Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) is not exactly a sneaky title. With so much hype, you'd wonder how Altair will ever do some discreet killing when thousands of gamers have their eyes set on the bird of prey. Website Riottt seeks to shed more light on the title, as they sat down with producer Jade Raymond to talk about what's hot with Ubisoft Montreal's latest offering (aside from Jade).

Fans of Prince of Persia or anyone familiar with the series would notice that Altair's acrobatic feats don't stray too far from the prince. This isn't a mere coincidence, "the guys who made that happen are now on our team, and you can see that they’re trying to take it to the next level" said Jade.

Based on what we know so far, Assassin's Creed is an entire package that shows what gaming has become, both as entertainment and art medium. "There’s a book called 'Alamut,' and it’s about the assassins. That book was a big influence. Obviously, Ridley Scott’s 'Kingdom Of Heaven,' but also 'Black Hawk Down' in the way it was shot and the art direction, that had a big influence on the look. "

The game takes cues from other smash hits like GTA to create the ultimate mix of sandbox, platforming, stealth, and action genres. Following the trend of open-ended environments, the team "watched [free running] videos to death to get that feeling."

Splinter Cell gave Sam Fisher a new look which resembles Altair a lot. Jade doesn't see this negatively, however, saying "it’s like that argument over who invented noodles, the Chinese or the Italians, and maybe you could argue about it forever, but maybe noodles are just a good idea."

To know more about Jade Assassin's Creed as discussed by Jade, click on Full Article below!

 

Bad news for Splinter Cell: Conviction (Xbox 360, PC) fans looking to get their hands on a copy of Sam Fisher's latest adventure this holiday season - the game's release date has unfortunately been pushed back to January or March of next year.

This development started to become apparent after the game failed to make an appearance at today's E3. So what could be the reason for the delay? No actual information about that yet, but at the very least, it's not that long a wait - only a few months after the game's previous November release date.

A guess as to just what caused the delay, though, could be the fact that many highly-anticipated titles are also making their debut around the same time, so it's a smart move coming from Ubisoft. We certainly don't want Sam Fisher getting buried by all the other new releases, don't we?

More updates about Splinter Cell: Conviction, so watch this space.

Splinter Cell has made its name as one of the best stealth-based action games there is. Shadows and dark corners have always been your best friends, but Splinter Cell: Conviction begs to differ. In an interview with UK site Pro-G, Ubisoft senior producer Mathieu Ferland revealed more about the series' major turn.

Gone are the days of hiding. Ferland defined stealth as "the art of going unnoticed," which means mingling with public is fine too. The "social stealth" philosophy will have Sam Fisher out of his cave and trying other tactics. Similar to the Hitman series, doing your actions while in disguise will play a major role. Using distractions will create safer routes to your objectives than just running, hoping not to be seen.

NPC numbers will reach more than 100 at times, so blending in could be a lot easier. Most areas are casual public places, like museums. Fortunately, Fisher won't be wearing glow-in-the-dark goggles.  Another cool feature is how your environment is very interactive. Sam will be able to pick up objects to use as weapons, or roadblocks to flee from enemies.

Controls are simplified to make sure the player won't be overwhelmed. "If I have a table, for example, I can pick it up and make and aggressive action, like hitting someone with it or pushing them away, or make a stealth action and hide under it to use it as a cover, so it is all contextual and that affects the accessibility of control," said Ferland

That's all for now. We'll keep you informed 'til the game reaches the shelves come Christmas for the PC and Xbox 360.

When Splinter Cell starring Sam Fisher first came out for the original Xbox, critics touted it as the next big thing that could possibly dethrone Solid Snake and the Metal Gear franchise.

For some time, it seemed to go that way as Sam thrilled stealth fans with ninja-like movement in the dark and assassination-style gameplay. The next three installments, however, didn't quite surpass the first, prompting Ubisoft to re-think the whole concept.

Enter the fifth game of the series- Splinter Cell: Conviction which stars Sam Fisher as usual but with a radically different approach to the action. It was revealed that instead of hiding in the dark with your night vision goggles and picking off targets, Sam has to use blending and distractions using crowds in broad daylight to escape enemies. Oh, did we mention that you're fighting lawmen now?

The controls have also been revamped. Doing your business is now a lot less complicated than before with three buttons taking center stage. Aggression, interact and stealth commands will drive you most of the way, so old fans will have a new learning curve.

This caused quite a stir in the Splinter Cell following's ranks. Supporters questioned why the changes had to happen and a lot of them seems to have been displeased. QJ reader Bob says "they're taking the best part of the game away. Hiding in the dark made me feel like a ninja or something."

Still, Splinter Cell producer Mathieu Ferland holds his ground and explains "to us, it's a nice way to expand the brand because Ubisoft is a nice company and you can push it hard with innovation, especially in Splinter Cell, and sometimes when you want to push innovation you need to adapt your creative direction to fit the kind of gameplay you want to provide."

Ferland says that even if the concept behind Conviction's reinvention doesn't do well "you can always go back and do different things." He adds that having Sam in a new position, or a different character to explore light-and-shadow gameplay are among the possibilities. However, the veteran producer expressed his confidence that the new model will work and add depth to the distinguished franchise.

No longer a stealth game, Splinter Cell: Conviction (for the PC and Xbox 360) has ex-Third Echelon agent Sam Fisher dashing through crowds and using his environment to evade detection and capture. In a franchise often defined by the tact, sleekness and precise surgical infiltration possible only with stealth, Conviction steers the game deeper into Sam Fisher's story.

Although latest installment to Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series had little details as to what would Fisher be doing now, Ubisoft's Mathieu Ferland did state that the game would revolve around Sam Fisher's self-discovery and self-realization. So aside from adding more action instead of more thought into the game, you will also be getting more emotional now.

Ferland also noted that the game was "a big change in the devotion of the brand," which to most fans is practically the understatement of the year. Fans that started out with the first Splinter Cell and have tasted the likes of Eidos' Hitman series may find this game to be particularly lacking in something. Oh yes, we remember now: it lacks Splinter Cell.

When Ubisoft Montreal revealed the fifth installment to Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction for the PC and Xbox 360- developers of the game took out the visage of the stealthy, one-man army of an elite counter-espionage cell and fleshed out the man behind the night vision goggles and black-as-night stealth suit.

Now without Third Echelon and without the aid of close friends, Sam Fisher dons a hooded sweatshirt and jeans and uses commotion and crowds to evade detection. No longer blessed with advanced technological gizmos and gadgets, he thwarts enemies and the threat of capture using his immediate environment. In short, he's becoming a lot like the C.I.A.'s Jason Bourne.

And a lot of the fans are not happy about it. We're talking about the hardcore sneaks and spooks of the days of Metal Gear on the NES and Famicom, and the ones who are still playing Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory over and over...and over again. And who could blame them?

It's great that Ubisoft is tying down a story, past, and personality to the same man who thwarted Displace International and the impending nuclear apocalypse wrought by the hostilities between Japan and North Korea. But should they really do so at the sacrifice of a tried-and-tested gameplay feature? We mean, that's what made Splinter Cell stand out from the rest anyway.

Click Full Article to continue reading about our take on Ubisoft's new direction for Sam Fisher.

Game Informer magazine has the scoop on new details regarding Sam Fisher's latest outing in Splinter Cell: Conviction. There will be changes that go far beyond graphics in its new installment. An overhaul in gameplay mechanics and a fresh plot are among the things that gamers can expect.

First off, Canadian developer Ubisoft has confirmed that the game will ship exclusively for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the PC. The game will still star Sam Fisher, but don't expect him to grope around in the dark again with his night-vision goggles. Sam will be in broad daylight this time as he eludes enemies using crowds and other distractions to remain unseen.

Another development is that Sam will no longer be part of spy network Third Echelon. It's still unclear if he's acting alone now or taking orders from someone else. The only thing certain is that we can expect a lot more action than before. The developers also revealed that the characters in the game and the environment where Sam will thrive will be more interactive. This should quirk up the gameplay and make for more clever escapes and attacks. Splinter Cell: Conviction ships this fall.

Heads up Splinter Cell fans, as video game magazine Pela Aja has just revealed that Ubisoft Montreal is developing a new game for the franchise - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction. Pardon us for the lack of other information, as that above mentioned mag is written in Finnish.

Based on the few things that we understood though, Conviction will be released on both the Xbox 360 and the Games for Windows (PC) platform. The story will still involve Sam fisher and this synopsis was provided by the folks from GameSwank.com:

They say that at the beginning of the game Sam learns that Anna Grimsdottir is in danger so Sam joins Third Echelon again in order to help. However, Third Echelon is not what it used to be and in the first mission Sam gets false info and the wrong equipment, while his bosses are bickering amongst themselves about procedures, authority and such. Then Sam finds out that the threat to Anna comes from within the Third Echelon, quits and becomes a fugitive.

Sounds pretty interesting, we should say. However, we wish that Ubisoft will finally make an official announcement about Splinter Cell: Conviction. While waiting for that to come, check out these scans and screenshots first. The latter screens were taken from gaming site Play France.

See the rest of the pics after the jump!

Sorry to stir things up a bit, but everyone and their pink prancing hippo probably already know that PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 side-by-side comparisons are a fact of life these days. Previously, we've had graphical comparisons of Armored Core, Elder Scrolls, and Virtua Tennis, and some time before that, comparisons of Tiger Woods and Tony Hawk.

Today, Sam Fisher's getting the same treatment, but this time around, as seen in pictures (instead of vids). From The Back Buffer (Blogspot), we got comparison shots of the PS3- and 360-versions of Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Quite aptly so, we just might finally see the true meaning of his being a "double agent."

Now, now. Before you guys go at each other's throats, here's a very intelligent comment by Anonymous we found on the Blogspot post, saying that he/she won't decide on either an Xbox 360 or PS3 purchase based on these screenshots because of the following:

1. are those screenshots captured directly from the system or from physical digital camera?
2. are those screenshots from the same display output?
3. I may question the game developer's capabilities of getting the most from both systems.
4. I will decide my purchase based on screenshots from Gran Turismo for Xbox360 and PS3.

Opinions are opinions; everyone's entitled with their own. And as always, the main difference between both consoles is the lighting. Now, to make things fun, we'll make you guess which side of these shots are running on which platform. If you want to cheat just highlight the following censor bars: Xbox 360, right-hand side; PS3, left-hand side.

 

Check out more double agent Sam Fisher versus Sam Fisher action behind the "Full Article" link!

If Toys "R" Us has their own bit of Ubisoft promotional discounts, then what's to say EBGames/Gamestop can't either? While we've reported yesterday of Red Steel getting some price shavings, it turns out that yet another game got the similar "super (down)size me" treatment. As things stand now, both Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Red Steel are available (for this week, at least) for US$ 29.99.

As Siliconera reports, the promo runs from March 2 - 8, so if you haven't gone spying with Sam Fisher, then now's your chance. If, all this time since the game was released, you've been thinking that it wasn't worth getting, then maybe with this offer, you might change your mind. On top of that, the 360-version of this game is getting a price cut too. However, instead of a 20-bucks cut, you'll only be able to save 10 from its original price, thus bringing the 360-version down to US$ 39.99. Hey, anything for a discount, ya?