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| Sam, as seen here not being very discreet. |
Story
In this SC the good ol' U.S. of A. has come under attack by a highly secretive society of terrorists known only as the Engineers. These jovial individuals have started a chain of events that they call a Blacklist, a series of timed attacks that will take place on U.S. soil unless their demands are met. With its hands full, the U.S. government brings in Sam Fisher and the Fourth Echelon organization to help alleviate the situation and make all villains forever fear the shadows lest a middle-aged, unusually limber man pounces upon them like a puma wearing night-vision goggles. Blacklist certainly tells an interesting story, with a few characters making a cameo from Conviction such as the eccentric arms smuggler Kobin. Along for the ride on Sam's globe-trotting adventure are Grim, a hardened woman with a very business-like personality, Charlie, the resident geek and hacker, Kobin, like I mentioned above, and Briggs, an operative with a shorter temper than Sam and a penchant for ranged weapons.Over the course of the story each character is given an appropriate spotlight moment where their particular set of skills really shine, even though these instances only take place in cut-scenes. Blacklist more convincingly fleshes out it myriad of characters this time than Conviction did, setting believable people in an unbelievable situation. Most of the game's missions are undertaken while aboard the Paladin, a fully upgradeable military plane that serves as an armory, HUB, jail, and lounge for those aboard it. This setting lends some urgency to Sam's story, as he is constantly on the move from one part of the world to another. The nature of the Blacklist attacks are pretty horrific as each one is centered around a particular theme that makes America strong, such as American Consumption or American Fuel. The true motivations of the Engineers is never really revealed, with the final mission ending on a monstrously tall cliffhanger that might leave more than a few people frustrated with the narrative choices. Still, for its faults, Blacklist still manages to tell a painfully convincing story that might make you wonder if attacks of this scale and expert organization would be possible on America. Scary to wonder.
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| You will quickly come to loathe these armored enemies if you aren't stealthy. |
Graphics
I had a feeling that the new Splinter Cell would be upgraded to the UE3 after the majority of the previous games were running on the UE2.5, but boy was I in for a surprise. Blacklist is in fact running on a heavily modified version of the UE2.5 that has been altered for DX11 compatibility. While it would have been a welcome change had they upgraded the engine to something a little more modern, what they have managed to accomplish here is nothing short of miraculous. Blacklist is undeniably gorgeous in nearly all aspects, a SC game that when put on max settings looks something akin to a next-gen title. All modern graphics options are proudly on display here from HBAO, SSAA(albeit a bit glitchy), tessellation, parallax occlusion mapping, advanced shaders, fantastic lighting effects, etc. Every location in the game feels unique and extremely well designed, with one particular mission taking place in a storm ravaged European city. Water was pooling and cascading off surfaces realistically; even light sources were reflected upon the water's surface. The ambient details here are astounding and it will be very easy for the player to lose themselves in this fantastically detailed world. Textures generally run the gamut from relatively low-res to impressively crisp, with character models being on the middle portion of the detail spectrum. If Ubisoft Montreal can accomplish this on an old engine then I can only imagine what they could do with a UE4 SC. Yes there is certainly room for improvement here, but what is on display is no less impressive.
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| Sam, seen here admiring the level design. |
Gameplay
This new SC encourages players to try one of three distinct play styles when tackling missions, offering incentive to focus on one particular style then come back and replay the mission while focusing on one of the other two. Ghost awards those who go unseen and use non-lethal means of dispatching foes, Panther is focused on players who prefer to kill out of sight and use an array of non-lethal gadgets, whilst the Assault style is pure run-and-gun mayhem. I personally found myself mostly sticking between Panther and Ghost as I took on new missions, as I had invested money heavily in armor and equipment which focused more on stealth than protection from harm. Oh yeah, this time Sam can buy loads of gadgets, armor, and weapons aboard the Paladin now, offer a wider variety of ways to complete missions. There is still a heavy emphasis on sticking to the shadows and staying quiet, but the huge array of tech to choose from makes it nearly impossible for the player to not consider venturing into a mission in an alternative fashion. The new Tri-rotor is one new addition worthy of mention; a little robot capable of silent flight and stunning enemies with electrified darts. This little baby can be upgraded with a sonar that pings enemy locations around it, providing Sam with updated info. Weapons handling can feel a bit clumsy if you do not invest in armor that adds to that stat, as Sam's aim with even SMGs can be thrown clear off the mark on full-auto or even burst fire settings. You are given plenty of options for taking out enemies; from lethal weapons of all sorts to gas grenades, flashbangs, sticky shockers, proximity mines, and even an awesome little crossbow with various ammo types. Yes, Blacklist really wants to give you freedom in how you carry out your assignments, and it does a stellar job in offering the player new choices after every mission. Aside from the story there are many different optional missions which usually don't take longer than 25 minutes to complete. You can access these missions either via the S.I.M. interface or chatting up your fellow colleagues on the Paladin. These missions vary from fighting off waves of enemies, completing three objectives in a small level, advancing through checkpoints till you reach the end, or engaging in co-op missions with Briggs. None of these are required to reach the end and offer neat little rewards upon completion. Sam's signature goggles can be upgraded a number of times, each time making Sam a little more omniscient each time to the point where he can see sound sources, heat signatures, foot print outlines, and energy sources. Nothing will escape your sight with the fully upgraded goggles, that is if you can afford to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into these puppies. In missions you are given a choice in how you want to silently take down enemies: Lethal or non-lethal. This affects the story and gameplay in no discernible way but will affect your overall playstyle score. You will also come across H.I.V.s during missions which can be captured and detained for a large bonus of credits if you so fancy. Hell, you can even find Dead Drops and Engineer laptops to hack, adding addition info and credits upon doing so. Again, this is all left up to the player, you can either focus on the mission at hand or take a few detours along the way. The A.I. is extremely intelligent when provoked and will hunt you ruthlessly and in groups, they are not the easily exploitable mannequins from Conviction. The new heavily armored enemies are nearly impossible to take down from the front without blowing off their helmets first before you can score a headshot, requiring the player to assess the situation and plan accordingly. There are even drone operators that will be thrown at the player, enemies who jam your goggles and deploy small RC-like bombs that will scan the area for you. Te difficulty has definitely been ramped up, and Normal mode will provide a solid challenge for stealth enthusiasts looking to test their resolve against the dead-accurate A.I. This really feels like the beginning of a more open-world start for the SC franchise, a change that I would definitely welcome considering the well-implemented HUB features of Blacklist. A definite step-up from Conviction in all aspects.
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| The shaders at work here are duly impressive. |
Sound
Sound plays a very important role in Blacklist, it is the indicator of a nearby threat or coming engagement. The music in Blacklist cycles between dynamic and ambient tracks depending on if the player has been located by enemies, creating an audio cue that helps alert the player to danger. The ambient sound effects are impressive, especially in levels with heavy rainfall. Just listening to water running off a building's roof adds an underlying level of serenity to the audio design. The new voice actor for Sam does his job well, though he does make Sam sound about ten years younger. Its a shame that Michael Ironside is no longer with this series, however Eric Johnson provides us with a more contemplative and subtle side of Fisher that was lacking in the others. The supporting characters are all believable, with my favorite being the gun smuggler Kobin, who is renowned for being a complete smartass aboard the Paladin. Overall the audio department has been improved over Conviction, with no apparent downsides to note. The gruffness in Sam's voice will be forever missed though.
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| The guy in digital Winter camo sure sticks out here. |
Conclusion
Measured by the sheer amount of variety and focus on different playstyles, some could consider this to be the perfect stealth title. Much care has been taken by Ubisoft in weaving this new adventure for Sam Fisher, essentially overhauling every aspect of the SC universe and retooling it for maximum enjoyment. While the conclusion of this may not be the jaw-dropper some were expecting, it certainly leaves the door open for more of Fisher's unseen antics. The multiplayer section will not be covered in this review, as multiple problems arose with hackers, rage-quitters, and various balancing issues that caused much frustration while trying to remain objective. Hope Ubisoft will fix the multiplayer soon, until then the co-op missions will have to suffice. 9/10 (PC version reviewed)
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