An In-depth Assessment of Splinter Cell: Blacklist @ the Microsoft Pre-E3 Press Briefing

As Sam attempts to interrogate the terrorist leader it quickly becomes obvious from the radio chatter that he is deviating from the plan: the question being asked is simply what is he doing? The mission was to capture the terrorist leader, and not to locate and interrogate him on-site, but it seems that the strong desire that Sam feels to obtain some answers has overwhelmed his usual dedication to the mission, and unfortunately as the impromptu interrogation fizzles out -- with the terrorist leader not providing the answers that Sam was clearly anticipating -- the exchange takes a different and unanticipated path as his prisoner observes that the presence of Sam means he is already dead anyway! As we watch the man jerks his finger against Sam's hand causing the pistol at his throat to discharge, ending his life and depriving Sam -- and 4th Echelon -- with instant and convenient access to the information that they came seeking...

Thus ends the presentation, with the hosts letting us know that the game will ship next Spring.

---

The common mental image of Sam Fisher hanging from an object above, his iconic night-vision goggles on his head, and about to deliver death from above in the night is now juxtaposed with a new mental image of a Sam Fisher who operates in the light of day, no less effective, but distinctly different in his actions and his tactics.

---

It is now six months after the events that unfolded violently in 2008's Splinter Cell: Conviction, and something important has changed: The Sam Fisher of today appears to be the same Sam Fisher of yesterday, only different -- for one thing he is no longer hiding in the shadows and owning the night, he is practicing his special talents in broad daylight, and the enemy is suffering for it!

Make no mistake -- this is still the stealth action-adventure game series that we have all come to know and follow faithfully -- but this time there are added elements, like drone and missile attacks, and a Sam Fisher who is just interested in getting the job done, any way he can.

Probably the biggest difference between Blacklist and the previous titles in the series is its focus -- the previous games were a very personal journey with Sam, who was solving problems that directly dealt with his life, or with threats to his family and friends, but this time around it is more like a ripped-from-the-headlines, America is at war sort of deal, and what he is all about is taking the assets of his newly formed, new and improved 4th Echelon, which is now based out of a large airborne command center and has a nearly limitless pool of resources to draw from, and taking the fight to the enemy -- both the ones we can see, and the ones that still hide in the shadows.

Perhaps the greatest strength of the game is the way that a more fluid style of combat has been integrated into it, so that Sam can move and kill at the same time -- and use his voice to engage the enemy and call in support. The staged and targeted bullet-time attacks really boost the cool-factor for this one, we have to say, as it extends the whole sense of fluid and deadly presence that is Sam Fisher...

---

In this video: An in-depth look at the upcoming next title in the Tom Clancy Splinter Cell series -- Splinter Cell: Blacklist -- featuring the well-known and celebrated actors Michael Ironside and Eric Johnson who provide the voice of character Sam Fisher past and present (respectively), and are joined by Director David Footman to provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the creation-process for Blacklist, and the character of Sam Fisher.

---

If that is a good news / bad news scenario for you, that would make you an established fan of the series, so we expect you will need some adjustment time here, but perhaps adding a little more good news will help to ease that process for you? Well how about this: Splinter Cell: Blacklist marks the return of the celebrated multiplayer mode Spies vs. Mercenaries -- the absence of which in the previous game in the series was one of the most lamented missing bits for the community. Well hey, not only is it back but the developers have made considerable effort to integrate both the multiplayer side AND the co-op side of the game into a sort of seamless collaboration with the single-player story mode of the game!

As hard as we tried we could not pry more details out of Ubisoft's PR's -- we know they know, but we also know that they are not authorized to say anything more than what has officially been released so far, and that includes up to today, with the Microsoft Xbox 360 Pre-E3 Press Briefing. But that did not stop us from trying -- and annoying -- the PR's.