Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Cover art
Developer(s) Ubisoft Toronto
Ubisoft Montreal
Ubisoft Shanghai
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Director(s) Maxime Béland
Patrick Redding
Gunther Galipot
Producer(s) Jade Raymond
Designer(s) Laurent Malville
Richard Carrillo
Simon Larouche
Writer(s) Richard Dansky
Matt MacLennan
Composer(s) Mike Zarin
Kaveh Cohen
Series Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Engine Unreal Engine 2.5[1]
(Ubisoft internal SC team called LEAD) with Havok physics
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 3
Wii U[2]
Xbox 360
Release date(s) NA August 20, 2013
AUS August 22, 2013
EU August 23, 2013
JP September 5, 2013
Genre(s) Action-adventure, stealth
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer[3]
Distribution Optical disc, digital distribution

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist[4] is an action-adventure stealth video game published by Ubisoft. It is the seventh installment of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series and is the direct sequel to Splinter Cell: Conviction. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Xbox 360, in North America on August 20, 2013, Australia on August 22, 2013, Europe on August 23, 2013, and Japan on September 5, 2013. This is the first Splinter Cell game that stars Eric Johnson as Sam Fisher.

Gameplay

The game is set in a third-person perspective so the character model is visible. There is voice integration with Xbox 360's Kinect peripheral, which allow players to say things to distract enemies and then attack. The player can also use the Kinect sensor to control the protagonist with their body instead of the Xbox 360 controller.

In the Wii U version, the Gamepad controller's touchscreen acts as an interface to access gadgets and other features from the protagonist's arm-mounted computer, or OPSAT. It also incorporates the screen and motion controls to highlight enemies through thermal vision when using the Killing in Motion mechanic.

Multiplayer

The "Spies vs. Mercs" competitive mode introduced in Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is again featured in Blacklist.[5] The first look of this mode was announced to be presented on May 2, 2013 as seen in the puzzle reveal video.[6] Blacklist also features co-operative gameplay in which each mission can be accessed by talking with your crew inside the Paladin.

Synopsis

Plot

Few presidents have ever granted the Fifth Freedom. It's the right to defend our laws, by breaking them. To safeguard secrets, by stealing them. To save lives, by taking them. To do whatever it takes to protect our country. The Fifth Freedom is mine alone. I am Sam Fisher. I am a Splinter Cell.
—Sam Fisher in the "Official Fifth Freedom Trailer" for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.[7]
Main campaign

Sam Fisher and Victor Coste leave Andersen Air Force Base, when a terrorist organization suddenly assaults the base. Assisted by hacking specialist Charlie Cole, Sam and Vic manage to escape, but Vic is injured shielding Sam from a grenade. Soon after, a faction called "The Engineers" takes responsibility, and announces a series of attacks on the United States called "The Blacklist," which will continue until the U.S. Government recalls all troops deployed abroad.

US President Caldwell assigns Fisher, Cole, Isaac Briggs and Anna Grímsdóttir to a new special ops & counter-terrorism unit called "Fourth Echelon." Charged with stopping The Engineers, the group uses the "Paladin" cargo plane as a command center. Fourth Echelon first aims to secure Andriy Kobin, a CIA hostage believed to hold information on The Engineers. Fisher extracts him from a safe house in Benghazi, and learns that his associates have ties to The Engineers. Infiltrating an insurgent stronghold, Sam finds an executed US soldier and, upon watching a recording, learns the executioner is Majid Sadiq; a former MI6 agent, Sadiq demands the Fourth Echelon cease interfering.

Despite intel suggesting Dallas as the next target, Cole notes Engineer tampering with the Chicago "do not fly" list. Believing the target is a water filtration plant near Navy Pier, Fisher infiltrates and prevents a biological agent being released into the water supply. Kobin then reveals that Reza Nouri, a mercenary supplier, may also be tied to the Engineers. Sam assaults Nouri's mansion and, when Nouri's mansion is assaulted by Quds Force agents, extracts Nouri for information. Learning of an Engineer sleeper cell in London, Fisher infiltrates an abandoned mill and discovers chemical bombs in the shipping bay. Opening a bomb to plant a tracking device, Fisher exposes himself to nerve gas. Incapacitated and dying, Fisher is captured by Sadiq, only to be rescued by Briggs; in the ensuing confrontation, Briggs lets Sadiq escape to provide first-aid to Fisher.

Fully healed, Fisher infiltrates the former US embassy in Tehran, now occupied by the Quds Force. Fisher rips data from the building mainframe, hoping to find information on the Blacklist; the rip yields no Blacklist data, absolving Iran of involvement. The GPS tracked bomb then arrives with three others at Philadelphia. Finding four bombs being loaded onto trains, Fisher and Briggs follow the bombs to a transit yard and disarm them. Boarding a departing train of Engineers, Fisher fights through the cars and pursues an Engineer leader, who escapes into a station only to be killed by a police officer.

Briggs uses his CIA credentials to have Fisher committed to Guantanamo Bay, allowing Fisher to further interrogate Nouri. Nouri confirms Sadiq is head of the Engineers, and reveals Sadiq knows the identities of Fourth Echelon's leaders. Escaping the prison, Briggs and Fisher reach the Paladin in Yucatán, only to narrowly escape when the plane is attacked. Taking off, the Paladin suffers a cyberattack directly from Sadiq. Computers and engines failing, Fourth Echelon narrowly restarts the plane with Kobin's help, only to find Sadiq has already executed a Blacklist attack on the largest US gas reserve (in Louisiana).

As the President starts continuity of government procedures, Fisher shuts down the burning plant, averting a chain reaction to the next reserve. Capturing another high-rank Engineer, Fisher learns Sadiq's final plan: expose all US military secrets. Meanwhile, Sadiq kidnaps a group of high level personnel, including the Secretary Of Defense, and holds them at the Site F government bunker under Denver International Airport. Disregarding direct orders from the President, Fourth Echelon infiltrates the base by a blackout landing. Despite Cole counter-hacking Sadiq's team, Sadiq's men capture Briggs and torture the Secretary of Defense into authorizing the transfer. Briggs intervenes, killing the Secretary and stopping Sadiq's plan.

The Engineers attempt to flee Site F using Briggs and the hostages as human shields. Fisher, disguised as a Air Force hostage, helps the Delta Force marksmen open fire on Sadiq and his men. Sadiq escapes on foot after wounding Briggs, before Fisher disarms and seriously wounds Sadiq. Sadiq boasts that he has already won: if he dies, twelve nations backing The Engineers will declare war on the US, but if he is put on trial, he will leak US information. Out of options, Fisher spares Sadiq but employs Fifth Freedom, unofficially imprisoning him. President Caldwell publicly covers Sadiq's imprisonment by announcing his death, and the game closes as Fourth Echelon continue their ongoing operation and in the post-credit scene, Vic and Fisher prepare to interrogate Sadiq.

Co-op missions

Interlocking with the main plot, the co-op missions begin with Fisher and Briggs infiltrating Kashmir. Finding a group of smugglers tied to the Engineers, Fisher and Briggs discover intelligence tying them to a rogue branch of Voron, before escaping during a drone assault.

Following a lead to a friendly missile base in Bangalore, the duo enters to find the Indian inhabitants dead, and the Voron agents stealing a warhead from a missile. Securing the missile and learning the branch is led by a man named Cherski, Fisher and Briggs escape as the building is detonated and the Indian authorities arrive. Unaware of Cherski's identity, Fisher and Briggs track him to a Voron base in Chittagong, and locate his residence in nearby apartments. Breaching Cherski's panic room, the duo finds two individuals and, uncertain which one is Cherski, begin interrogating both. After learning of a secret base in Russia, Briggs or Fisher is disarmed by his hostage, with the other operative being forced to kill the gunman.

Reaching an abandoned naukograd, Fisher and Briggs survive a drone attack intended to kill them. Infiltrating further, the duo finds a secure medical facility hidden inside, said to hold an OpSat containing vital Voron information. Reaching a center of the lab, it is discovered that the base instead contains a comatose man. Extracting the patient, Fisher and Briggs, yet again, narrowly escape as the base self-destructs. Returning the patient to the Paladin, Grim identifies him as Mikhail "Kestrel" Loskov, and Kobin confirms his identity, noting they have history together (see Splinter Cell: Conviction). After questioning Kobin, who asks if Kestrel's gunshot wound has made him permanently unconscious, Fisher suspiciously notes that nobody told Kobin how Kestrel was incapacitated.

Characters

Blacklist again stars Sam Fisher, who is now the spymaster and commander of the newly instated Fourth Echelon. The game also sees the return of Fisher's old ally, Anna 'Grim' Grímsdóttir, along with new characters such as Isaac Briggs and Charlie Cole. Several supporting characters from Conviction reappear, including Victor Coste, Patricia Caldwell and Andriy Kobin.

Development

In November 2010, Jade Raymond from Ubisoft Toronto announced that the studio was developing a new Splinter Cell game.[8] During the Microsoft's press conference at E3 2012, Splinter Cell: Blacklist was officially revealed; It was also announced that series veteran Michael Ironside would not reprise his role as the voice of Sam Fisher, with this part filled instead by actor Eric Johnson, who will also be performing motion capture duties. In a Blacklist developer diary Ironside stated that he would not return to voice the character, but instead pass the torch to another actor.

Ubisoft executives said that the change was made to take advantage of new performance capture technology to create a richer experience, with Ironside assisting Johnson in the role. Elias Toufexis, voice and performance capture actor for Andriy Kobin in Splinter Cell: Conviction, announced on his Twitter account that he will reprise the role in the game.[9][10]

Release

Splinter Cell: Blacklist was released in North America on August 20, 2013 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360 with a European release on August 23.[11] Additionally, the UK's Wii U version was released on August 23.[12]

The limited edition of the game, titled the Paladin Collector's Edition, contains a remote-controlled plane, the graphic novel Splinter Cell Echoes, the Billionaire's Yacht co-op map, Upper Echelon Pack (Dead Coast Map), Gold Sonar Goggles and a limited edition poster.[13]

As a tie-in, Splinter Cell: Blacklist - Spider Bot was released for the Android and iOS platforms on June 10, 2013 and is available on the Google Play and App Store respectively.[14]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(PS3) 85.45%[15]
(X360) 83.81%[16]
(PC) 80.11%[17]
(WIIU) 78.60%[18]
Metacritic(PS3) 84/100[19]
(X360) 82/100[20]
(PC) 82/100[21]
(WIIU) 75/100[22]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer8/10[23]
GameSpot8.0/10[24]
IGN9.2/10[25]
Joystiq[26]

Pre-release

Based on early screenshots and videos of Blacklist, the game was praised for removing Conviction's monochrome visuals, according to Joystiq.com's Mike Schramm.[27] The new voice actors, however, have not been received well by some fans.[28] Ubisoft responded with a statement saying that Ironside wasn't returning as Fisher because they needed an actor that was "physically capable" of a motion capture performance. Thus, Johnson was hired for the job.[29]

In contrast to the positive reception, Tom Bissell wrote that he felt "sick and infuriated" after watching a demonstration of the gameplay at E3, which featured an interactive torture sequence.[30] Because of the negative response, Ubisoft decided to remove the torture sequence entirely from the final product.[31]

Critical reception

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist received positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version an 85.45% and 84/100,[15][19] the Xbox 360 version an 83.81% and 82/100,[16][20] the PC version 80.11% and 82/100[17][21] and the Wii U version 78.60% and 75/100.[18][22]

Ryan McCaffrey of IGN gave the game a 9.2/10, praising the game's return to form and comparing it to 2005's Chaos Theory. Criticism was aimed at the "dated graphics" and the new voice actor for Sam Fisher, whose youthful quality seemed "out of place".[25]

On October 16, 2013, Ubisoft announced that the game has failed to meet sales expectations.[32] On November 13, 2013, it was reported that the game had sold 2 million copies worldwide.[33]

References

  1. ↑ Sauter, Marc (9 July 2013). ""PC version is shaping up to be something special" - Interview with the devs of Splinter Cell Blacklist". PC Games Hardware. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Line Designer, Ubisoft - Wii U". Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "Splinter Cell: Blacklist's online features revealed: progression, unlocks and Fourth Echelon". OXM. January 16, 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  5. ↑ Schramm, Mike (11 September 2012). "Splinter Cell: Blacklist aims to take Conviction's promise to the next level and then some". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Ivan, Tom (3 May 2013). "Splinter Cell Blacklist Spies vs. Mercs reveal trailer". GamesRadar. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  7. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77nYiyLItUE#t=56s
  8. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (26 November 2010). "Jade Raymond Making Splinter Cell 6". Eurogamer. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "Elias Toufexis to play character in Tom Clancy’s "Splinter Cell: Blacklist"". One Red Leaf Entertainment. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  10. ↑ Garcia, Jr., Rene. "INTERVIEW: ELIAS TOUFEXIS (2012)". Working Author. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  11. ↑ "Splinter Cell: Blacklist Release Date and Trailer/Screens". GamersHell.com. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Splinter Cell: Blacklist Coming to Wii U in August". April 10, 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  13. ↑ Jackson, Mike (January 25, 2013). "Splinter Cell Blacklist Collector's Edition includes real R/C plane". CVG. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Splinter Cell: Blacklist Spider-Bot iOS game lands on App Store".
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist for PlayStation 3". GameRankings. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist for Xbox 360". GameRankings. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist for Wii U". GameRankings. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist for Wii U Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  23. ↑ Bramwell, Tom. "Splinter Cell Blacklist review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  24. ↑ VanOrd, Kevin (August 14, 2013). "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist Review". GameSpot. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 McCaffrey, Ryan (August 14, 2013). "Splinter Cell: Blacklist Review". IGN. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  26. ↑ de Matos, Xav (August 14, 2013). "Splinter Cell Blacklist review". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  27. ↑ Schramm, Mike (11 September 2012). "Splinter Cell: Blacklist aims to take Conviction's promise to the next level and then some". Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  28. ↑ Good, Owen. "Inevitable Movement to Restore Splinter Cell’s Voice Actor Begins, Will Fail". Kotaku. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  29. ↑ Dyer, Mitch. "E3 2012: Why Michael Ironside Won't Return for Splinter Cell Blacklist". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  30. ↑ Bissell, Tom. "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Shooter". Grantland.com. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  31. ↑ Conditt, Jessica. "Torture scene removed from Splinter Cell: Blacklist, no one 'loved' it". Joystiq. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  32. ↑ Phillips, Tom (16 October 2013). "Ubisoft: Splinter Cell, Rayman Legends missed sales targets". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  33. ↑ Johnson, Erik (13 November 2013). "Splinter Cell Blacklist sells 2m copies, Rayman Legends nears 1m". MCV. Retrieved 13 May 2014.

External links