I have been playing the newest Splinter Cell game for the past three days. I have finished the story mode two times. My first play-through was on normal difficulty and the second time on realistic (hard). Yes, the story mode is short, and you can finish it in less than 5 hours in your second play-through. I will finish it a third time and maybe more. Why, you ask? Because Conviction has some of the best stealth mechanisms I have ever seen in the genre and most importantly the most fun.
 

Let us begin with the cover system. Conviction has the best cover system in any game. Yes, better than Gears and Uncharted cover systems. It’s easy to use, you simply choose your next cover with the analog stick and press the A button and Fisher will go exactly where you want him to go. It’s easy to use and it’s a lot of fun to watch Fisher’s animations. He’s like a ninja, super fast and badass. There is only one thing missing, Fisher would look more badass if he is wearing a ninja suit. Maybe we will see it (Ninja suit) as a downloadable content in the future? I hope so.
 

Two of the most talked about features in the latest Splinter Cell game is the ability to mark and execute enemies and the last known position. The mark and execute feature really make the gameplay strategic and intense at the same time without ruining the gameplay. Lets say there are five enemies in a room, and you can mark four enemies at the same time. You have to perform a stealth kill to earn the ability to execute the marked enemies. Here’s where the game becomes strategic. Which enemy are you going to take down silently and which enemies are you going to execute? You have to decide and you have to do it quickly. Though this feature isn’t perfect. Once you marked your targets and decided to kill them, the bullets will hit the enemies even if they are located behind cover or behind walls. I hope Ubisoft to fix that with a patch. If you are spotted by the enemies, the game will let you know where the enemies spotted you by showing a white physical appearance of Sam Fisher. The intensity will raise here, and you must disappear from enemies like a true ninja or you will be killed by two or three shots.

The level design is also great in Conviction. The levels do give the players a lot of freedom on how to approach enemies. Also, the gadgets Sam Fisher obtains throughout the whole game are a lot of fun to use and gives the player more choices and freedom on how to approach every situation. This isn’t a review, this is for the people who feared that Conviction isn’t the right direction for the series. I haven’t discussed the excellent co-op mode, the great story and the heart pumping soundtrack. Conviction is the best game in the series and really pushes the stealth genre forward. Stay tuned for our review in the near future.
 

Max Beland the Creative Director of Splinter Cell: Conviction discussed how they redefined the Splinter Cell franchise with Conviction in an interview with Industrygamers and how they made the game more accessible in an attempt to broaden the Splinter Cell audience. Although the developers of the game are aiming to broaden the Splinter Cell audience, he confirmed that Conviction won’t be released on PS3 in the future and it will remain exclusive to Xbox360:
 

Max Beland: Well, Splinter Cell was originally built on Xbox and we’ve had a great relationship with Microsoft. So Conviction is an exclusive for 360, it’s not going to go to PS3, and that’s interesting because it gives us some advantages. Our lead programmer was talking about it the other day and he said that when you’re focusing only on one platform you can really fine-tune everything for that platform. He gave the analogy of a race car – you could build a car to do Indy, Nascar and F1 but it probably wouldn’t win races in any of those. If you want to win the race you need to focus on one.
 

Although he reconfirmed that Conviction won’t be coming to Sony’s console, he has hinted that we might see the next installment in the series going multiplatform:
 

Max Beland: Now, are we going to see the next versions of Splinter Cell on other platforms? That I can’t answer, but there’s no reason why we wouldn’t go on other platforms. And other versions of Splinter Cell have been on multiple platforms.

So if you want to play the forthcoming game in the series, you have to choose between the Xbox360 or the PC version of the game, there isn’t a PS3 version in the works. Splinter Cell: Conviction will be released on April 13th in the US, April 15th in Europe and Australia and April 16th in the UK for Xbox360. A PC release is set to follow shortly after.

• Archer and Kestrel are the new co-op characters.
 

• Takes place about 2 months before Conviction.
 

• Roughly 6 hours.
 

• Cover system similar to Gears of War.
 

• If you’re wounded, you can either play dead or use your pistol until your partner heals you or you bleed out.
 

• Deniable Ops (Multiplayer mode): Series of standalone challenges set within the same four stages from the co-op story mode, plus two additional maps:
 

• Hunter: Where players have to kill off all enemy NPCs on the map.
 

• Infiltration: Same concept as Hunter mode, but detection by enemies automatically results in failure.
 

• Last Stand: Protect an EMP warhead from waves of attacking foes.
 

• Face Off: The sole adversarial mode, with players going head-to-head with a costumizable number of A.I. Opponents populating the map.
 

• You earn points through out the SP and MP.
 

• Change your character look online.
 

• Persistent Elite Creation system: Upgrade Weapons/Gadgets/Appearance.
 

• Six Maps (four for the story co-op and two only for Deniable Ops).

The sequel begins immediately after the events of Assassin’s Creed with Desmond staring at cryptic messages on his bedroom wall. Desmond and a fellow assassin Lucy Stillman escape from the lab to a nearby warehouse where Lucy reveals she and a new team have been working on a new device. Soon, you will find that this new device is an upgraded version of the Animus (Animus 2.0). Once you jump on the Animus 2.0, you will be sent to Italy during the Renaissance. From here, you will see the birth of Ezio, the protagonist of the game.
 
 

The purpose of the first couple of missions in the game is to familiarize the player with the basic gameplay elements and to introduce the player to Ezio’s family. After completing some errand missions for Ezio’s father, an unfortunate plot twist happens. As Ezio will witness the execution of his father and his bothers in front of his eyes. After that, Ezio plans to escort his sister and his mother to safety and to avenge his family loss. From here, the story gets more and more complicated, as you will see more plot twists and you will meet with new characters throughout the course of the game. When everything is said and done, the game’s story is more fleshed out than the original and very exciting to follow.
 

The game plays exactly like the first one, but with more things to do. The developers seems to have listened carefully to the community feedbacks. The huge selection of the missions and the variety of things you can do in the game is a huge improvement over the original. As an example, the new Assassin Tomb areas, which plays like Prince of Persia games are challenging and fun to play. The side quests are more varied with some old (from the original) and new mission types. Also, there is treasure chests to open, codex pages to collect, assassin crests to obtain and much more.
 

Another new feature in Assassin’s Creed II is the economy system which allows players to use an in-game currency to purchase items such as smoke bombs, healing potion, poison bottles, armors, swords and much more. Players may also hire mercenaries and women to distract guards. Further in the game, you will meet with uncle Mario who will introduce you to your new home, a small villa which will act as a home space, but can be upgraded to include doctors, shops and brothels. The more money you spend on the Villa, the more people will come to visit, and consequence to that more income to your pocket. While the investment system is not very deep, it’s a welcome addition to the series. Also, Leonardo da Vinci the infamous Italian figure plays a big role in the game, as he will supply Ezio with new tools and skill techniques to use in his journey.
 

Another new feature in the game is the notoriety system. A rounded meter at the top-left of the screen will show you how notorious you are. The less this notoriety meter is filled, the harder the task for enemies to spot you from the crowd. You can cool down the meter by performing various task such as removing wanted posters, bribing heralds, and killing officials.
 

What does make the game even a better experience are the great voice acting and the amazing soundtrack. The graphics in the game has improved from the original, and some locations such as the beautiful city of Venice will make you stop just to admire the views. But what has disappointed me regarding the game’s visuals are the character models. As you will see some characters lacking some facial expressions, in which it could lessen your immersion in the game.
 
 

Since Assassin’s Creed 2 gameplay focus too much on stealth, I think enemies A.I is an important segment I have discuss. While the developers of the game did a good job in implementing the enemies A.I in the game, I have witnessed some weird A.I behaviors from the enemies and some bugs in the game. I saw an enemy soldier walking on the edge of a house rooftop, then he suddenly fall of by himself and died. In another scene, I was chased by some soldiers and I climbed up a ladder, one of those soldiers climbed the same ladder, but he continued climbing up while he is floating in mid air.

Ubisoft did a very good job in delivering a better experience this time around. I played this game non stop and I have never felt bored while playing the game. If you liked the first one, then you will enjoy the sequel even more. But for anyone who didn’t like the original, the developers made a lot of changes that could change your mind. Assassin’s Creed 2 is a very enjoyable action-adventure game. The game’s great story, beautiful environments, great gameplay and the variety of things you can do in the game makes this game a must have title for anyone looking for an amazing action adventure experience. My advice to you: Get this game.
 
 

Score: (9.5/10)
 
 

 
Update:
 

It seems that Youtube is removing any leaked videos related to Assassin’s Creed 2. While we don’t encourage pirating games, the game is available on numerous torrent sites. I have to mention this in order to prove that the game is actually leaked.
 
 

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board revealed a lot of details about the “sexual content” featured in Assassin’s Creed II, including an interactive mini-game in which “players are able to press buttons to kiss a woman and remove her dress; with the woman’s back facing the camera, the two characters lower to bed and blow out a candle.”
 
 

Here’s the full details from ESRB. But be warned there are spoilers ahead:
 

“The game contains strong sexual overtones. During one “seduction mini-game,” players are able to press buttons to kiss a woman and remove her dress; with the woman’s back facing the camera, the two characters lower to bed and blow out a candle. Some scenes take place inside brothels, though no nudity or sexual acts are depicted. The dialogue contains the following sexual references: “So the whip or the paddle today?” and “Does your wife know about your page-boy fantasies, Captain?” Character backstories, narrated through still-frame vignettes, explain how villains and historical figures achieved their notoriety; some biographies include references to adultery, sodomy, prostitution, and rape (e.g., “Caterina was captured and sent to Rodrigo Borgia . . . who kept her imprisoned for a year and is rumored to have raped her alongside his son.”). One cutscene depicts a man and a woman wearing translucent, flesh-toned bodysuits as they flee from danger. The digitized lighting effects, the glow from their futuristic suits, obscure most of the details, though outlines of breasts and buttocks are partially discernable (i.e., not definitively nudity). Consumers may also wish to know that the game contains strong profanity, both in English and Italian (e.g., “f**k,” “sh*t,” c*zzo,” and “m*rda”); the most explicit instance occurs when a man frantically describes a “vision”—”I’m at the opera . . . the soprano is so beautiful . . . I’m in bed with her, she cries as I f**k her.”
 

So far 2009 wasn’t the best year for gamers, but in the coming few months many EPIC titles will be released, and here are our most anticipated 5 games yet to come in 2009:

 
 
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 
The direct sequel of COD 4, one of the best selling shooters of all time, here comes the most anticipated game in 2009. Even though the game will feature a brief single player campaign, multiplayer is what Call of Duty is all about.
 
 
The game will have a new co-op mode “Special Ops” that supports up to two players online or locally in split-screen. The competitive online multiplayer will have the same rank up system of COD 4, with few more features, new weapons, upgradable perks, 15 kill streak rewards and THANK GOD an “in game host migration” which means that even if the damn host leaves the game, players will remain.
 
 
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

 
One more reason to buy a PS3,as if we need one, Uncharted 2 takes off a couple of years after the events of Uncharted: Drake’s fortune, the game will show a “darker” side of Nathan.
 
With Naughty Dog’s new game engine players will experience a whole new level of gameplay mechanics, and stunning graphical technology (the game will use between 90-100% of the PS3 cell processor).
 
Also the game will feature a co-op mode that will allow up to three players to play as Nathan, Sully and Chloe and a competitive multiplayer mode that allows a maximum of ten players to play through different modes.
 
 
Halo 3: ODST

 
I know we had it with Microsoft “milking” the Halo franchise, but so far this game looks amazing. This time around the player will take control of an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) soldier “The Rookie”, a few years before the events of Halo 3.

For the first time in an open world Halo game, the player can approach missions anyway he wants. You can choose to be patient and use stealth, or you can just start shooting everyone, but be careful, because you’re not “Master Chief” which means no health regeneration, no advanced armor and less strength.
 
The game will also have the same Halo 3 multiplayer with 24 maps (all map packs + 3 new maps), and will include a new Firefight mode *cough*horde mode*cough* which will allow up to 4 players to team against waves of enemies.

I think gamers will fall in love with the multiplayer mode, but there is a big question here: will the campaign mode meet the expectations of the fans of the series?
 
 
Assassin’s Creed II

 
The first AC was a real great game that felt short in a few aspects, such as the lack of variety, weapons and yeah “the best assassin in the world” couldn’t swim!

So far AC 2 seems too good to be true!! Impressive graphics and physics, gameplay seems flawless and varied, lots of upgradable weapons and this time you will play as Ezio, who is way more badass than Altair. Ubisoft Montreal has done a great job listening to fans, know you can swim, fly, buy a lot of different upgradable weapons, use enemy weapons and no cover is safe anymore.
 
 
Left 4 Dead 2

 
Left 4 Dead is one of those games that you can’t really like and understand the gameplay until you try it, seriously when the game first came out, I couldn’t care less about it, I just didn’t think it was that good! But after playing the game with a few friends, I discovered I was missing a lot.

L4D 2 will use the same engine (source engine) used in L4d. Four new survivors will shoot their way through hordes of different zombie types in 5 new larger maps that will be playable in co-op, versus, survival and an all new multiplayer mode.

The first game was one of the best co-op experiences of all time, and with the addition of over 20 new weapons (such as the chainsaw, axe and frying pan!!), new ammo types, new infected zombie types and a new A.I director. Even though the L4D was just released less than a year ago I think Valve’s additions will double the fun.
 
 
 

Honorable Mention:
Dragon Age: Origins, Borderlands, Brutal Legend, Demon’s Souls, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Forza Motorsport 3, FIFA Soccer 10, Tekken 6