Focused on Customization
Regardless of what modes you choose, you will be getting money from the things you do in-game. As mentioned earlier, your performance will be evaluated. For every takedown you do or kill, money will be rewarded, as well when completing missions successfully. With the money that you earn, you can use them to buy upgrades on yourself, or the Paladin to make things accessible on the ship. Think of Paladin as your home base with all kind of things at your service. You can talk to Charlie to upgrade your weapons, or talk to Grim to upgrade your ship. At first, you will be limited in using certain things but as you play the game’s campaign and co-op modes, you will start raking cash and you can buy all sorts of upgrades that can be used on both modes.
Before starting a mission, you will have a chance to pick what loadouts you like for your character or Sam Fisher. Since the game has now an upgrade option for almost everything that Sam Fisher or your character wears, you get more competent in your mission as you buy the expensive upgrades. One of the helpful upgrades that you should buy is the radar that lets you see the enemy’s position.
Spies vs Mercs are Back
In addition to the co-op modes, one of the things fans are looking forward to is the return of Spies Vs. Mercs. Gamers who have played Chaos Theory’s Spies vs Mercs will be pleased to see its return since it retains its classic feel to it. Pitting two first person merc hunters against the two third person spies as they attempt to hack terminals. This competitive mode is one of the big drawing factors of Splinter Cell games as it’s challenging and fun. With the ability to customize the loadouts, the flow of each match can be unpredictable since one can have all these upgraded weapons and suits, while others are using the basic ones.
NOT
Technical Problems and Looks Dated
Almost three years following the release of Conviction, it’s sad to see that the visuals in Blacklist doesn’t seem to have improved. The character models look dated and the textures are simply just rough on consoles. Since I have the Xbox 360 version, I have to install the HD Texture Pack to somewhat improves the visual clarity but sadly, it’s a minor improvement.
In terms of technical side, I must say that it really performs poorly on consoles. Since the hardware is almost a decade old, expect not to have the best experience. Expect to see screen tearing here and there and drop in frame rates. Unfortunately, installing the game to the hard drive or the HD Texture Pack didn’t to much to improve it. As always, if you are worried on these kind of things, getting the game on PC will be the wisest choice, assuming you have the power to run the game at ultra settings.
Different Sam Fisher
For fans who have played Spinter Cell Conviction, the moment they start playing the game, they can tell right away the changes made to Sam Fisher. The looks of Sam Fisher is re-worked and changed, and he looks much younger in this game. To fit that “younger look”, Ubisoft has decided to hire a new voice actor. As someone who loved Michael Ironside’s gruff voice, the new voice sounds kinda weird in comparison. The new Fisher sounds monotonous and I can’t just feel the emotions and tensions when he’s interrogating down enemies. Give yourself to adjust in the new voice and you’ll learn to love the new Sam Fisher – I did!
VERDICT
Splinter Cell: Blacklist is a game that every Splinter fan has been waiting for. Regardless if you are playing this game because of its main campaign or co-op multiplayer modes, it’s guaranteed that you will love this game due to the plethora of things it offers. Campaign wise, expect to be blown away with its enigmatic and thrilling storyline that will put you on the edge of your seat. With more than one playstyle that you can do, it’s guaranteed that you will play for the second time just to see the other side of things. In addition to its fun campaign, there’s the co-op mode that offers a variety of missions that can be played with friends. Not to mention the fan-favorite Spies Vs. Mercs makes a return too.
[Editor’s Note: Splinter Cell Blacklist was reviewed on the Xbox 360. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
