And as for loud weapons. After I've just ghosted Abandoned Mill and I need to let of some steam I go shoot up one of Charlie's missions with an AK. Really like the shooting in this game, surprisingly. As for loud gun strategy, its a good way to lure a lot of enemies into an ambush, then go silent and stab them all in the neck as they head to your last position. The key to this game is that you can play any way you. If you want to play Splinter Cell: Gears of War, Ubi lets you.
Definitely agree on the choices of offer and how much better the aiming and firing is than Conviction, by miles and miles and miles.
But I mean more in terms of going for perfect assault runs. In those cases you want to be spotted as evading is panther style. So you want to make noise, be seen, go loud. In response the game will throw reinforcements your way from several spawn closets, armored head to toe and wearing night vision goggles, running dogs, precision thrown frags, and the AI will sprint to get a bead and surround you. Now its at times like that you just have to stop and wonder what spectacular failure of reasoning led you to adopt these tactics ;P
I say this because I've been perfecting a nice medley loadout. 5.7, silenced sniper rifle, with frags, incendiaries, mines, tri-rotor, shock cam, and a full loadout of trickery in the crossbow (sleeping gas, shocks, noise, emp). Why make noise when you can take the high ground and snipe before working your way inside for some panther action?
But yeah, choice is good. It just seems like Assault is only a good choice when you don't have a choice.
Silenced weapons really aren't as effective though, especially against armored enemies. Those enemies can basically only be taken down by melee from above/below/behind, or by shooting them with loud weapons. Silenced weapons do nothing.
With armor piercing rounds they do. My silenced sniper rifle with AP rounds will take anybody but the turtle-armored enemies down in one hit.
