@shapsters and scotth266
I'd kindly like to remind you that Splinter Cell, just as MGS4, deal with two heroes that while relying on a stealth/infiltration skillset are also two 100% badass killing machines who tend to find themselves in a situation where they are the world's only and BEST hope against insurmountable odds where anyone else would probably fail behind enemy lines dealing with cold-blooded psychopathic megalomaniacs who have managed to hire a menagerie of brutal and odd henchmen with unique abilities that make them walking dispensers of death.
They are going to kill people. If you want a game where you sneak around not killing people, you should wait anxiously for the next sly cooper game to hit the shelves. These games aim to be at least semi-realistic and gritty with fantastic stories (minus all the sci-fi elements in Metal Gear Solid). You're telling me in Metal gear you have never snapped a guard's neck or gotten into a fire fight where you gunned down several people before evading search teams or trying to hide bodies in inconspicuous places?
The problem is that, quite frankly, the stealth genre is tired now. Spending hours studying guard patterns and stealing from shadow to shadow relying on thermal goggles and cardboard boxes was fine back in 2002 but gamers these days demand more excitement. Why do you think they rebooted the bond franchise to be more like the Jason Bourne series? People want a little more action to balance their suspense/thriller.
Now nothing I saw made me think this was a run and gun gears of war/uncharted 3rd person style shooter... it still showed A LOT of stealth elements.. the difference is, unlike hitman and such games, the worlds are expanding with the technology, trying to give a more realistic gaming environment, which just like Assassin's Creed means making the city a living breathing thing. The same formula of walking around a building dodging cameras and being funneled down an invisible corridor just aint gonna cut it anymore. Thats why in MGS4 there was a WAR going on and I crossed more than my fair share of areas with my trigger at the ready, trying to use stealth to give me an advantage but fully expecting that when my best laid plans caught the bullet train to Poopsville, I was still capable enough to feasibly fight my way clear. In that video I saw Sam trying to sneak into a house with people around on the streets and such, jump over a wall to avoid being seen, then when things went tits up, he managed to beat off attackers, leaped out a window came around to catch an unsuspecting fool off guard, disarmed him hardcore and start asking him questions before the door opened up and he had to use him as a human shield.
That right there was stealth, action, multiple path open world goodness in a way I have never seen it before, and I'm honestly more excited about that than the little i've seen about MGS-Raiden Chronicles or whatever, not that I dont think that will be a bad game, but put the two videos side by side and Splinter Cell Conviction gets me more excited, hands down.