We got to see some of Splinter Cell: Conviction in action at the local Ubisoft offices yesterday, and it really is looking like a compelling addition to the title.
I've got to admit, Splinter Cell generally leaves me cold - it tells you how to play, for one thing, by punishing any failure to be stealthy enough with a game-loss. We'd much rather suffer the consequences of our lack of stealth (Swarming guards, alarms, tougher opposition, etc), and that's always been one of the things that's made us prefer the Hitman games over Splinter Cell.
But Conviction breaks that mold, by really bringing the action component of the stealth/action combo. You can check it out in the video, but basically Conviction's looking like a cross between the Bourne films and Hitman - and that's double-plus-good.
Looks like it might be time to get back in touch with our inner Sam Fisher. Conviction will be released on Xbox 360 and PC in October this year. There will be no PS3 version, despite rumours to the contrary.