Splinter Cell: Blacklist

[JasonM]

So, anybody got this game?

Well I do, and I got to say... Ubisoft did a better job than I had expected with this game.
What I expected, was more of Splinter Cell: Conviction, with Sam Fisher pretty much going Jason Bourne on every bitch until he ran out of bitches to Bourne.

Instead they did the sensible thing, and they actually took the best of both worlds by giving you the easy and fluffed up ''Jason Bourne'' style where you go through every man/woman/dog on your way and just murderize anyone.

Or you can go old-school and actually sneak your way through every map, trying to avoid every guard and at best take them out non-lethally and hide them somewhere they can't be found.

Basically you can choose yourself what you do, and the game gives you experience points dependant on your style.

Do you sneak around and avoid guards and only use non-lethal stealth takedowns? Then you get points in the ''Stealth'' category that levels you up further to those things.

Do you want a bit of both, where you sneak around and just cut everyone's throat but do try to take it silently, then you get points in the ''Panther'' category, which is basically a mix between stealth and action...

Of course if you want to go in and leave a trail of dead bodies in your wake, you get points in the ''Combat'' category.

Every tree has it's own pro's and con's, and both Combat and Stealth looks interesting in doing a playthrough with it.

The stealth has it's up and down's, it's not as great as Chaos Theory, and most of the time you feel like you are ''hiding'' in light conditions anyone could easily spot you in. And sometimes it's infuriating how the game almost forces you to at least go with takedowns or use a stun gun on your enemies, if not plain kill em. And coming from the old school Chaos Theory ''No spot, no takedowns, no bodies'' style of playing, it can get a little annoying knowing that the only way you can continue is by busting a few heads. It's not gamebreaking, but it's certainly not great when you are a real ''old-school'' Splinter Cell fan.

Also adding, both Sam Fisher and Grim have gotten new voice actors, and neither are for the better. Ironside was pretty much impossible to replace, but they didn't really do a good job at it either, going with a very generic and also very young sounding VA, someone that really doesn't sound as gruff or as calloused as the original Sam Fisher. And it almost feels jarring when his voice sounds about the same age as his young-adult daughter. The thing that probably annoys me the most about this new VA, is that he sounds completely devoid of any emotion when talking. Early on something gets mentioned about his daughter being kidnapped and he sounds extremely unattached to something that should get him riled up.

And of course, knowing Grim from all those Splinter Cell games, the change in her voice is easier to take but it's still very generic and very cookie cutter.

Adding to that cast, you got the perky and flippant tech-nerd that provides the comic relief of the group, and the by-the-numbers field partner who provides overwatch and gives tactical information. And finally you got a returning customer from Conviction whom I will not name, but he is voiced by the same guy that did Adam Jensen... And hearing his voice is really jarring because his voice is already ingrained into my skull as Jensen...

And the final thing about voice actors, Carlo Rota (Miles O'Brian from 24. LMOTP) voices the big-bad of this game, and I for one love the choice because he has a great voice.

I haven't gotten far yet in the story, having only played the opening mission and the 1st real mission of the game. But all in all it sounds like an interesting albeit by the numbers action story.

The main mission are supplemented with side missions ranging from old school ''Plant bugs somewhere without getting spotted'' to ''Hold off something waves for the exfil to arrive''. None of the side missions force you to do things one way, but they do offer you bonuses like keeping the completely undisturbed (no KO's, no contact) during the stealthy mission, something that adds a lot of challenge because the side-mission maps are pretty dang tiny with plenty of mooks to ruin your shit. The majority of those side-missions are co-op capable too, for whoever is so inclined in doing so.

Finally there is the spies vs. mercs PvP mode, I haven't played it yet because I am focused on the story and maybe just maybe I will try it out once I am done with the story.

All in all, this game is certainly the best iteration since Chaos Theory. The stealth isn't as intuitive and smooth as in that game, but it caters to the best of both worlds giving stealth buffs and action buffs plenty of love. Some stuff like the semi-forced action bits are a put off, because I for one want to do 100% ghost runs like in the old games, but this game is MUCH more fun than Conviction was.

Since this has gone on for quite a bit and I have said a lot, I guess a completely relative score would be in order... And from what I have done and played, I give it a good 8.5

Anyways, enough of my rambling. If other people have it, post in here and talk about it and such.

[Schlitzbrille]

I'll pick it up whenever I get around to buying a PS3. Nice to hear that the game's not trying to railroad you into the action-movie kill-'em-all mindset as much as I was fearing.

[JasonM]

I'll pick it up whenever I get around to buying a PS3. Nice to hear that the game's not trying to railroad you into the action-movie kill-'em-all mindset as much as I was fearing.

Well there are a few bits that are nigh-impossible/impossible to completely ghost. But even then you can always rely on smacking people in the face, tazing them or throwing a noisemaker. Aside from those, most maps give you free reign in stealthing or assaulting your way through. Even though there tend to be 2 paths, and not the total openness of the old Chaos Theory map, like that one bank mission <3

[Schlitzbrille]

I'll pick it up whenever I get around to buying a PS3. Nice to hear that the game's not trying to railroad you into the action-movie kill-'em-all mindset as much as I was fearing.

Well there are a few bits that are nigh-impossible/impossible to completely ghost.

Challenge accepted.

EDIT: I don't particularly mind having to kill/incapacitate a few people in the game. I just like getting by while being noticed as little as possible.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Barracuda Rostigraben

[TKz]

I'd love to play it, I got it for £15 thanks to a friend. But I'm still waiting for them to ship it to the European part of the internet. Because you know, that's the only reason I can assume why there's a 3 days wait to play it on Steam in Europe. >_>

[Noah]

I always had this thing where I'd not kill anyone but at the same time I welcomed combat. Id try to knock out every single person I could on the map and setting off zero alarms while I do so. As for the series as a whole, I've still yet to play conviction, as I'm playing the PS3 version of double agent as its too different from the PS2 version I originally played. It's been in my pile for ages :$

[Your Mom]

We have this coming in the mail. I have never played a Splinter Cell game before. Whats the difficulty like?

[Noah]

I'm shit at most games and I can do well at this, if that helps.

[Your Mom]

It does!

[JasonM]

We have this coming in the mail. I have never played a Splinter Cell game before. Whats the difficulty like?

Truly depends on your playstyle. If you want to go full-stealth and don't even disturb the guards, it can border on downright hatred of the game when one guy doesn't stop looking at the area you need to go through... In broad day light.

That being said, if you loosen the chains and go stealth + knockouts/kills the game is much more forgiving because you can just roam around and lure people to you before snatching them around the corner.

Do note though, you can go combat but on the higher difficulties you are going to get a royal asskicking by the mooks. They throw nades and they can swarm you quick because your cover isn't a 100% bullet stopper. And your armor isn't going to soak up a lot of damage. It still pays to be patient and try to pick people off, and with the mark&execute stuff it's very badass to grab someone and then use his own gun to mow down his friends.

[Your Mom]

Oh besides like sports games I play everything on easy so that probably wont be a problem. And I am far too impatient to go full on stealth