Splinter Cell :: Blacklist

The legendary Series which  visualized the definition of Stealth Ops is back with Glory . A sequel to the Splinter Cell : Conviction that was released in 2010 , the story picks off where the last game left off , but with even more grand look and  a James bond movie like style in it  . As always the Tech gadgets in the game are ultra cool and makes us the lethal machine when required and a ghost when Stealth is a priority .

Story ::

Picking up where Conviction had left off , Blacklist starts with Third echelon being disbanded . But suddenly a new attack becomes imminent on US soil and the President creates a new Counter- Terrorism Unit known as the 4th Echelon . Sam Fischer takes the commander position with Anna 'Grim' Grímsdóttir taking up as the field Strategic officer who commands all the operations from a modified Cargo Plane termed as the Paladin. The story begins when a mysterious attack on a US Army Base at Guam initiates shock waves and a group calling themselves as Engineers taking responsibility for it . Their main objective is to remove the US troops that have been deployed Abroad , until then the Blacklist will continue . Now its upto Sam Fisher and his well organized team to Stop the Blacklist and to find out the real motive behind the Engineers . Engaged with twists and turns the story is perfect in every way , except from the climax which felt a little  sudden and abrupt

Gameplay ::

This is where Splinter Cell has always shined . And Blacklist doesn't let us down in any way . Players will be able to access the Blacklist missions via SMI ( strategic Mission Interface ) aboard the Paladin . As always Sam enters the field with all the Gadgets that makes his enemy looks like idiots . But that doesn't mean they are completely stupid . As long as they are unaware of your presence they are as good as walking dummies. But once they get alerted of your presence they will be like A Grade military soldiers, searching every nook and corner with flashlights.

Sam and Grim over SMI

Thank god for the full maneuverability that Sam is now able to hide anywhere he wants . I still remember the times in the old Splinter Cell games where you have to search for hours and hours of time to find the right way in , that too without alerting anyone of your presence . When you finally make it in , you see a guard making his way to you and you have no option of jumping back to the place from where you came from and finally you have to take him down . And taking down a guy during that time was not easy as it is now .

Blacklist provides us with many options to hide at the most unusual places . Like You can jump and grab a pipe when a guard comes towards you or use the wall where you can cling to like a Monkey . The infamous Mark and Fire is back again too, although you will refrain from using them to the max level. I used to use that everytime in Conviction , but in Blacklist I was skeptical of using it . Because the satisfaction of a melee kill can never be beaten . But still there were moments in the game where you are literally dragged into Action fights with no other option .

Agent Briggs

The level where you get to play as Briggs with First person perspective was quite new and different . I think this is the first time a game had supported both FPS and 3PS style for gaming .

FPS when playing with Briggs

The game employs 3 styles of Gameplay .

Ghost , Assault and Panther ( left to right )

1. Assault ::

 This as the name suggests is going out on a full on firefight against enemies with your guns blazing . Upgrade your Armor and you are good to go .

2. Panther ::

This is the style I Love the most . You have to take down all guys silently in area either with a lethal or non lethal attack . But no enemy should be left alone .

3. Ghost ::

This the exact opposite of Assault and Panther . Enemies should never know that you were even there at all .This is the most thrilling of all and the satisfaction you get when you complete a mission in Ghost mode is absolutely satisfying . At last a mode that makes us feel like that we are actually playing a Splinter Cell game.

Although the game modes looks cool under its name . The game does not allow you to choose your style at the beginning and try to force you through the entire mission with the same rule.Depending upon the way you play , you are awarded points to the different modes ..If you used Assault style then Assault XP will increase and so it goes on . Hats off to the Creative team that thought of that .

Gadgets ::

The famous Sticky shocker , Sticky Emp , Sticky camera are there again :) . splinter Cell fans will know how memorable these things are . The had helped me in getting out in more than one sticky situations. Since the Blacklist also concentrates more heavily on Multi-player, there is a loadout slot for each character who can be customized according to one's requirements . For eg : If you are guy who loves stealth you can upgrade your suit with stealth clothing along with the gadgets that help you in moving around stealthily . The Stun gun was a favorite of mine in this game . It really helps us in moving around quickly and finishing off a target suddenly coming around the corner while you are still halfway through the hallway . Your gun may not be effective enough at a long range , unless you are an expert marksman who can bring down a guy with single shot .

Its in this place the stun gun comes into place . Just one shot from it is enough to incapacitate any enemy from a distance especially a Search dog  . God !! these are the most irritating ones that you will come across. The Dogs can smell you wherever you are hiding nearby and will give out our place by barking at us . The only way is to avoid the places where the dogs stroll by or eliminate them when you get the chance . This is where a noise maker comes in handy .

Another remarkable upgrade is in your goggles which can be upgraded to awesome techies that gives you more than a fair advantage when you are in the field against enemies. It can be upgraded to Thermal imaging , Thermal Imaging footprints tracker , sonar , sonar upgrade with range specs etc.. Sonar was the best goggle tech that I had ever come across . It helps us in identifying enemies who are behind a wall and those who are in the vicinity .

Thermal Imaging

Your favorite Silent pistol is back although this time you have the chance of upgrading it , to your level of comfort . There are different choices for you from which you can select  the one you want . You also have a variety of Assault Rifles and Sniper Rifles from which you can select you want . Although keep in mind that you have  to get them unlocked with money you earn from completing missions .

Tri-rotor is another new addition to the arsenal . But since we have already come across them in Tom Clancy's Ghost  Recon : Future soldier , this didn't give us that much delight .

Tri-Rotor in action

You also have a variety of Grenades - smoke , incendiary , Frag , sleeping gas , flash-bang etc ...Very useful in tight places where you come across a group of enemies . The level where you have to escape from a prison when the light goes off is amazing to look and play :D .

Side Missions ::

Grim and Charlie give you a variety of side missions while you are travelling in Paladin . Grim's missions are all about stealth , infiltration and getting out with no one hearing a whisper of you . While Charlie's missions are just surviving waves and waves of enemies in a confined space . Briggs only provides you with Co-op mission . so unless you are connected to the Internet and have a friend who is willing to work with you , then this is not going to play out . But I guess it might have been kind of cool to play :)

You do get to talk with Sarah ( Sam's daughter ) now and then , but they never do show her till last .

Slowly when the game does finally drag to the final Chapter , you will just feel washed out . As usual with big games of nowadays , you just feel disappointed with final ending  ( apart from Bioshock Infinite  ;))

Pro's ::

1. Get to play once again as the infamous Secret Agent who defined the Stealth Series .
2. Cool Gadgets and fluid response of Sam is just a pleasure to watch and play .
3. Melee attacks can be brutal and noisy or silent . Be it either way , you will just love taking down enemies .
4. Challenging levels that tests your true skill of remaining undetected and test your patience and reasoning skills with the routine nature of guards roaming around . You can either rush in and get killed or wait for him to come to you and take him down .
5. Graphics has been a major improvement from the last game.
6. Thank god its bug free. I still remember trying to make conviction work long enough for me to complete a mission without it getting crashed.
7. Music Score is not that good although the BGM does hit its peak at some places .

Con's ::

1. Repetitive levels that kind of get boring after sometime.
2. Checkpoint saves are kept at weird places that sometimes piss the hell out of you.
3. Final ending is so simple and quick that you feel as if the climax was never there in the first place.

Overall :: A game that has to be played by all . Especially fans who love Stealth . But for hardcore Splinter Fans , I would suggest you stick with the old games itself .

Rating :: 8.8 / 10 ( Good)

Regards
Ram