Splinter Cell: Blacklist: Everything We Know So Far

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• Splinter Cell: Blacklist
  (Ubisoft | Gamenguide.com)

Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Ubisoft’s next big action-adventure stealth title, is set to see the return of Sam Fisher.

The game is massively anticipated, especially by die-hard Splinter Cell fans, after players complained about the action-oriented approach the Splinter Cell series took with Conviction.

Ubisoft is also aware that over the years the franchise has lost a bit of its shine, and Splinter Cell isn’t as popular as it once used to be. Recently in an interview with Eurogamer, Ubisoft Montreal Managing Director Jade Raymond also revealed the same, but stated that this is so because of the complex nature of the series.

"But Splinter Cell still really is a thinking game. It's really about being intelligent and taking that time in the first phase to plan out how you're going to do things, and understanding the elements, and even planning your gadgets and your load-out and being smart about it,” she stated. “That's where you get the thrill, but it's a different way of playing than most games on the market these days."

However, Raymond strongly believes that the latest game in the series will be the best one, because it does not have an action-oriented approach, compared to its predecessors.

As far as Blacklist’s storyline is concerned, fans will see Sam Fisher returning as the leader of the newly formed Fourth Echelon that reports directly to the President of the United States. The game starts six months afterConviction, with the Fourth Echelon looking forward to stop any and all current operations that are being conducted by Third Echelon and their agents.

However, during this assignment, as many as 12 terrorists initiate an ultimatum called the Blacklist, which is a countdown of increasing terrorist attacks on the United States.

Michael Ironside, the one man who’s played the role of Sam Fisher ever since the beginning of the series, tells us more in the video below:

Splinter Cell: Blacklist, as revealed by others involved with developing or publishing the game, is going back to its roots and bringing all that players actually expect from a normal Splinter Cell game – thought-provoking stealth tactics.

And stealth, this time, also involves hiding bodies and being rewarded for certain moves. However, the game is maintaining Conviction’s speedy game-play alongside the mark and execute feature. Basically everything that involves a perfect Splinter Cell gameplay.

In another interview with MCV, Raymond stated: “Believe it or not, of the thousands of people surveyed, the players who rated Conviction’s new action-oriented features the highest were in fact players who had played two or more other games within the series.”

“When creating Blacklist, we were inspired by the roots of the franchise and we have paid extra attention to fan feedback from both Conviction post-launch results and regular playtests of Blacklist throughout development.”

The gameplay itself is said to be a treat for the fans. Sam Fisher, this time around, is more agile than he ever was, assisted by a new feature called Killing in Motion. Killing in Motion allows Sam to strike with deadly precision by marking and executing multiple enemies in one quick move.

While the player tries to make the best of the situation and the environment, he will be helped by some cool new gadgets that include the likes of a micro tri-rotor drone and a newly improvised snake cam.

Blacklist play styles include Assault, Panther and Ghost, with a new difficulty mode called Perfectionist. Perfectionist will not allow players to see through walls with Sam’s sonar goggles. Also Mark & Execute feature will not work here.

For the classic fans, gadgets such as the sticky shocker and Sam’s well-recognized tri-focal goggles also make a return.

Community developer Zack Cooper has more to share on Blacklist with creative director Maxime Beland in a video:

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is the seventh installment of the series, and is set for an August 2013 release for PC, PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. The Wii U version of the game has also been announced.