Ever since I first saw gameplay footage for it, I was disappointed with the new direction the series was taking. It seems they wanted to create a shooter with light stealth elements, while I'm all for change, this is not the way to go. I lost interest for the game and haven't played it, well not yet at least. It's been receiving good reviews, not as much critical acclaim as the first three though. It received mixed reaction from the gaming audience; it brought some people in with it's changes and some out. So now it's considered to be a "love it or hate it" game.
 
Still, I'm thinking about trying it at least. What do you say? Should I rent it or buy it?

I thought it was really fun. When the stealth goes bad the shooting is fun, but I really enjoy the sneaking around. The penalty for messing up isn't as harsh as, say, Metal Gear Solid 4. 
 
Single player is very short, but pretty tight. The co-op and competitive modes are okay, but not really my bag. Worth playing for sure.

If you want a slightly clumsy third-person shooter it's ok.  If you want a Splinter Cell game you're out of luck.

If those are the only options then definitely rent it. It's very short. I was pretty disappointed with it.

It has a lot of headshots and a lot of Sam Fisher asking where his family is in a drunken tone.

 It's pretty awesome, a breath of fresh air from the same old Splinter Cell formula. People may say that it's is basically a shooting game but in truth the stealth is a lot harder to pull off and thus more rewarding.

God the fuck awful.

Sam Fisher in Conviction reminds me of Brett Favre because he has to come out of retirement and kick ass. However, at the same time he reminds me of Harrison Ford because some movies of his; he goes around asking where is my family?

I really love it! The story isn't reall "all that", but it's told in a great way, and the gameplay mechanics are nothing but great- especially the mark and execute-move, wich is hilarious in it's overpoweredness yet greatness. 

" I was also extremely dissapointed when I saw the direction ubisoft was taking the game, but I decided to give it a try anyway. To my surprise it was a pretty good game, but it still could not come even close to pandora tomorrow or chaos theory for me :/  If your a fan of the series I'd say rent it, it was pretty short if I remember, but its still worth checking out "

It's pretty freakin good, IMO. I would say rent it, to be safe.

It's ok, rental for sure.

Double agent is the worst is the series, that I can agree with but I dont remember having any fustrating issues with the ai / level design in pandora tomorrow. Then again its been a long time since ive played it so I might just be remembering it for how awesome the multiplayer was at the time. 
 
And yeah convinction is easily better than double agent, its a really great game. I would have liked Chaos theory 2.0 but ;/

" If you want a slightly clumsy third-person shooter it's ok.  If you want a Splinter Cell game you're out of luck. "

" @Jimbo said:

" If you want a slightly clumsy third-person shooter it's ok.  If you want a Splinter Cell game you're out of luck. "

Having played Chaos Theory for the first time somewhat recently, "a Splinter Cell game" just reads as "an excessively clumsy game" to me. "

"

Double agent is the worst is the series, that I can agree with but I dont remember having any fustrating issues with the ai / level design in pandora tomorrow. Then again its been a long time since ive played it so I might just be remembering it for how awesome the multiplayer was at the time. 
 
And yeah convinction is easily better than double agent, its a really great game. I would have liked Chaos theory 2.0 but ;/

"

Dated graphics, clunky mechanics, lousy story, and shitty voicework.
 
My only major disappointment this year.