I’ve got a real love hate relationship with the Splinter Cell franchise. You see, I love it when the games are good, and hate it when they’re bad. That’s reasonable, right?
Now, what you’re about to watch is a stealth play-through trailer of their latest offering, Splinter Cell: Blacklist. I’ve posted a few screenshots in the past, but admittedly I’ve kept the dialogue on the down low. You see, I’m not so sure about this one… not after being burned so badly with Conviction. Yes, it was considered by many to be a fantastic game, and unlike Blacklist, Michael Ironside was still the voice of Sam – but it so badly lacked in the stealth department as to be almost unplayable for me. I really hope Ubisoft does it differently this time, and this video has helped sway me just a bit.
Sam Fisher Ghosting it Up
I really like that the player is seemingly able to kill almost no one if they so choose. You see, it’s not that I actually want to play that way, it’s that I want the option. Agency is very important to me, and I simply felt that with Conviction, Ubisoft didn’t offer it. Sure, there were multiple ways of killing people, but the levels made me feel like I was on rails, and if I wanted to approach a situation differently, I couldn’t. Both stealth and non-linear level design appear to return this time around, and if that’s really the case, and this level isn’t just an exception, then I’m pleased.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist is arriving early 2013 for PC, Xbox360, and PS3. That gives them plenty of time to correct one of their biggest mistakes: not bringing back Michael Ironside as the voice of Sam Fisher. Much like the incident with IO Interactive and David Bateson, this was a really, really bad decision, and I hope they change their minds before it’s too late.
In the mean time, feel free to pre-order a copy online because, uh… you’ll get a bunch of sweet bonus material? The extra money is totally worth the gold glowing goggles you get, right? Right.
