Don’t call it a reboot.
The latest title in the Splinter Cell franchise, titled Blacklist, puts fans back in the shoes of Sam Fisher and while he does have some new tricks up his sleeve, the team at Ubisoft does not consider this to be a reboot of the beloved stealth-action franchise.
Rather, Blacklist is the latest offering in the series and will offer players a simple, streamlined Splinter Cell experience.
The game’s story will be based around a series of terror attacks being carried out by a global organization called The Engineers. The very tech-savvy terror organization is threatening the world and it is up to Fisher, who now leads a group called the 4th Echelon, to stop them.
Blacklist’s goal, and it is evident from several of the teaser videos I was shown, was to create a threat that was based in the real world and illustrated credible dangers. It is certain that Blacklist will put you in potentially real-life scenarios and locations as you progress through the game’s main story.
Accessing these missions and locations will all take place through the Paladin aircraft, which takes the place of the game’s menu system. Similar to what we have seen in the Mass Effect trilogy, with the Normandy as your main hub, the Paladin will house the SMI (Strategic Mission Interface), your small group of NPCs and places to upgrade your gear.
The game will encourage you to explore all parts of the aircraft as well as interact with the NPCs (there will be some familiar faces) and some of the more interesting “cargo.”
From a gameplay persepective, Blacklist is changing up the traditional Splinter Cell formula in some ways. First, you will be able to select from one of three loadouts, each of which can be customized to tailor to your specific style of play. This is important because of the fact that you will not just have to play Blacklist like you have in previous Splinter Cell games.
As we dropped into a level in Benghazi, it was clear that there were some tweaks made to the way Sam moves and is controlled.
Blacklist promises to offer players a lot of choice when playing through its campaign. In addition to there being several different paths to take to get to the same objective, there are also three different playing styles. Ghost, which is your standard Splinter Cell gameplay, will be for the veterans of the series who choose to keep a low profile and play the game in a more traditional sense.
For those of you who don’t want to stay quiet and would rather thrust into enemy environments gun-blazing, Splinter Cell: Blacklist will allow you to do that where in the past you would have to restart the entire mission.
If you prefer a mix of the two, you can play as a Panther, who sneaks around until it comes time to swiftly and aggressively take out your enemies. All three playing styles will award you points and in-game currency which can be used to purchase new items and upgrades for Fisher’s gadgets.
There will be secondary, optional objectives that can earn you extra points in each level, so depending on how you plan out your attack, you will have to alter your playing styles from time to time.
Navigating the different landscapes that Sam will be placed in is a much smoother experience than in previous games.
Sam fluidly moves using a point-to-point cover system and there is almost no break in momentum when climbing walls and other in-game obstacles. When asked if Assassin’s Creed had an impact on the way Sam moves, it was noted that the two games are similar in the philosophy that all movement should be simple and fluid. The impact that the series had on Blacklist seems pretty evident when playing.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist will be released on August 20 for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U.
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| SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST |
Rather, Blacklist is the latest offering in the series and will offer players a simple, streamlined Splinter Cell experience.
The game’s story will be based around a series of terror attacks being carried out by a global organization called The Engineers. The very tech-savvy terror organization is threatening the world and it is up to Fisher, who now leads a group called the 4th Echelon, to stop them.
Blacklist’s goal, and it is evident from several of the teaser videos I was shown, was to create a threat that was based in the real world and illustrated credible dangers. It is certain that Blacklist will put you in potentially real-life scenarios and locations as you progress through the game’s main story.
Accessing these missions and locations will all take place through the Paladin aircraft, which takes the place of the game’s menu system. Similar to what we have seen in the Mass Effect trilogy, with the Normandy as your main hub, the Paladin will house the SMI (Strategic Mission Interface), your small group of NPCs and places to upgrade your gear.
The game will encourage you to explore all parts of the aircraft as well as interact with the NPCs (there will be some familiar faces) and some of the more interesting “cargo.”
From a gameplay persepective, Blacklist is changing up the traditional Splinter Cell formula in some ways. First, you will be able to select from one of three loadouts, each of which can be customized to tailor to your specific style of play. This is important because of the fact that you will not just have to play Blacklist like you have in previous Splinter Cell games.
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As we dropped into a level in Benghazi, it was clear that there were some tweaks made to the way Sam moves and is controlled.
Blacklist promises to offer players a lot of choice when playing through its campaign. In addition to there being several different paths to take to get to the same objective, there are also three different playing styles. Ghost, which is your standard Splinter Cell gameplay, will be for the veterans of the series who choose to keep a low profile and play the game in a more traditional sense.
For those of you who don’t want to stay quiet and would rather thrust into enemy environments gun-blazing, Splinter Cell: Blacklist will allow you to do that where in the past you would have to restart the entire mission.
If you prefer a mix of the two, you can play as a Panther, who sneaks around until it comes time to swiftly and aggressively take out your enemies. All three playing styles will award you points and in-game currency which can be used to purchase new items and upgrades for Fisher’s gadgets.
There will be secondary, optional objectives that can earn you extra points in each level, so depending on how you plan out your attack, you will have to alter your playing styles from time to time.
Navigating the different landscapes that Sam will be placed in is a much smoother experience than in previous games.
Sam fluidly moves using a point-to-point cover system and there is almost no break in momentum when climbing walls and other in-game obstacles. When asked if Assassin’s Creed had an impact on the way Sam moves, it was noted that the two games are similar in the philosophy that all movement should be simple and fluid. The impact that the series had on Blacklist seems pretty evident when playing.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist will be released on August 20 for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U.
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