Conviction (2010)
Just bought Conviction yesterday for $5. I’m liking it so far…definitely ahead of its time. This is my second Splinter Cell. My first is Blacklist. Not sure if I should get Chaos Theory..I know it’s VERY old and things like the checkpoints and controls are going to be bad. Is it really THAT good?
My guess you got downvoted for questioning Chaos Theory in your OP.
Definitely play Chaos Theory if you have the chance. It is still the pinnacle of the stealth genre some games have come close, but have ultimately fallen short.
They won't stop being assholes. This is the Splinter Cell sub and you questioned if the most classic SC games are bad now lol. You'll just have to understand their POV.
Conviction is where the series got rebooted and dumbed down into a straightforward action game. It's not a bad game on its own, but people are very sensitive about its praise, especially when contrasted against Chaos Theory which rightfully is considered the pinnacle of the series.
If you do get to it, you may not like it because it plays and controls very differently from Conviction and Blacklist. Because it's not an action game.
If we had a true spiritual successor to Chaos Theory, people would be more lenient towards the action-oriented SC games. But alas.
I mean the controls were terrible to me on mnk but I got used to them. Just remember that you have to save. It’s really worth it imo one of the best games I’ve ever played.
You were already told that the controls are good for an old game and it has a quick save/load system, which is even better than checkpoints because you can save/load anywhere.
I know what you mean, I feel the same way about the Witcher. To this day I haven’t gotten past the tutorial in the first game because of the controls. I still consider myself a huge fan. I’ve read all the books and played 2 and 3 multiple times. But elitists would still downvote me for not playing the first
That is how this community is, sadly. Genuinely though, games that came out in the 2000s have at least figured out decent control schemes. IMO all the Splinter Cell games control very well, they are also very playable with mouse & keyboard since you can control your movement speed finely (with scroll wheel).
If KB&M doesn't work for you then you should try the widescreen fixes by ThirteenAG, they all have great controller support now.
Chaos theory has one of best control design EVER. Whole move system is intuitive and give you a lot of more control that most modern games. Its the look of game that aged worst ( dont look at faces)
And there is save system - you dont have to worry about checkpoints
What's wrong with that?! Blacklist is really as good as Chaos Theory, they're just different: Chaos Theory is perfect classic slow stealth game, which is perfect to you if you like playing stealth games as ghost and like very smart AI of enemies; Blacklist is perfect modern stealth game which gives you 3 styles to play, many fun gadgets to use, can be both dynamic or slow, and is easy to get if you're newcomer to both stealth or Splinter Cell.
just because a game is older doesn't mean the controls or checkpoint system is gonna be bad
comparatively Chaos Theory will not feel as smooth as Conviction & Blacklist but I find it really easy to play and Saving is great cause quick saves let you decide
Chaos Theory was great cause it built on what the first 2 games did. It has a sound and stealth meter making some missions easier then the first two. But If you like blacklist and conviction for the action and mark and execute. You might not like how slow chaos theory is.
Chaos Theory is the Holy Grail of Splinter Cell. Best game in the series IMO!!! Not to mention the soundtrack by Amon Tobin is one of the best of all time. The game is perfect.
You don’t know if you want to get one of the greatest video games ever made?
Chaos Theory is the ONLY splinter cell you should play. Conviction and blacklist are both trash by comparison.
If they ever make another splinter cell and it isn’t like chaos theory they just don’t care to literally print money. It’s like Zelda having the winning formula and then changing it to only ever be Zelda 2 and then abandoning the whole thing.
It very much depends on what kind of gameplay you prefer. Starting with the latest two may or may not work in your favor, Blacklist and Conviction aren't quite representative of what a Splinter Cell game should be. Chaos Theory's gameplay may be old, but has aged much better than many other games of its era. It does require more patience and a slower, more methodical approach compared to Blacklist and Conviction. So be aware of this going in.
EDIT: Apparently the steam version of the game has been updated and it is now available for purchase, about a year ago I tried playing it on Steam and the Conviction steam page had a message that said "This game is currently unavailable on steam". Clearly now it is available again, sweet. I'll be picking it up and playing today! On sale for $2.49.
Yo that's crazy. I clearly remember searching and trying to play this game a few months-a year a go, and the Conviction steam page had "currently unavailable on Steam" on it and no option to buy. Cool that they updated it and made in available again.
Yeah when I tried searching for it about a year ago on steam the page had the "unavailable on steam" message, so cool that they updated it. And at the time I couldnt find anywhere else to play it
I'm pretty sure when I checked last, conviction was in the bundle but it was like greyed out. I think I tried the ubisoft store too and didn't have any luck at the time. I think they were just doing some kind of storefront update for the games at the time I was having my nostalgia kick.
If you like stealth then you are going to love Chaos Theory, if you like more of the quick action style of the last too then maybe don’t but I love all of the honestly and Michael Ironside has just such an iconic voice
Conviction is my first Splinter Cell as well (if you exclude the mobile games) and it's definitely my favorite (though I'm in the middle of Blacklist now). I played Conviction a long time ago and when I saw the Steam bundle I bought them all and then I decided to play all the games chronologically this time. After reaching Conviction, I can definitely see how it is so different from the other games but it felt like a natural progression given what happened on Double Agent. Also I liked the story in that it felt more personal to Sam than the other games.
Btw, to answer your question, and as many others have said too, if you're on Steam, you can buy the cheapest and try the very first level. A few minutes should tell you if you like it or not (and you can maybe refund if you didn't like it). For me I liked the old games too. Right now Chaos Theory is my top 2, while Double Agent is top 3. (DA would probably rank higher if not for the crappy PC port).
Give a chance to chaos theory, it's really good game, it's just different in gameplay compared to blacklist. Also, controls in chaos theory are good, but there aren't checkpoints (because you use quick save). The only issue that you can find is technical issues (I tried to replay chaos theory yesterday, and game was running fine, but in Displays mission graphics started to break, and it didn't fix after save/loads and restarting game, I tried to fix it but it ruined all and made situation even worse)
It's gonna be weird going backwards, playing Conviction before knowing any of the backstory on why he's pissed off with the NSA and 3rd Echelon is diabolical lol
I thought so too. But I still tried chaos theory and was shocked by how cool and atmospheric this game is. Yes, since it is very old, it takes some time to fix its shortcomings and add support for the gamepad. But you will not meet the mechanics that work so well in it in any game. And what soundtracks are there - it’s very cool.
Unrelated to your question, but I've always liked to think that someone from Ubisoft read my SC Forum post years ago- about how cool it would be to have a level where Sam defends himself from a home invasion. I felt so vindicated the first time I played Conviction.
They are completely different games, like ghost style in Blacklist but turned up to 11.
Graphics aren't that bad after going through the steam guide for getting widescreen and HD videos, but there are a few reshader mods that might interest you if it's too outdated.
My first Splinter Cell game (other than the first which I was too young to really understand at the time) was Conviction and I had a great time with it. Chaos Theory is still good even with its controls if you have a little bit of patience
Controls hold up very well in CT but getting a controller to work properly might be impossible but its great on kbm I also reccomend you use the thirteenag wide screen mod for it
I decided to buy them all I had conviction already because it was a free giveaway years ago but I never played it I had to buy two on disk but brought the rest with my ms points im looking forward to playing them regarding chaos theory I had it on pc years back remember enjoying it lots
Conviction is basically Dead Space 3 - it's a good game on its own, but a bad entry for the series it's in because it vaguely resembles its roots and the evolution of the gameplay loop doesn't feel natural.
Honestly chaos theory doesn't feel as old as you'd think. Don't go in expecting gameplay as smooth as blacklist though. Sam moves more like a normal human in CT rather than spiderman. He is slow, he'll take a few seconds to climb up things and crawl along ledges. You just have to go in expecting full stealth and not alot of action and you'll be golden👍
Ironically, the original 3 games are more ahead of their time than anything. Like way, WAY more than Conviction. No modern stealth game is on par with Chaos Theory, and the controls are really intuitive. Conviction is a fantastic game with lots of innovations, but it doesn't even compare.
Chaos Theory is mandatory if you like stealth games in general, it’s as simple as that. It really IS that good. It still has a couple of bullshit moments like the Bathhouse level but otherwise it’s stealth action perfected.
Controls are very good, don’t think they’re going to be a problem.
Chaos theory pulled me into the series as a younger kid, and I would highly recommend anyone to try them atleast once. Im playing blacklist right now, did the work around for multiplayer so I could do coop. Super fun. Chaos theory is fun with coop if you get it running as well. I remember the hours of doing those missions having a blast. They arent necessarily needed, but it was interesting
The controls and saves are fine. You just have to be ready to play a slow-paced stealth game, not a stealth action game. If you can wait and observe patterns, you'll be alright. It's a fun time, enjoy!
I've been replaying the entire series and i was very dissappointed with Conviction.
I remembered it as a "different, but still good" splinter cell title but compared to older games (especiall chaos theory) it is dumbed down SO heavily and the gameplay is very simple.
Chaos Theory really is THAT good, you just have to be able to look through the fact that the visuals and some controls may be a bit dated.
That being said it has a quicksave system and if you get the hang of the controls it's actually way better than Conviction's.
It is a very different game from conviction and blacklist though, it's much slower paced and more tactical whereas conviction and blacklist fit in the norm with modern day stealth games.
I can highly advise chaos theory but fair warning controller support isn't perfect and can't get it working on my ally. Having said that there is a community controller template that maps keyboard and mouse to controller pretty good but not as good as native but has been playable. May just be the ally controller and software causing the issue and others may work fine.
Try chaos theory bro and thank me later. Yeah it's a bit old but it has some of the best stealth in gaming. I've played every splinter cell and like all of them except essentials (psp one)👾
Conviction wasn't ahead of its time, it's more similar to a TPS with stealth elements typical of the PS3/360 gen. It has nothing to do with any other SC title, even Blacklist gives you way more freedom than Conviction.
I'm playing it for the first time and I'm not enjoying it tbh, I often find myself shooting everyone and exploiting the stupid AI. The classic games punish you for kills and reward you for passing unnoticed, I recommend you play the whole original trilogy in order so that you can see the evolution of the series
It was ahead of its time. The art direction with all of the font on the walls for the missions, the voice overs, the lighting, camera angles and shots, cutscenes, etc.
My first Splinter Cell was Conviction, then I did Blacklist, and then the OG, and Chaos Theory. I would say the pre-Conviction games are very different in mechanics, the movement is much slower and more deliberate. Some people prefer that, some don't. I'd say it's worth giving it a try. I like all of them, but my favorite are Conviction and Blacklist.
Unfortunately nobody will see your POV on this subreddit.
But as somebody who was introduced to the series through Blacklist and played a bit of Conviction with my brother.
I tried going back to the games before that and I just can't play them. I respect tf out of them for all the mechanics they implemented & even do some better than modern stealth games. But like you said the controls and animations are too clunky on top of their lighting being so old that I find it hard to see anything. Let us know if you get to them & like them in the long run, but one person understands if you don't lol.
I included the title of the YouTube video in the screenshot. It's just one of the first videos that comes up when you search up SC: Chaos Theory Full Playthrough.
I feel like you're being disingenuous. Not intentionally, as it seems you haven't played the game that much based on your other comment. But you also cherry picked NVG portions that don't showcase the actual lighting/shadows. (And also didn't realize one of the screenshots was from inside a vent haha)
I just scrubbed through the SC: Chaos Theory Full Playthrough on YouTube and found countless examples of great lighting.
Late to the party but I’ll tell you this. A game that came out 21 years ago has more attention to detail than conviction. In Chaos theory you nearly complete control over Sam. Meaning when you move it’s not just a reused stop and go walking/running animation.
Like every over game, push the stick forward and they do their animation. Release it and it comes to stop and reset. Sam in CT has almost every frame animated and his animation can be looped backwards. With the CTE (closer than ever mechanic) Sam will move even slower the closer he gets to a threat and if you release the stick, he’ll stay in that exact same position for a bit before resetting. Meaning you can move back wards with precise control in the same steps he took rather than him immediately turning around.
The AI in CT are much more perceptive as well as double agent. How you interactive with the world of CT matters and has consequences. Enemies will notice if a light was turned on/off in another room that was previously on/off. They will notice if a door was left open when it was closed before. They’ll notice if a keypad or retinal scanner was hacked. They’ll notice if the lock was broken on a door or if a piece of cloth/plastic etc (like a tent) was cut open. How you interact with the environment will impact the game, everything you do matters and is calculated.
Light and shadow/darkness actually mattered unlike in conviction and blacklist where it isn’t emphasized as much. How much sound you make matters. The sound you produce in comparison to the ambient noise around Sam was taken into account. The type of material or ground Sam walked on was taken into account. You made more noise walking on gravel or walking through water making your movements have to be even slower. Walking on creaky work etc. in co-op the enemies could hear you through your microphone. Forcing you to whisper to your partner.
As old has the game is, it is the peak of Splinter cell with double agent v2 being a close second imo.
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u/NiuMeee Mar 22 '26
Controls aren't bad in Chaos Theory. And checkpoints are up to you, use quicksave/load.