. One of which is with the mark and execute. Sometimes when you hit the execute button (Y), your target might walk behind a crate or wall, and while you'll still get the kill, it'll look kinda weird shooting through a crate or wall. The AI is smart, especially on realistic, but sometimes they're complete dumba***s. Also the Iraq level seems out of place. I know it was meant for a flashback, but I felt it was kinda uneccesary. But whatever, nothing major
The multiplayer is definitely the rewarding part in Conviction. When your done with the campaign, the multiplayer is a-waitin. And damn is it good. Probably one of the best co-op campaigns around. If the campiagn dissapoints you (how could it?) the multiplayer will have you jumping for joy at its epicness. Have fun.
Overall, Conviction is a job well done. If the old Splinter Cell games are boring you death with their version of stealth, this game will blow your f*****g mind. Completely reinvents the stealth genre. What RE4 did for the Resident Evil series Conviction does for the Splinter Cell series. It makes the 3 years it took to make this game feel well worthwhile. This game should come with a warning label that says: Warning; game contains copious amounts of epicness. An epicness, like no other before it.