For the return to business of the Splinter Cell series in 2013, Ubisoft had a lot of pressure on its shoulders. To do this, the Toronto-based studio was responsible for bringing Sam Fisher back to center stage, with a certain Jade Raymond as project manager. Expectations were therefore high, and when it comes to new things, we're doing pretty well! It all starts with the presentation of Fisher's new job, namely 4th level innkeeper, a unit under the direct orders of the US presidency and composed of 4 main members: Sam Fisher, Briggs (another Splinter Cell), Grimm ( a redhead who manages the liaison with the White House) and finally the technician / hacker / handyman Charlie! All this little world has big financial means since your base is none other than a plane that will allow you to go anywhere on the globe. Very inspired by the Normandy from Mass Effect, this menu system is quite nice, and above all has the advantage of being very clear. We will find on board the same equipment as in Commander Shepherd's ship, but less luxurious, your cargo plane being much less spacious. Called the Paladin, this flying machine includes a command center with an interface called IMS, which provides access to all the missions available in the form of an interactive map: solo, coop or multi online. In addition, there is the cockpit, a detention area, a helicopter hangar, an infirmary and a technical center where Charlie officiates. As in Mass Effect, you will be able to improve your cuckoo in order to obtain not advantages against the Geth, but big aids on the ground (radar, accelerated recovery of life, etc). The only criticism of this type of interface is the loading time, which is not very fast, it must be admitted.
Fool's game
The other great novelty of Splinter Cell Blacklist lies in the integration of new RPG elements which pleasantly spice up your games. Indeed, with each mission, you will get cash based on your performance. If you are little detected, you collect USB keys, computer hard drives and NPCs to capture, your bank account will swell visibly. Once the pockets are full, head to the Paladin modifications, where each upgrade will be paid for. More interesting, we can go to Charlie's workshop to tamper with Sam's equipment. Absolutely everything can be modified for a fee: weapons, gadgets, jumpsuit, pants, boots, gloves, NVG, etc. The content is clearly there and you will therefore be able to optimize Fisher to your style of play with unparalleled meticulousness as the equipment is numerous. Moreover, the IMS system reinforces this aspect since you will get money whatever your mission. In the same way that you boost Sam and the Paladin solo, your bank account will also suffer from repeated assaults from your multiplayer avatars, which are also customizable with the same list of equipment. So you can start with the solo mode and chain the coop 'as soon as the difficulty increases, just to bail out your finances to arm yourself before returning to the solo.
For Splinter Cell Blacklist, the writers let loose by giving us a plot that kept us on our toes throughout the single-player campaign."
As for the technical aspect, Splinter Celle Blacklist does not disappoint and graphically, the rendering is of a rather pleasing and unexpected quality. Indeed, the light effects are very convincing (a must for this kind of game where light is of paramount importance) and the textures are rather well polished. Aliasing is not the strong point of consoles, there are still some gray areas but for those who opt for the PC version of the title, they should find the Unreal Engine 3 graphics engine still as effective. For Splinter Cell Blacklist, the writers let loose by offering us an intrigue that kept us in suspense throughout the solo campaign. America is facing an unprecedented terrorist threat and the engineers of the Blacklist demand via their leader Sadik (we're not kidding) that the United States withdraw their troops from external theaters of operations. If the requests are not honored, a series of attacks will be carried out, the first being the opening scene of the game, namely the attack on your base. From there, a race against time begins to identify, find and stop the Blacklist. The story will take you to the four corners of the world via your trusty Antonov: the Paladin. In terms of gameplay, purists will jump for joy since we're going back to the roots! Pure and hard infiltration is de rigueur with three main perks to develop at Charlie. Stealth (absolute discretion), Phantom (Diversions) and finally a last style a little more aggressive for which you will have to invest massively in Kevlar and high caliber weapons. As usual, it will be necessary to progress in the shadows most often, the missions being by nature very free. This is also one of the big strengths of the game, this possibility of completing the objective in the way you want, either by eliminating everyone or by dodging the enemies via the air ducts , overhead pipes or cornices. And in case of indiscretion on your part, the enemies will be quick to open fire, which will mean your immediate death sentence, as long as you have chosen a stealth suit. Except in the low difficulty modes, the bourrinage option will therefore be strongly discouraged for the player.
Correct outfit required
Another pleasant novelty is the presence of a co-op mode in the game. You just need to plug in a controller and you can play Splinter Cell Blacklist in split screen with a friend. In addition to the obvious advantages of being helped by a friend sitting next to you, the coop mode allows you to explore new routes and other passages in the levels. Indeed, certain accesses can only be borrowed if a colleague opens you from a remote location, which increases the replayability since we will discover several things in this way. Also on the menu, a fairly polished multiplayer mode that is the pride of the developers. This multiplayer mode will be divided into two parts: a first which takes up the classic 2 Vs 2 mode already existing in the previous opuses, while the Spies VS Mercs mode is completely new. Based on asymmetrical gameplay (very fashionable feature at the moment by the way) this mode will oppose a team of 4 spies who control each other in third person view while the Mercenaries will have a subjective view, FPS style therefore, equipped big guns to eliminate the spies. The objective of the game is simple: three terminals must be hacked by the Spies. When one of the spies has hacked into a terminal, he must hide nearby while his friends protect him. Conversely, the Mercenaries must defend the terminals with large reinforcements of heavy weapons. A good way to take yourself for Aiden Pierce and taste Ubisoft-style hacking before the release of Watch Dogs.
Despite all these positive points, there are still some problems in the game, starting with the artificial intelligence which is not up to par."
Despite all these positive points, there are still some problems in the game, starting with the artificial intelligence which is not up to par. If enemies have an ability to spot you that varies widely depending on your equipment, once they have targeted you, they will all rush towards your last known position, and this without any variation. Not a single one will try to outflank you or surprise you. As a result, this leaves you the choice to either flee or take the pack from behind. There are still some bugs that can be observed in the behavior of NPCs or in certain animations. Finally on a more screenplay note, while the plot was very well knotted, the end turned out to be more than disappointing, explaining nothing about the motivations of the Blacklist or even the way in which the attacks took place. Finally a last word to warn that some weapons available at Charlie were locked with the mention DLC below. We know that we have to make small businesses work, but that is still petty. Last thing, the multiplayer may well be well thought out, but we doubt that it will be emulated, the lack of variety of cards and the only game mode available seriously handicapping its chances of success.
