We've been waiting quite some time for Conviction already as the game has been in development since 2006. In that time we saw multiple delays so that the devs would be able to finish it to the smallest details. Although we're as impatient as little kids, we do have to applaud that there's some real work being put into it instead of releasing a half-finished product to collect money as soon as possible. We have to wait still for a bout a month before it finally arrives on store shelves so it's a perfect time to line up all we know and as we got to play the first few levels we can even give you our first impressions.

The mission of the developers is nothing less than completely reinventing the genre and the series. In the last part, Double Agent, a line was already set towards a mixture of the tried and tested night missions and more action-packed daytime sequences. That mix of stealth and action gets continued here. It's clear that things are getting grim and dark. There seems to be more focus on the psychological aspect and the characters get deeper than ever before. Sam Fisher is out for revenge and we'll have known it.

While Ubisoft Shanghai was responsible for Double Agent, Conviction is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal who also brought us hits like the Prince of Persia and the Assassin's Creed games. The story continues where Double Agent ended so let's refresh that first: After Sam Fisher's daughter Sarah died in a car accident he takes on a dangerous mission: being a double agent within a terrorist organisation. This completely turns bad and Sam has to go on the run. In Conviction Sam only works for himself and goes looking for the murderer of his daughter when he finds out it wasn't an accident at all. Quickly it becomes clear this is only a small part of the master plan laid out by the bad guys and Sam has to save the world. What else did you expect?

The world certainly doesn't look better than last time. Tom Reed is the new boss of Third Echelon and he isn't scared to go over dead corpses when necessary for "the bigger picture". What happened with Lambert is unknown for now but there are clues that he's survived the events from Double Agent. Also some other old familiars reappear: Victor Coste, Sam's best friend from the days they were with the Navy SEALS, and Anna 'Grim' Grimmsdottir, better known as the voice in Sam's ear from the previous parts.

What immediately gets noticed at the start of the game is the completely different style. While all previous Splinter Cell games were set in remote or completely closed down locations, you now start on a terrace in the middle of a town filled with people passing by. The objectives aren't given through some pop-up but are beautifully integrated in the surroundings by projected text. Making clear that you're hidden is also completely different. While in the past you just had to look at a bar or light, your screen will now largely change color depending on your position. If you're in the dark then your screen becomes black & white with as exception hostiles, explosives and traps. This gives the player a clear view of what to look out for.

After leaving Third Echelon, Sam certainly didn't become a pussy. In Conviction we get to see a much rougher and harder Fisher who will use any means necessary to reach his goal. He's now a master in Krav Maga, a self-defense technique invented by the Israeli military, and these techniques serve to take out opponents as quickly and intuitively as possible before they can become a threat.

The beauty of this addition is that each time you take down an enemy this way you unlock the "mark & execute" feature. This gives the possibility to depending on the weapon tag two or three enemies and take them down with your current firearm by simply pressing a button. Another innovation is the "Last Known Position". When you're spotted by a hostile a silhouet of Sam pops up on that location. This gives the player the necessary time to escape or flank the enemy if you would want that.

Qua hostiles you can expect the familiar crops of bad guys, elite agents and for the very first time also Splinter Cells who in other words have similar skills as Sam Fisher and can suddenly jump out of the dark. Luckily a full arsenal of weapons and skills are at your disposal. Next to the previously mentioned Krav Maga and Sam's loyal pistol there's quite a lot of heavy firearms. Also new is the EMP grenade which takes out all lights and blinds the enemy.

It's not because Sam has suddenly become an "ordinary citizen" that there's aren't any tricks anymore. Also without all kinds of technical gear he can seriously "kick ass". Sam shows he's a true McGuyver and can fabricate some of his previous gadgets himself. A piece of mirror for instance will take over the task of the Snake Cam.

To bring the rougher Sam Fisher even more to justice, you'll have to interrogate enemies at certain times. Don't expect a table with two chairs in a small dark room, but as an example just think of a public restroom with "attributes". Someone doesn't want to answer? No problem, you just bang his head against a mirror. Or even better: use it as demolition equipment for the toilet! Everything nearby can be used to convince the guy to talk. What also adds to the completely new style is a black & white projection of flashbacks on the walls while you're interrogating.

This projecting of mission goals and flashbacks has as goal to keep the gamer immersed in the gameplay and next to that it's also the idea to make the player feel like he's in a movie. The makers also promise an open world so that you're free to choose the best way to your goal. Whether this means you're really free or that there are multiple ways to one goal remains to be seen.

Next to the singleplayer you can get going with two in multiplayer, through splitscreen of online. Available modes are a co-op campaign and "Deniable Ops". A special feature is persistent Elite Creation: just like in Rainbow Six Vegas 2 you can collect experience points to afterwards exchange them for weapons, gear and all kinds of improvements.

The co-op campaign is set as prequel to the singleplayer mode. This story plays a couple of days before to be more precise and the main characters are two secret agents: Archer from the American "Third Echelon", Sam's previous employer, and Kestrel from the Russian Voron. They're investigating the disappearance of some nuclear rockets in the former Soviet Union. The goal is to perfectly work together. Not only will you be able to help and rescue each other, sometimes synchronous actions are necessary to get further in the game.

There are four kinds of Deniable Ops (Infiltration is only present in the Collector's edition, a matter of rewarding loyal fans apparently):
- Hunter: take down all hostiles in the area. When detected enemy reinforcements arrive.
-Face Off: Spy vs spy, with as added difficulty that also AI-controlled enemies are present
-Last Stand: protect an EMP warhead against AI enemies which have as only goal to damage it beyond repair.
-Infiltration: Also here all hostiles need to be taken down but contrary to Hunter it's game over when you get spotted

Finally some numbers and more about the special editions. Splinter Cell: Conviction will arrive in Europe and Australia on April 15th, April 13th for the US and April 16th for the UK. The game is only available on PC and Xbox360. The singleplayer and co-op campaign should keep you busy for between 11 and 14 hours whereby singleplayer alone is set to last 7 to 8 hours.

As usual with top titles the game will be available in several editions. In Europe that means a standard version and a Limited Edition. The latter has a nice steelbook case and you get the following stuff additionally: a Sam Fisher figurine, Infiltration Mode, a "special playable skin" (Shadow Armor), early access to the weapons MP5, SR2 and SC300, and the full soundtrack.

In the US and Canada there's also a Collector's Edition which includes a custom USB drive, an artbook based on the Splinter Cell series, two stickers, a comic book that explains the events leading up to Conviction, and two in-game items: an MP5-SD3 submachine gun and a Third Echelon spy suit. And if you still haven't had enough: if you pre-order you additionally get a shotgun (the SPAS-12 to be exact) on top.