Sam Fisher is FINALLY an interesting character...thank god.

I never thought i would see the day when sam fisher was more than just somebody's dad wearing spy goggles...but alas, that day has come.
 
Ubisoft has always been attempting to strike the right balance of both "sneaky cool" Sam fisher and "bad-ass stealth warrior" Sam fisher...unfortunately they have had little success. 
 
I understand the pressure though. The Biggest stealth franchise on the market has always been metal gear solid. Although metal gear solid has never had the pure depth of stealth gadgetry splinter cell has....they have had something better. Snake. A interesting (for better or worse) main character who is not only stealthy ...but a stealthy "badass". Perhaps all the experimentation has paid off because after playing conviction i can honestly say that i now enjoy sam fisher as a character. 
 
Theres a powerful human element to conviction that the series has always lacked. This time around sam fisher is a man who is turning his back on the traitorous organization that made him the legend he has become. Also i have to remind myself that because this is the 5th entry in the series alot of these elements are now plausible....and through many of sam actions in the game you feel the true anger of a man who is seperating himself from his old life...one painful step at a time. This sam fisher would not have been possible for the earlier games in the series....so the genious is how maxime belands team at ubisofts has capitalized on the series biggest flaw. Turning weakness into strength.
 
As well balanced as the gameplay is.. making sam fisher into a very complex and interesting hero is what puts conviction over the top.
 
I gave the game a platinum plus zero stars in our most recent show. Would love your opinions.
 mo

I think perhaps it works because of the reasons behind his anger are so well fleshed out...that when he interrogates people like a badass it never feels showy. It just seems like a well trained spy that  is a little....edgier. 
 
Thanks for your thoughts though...i have been curious how the public has been receiving this sam fisher.

Fisher in the past games was all about getting the job done, and there really wasn't too much room for the expansion of his character. Personally, that was part of the appeal of his character, however I really like how he has developed in Conviction. I think that is why the idea of Sam Fisher let off his chain is such an appealing change of direction for the series.

I can't actually say this makes Sam Fisher an interesting character.  Looking back, he's never particularly had anything special about him -- I mean, he makes jokes sometimes, but in retrospect, a lot of them are pretty bad.  Really, he's just fairly synonymous with badassery for being a Splinter Cell, not so much for any one thing he has done.
 
Anyway, I've always liked the character.  But I look at Conviction with extreme apathy, for it's attempts to make everything awesome and crazy by creating a conflicting story disconnected so far from the other games that solely mimics 24 or the Bourne series and lacks any sort of subtlety. 
 
Not to say I don't like Conviction, it's just in a strange position; retreading a lot of Double Agent ground, going in unnatural story/character directions and obtusely being as showy as possible.  I don't demand everything be reverted to the less-than-ideal formula of it's predecessors, but I just can't force myself to care about the story or characters.

i only played the first splinter cell. i enjoyed him how he was. he was a very mysterious person that u barely knew.

I see what your saying ...some of you almost enjoyed the mystery of sam fisher a bit more.
 
I agree alot with what Br3dfan said....
"I think that is why the idea of Sam Fisher let off his chain is such an appealing change of direction for the series."....well put.
 
If you think about it....as much as sam fishers character in conviction works for me....it ONLY works because of how much i disliked his character in the past....err it works because you always got the feeling of a calm, controlled, boring-yet efficient sam fisher. Now hes " let off the chain". I find that conviction almost sheds an interesting light onto the sam fisher characters of the past. Allowing me to almost appreciate them more....if barley....
 
Even though it externally appears like they tried to blend Sam fisher-jason bourne-and kratos brutality EXTERNALLY ...when you actually play the game it feels very...right. It doesnt feel forced like i expected it to. It was a pleasant surprise for me.