Note to self: if I ever find myself in a situation where I try a hand at home invasion, I should make sure to not be breaking into the house of a superspy like Sam Fisher. Within the first hour of Splinter Cell Conviction, there’s a flashback to Sam tucking his five-year-old daughter Sara into bed. This sequence in itself is a pretty nifty take on teaching the light/dark mechanic; Sam explains to Sara (and the player) about maintaining awareness within the dark while exploiting your opponent’s lack of awareness, and also demonstrates how the screen goes black-and-white to indicate that you’re in darkness and unseen.
Then, some idiots happen to knock a vase over while trying to boost some of Sam’s stuff. It’s in dealing with these dimwits that Conviction teaches you more about using instant melee takedowns to earn “Mark-and-Execute” points. That is, you just tap the B button to instantly take the first fool down, and then use the right bumper to designate your next two victims (upgraded weapons will allow for additional targets). These animations range from simple neck snaps to crazy “whoa, he just jammed his pistol into that dude’s eye before firing” moments. Pressing Y then instantly kills your foes (usually with a neat gun flourish) and shows that these burglars picked the wrong house.