Fan complaints about Splinter Cell Conviction:
Omg, I can't make a noise to attract guards any more? Wtf?
I can't set up traps for guards/enemies any more!
Wtf, I can't move bodies! There's no strategy!
Jesus, there's no non-fatal takedowns!
Stealth is so unnecessary, I can just shoot my way through!
The guards are so dumb! All I have to do is stand in a corner and they lose me!
THIS ISN'T SPLINTER CELL, I'M DONE WITH THIS FRANCHISE
New Splinter Cell gameplay trailer:
Sam sneaks past two guards using cover.
Sam climbs a wall, attracts a third guard by making a noise.
Sam K.O.s the third guard, drops his body over the edge to attract attention from the first two guards.
Sam stealthily takes down the two guards, both having fallen for his trap.
Sam then drops from above onto a fourth guard, knocking him out. He has the option to move the body, but has no time because he's been discovered.
Sam then attempts to slip away, but can't because the guards aren't idiots, and must fall back on shooting skills.
Fan reaction to new Splinter Cell:
THIS ISN'T SPLINTER CELL, I'M DONE WITH THIS FRANCHISE
TL;DR
Stop fucking whining. This is closer to Splinter Cell than anything has been in years and, frankly, it's already looking better than the old Splinter Cell. Being immediately fucked when discovered isn't good game design. The current design of rewarding clever, stealthy play while still allowing players to fall back on shooting if they mess up is better.
Okay, calling in an airstrike might have been an odd choice to give him - though, we don't have context for the mission, it might have been entirely reasonable in the circumstances - and it sure does suck that Ironside isn't voicing Sam any more. But the rest of what we know so far indicates fairly clearly that this is a Splinter Cell game, and quite possibly a good one at that.
30 seconds of dashing desperately between cover and shooting a few guards doesn't remove the fact that stealth, tactics and strategy - or at least the building blocks for them - seem to be fully present.