Double Agent wasn't an early one though... it's the 2nd most recent one haha. 
 
Anyway I cared about Chaos Theory's story, and that was also the first time I cared about Sam Fisher as well. At this point in the story line he was starting to be tired of the spy business, complaining about being old and whatnot, it was kinda fun. Plus he wasn't all whiny about his daughter. I mean I can understand, but still... he was supposed to be totally unattached to these missions and such, which is what I liked. Just being a tool of the NSA or whatever.  
 
Those things you mentioned aren't why SC:C wasn't as good as the others though. The first half of the game was really good, but unfortunately it felt like the stealth section were played down in the end half of the game, it forced you into situations where it encouraged straight up action and what not. The other games were designed around the idea of never being seen, ever, and I liked that option. 

Its just cool to hate on whats popular.  My hatred for Avatar though is justified. 

It's because one level has instant fails (what is this, 2002?!) where if you're spotted by enemy cameras but the thing is the cameras are also alerted if they see a dead body - an issue you wouldn't have had in prior games since you could move the body away once you'd taken the guy out. 
 
That seems like a legit complaint as it really makes that mission unbelievably frustrating (and feel dated because of it).

no u.

" It's because one level has instant fails (what is this, 2002?!) where if you're spotted by enemy cameras but the thing is the cameras are also alerted if they see a dead body - an issue you wouldn't have had in prior games since you could move the body away once you'd taken the guy out.  That seems like a legit complaint as it really makes that mission unbelievably frustrating (and feel dated because of it). "

Aw they took that stuff out?  That was the fun part for me, it felt more open like that.  I don't know how the new game plays, but throwing an object at someone's head was pretty funny.  Anyway, I liked the sneaky feel to it all, instead of it just being some kind of action game.

" @Vitor said:

" It's because one level has instant fails (what is this, 2002?!) where if you're spotted by enemy cameras but the thing is the cameras are also alerted if they see a dead body - an issue you wouldn't have had in prior games since you could move the body away once you'd taken the guy out.  That seems like a legit complaint as it really makes that mission unbelievably frustrating (and feel dated because of it). "

Um, I've had dead bodies spotted by both guards and cameras in those sections, as well as infiltration mode, and it didn't fail me. Otherwise, I would agree with your point. "

I still can't believe not dragging bodies is a chief complaint. What if I wanna send a message? What if I wanna embrace this "preadtor in the darkness fantasy"? Being a predator is just as badass as being a ghost.

I'd like to preface this by saying that I've never played a Splinter Cell game, including Conviction.
 
Consider Resident Evil 4, which is a fairly divisive game among the Resident Evil fan-base.  While some consider the series' overhaul in this iteration a necessary change to improve the playability of the Resident Evil games, others see it as an abandonment of the series' foundation.  The former view RE4 as a horror game while the latter see it as an action game.  Meanwhile Resident Evil 5 is almost universally considered an action game.  The difference between these two games is simply a matter of where a person chooses to draw the line between genres.  I feel that a similar situation is developing with the Splinter Cell franchise.

I think it's a mistake to simply write off opinions like these.  Many of the changes to Conviction are concessions made to appeal to an audience that doesn't really enjoy stealth games.  Some of these changes are genuine improvements, but others are simply meant to attract the lowest common denominator in gaming.  The sales that would come from a stealth-oriented consumer base just aren't enough to support a game that has been in development for as long as Conviction has been and so the developer/publisher has to try to attract non-stealth fans.  This is a common problem and is one of the causes of the homogenization of games and the lack of variety specifically among big-budget titles.