Splinter Cell: Blacklist – Review

I’ve always loved Splinter Cell. To me, the series always was the most compelling in the entire Tom Clancy gaming-universe. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to play as a badass spy who owns every high-technological gadget there is to own.

Even though the series has known its ups and downs (with Chaos Theory being my personal absolute highlight), it’s great to know that this seventh entry marks the end of the meager years and a return to the series golden days.

Story

I honestly don’t know if you could still call Sam Fisher a bona fide spy. Let’s be honest about it, the guy has become as covert and inconspicuous as a dancing bear wearing a clown suit. No mixing it up with high profile targets at extravagant dinner parties and certainly no dry martini’s for this American spec ops.

The truth of the matter is, that during the previous six games, Sam went from sneaky bastard to a full-blown Hollywood action hero who doesn’t strangles terrorists for breakfast.

No change there, then, as the Engineers, Blacklist’s antagonists are targeting hot spots throughout America, trying to get the nation to its knees.

I won’t spoil too much of the story. All you really need to know is that there’ll be lots of explosions that leave Sam Fisher running for his life while at the same time making him out to be the only semi-capable man in the entire U.S. military.

All right, I’ll elaborate a little bit more. The aforementioned Engineers are a terrorist group that will take down high profile American targets every few days if the country doesn’t pull its troops back from every other region in the entire world.

Though the game never offers a satisfying reason for WHY things are happening the way they do, it offers, at the very least, the most comprehensive and cohesive story so far in the Clancyverse.

Graphics

Splinter Cell has always been a series that makes the spy business look gorgeous. This might not seem immediately obvious to a somewhat younger generation, but back when Chaos Theory (the third game in the series) was released, you could be damn well sure it would not cease to amaze with its impressive shaders and stunning use of shadows and weather-effects.

Technical prattling aside, suffice to say that the last few entries of the series somewhat dropped the ball. Not anymore though, with Blacklist, the Tom Clancy Franchise proves there’s still life in our current generation of gaming rigs.

Middle Eastern towns show an enormous amount of detail, artfully placed in-game messages, once more, offer an enormous improvement upon contemporary in-game instructions and America’s massive cities are awe inspiring.

Personally, I’d say it’s the way Blacklist handles its instructions impressed me the most. I already mentioned the in-game messages, such as objectives that are woven into the scenery. In reality though, every aspect of the game, every mark, beacon or highlighted item has been crafted in such a way that it fits perfectly into Splinter Cell’s technologically advanced world.

Sound

Sound, or rather, noise is an important aspect of any Splinter Cell game. Knowing and actually hearing when you’re too loud, can be incremental to avoiding detection.

That said, as detailed as those little sound effects are, the game loses its way a bit when it comes to voice acting. Especially Sam Fisher himself didn’t benefit from the change of voice.

Bluntly put, Sam turned into ‘Murica soldier 476, a generic trooper that lost much of his character when voice actor Michael Ironside decided to call it quits.

Gameplay

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is an amalgam of the entire series before it. Or simply put: it mixes up the stealth from the earlier games, with the exploding action of its modern-day counterparts. This translates in a system where t’s up to the player to choose his or her own preferred route.

Me, I opted for a stealthy approach, looking for the satisfaction of striking an unseen fear into my enemies hearts. Granted, it works like a charm. Dozens of hidden routes and shortcuts will put a gleeful grin on many faces.

Considering the well-established arsenal and technological advanced gadgets Sam gets to tinker with, it’s difficult to understand why anyone would try and overpower their adversaries. You can if you really want to, of course. There’re plenty of explosives and guns to go around, offering a way out for those who prefer to go in guns blazin’.

I would have loved a better artificial intelligence, though. Blacklist makes it easy to exploit enemy behavior. Case in point: more often than not, you can leave a downed enemy in plain sight, in order to lure your next victim. Nine times out of ten, this strategy works like a charm. I’d have appreciated the challenge if these so-called amazing terrorists, who are looking to take down one of the largest countries in the world, would think about getting some back up once in a while.

All in all there’s plenty to do in Splinter Cell: Blacklist. The storyline offers some great locations, while co-op missions and the Spy vs. Merc multiplayer component ensures there’s some life after the last terrorist has blown its final breath.

Conclusion

I’ll keep it short. Splinter Cell: Blacklist is the most fleshed-out game in the entire series so far. It isn’t just a good game; it is a great one. Catering to multiple playstyles and creating tons f branching paths offers some of the most compelling gameplay in any stealth-action hybrid videogame I’ve ever played.

There’s some life in Fisher yet.

Gromple

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