Your main hub of operations is the Paladin, a specially outfitted stealth airliner that flies you from mission to mission around the world. Sam and his team – Anna "Grim" Grismdottier the technical operations manager, CIA operative Isaac Briggs, and computer specialist Charlie Cole – comprise the Fourth Echelon, a fully mobile ops unit with unlimited resources. The only downside is that after a while working towards the perfect build-out per level seemed to be a waste of time I found myself choosing the same weapons and gadgets over and over again because I liked them, regardless of the situation. Each level can be played umpteen times and different challenges (elimination, wave-based, and stealth-only) await you, so there is no end to the amount of money that you can bring in to customize your Sam Fisher. These upgrades cost money, and money is earned by accomplishing objectives within levels and by beating the levels themselves. You can select your build-out to include upgrades to Sam himself, his suit, goggles, weapons, transportation, and more. Read Our Anarchy Reigns (for Xbox 360) ReviewĬustomization goes beyond how the levels are played to how you equip your Sam Fisher. And finally, assault style is exactly that – rush in headlong with guns blazing, hurling grenades, and throat slashing. Panther style matches my personal style the closest and involves stealth, distraction, using cover, and ultimately disabling enemies to move through the level. This is the most difficult set of tactics and also the most rewarding in terms of points. Ghost points are earned by playing in full-on stealth mode and making it through a level without alerting enemies. Players are scored on their ability to get through a level using "ghost," "assault," or "panther" tactics. "Blacklist" builds on the stealth and combat aspects to let players use their own style to attack the different objectives. This changed somewhat with "Conviction" which introduced some heavy straight-on combat elements. The Splinter Cell franchise has always been about stealth. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. ( Read our editorial mission.)
When a game gets under someone's skin that deeply then you know you've done something right. I hadn't even finished the tutorial when she climbed up on her soapbox and railed against "games like this that teach Americans that it is OK to bomb Syria." Anytime that a single game can be indicted for "eroding the moral values" of an entire society caused by "the glorification of violence, torture and murder," then the developers need to give themselves a massive pat on the back. I think the highest praise that could be paid to Ubisoft was the reaction of my twenty-one-year-old roommate (an NYU senior and history major) to the subject matter and the game play. I experienced mystery, intrigue, surprise, and terror within the first few minutes of playing.
The first series of cut scenes and the "introduction" level (which can be skipped) grabbed my attention and set my expectations pretty high. Hell, I was hooked the minute they handed me the razor-sharp curved assassin's blade known as the Karambit. interests.Īs we've grown to expect from the franchise, the story was gripping the moment I started playing Splinter Cell Blacklist ($19.95 at Amazon UK). It's a good thing, too, because a group of terrorists calling themselves The Engineers have had enough of the omnipresent US military and have launched a terror ultimatum called The Blacklist-a deadly series of escalating attacks on U.S. Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher is back, and he's more lethal than ever.