Splinter Cell has always been known for it's brilliant stealth and action hybrid, however with Splinter Cell:Conviction, that trend isn't just set to continue, but according to Maxime Beland, the creative director behind the project, Splinter Cell: Conviction will take the genre to a whole new level.

"Splinter Cell defined the stealth action genre in the past, this time we're taking it and pushing it even further"

This talented Ubisoft team do not believe in "Here you have to play stealthy, oh and now you have to play in a fast-paced action way", instead they are working hard to intertwine the experience, so that action and stealth can be fluidly combined into one seamless experience - and I'm liking the sound of that.

Mark and Execute

With new game mechanics like Mark and execute, the player will be able to pull off moves that are fast and very effective, but also super cool. For instance you spot a room with 2 baddies, using mark and execute the player could look for a light source, mark it and then mark the unlucky noddle of one of these said baddies. When you unleash your flurry of attacks - Sam will take out the light, thus plunging the room into darkness, then in the same quick succession deliver a sweet head shot to the tagged man. Leaving just one more opponent, now remember he took out the lights? well that makes it far more difficult for the enemies to spot Sam, so you could easily creep around the fellow and deliver a take-down. Just one example of how you can put Mark and Execute to such creative use.

A.I

The game's A.I has been built from the ground up to be completely dynamic, no scripted walk paths, instead they act/respond to the actions of the player. This actually allows you to play around with them, much like a cat plays around with a mouse. Not only will enemies actively seek out Sam's last known position, they'll also regroup and watch each others' backs. You can attract the attention of a guard to a certain location, and then quickly scurry over to a different location, thus confusing him and setting you up for a sweet finish.

This game is shaping up really well, it's already looking so polished that it could probably be released in it's current state, can't wait to have this game in my hands. Thanks for reading.