(Photo courtesy of Ubisoft)4/5 Pitchforks
Games back in the day used to punish the player for even thinking the word, “gung-ho” or phrases like, “I’m going to go Rambo,” and would enact strict limitations on mission success. "Splinter Cell" (2002) had such limitations, as the mission would end if you were caught three times by enemies, cameras, etc. Fast-forward 11 years later, and we reach the sixth game in the franchise, “Splinter Cell: Blacklist.” Sam Fisher, series protagonist, has been saving the world from every which direction and is now leading his own team as he attempts to stop the terrorists once more.
The game begins with Sam and his compatriot, Victor Coste, en route to a mission until their helicopter is attacked. Vic is comatose, and it’s up to Sam to send his team, dubbed Fourth Echelon, and globe-trot to stop the Blacklist attacks. The story is a huge setback from the more personalized story that Sam went through in “Splinter Cell: Conviction” (2010). In Conviction, Sam was uncovering the truth about his daughter’s “seemingly” accidental death that sent him on an emotional downward spiral. In Blacklist, she is relegated to several phone conversations on the Paladin, which serves as the player’s central hub.
On the Paladin, Sam can converse with his teammates and acquire main and side missions that can be completed by you, a friend on the couch or online. The player is also able to upgrade the plane and purchase new loadout slots or equip radar during gameplay that can be upgraded to show the player the direction an enemy is facing. The player can also customize Sam’s personal equipment so that the player is able to change weapons, grenades and mines based on how they want to play the game. Some of the upgrades are arbitrary, such as the goggle light color or the type of boots Sam wears, but it’s as extensive as the franchise has been in terms of customizing a personalized Sam Fisher.
“Splinter Cell: Blacklist” has returned to the grading system that previous games had, but instead of showing how much of a pacifist you were or if you had an itchy-trigger finger, it gives you points on your play style. Silent but deadly will get you a "Ghost" rating. Murder from the dark gets you a "Panther" rating. Aiming to misbehave gets you an "Assault" rating. Again, there is little effect either rating has on Sam’s progress through the game. If you go "Assault" and bust through a Middle Eastern village bolstering an American flag, there is no effect on later missions or how noticeable the “super secret team of super talented super hackers and soldiers” are.
From the Paladin, the player can choose to play the return of "Spies vs. Mercenaries" multiplayer from "Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006)." The spies, playing in third-person, seek an objective and must hack it to win while the mercenaries, playing in first person, try to stop them. Mercenaries are armed to the teeth with explosive weaponry like grenades and mines while spies can deploy invisibility cloaks and disrupt the electronics of the mercenaries.
There are four variations on the basic formula, a varied number of players and a standard team death match, but it is largely unchanged from previous games. It’s very exciting to have such a unique game mode that was absent in the previous game return — like an old-friend you haven’t seen in eight years.
There were a few issues with the spawning system with getting into a game and being immediately — pardon the pun — merc'd by an opposing player. Also, whoever decided to make spies able to melee with a button-touch and not forcing them to approach from behind to apprehend mercenaries needs to learn a thing or two about multiplayer balancing. However, with these gripes, the majority of the mode is fun and engaging with intense games of “Where’s the spy?” or “How can I hack this?”
The visual presentation of "Splinter Cell: Blacklist" is as impressive as it gets for a 2013 video game. The way Sam moves and interacts with the environment is a testament to the strength of the motion capture and the actor. One bizarre element of Blacklist is when the player is in the dark, Sam’s light on his back brightens. This was made to replace the black and white filter from "Splinter Cell: Conviction" that accomplishes the same thing, but the change makes no sense for the game’s internal logic.
Blacklist’s controls have largely been unchanged from "Splinter Cell: Conviction," though there is a curious oddity that stuck out like a sore thumb. Sam sticks to cover with the tap of the button rather than being held there by pulling a trigger. This makes close-up encounters, when enemies rush your position, ill-advised for the player.
A source of contention with this particular game in the franchise is that voice actor Michael Ironside (known for being in 1990’s "Total Recall" and 2004’s "The Machinist") is nowhere to be heard in “Splinter Cell: Blacklist.” The new actor, Eric Johnson, has been chosen to perform more realistic movements and make the character of Sam Fisher become that much more tangible. And while Eric Johnson tries so hard to cover the fact that he isn’t Ironside, there is no point in fighting the reality that Ironside’s voice was a crucial element of that character’s persona and image.
Even with all of my minor gripes toward “Splinter Cell: Blacklist” and voice actor objections, it is one of the better games to have come out this year. Anyone with a stealth-action itch that needs scratching by a karambit knife — “Splinter Cell: Blacklist” is certainly a game that comes strongly recommended.
Reach the reporter at shfawcet@asu.com or follow him on Twitter @ImaMeatPopsicle
