Splinter Cell: Blacklist Review – The Best Splinter Cell Yet

Splinter Cell: Blacklist Review – The Best Splinter Cell Yet

Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Ubisoft
Steam/PC
Action
Splinter Cell: Blacklist brings the type of intensity that we should expect from a game with a setting of this type. Things are going very wrong as the United States is under attack by a terrorist organization. This isn’t some wild over the top joyride shooter that players can blast their way through, this is tactical genius with a motivating story that writes greatness all over this title. Splinter Cell: Blacklist is the best Splinter Cell yet.

Players once again take the role of Sam Fisher who joins up with a team known as 4th Echelon. It’s up to them to stop the blacklist and put an end to these terrorist attacks. The missions are downright enjoyable, no matter how slow or fast the player wants to take them. Players can go loud during specific missions and fight their way through an enemy AI that is incredibly smart and will be on top of them in seconds. Or, they can play Splinter Cell the way it’s meant to be played by taking the slower approach.

Why wouldn’t players want to take the slow approach? It’s the way the game is meant to be play, and it’s so fantastically amazing and entertaining!

Going through each mission is a joy with a list of silent toys that can be used to take out guards. This includes a silent pistol, a stun gun, smoke grenades, a tri-rotor equipped with an electrical shock option, and of course the mighty hands of Sam Fisher. All of those options are great, but there is still nothing better than getting up behind an enemy and silently taking them down by hand. It’s also just as fun as ever to sit behind some type of platform and toss out a noise maker to attract the enemy over to the player so that they can grab them and remove them from the equation without anyone else noticing.

It was also interesting when dealing with “heavies”, enemies that wear armored helmets. Players are forced to quickly shoot the helmet off and then get a headshot in order to take them down without alerting anyone else. I still had quite a troublesome time when dealing with some of those situations though. Also, there are dogs…and no matter what I did I would also seem to find a way to run into one and get bitten. Grr. Still, if players hear them sniffing around, they’ll be able to find them and shoot them – with a stun gun, of course – to get rid of that problem.

All the right tools are there for whatever type of mission is dealt. Each mission does a great job at offering something new in the scenario that keeps things very interesting and appealing. There is even a mission where players step away from the role of Sam Fisher and play as his teammate, Briggs. This was one of my favorite moments as the game turned into a stealthy first-person shooter. Running the missions in first-person with Briggs’ gun was a nice change of pace, and it still required stealthy actions. The gun is silenced and feels very powerful as it is certainly an effective tool. It is just as much fun to silently progress through those missions to complete the objective. In fact, I’m ready to replay those missions again!

The campaign seems like its short, but it’s the perfect length for the storyline. Once the campaign is finished, players can move on to side missions, which include co-op missions for players to team up with friends or someone random online. Spies vs Mercs also returns for more tactical multiplayer fun. There is plenty to enjoy here, but the game absolutely needs to be experienced through its main campaign; it’s just that well done.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is an incredible title and is one that can be enjoyed by anyone, even those who may not like the slower stealthy pace that the game offers. It’s the storyline and intensity that goes on during the mission briefings that got me excited for the mission at hand. It’s so captivating that it forces players to play the game. Splinter Cell: Blacklist is a must play for all gamers.

Score: 9.5/10