I plan on writing a blog about this, and how both games lend themselves to and exemplify divergent gaming trends, but in the meantime I wondered what the GB community had to say. 
 
Since they were released at the same time, and are both apparently stealth games, which do you prefer and why. 
 
The why is important.    

Do I have to have played both to have an opinion on this matter?

Alpha Protocol for me. Like all Obsidian games, it feels like a rough gem. Got all the right ideas, but falls short in execution. People might say it's like Mass Effect set in the present day, but the game really makes you feel that choices did something, and the order you tackle the missions will affect your standing with the various factions. SCC forced you into shootouts which I didn't like, as I liked Chaos Theory sandboxish level design and slow gameplay better. 
 
Despite the dice-roll shooting which many people didn't like, playing AP as a stealth game is much more satisfying.

Alpha protocol is one of the best games of 2010. No doubt better than Splinter Cell.

I bought Alpha Protocol but I haven't had the chance to play it yet, but seen that Conviction was, in my opinion, the biggest disappointment of 2010, I'm gonna say Alpha Protocol in advance.

Splinter Cell may be a lot of things, but it knows what it's trying to do. Alpha Protocol just seemed to be trying too hard, to be too many different things, and accordingly suffered for it. Also, I found the whole revenge story to be quite enjoyable in SC:C. AP's plot was a mite convoluted. Oh, and in SC:C the gameplay isn't completely broken for large portions of the game.

Just checked my Steam games list
 Alpha Protocol- 28 Hours Played (you can thank the second playthrough for that, the one where you're a Veteran who's the Leonardo Da Vinci of spy warfare) 
Splinter Cell: Conviction- 4 Hours Played (i didn't have too much fun)

Last time I checked, Conviction doesn't have leveling, Nolan North (well, it may, I don't know), or dialog trees. 

" Last time I checked, Conviction doesn't have leveling, Nolan North (well, it may, I don't know), or dialog trees.  "

Y'know, I'm gonna say Alpha Protocol. I'm a long time Splinter Cell fan but Conviction was a disappointment. I had no expectations for Alpha Protocol but really had a good time with it so, I'll go with AP.

Alpha Protocol wins in making you feel like a spy and delivering a good story, but Conviction wins in having stable code and replay value. (not in the campaign, but in the crazy addictive Deniable Ops content) 
 
It seems like my points for Alpha Protocol are stronger, so I guess that gets my vote. 

As many problems as Alpha Protocol has, it still manages to be tons of fun and has a lot of neat little innovations and ideas going for it. Not to mention it has the best conversation/moral choice system I've seen to date. Conviction was a decently fun but brief stealth-action game. Sure, it was the more polished of the two titles but I think that's its only real advantage.

@overbyte said:

"Alpha Protocol for me. Like all Obsidian games, it feels like a rough gem. Got all the right ideas, but falls short in execution. People might say it's like Mass Effect set in the present day, but the game really makes you feel that choices did something, and the order you tackle the missions will affect your standing with the various factions. SCC forced you into shootouts which I didn't like, as I liked Chaos Theory sandboxish level design and slow gameplay better.  Despite the dice-roll shooting which many people didn't like, playing AP as a stealth game is much more satisfying. "

 
 
I think that this is a loaded question. SC is a pretty mainstream game, while Alpha Protocol is a "rough gem," that has a vehement online following. I would be cautious using the Giant Bomb community as an indicator of gaming trends as a whole. We are a small community of enthusiasts. You might have a wider net if you followed up on Gamespot, IGN, or even platform specific forums (i.e. Xbox.com forums, Playstation Network forums). I think that the Giant Bomb community is going to skew towards Alpha Protocol. Usually the hard core tends to gravitate towards smaller titles (movie buffs tend to enjoy indie films, music buffs tend to like indie music, game enthusiasts tend to like smaller niche titles).  
 

   

Conviction, because I consider Alpha Protocol to be an RPG with stealth mechanics. I applaud both games for their ambition though.

" Do I have to have played both to have an opinion on this matter? "

They're not really all that comparable. Although some of its mechanics are derived from the cover shooter, Alpha Protocol (as any RPG should) has stats and abilities that represent the character's skill in certain situations based on your character build. Thus, having abilities like 'automatically going invisible' represents Thornton's abilities and takes it out of the hands of the player. In RPGs, and some hybrids, character skill is just as important as player skill.
 
Splinter Cell: Conviction, on the other hand, is a pure cover shooter that is entirely dependent on player skill. Whichever game delivers a more satisfactory stealth experience is based on your genre preference. I prefer RPGs, so Alpha Protocol for me. More than that, I thought AP was a pretty good RPG hybrid with a decent narrative that tied into the mechanics (and player's choices) well whereas SC:C was rather medicore. Ubi bled the series of any distinctiveness and Sam FIsher's grimdark characterisation gets tiresome.

Splinter Cell is one of my favorite series of all time, and I couldn't even bring myself to finish Conviction.
 
Alpha Protocol.

I actually recently played these games back to back. Alpha Protocol started off really rough, but once I got the hang of it I learned to love it. Splinter Cell, on the other hand, started off pretty strong but I didn't really latch onto it like AP. I couldn't bring myself to continue playing after a few hours. 

I thought about buying Conviction the other day as I saw it for $20 new, I might go get it sometime.  However, I'd rather get Alpha Protocol for that price but it's $10 or $20 more.

Gameplay Splinter Cell
Everything else Alpha Protocol.

I've only played Splinter Cell so I can only say that its a very good stealth game

I've played both to completion and didn't care much for Alpha Protocol. I liked a lot about it but the game-play is awful. Conviction is by no means perfect, but clearly a better game.

You're comparing apples and blowjobs, my friend. Alpha Protocol was a titanically flawed, but still good, spy RPG. Splinter Cell: Conviction was a divergence in a stealth-shooter. They both involve spies, but they don't have a whole lot other in common.

I just recently played both of those games, and really liked each of them.  Overall though I have to give it to Alpha Protocol, I really fell in love with that game at the end of Saudi Arabia and it only got better as the story went on.  I'm really disappointed there won't be a sequel to this game.
 
The gameplay was just a lot of fun to me in SC:C.  I loved planning attacks and using the remote camera to set up traps.  I also really enjoyed the way the story was told as well as the cut scenes in this game.  That scene with the Dj Shadow track (Building Steam with a Grain of Salt) when you find out the truth about sarah was amazing.  I used to play the hell out of that album in high school, so when that came on in-game I just about lost my shit. 
 
I went into Alpha Protocol expecting a piece of crap, especially after all of the negative attention this game got from the press and the larger gaming community.  Even the GB guys gave this game a lot of shit if I remember correctly.  What I found was probably the most under rated game I've ever seen.  I loved my entire time with this game.  Right off the bat, you just have to accept this game is not Call of Duty and stop trying to play like it was if you're looking to have any fun.  If you can get over the idea of dice roll shooting you'll have no problem adapting your play style to fit this game.  A couple of tips for enjoyment: focus on the pistol with either the AR or SMG as a back up for when shit hits the fan;  take time to steady your shots for critical hits; don't be afraid to punch dudes in the face when they run up on you, in fact this is arguably a better option than trying to shoot them at that point; and above all use your gadgets and abilities!!   
 
The story was really where AP shined for me.  I played from the "burn the establishment to the ground" standpoint and really enjoyed watching my choices pan out in the world.  There are some damn fine dialog options to be made in this game.  I regretted sending it back to gamefly without giving it a second play through, just to see how different choices would affect the world.

Alpha Protocol

" They're not really all that comparable. Although some of its mechanics are derived from the cover shooter, Alpha Protocol (as any RPG should) has stats and abilities that represent the character's skill in certain situations based on your character build. Thus, having abilities like 'automatically going invisible' represents Thornton's abilities and takes it out of the hands of the player. In RPGs, and some hybrids, character skill is just as important as player skill.
 
Splinter Cell: Conviction, on the other hand, is a pure cover shooter that is entirely dependent on player skill. Whichever game delivers a more satisfactory stealth experience is based on your genre preference. I prefer RPGs, so Alpha Protocol for me. More than that, I thought AP was a pretty good RPG hybrid with a decent narrative that tied into the mechanics (and player's choices) well whereas SC:C was rather medicore. Ubi bled the series of any distinctiveness and Sam FIsher's grimdark characterisation gets tiresome. "

" Do I have to have played both to have an opinion on this matter? "

Michael Ironside

I never played AP and had a good bit of fun with Conviction, but considering that my save file was corrupted after I had spent hours unlocking everything, fuck that game. Alpha Protocol wins.

Gimme Alpha Protocol with Splinter Cell's shooting and stealth action (not convictions the older games) and we got a game :)

Alpha Protocol.   Most underrated game of 2010 and called broken for no reason.  It works exactly how it was supposed to.  The problem is unlike other games in this vein it is a RPG ..... ..... FPS.  Not a FPS with RPG mechanics or an RPG/FPS in equal portions like ME.  You simply had to read the skills, understand them, focus only on a few that had synergy, and play them how the game said they should be played.  Once you did that the game became alot less troublesome, hell I killed the last boss with one clip of pistol ammo didn't even need a reload.

Alpha Protocol for the sum of its parts.
Conviction for some nice elements but not the sum of its parts. 
 
I had zero problems with the combat and no bugs in AP.

AP for me. On my 3rd playthrough currently.

So i see lotsa people here comparing an RPG to a TPS and complaining that SC, an action game, has no dialog trees. 
 
Nice 
 
I'd recommend Hitman over both those titles, but then again, it has no dialog trees. 

" So i see lotsa people here comparing an RPG to a TPS and complaining that SC, an action game, has no dialog trees.  Nice  I'd recommend Hitman over both those titles, but then again, it has no dialog trees.  "