By Matt Miller
‘Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction’ (M)
Action with style
****
Ubisoft
Xbox 360
Sam Fisher’s getting sloppy in his old age. He used to slowly squat-walk from place to place, sticking to the shadows, quietly picking locks and carefully hiding the bodies of his foes. And if one enemy spotted him, the whole level would start over. Those days are over. Now Sam bursts through the door and throws his adversaries around until every object in the room has been broken by their limp bodies, which he then leaves in the open for all to see. Many stealth fans will undoubtedly miss the gentler, more methodical Sam, but by the end of the first level, they’ll begin to warm to the bull-in-a-china-shop that’s taken his place.
Despite Sam’s more brutish tactics, he still seems like the seasoned assassin we’ve grown to love, thanks to some slick new moves at his disposal. The “Mark and Execute” feature allows you to set up multiple — almost automated — kills. Mark three men, quickly incapacitate one, then sit back and watch as Sam executes the next two with a couple precise shots in slow motion. Sam also performs some nasty interrogations this time around. These sequences are fairly scripted, but they’re also well choreographed, which contributes to the faster pace and cinematic feel of the mission. It’s a shame that the “Splinter Cell” stealth we’re accustomed to has been de-emphasized in favor of making Sam another one-man-army super-soldier (video games have enough of those already), but at least he does it with style.
‘Patchwork Heroes’ (E10+)
****
Sony Computer Entertainment
PlayStation Portable
As with “LocoRoco” and “Patapon,” it’s pointless to describe the specific nature of “Patchwork Heroes”: You climb along the outside of an oddly-shaped helicopter and cut pieces of it away so that it maintains flight but can reach, and bomb, its destination faster. See. All you need to know is that this is another bizarre but addictive action/strategy game with a charming 2D art style and a catchy J-Pop soundtrack. With much of the PSP’s library devoted to lackluster ports of big-name console franchises, these hidden gems are worth seeking out.
‘Infinite Space’ (T)
***1/2
Sega
Nintendo DS
Despite the title, much of this game will be spent in the decidedly finite space of your spacecraft interior. Ship-to-ship battles are handled with standard rock-paper-scissors RPG combat, but the best part of the game is designing your spaceship. Instead of earning obvious upgrades that you can apply without thought, you’re given a large variety of parts to choose from. Successfully figuring out which parts work best together will make you feel like Scotty on your own starship Enterprise.
‘Blazeblue: Calamity Trigger Portable’ (T)
***1/2
Aksys Games
PlayStation Portable
The best thing about “Blazblue” on PS3 was its gorgeous 2D art, and unfortunately, that aspect of the game has suffered the worst in the transition to Sony’s handheld. But, remarkably, the controls have held up really well. If you have a PS3, you’d be better off enjoying this fighting game’s eccentric roster of characters in their full HD glory, but if you don’t mind the graphical shortcomings, this is probably the most playable 2D fighter on PSP (at least until “Street Fighter 4” gets ported).
