Got to play last night...and man, was I blown away. The amount of customization, while still keeping it very much Sam Fisher, is damn impressive. Being able to walk around the Paladin, and talk to Grim, etc., is really cool. And the game seems just rich with content, and the challenges, along with the mastering of play styles, has this game just packed with replayability. But, the crowning jewel is the gameplay. It straight up feels like Chaos Theory. They've kept stuff from ConViction, but just seeing how Sam moves onscreen and we had to maneuver in that first mission (the rescue mission in Benghazi), it looks like a current gen Chaos Theory.
It's probably too early to gush, but there's so much promise I'm seeing that I'm really excited by it. There being challenges to get through the missions without killing anyone and/or being detected is like a love letter to a Splinter Cell fan. And it's genius, to have ratings based on three different play styles. Getting a rating based on being a ghost, or a panther, or an assault player is just a smart way to be inclusive. So, while it's giving me my cake of non-lethal/ no alerts approach...it's still rewarding players for being killing machines if they're consistent with what they're doing.
I do miss Ironside. I really do. And so far, that's the only knock I've got against this. It looks like this game might actually be this generation's Chaos Theory. Again, still early to call it for me. But, man is it off to a good start.
