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Splinter Cell Blacklist Review
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Sam, but he’s back with a facelift (or Botox addiction) and is ready to go deep undercover to save the USA.
Splinter Cell has always been a successful title because it is the only game on the market capable of making you feel like a total bad ass whilst remaining unseen as a spec ops soldier. Blacklist is no exception and continues to take you on a journey that only Ubisoft can.
There’s a new threat to the world known as the Engineers, a group of very skilled and talented terrorists that have had enough of the USA putting their troops anywhere and everywhere. The Engineers have threatened the USA with attacks every 7 days unless they withdraw their troops from the countries they’re currently residing in outside of the USA. Not only is 7 days a little short notice to withdraw thousands of troops but the USA doesn’t like blackmail or terrorists.
Sam Fisher and a crew of highly specialised personnel are aboard a Paladin aeroplane with the most expensive and state of the art equipment capable of hacking, tracking and killng whatever and whoever they want. But, a hands on approach needs to be taken and this is where Sam Fisher and his new partner Briggs comes into play.
Your world travels take you to London, America and the Middle East on a journey to capture high value targets and take out the threats. On the way to ensuring the safety of your country, you will disarm bombs, collect data and meet old friends.
The story is brilliant, not only because it flows so well, but because it is very believable and quite hard hitting. You can also decide whether or not to embark on a mission which has its different outcomes but in my playthrough, I completed every mission available as soon as it was there for the taking.
On top of the main story which is single player only, there are side missions that are given by each individual in your crew. These missions can be played alone or with a partner in Co-op which is definitely how they’re meant to be played.
You plane is also a place where you can customize and upgrade your kit to suit your playstyle within 3 different load-outs. You earn a lot of money after missions and you will rarely be unable to purchase what you want, especially as you can also use the money earned in competitive multiplayer.
The controls, at first, can feel a little off because in order to take cover you will need to press “B” (Red) which is different to the usual “A” (Green) we may be usd to in other popular games. This is only a problem for a while and will soon go away with time. Apart from that one button causing a problem at first you will be pretty much good to go and everything else will come naturally.
Graphically, Splinter Cell Blacklist looks beautiful. Each and every area you visit looks different, fresh and alive. On top of this, Sam himself looks very good not just in general but his movements and reactions.
The A.I are very smart and will at time outwit you by flanking and throwing grenades to get you out of cover. I played the game on the standard difficulty and can only imagine how tough it will be on the harder difficulties.
One of the greatest things of Splinter Cell Blacklist is the return of Spies Vs Mercs. I loved Double Agent for its online and once again the multiplayer is a huge success. I have spent a load of hours customizing my characters making them a force to be reckoned with as well as trying out different techniques for different scenarios and still, it’s very fun and addictive. Not all multiplayer games require dedicated team work but in Spies Vs Mercs it’s absolutely critical. If you’re playing Blacklist online and you hack a terminal, the only way for the mercs to stop the hack is to kill you, the hacker. Avoid being killed and having your team mates attack the mercs before they get to the area and within sight of you will ensure a victory.
There are a few other game modes should you want them and they are:- Team deathmatch, Extraction where the spies guard a package and the mercs have to try and escape with it and then classic mode, from Double Agent.
Overall Splinter Cell Blacklist will be a HUGE success and any fan of the series will love it deeply. I can’t really fault the game on much apart from the lack of host migration from multiplayer games, but this is minor compared to the amount of fun you will have. You need to play this game whether you’re a fan of the series or not!
9/10
Review By Wicket2961
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