I would like to start off saying this because it will show how well this game stuck out for me. I have given stealth games a try plenty of times; I played Dishonored and gave up, I played Assassin's Creed but not very well and gave up at the third major installment, I even played Splinter Cell Conviction until I gave up at the high action sequences. I have never seen a development team get stealth right; not just good, but actually the way a stealth game should be. I love the idea of them but either the game forces action onto you or the stealth is very generic and does not give you a lot of options. Splinter Cell Blacklist doesn't make that mistake. My favorite games include Mass Effect, Fallout 3, The Witcher 2, Bioshock, etc. (RPGs; I like choices). This is now going into that list. Now I will not say this is one of the greatest games ever made or even for this generation of console gaming. There are things that bring it down a little but doesn't shade over my love for this game.
Being a big achievement hunter on Xbox I started off the game on rookie to do the tutorial with the idea in mind of killing no one. Well that didn't go well and I wouldn't recommend that on your first play through because the Crossbow is a very big key to unlocking that achievement. So I got ballsy. I decided to play this game STARTING OFF on perfectionist. Me: someone who has only beaten COD and Mass Effect on their hardest difficulties and has extremely little patience, especially in stealth chose the hardest difficulty in this game. This I would also recommend not to start off as but however is not impossible; especially if you don't do the side missions first like I did and just go straight to the campaign. After 4 or 5 days I became much of an intermediate player of this game; learning how gadgets worked and what to look for when sneaking around enemies. 10 days later I had beaten every single player mission on Perfectionist; and damn did it feel good. If you wait until you unlock the crossbow, a sniper rifle or good silent assault rifle, the second silent suit, and sleeping gas then perfectionist is a piece of cake as long as you go for a rough Panther playthrough. Eventually I was mastering ghost mission left and right because it is easier to just run and not be seen (noisemakers are your best friend).
However, there are a lot of things that frustrated me when I first started playing. First of all the difficulty of the game does not change how much life you have, the only away to take more bullets before dying is armor. So if you aren't good with being shot at and you get stuck in that position...run, or you will die very quickly. Glitches are not frequent but they are there and sometimes are just plain game breaking. In a co-op mission with my brother, I slid down a ladder under the construct of the map and fell to my death: ultimately failing an already very frustrating mission in the game because the co-op missions are very hard to keep both of you silent (especially when your team mate isn't the brightest and you are doing all the work). Some input actions are also kind of funny and are given the same button while some are virtually useless. One example is the option to peak under a door and opening a door are the same, difference is where you look at the door. Another is that picking up a body and exchanging the unconscious enemies weapon are also the same (ammo is a big problem early on because the low grade suits only carry so much ammo and for me on perfectionist, you aren't allowed to restock ammo EVER). Also, sometimes when trying to climb the controls are not very fluid. Especially in a co-op mission when moving around to save one another and escape enemies that are alert, you need to climb and drop quickly. Well, if your teammate is laying on the ground where you need to climb up, you can not climb, you have to go around to where he isn't sitting. Also, some drop zones are just plain dead zones and sometimes do not make sense. But, the biggest issue with the game I had of all was the difficulty of taking down high infantry enemies with the low grade suit. If you upgrade to the second option of the ops suit you won't have this problem even on perfectionist but anything lower than stealth 2 or 3 and you will have a lot of issues taking him down. First of all you can not wait for them to pass and knock them out, (Under any circumstance) they are very keen at looking around a corner before they step out. You can not shock them with a crossbow or stun gun and you cannot use the crossbow or sleeping gas to make them pass out. You cannot head shot them without first head shot off their helmet which with anything besides a close range assault rifle is EXTREMELY difficult to pull off and highly unlikely you will pull it off without him giving you away. And the one that frustrates me the most that is directly related to your suit is that if you try to walk as slow as possible behind them they will turn around as you try to execute them and they will push you away, setting off the alarm. The only possible way to incapacitate them is to either aerial knock them out, or blow them to hell with an explosive (obviously isn't the best choice in this game). Also, the engineers that drive the drones are for some reason popping drones out left and right if disable a drone; they can pop out an infinite number of them. Snipers also are a pain because the AI wasnt given much intelligence. They have a laser that you see and you have to avoid it. Well that laser hovers over exactly where you need to go and will stay there for a while. It has no imagination and they can not be distracted; even if they are staring at someone and you kill the enemy they can easily see they will not do anything.
So let's see the run down of this game
Pros
-Extremely fun and even the frustration of the difficulty doesn't scare you away.
-Great level design with little details that mean everything from your way around to how well you stay hidden (Lighting is very interactive, where you shoot the lights out or set off an emp...or just say "Hey I'm flipping the switch come over here and find out who did it ;) "
-Large inventory of weaponry and unique gadgets
-Clever Objectives and UI
-Multiple options at every corner; you can play half a mission stealth, get bored of hiding and just run until you get caught (if you do) and kill everyone until you decide to evade.
-Makes you feel like a real spy; doesn't force a bad linear story down your throat
-Collectible are engaging and have meaning to the story
-Sound and voice acting are superb
-Game is knowledgeable of your load out even in cutscenes and cutscenes are interactive with minor choices
-AI has multiple paths of guarding and keeps you on your toes. They are however very predictable as to how they will react to your actions.
Cons
-Graphics are sub-par, especially since Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed is stunning compared to Blacklist.
-Controls are not perfect and should have been adjusted and tested better.
-Multiplayer is sort of thrown in your face and while it is interesting, it's just like any other 3rd person multiplayer that no one cares about(Everyone playing is either really good or brand new to the multiplayer and needs time to adjust
-Specific enemies such as Snipers, Engineer drone pilots, and High Infantry are sometimes frustrating.
-Glitches cause you to poke in and out of cover; cover system is sometimes difficult to stay in cover because the slightest move away from cover will detach you from the wall.
-The silhouette system when you alert enemies was not well thought through: Once some one sees you and you don'y silence them EVERY enemy in the area sees that silhouette regardless of whether he yells anything; all he has to do is shoot at you and every knows. This is obvious to you because you can see the shade, and then you can see the AI blatantly shooting directly at it when it's obvious are not sitting there.
-My kinect did not respond any controls and the only control I was aware of is also linked to the back button making it literally for laughs.
Over all I gave a lot of Cons for a high rated game. But, in all honesty all of these cons do not stop the fun; once you can unlock a lot of the gadgets and weapons and learn how this game works, it's an instant classic that is a little behind it's time. This is the game that Conviction SHOULD have been.
I gave this game a 5 star rating but realistically I would give this gave an 8.9 out of 10. Definitely one of the best games I've played this year.
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From the manufacturer
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
The United States has a military presence in two thirds of countries around the world. A group of 12 have had enough and initiate a terror ultimatum called the Blacklist - a deadly countdown of escalating terrorist attacks on U.S. interests. Sam Fisher is the leader of the newly formed 4th Echelon unit: a clandestine unit that answers solely to the President of the United States. Sam and his team must hunt down these terrorists by any means necessary and stop the Blacklist countdown before it reaches zero.
Key Game Features
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Operate Without RestrictionsSam is back in his tactical suit and goggles and he’s more deadly than ever. He is the only secret operative with the power to act above the law and uses ruthless methods to interrogate enemies in order to extract crucial information that will prevent the next Blacklist attack. Pursuing the terrorists to the far reaches of the world, Sam flies from exotic locales to U.S. cities as he races against the clock to find out who’s behind the Blacklist. Thrilling gameplay is enhanced by full motion performance capture, creating a highly cinematic experience. |
Kill in MotionAlways one step ahead, Killing In Motion lets Sam strike with lethal precision by marking and executing multiple enemies in one fluid motion. Active Sprint allows him to traverse the environment easily and fluidly, climb walls and leap over barriers in order to reach his next target while on the move. |
Unleash the Power of 4th Echelon PrototypesSplinter Cell Blacklist innovates from the roots of the franchise and players can enjoy a series of twists on franchise favorites including reinvented classic weapons. Infiltrate terrorist cells by using new gadgets such as the upgraded snake cam and micro-trirotor drone which allows Sam to scout ahead, mark targets remotely, distract enemies or explode with frag grenade force. Splinter Cell Blacklist is also bringing back fan-favorites like the sticky shocker and for close quarters combat, players can wield the curved and brutal Karambit knife. |
Build a New EchelonWith a mandate directly from the President, Sam is building a whole new Echelon unit; his team, his way. Anna “Grim” Grimsdottir is his technical operations manager, CIA operative Isaac Briggs brings additional firepower and resident hacker Charlie Cole rounds out his support crew. 4th Echelon is a fully mobile ops unit with unlimited resources and cutting edge technology aboard the repurposed stealth airliner, the Paladin. |
Enjoy a Fully Integrated Experience
Sam and his team are aware of terrorist attacks in real time thanks to the Strategic Mission Interface (SMI). The SMI allows the team to receive data about mission objectives while on the move. Players can earn money for completing missions and objectives and buy upgraded weapons and items from the SMI hub aboard the Paladin.
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Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist
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Splinter Cell- The Threat
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Spies vs. Mercs
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 4, 2013
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Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on January 3, 2016Platform For Display: Xbox 360Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
