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How fun is Splinter Cell: Conviction? Will it run okay on an 8800GT?
Fagatron
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Registered User regular
I am thinking about picking it up off Steam because of the weekend deal they're running. I've always played the Splinter Cell games in a fashion that led me to knock out every single guard whenever possible, so being incentivized to knock out guards doesn't really bother me; but is all the sneaking and skulking really gone? Articles like this really bother me.
Also, last time I went to replay Chaos Theory on this computer there were some pretty bad graphical glitches related to the graphics card in it, an 8800 GT. When I tried a borrowed copy of Double Agent on it it had similar issues (both related to shadows and lighting). Is anybody here running on an 8800 series card, and are you experiencing any issues if you own the game?
Also, last time I went to replay Chaos Theory on this computer there were some pretty bad graphical glitches related to the graphics card in it, an 8800 GT. When I tried a borrowed copy of Double Agent on it it had similar issues (both related to shadows and lighting). Is anybody here running on an 8800 series card, and are you experiencing any issues if you own the game?
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I know there are folks out there that feel that the sneaking is gone, but in my opinion it's still there - it's just not as obvious and if you want to ghost a level you really gotta work at it. If anything, I find it a rather refreshing challenge as far as going the pure stealth route goes. It's also worth noting that the game isn't exactly a run-and-gun game either. Utilizing stealth especially at the higher levels of difficulty or the later levels of the game is very nearly necessary for your survival even with the mark and execute mechanic.
That being said, if you liked knocking guards out you'll probably have alot of fun with conviction. There's lots of different ways for you to take out the opposition and the game excels at letting you do so, it's just that your takedowns are quite a bit more lethal than they used to be. I'd also highly recommend the co-op if you've got someone to play it with, it is tremendous fun.
Incidentally, I also had some issues with Chaos Theory last time I booted it up, I was able to solve mine by running the game with my system in single core mode as opposed to dual core (or quad core if your system has that).
Huh. It's possible that the thing with the card was a red herring that was later patched out, but it was pretty well documented at one time. I didn't try limiting the processor though so I will definitely give that a go in the future.
It's good to hear that Conviction is still a pretty okay game. I've been playing them since the original, the only one I missed was Double Agent because of the aforementioned problems. I've done all of them on 100% stealth but I usually find I get more enjoyment out of picking all the guards off, one by one, and in some instances in rooms that were designed for ghosting through it can actually be harder; especially if you interrogate all of them first like I do.
The CPU was my bottleneck, as it was a single core, so the whole thing stuttered a bit. Not that I turned down the graphic settings, fuck that.
But yeah, it's playable, moreso if you've got a dual core though.
I also didn't have any problems whatsoever with Chaos Theory. It caches the shadows at the start of every level, but it's super smooth sailing after that.
Yeah, I usually do the ghosting playthrough first then do my "screw with enemies in interesting ways" playthrough second. As far as conviction's gameplay mechanics go I really didn't have any serious issues with the changes. I certainly found them infinitely less annoying than Double Agent, and honestly if you missed Double Agent I wouldn't lose much sleep over it, I'd definitely classify it as the worst in the series mostly because of horrible technical performance issues. The PC version ran so horribly even the loading splash screen when you start the game absolutely chugged.
I suspect most of the criticism for Conviction comes mostly from aesthetic changes. Namely, the change in the character's direction turning him into an agency outsider. As a result he no longer has that "leave no trace" finesse that we've become so accustomed to in the previous games. Personally speaking it didn't bother me as much as it did some of the other fans, and I do think it puts him in an interesting position for any follow-up games in the franchise.
Steam sale is Conviction Deluxe Edition plus every Splinter Cell game besides Pandora Tomorrow for $45 so it's also an opportunity to maybe play through Double Agent if I can get it working this time. <.<
I actually like the idea of him being a rogue agent, but I need my stealth gaming fix. How much did they end up doing with the environmental weapons and the crowd blending from the previews way back when? I haven't really seen anything about that since those previews so...
This is very helpful! Thank you!