So here is the situation you find yourself in. Sam is crouched behind cover observing three unsuspecting enemies having a conversation. Do you, A- whistle to get the attention of one of the guards, luring him to your location to meet his untimely demise when you take him down from within cover, to which you then mark the remaining two foes spring from cover and execute them both with two precisely placed bullets to their temples. Or do you, B- Burst out of cover with an assault rifle or shotgun and gun all three of them down. Or do you, C- Completely bypass all three enemies by finding an alternate path and vanish like the ghost you are. The freedom and choices available to the player is what makes this latest installment into the Splinter Cell franchise so great. Sam Fisher is back, with a new voice, to stop a terrorist threat known as the Blacklist by becoming the leader of the newly formed Fourth Echelon.
Hardcore Splinter Cell fans were respectively disheartened with 2010’s Conviction, which took the franchise down a more action orientated path. The newly introduced Mark and Execute feature allowed Sam to clear a room of up to four guys with the touch of a button, no aiming or manual shooting required. The Mark and Execute feature does return in Blacklist, however it is more of an option rather than a necessity. Why? Because Splinter Cell Blacklist gives you choice and freedom to play the game the way you want. If you want to completely get rid of the Mark and Execute feature then play the game on its hardest difficulty, Perfectionist, which is a true testament of your stealth abilities and a welcomed challenge to those die-hard Splinter Cell fans. If you want to play Blacklist the way you were forced you to play Conviction, like an action movie, then you can. If you want to play the game without killing anybody, then switch from lethal to non-lethal takedowns and it can become a reality. The most impressive thing about Blacklist is the way it has found the perfect balance between Conviction and 2005’s stealth masterpiece Chaos Theory, by giving the player a choice. Blacklist brings Sam back into his element with more night time missions and the returned ability of vertical takedowns from a pipe above.
In terms of the story to Splinter Cell Blacklist, its not to bad. As previously mentioned, Sam is asked to become the leader of Fourth Echelon to ultimately stop the Blacklist, a series of attacks every seven days by a group known as the Engineers, in an attempt to force America to withdraw their troops from all countries they occupy. The terrorism plot line is grounded to seem believable even though there are thousands of similarly themed plots, and the antagonist is developed and humanized enough to not seem ridiculous and stale. Blacklist also uses the franchises continuity quiet well in order to bring back familiar faces that strengthen Sam’s motivations. However, it is difficult to actually understand Sam’s motivations and reasoning for returning to the field. After the events of Conviction he seemed through with it all, but is suddenly happy to jump back into action again. Well it is Sam Fisher after all even with the new voice actor, which may be confusing initially when you here Sam’s new voice. He sounds younger, does this mean its a prequel? And what happened to the other guy? Nothing has changed regarding the character of Sam Fisher himself and his back story, just that veteran voice actor Micheal Ironside has been replaced by Eric Johnson. Ironside brought a very distinctive sounding to the character, a sarcastic and often grumpy sounding spy that oozed bad-ass. Johnson on the other hand brings a more “boss” and serious approach to the character, which results in loss of Sam’s wit and interesting tension between him and his allies. Instead the crew often argue but must come together to complete a mission and save the day, which is far less interesting. The blame can’t be thrown on the new lead voice actor as Johnson is actually a brilliant voice actor. He tries his best to engross himself fully into the character, but his valiant attempts are negated as he is pared with a mediocre script and boring characters. Sam is by far the most interesting character aboard the Paladin, Fourth Echelon’s mobile base of operations which is used cleverly as the games main menu allowing you to access story, co-op and multiplayer content whist roaming around and speaking to your fellow crew members (very Mass Effect esque). The crew consists of Grim’s daughter who is quiet an interesting character only when tension builds between her and Sam’s conflicting views about a particular situation arise (which is where Ironside is missed), Briggs your lifeless buddy who joins you in the field from a distance sometimes, and is the other playable character in co-op, who lacks flare or any charisma about him. Then there is Charlie the tech guy who deals with providing you new equipment and hacking stuff. Is it just me or is every tech guy brought in for similar reasons just down right annoying. Sean from the Desmond sequences in the Assassins Creed franchise is also another example of a necessary but equally as frustrating character who is given poor dialogue in an attempt to be funny. This is especially annoying in Blacklist when Eric Johnson is delivering a serious line as Sam creating a suspenseful atmosphere, to which Charlie makes a porn joke upon his completion of hacking somebodies computer. This may not annoy some people but for me its just unnecessary, especially when Eric Johnson is doing his best to make a stale script more interesting and atmospheric.
Besides the main story missions there are also an array of alternative missions that you can tackle alone or with a partner via split-screen or through online from your Forth Echelon counterparts. However, the disappointing factor here is the fact that most of these mission don’t require a co-op buddy to complete, apart from the four Brigs missions. Of course more Splinter Cell action is always welcome, but it just makes the 14-mission cooperative campaign seem unnecessary, which is a shame as the missions offer variety and a fair amount of complexity to them thanks to the open-ended level design. Grim’s missions are the if detected then game over kind of infiltration missions, whereas Charlie’s mission are Splinter Cells attempt at a survival horde mode which tasks you to survive wave after wave of increasingly more difficult foes. Besides a few options to dual boost and dual breach doors in these missions, there is no real reason for you to play them cooperatively as they feel like a two player mode rather than a co-op one, but I do encourage you to find a buddy as its a lot of fun dispatching a room full of marked guys together.
Fourth Echelon.
With those few concerns aside its the gameplay that truly elevates Blacklist. With the flexibility and freedom that it offers players, Blacklist is both an phenomenal stealth and action game depending on how your choose to play it. Each mission is compensated well with an open-ended sandbox style level design that allows players to approach each and every situation they way they want, apart from a few scenarios that require you to utilize the Mark and Execute system to quickly dispatch a group of foes. At the end of each mission the game rewards you with points based upon your play style which is categorized into either Ghost (non-lethal, undetected), Panther (lethal, undetected) and Assault (lethal, detected). This again allows you to approach and tackle each mission and scenario the way you want without being given a game over screen once detected or being forced to play it in a particular way. The gameplay formula remains the same, the sleek and smooth cover to cover mechanic returns, you stick to the shadows and use your trusty goggles to plan your attacks, and execute them by using hand to hand takedowns, your vast array of gadgets or the new and improved Mark and Execute feature (Killing in Motion) that now allows you to precisely execute your foes whist moving. However, this time around more player choice and depth has been added to the gameplay formula to once again make it feel like a Splinter Cell game. This is achieved by options such as lethal or non-lethal takedowns which you can change on the fly, added sub-objectives within mission such as retrieving data logs or capturing a high value target, but more so through the customization of Sam. Upon completion of a mission, alongside your play style point accumulation you are rewarded with cash that you can spend to customize Sam to suit your play style. You can create a loadout that is specifically tailored to a non-lethal approach by equipping gadgets like sleeping gas and a crossbow that fires non-lethal rounds. Or you create a loadout that is more action centric by providing Sam with gear that grants him with more armor, equipping gadgets such as incendiary grenades and provide the protagonist with a shotgun. This is all well and good as the game generously hands you lump sums of cash that allow you to easily create your desired loadout almost instantly. It would have been nice if you were forced to make tough decisions when deciding to buy gadgets for a particular mission, do I buy sleeping gas for a quite approach, or grenades in case things go pair shaped?
Tackle the game the way you want.
Arguably the most welcomed part of the powerful Blacklist package in the return of the long-awaited multiplayer mode Spices vs. Mercs- last seen in 2006’s Double Agent. The classic game mode pits Fisher esque spies (playing in third-person) against well armed brutes that are the Mercenaries (playing in first-person). The Spies are tasked with hacking three terminals around the map whilst staying within the vicinity, and the Mercs are tasked with defending these terminals. The classic version of Spies vs. Mercs restricts the player count to four and mimics the Pandora Tomorrow mode as much as possible , whereas the Blacklist version allows 4v4 and allows you to customize your loadouts. Whichever version of this beloved mode you decide to play you are still treated to some of the most suspenseful and terrifying multiplayer gameplay to date. The cat and mouse style gameplay is both unique and a pleasure to play, whether your a spy lurking in the shadows hunting your prey with elegance and precision, or your a merc utilizing your vast array of explosives and heavy armory to become the hunter rather than the hunted. From initial videos of this astounding multiplayer mode you may have thought the spies or mercs seem overpowered, but the fact is they are both overpowered in their own ways which actually balances the mode perfectly. The customization of both the spies and the mercs consists of the same level of depth as the singleplayer and the fluidity this much better compared to its progenitor, the spies can move freely throughout the map and even kill mercs instantly with a melee kill. Some of the features from past iterations of the mode, like the ability to listen to your enemies voice chatter by using certain gadgets, unfortunately does not make their return in this modernized version however its still a crisp and deeply enjoyable mode to play. Additionally, new modes have been included like Team Deathmatch which mixes both the spies and mercs in two separate teams, however this often lead to confusion and countless bullets being fired into your allies when you mistake a friendly spy as an enemy. However, Uplink is a clever game mode that utilizes the mixed teams effectively as each team fights for domination of a control point that leads to frantic and intense action being funneled to a particular location. This allows both the spies and mercs to communicate effectively and use their abilities to great effect.
The classic and beloved mode returns.
Overall Splinter Cell Blacklist is an astounding step forward for the franchise that brings back beloved content and fine tunes the old. Its fluid and varied gameplay offers extensive player choice that allows players to experience and play the games believable story whichever way they choose. Eric Johnson delivers a justifiable performance as Sam Fisher besides the less impressive script and Spies vs. Mercs makes its triumphant return that delivers a modernized yet highly enjoyable iteration of the fan favorite mode. However, its Blacklists gameplay that is truly its highest praise as it rewards players based upon their play style whist still offering the hardcore features and mechanics that devoted fans have missed. Besides a few minor flaws, Splinter Cell Blacklist is a stellar stealth sandbox that offers variety and replayabilty that puts the franchise back on the right path.
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