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

What we can confirm is that the mission-based story mode is interlinked, which means that in dozens of ways the choices that you make -- and both your failures AND successes -- in each mission can (according to our sources WILL) impact the events of the missions that follow, which in simple terms and even though they refuse to confirm this, is confirmation that the game design for the single-player story-mode is dynamic.

In the past the story-mode in the game has always consisted of scripted events, with each being more or less its own little adventure, with very few dynamic links between them. When you killed a bad guy in one mission that had little effect upon the next, because that bad guy was not supposed to be part of the missions that followed, but in this new adventure what we think of as process is also a fluid element of the story itself, and some of those bad guys really do matter because they will -- assuming you have not kacked them -- show up later!

Obviously we do not have to tell you why that is such an important detail for the game; you already know it means that no two game plays will be the same, but that minor confirmation from the source is an important and even significant one, because when we read between the lines, it suggests that with the natural deviation that is built into the game, Splinter Cell: Blacklist is the entry in the series that will finally introduce a high-replay-factor.

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The new image of Sam Fisher combines the warrior-agent whose demonstrated skills in stealth and the silent kill are now augmented by a mastery of the more traditional military tactics of the traditional Special Operator, offering gamers and fans of the Splinter Cell series a side of Sam that is new and exciting but that will require re-learning how to most effectively be an agent of 4th Echelon!

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When Splinter Cell: Conviction was in its early PR stages a lot of the core fans of the series worried that its principal focus on Sam's life would somehow alter the feel of the game, so when Conviction finally launched (we told you about that when it was unveiled at PAX East that year) it was a considerable relief to find that the narrowed focus, far from altering the feel, increased and better refined it.

Recent scuttlebutt has already started making the rounds portraying Splinter Cell: Blacklist in much the same light, and claiming that its more general focus upon 4th Echelon and a dedicated Warrior-Sam (rather than stealthy Ghost-Sam) somehow alters the feel of the game -- which really does sound like Déjà vu...

While today's feature reveals -- and the most excellent demo play by Ubisoft's Alex Parizeau -- appears to confirm that in essence there is something to those concerns; with confirmation offered by both the PR's, the narration by Maxime Beland, and the consolidation of the dribs and drabs of information that have been provided over the past few months into this overview, suggests that we are going to find -- when the full game releases next year -- that just like with Conviction, those concerns will not survive our feelings when we actually play the game.

Keeping the faith is what we do as gamers -- especially when the game in question is the next entry in a well-established and well-liked series that has, for over a decade, provided us with the sort of intense game play and entertainment that promotes loyalty, and at the same time introduced to us a measure of style, kit, and special tactics that instantly differentiate the game and its protagonist from every other game in its genre.

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In this segment of the demo and video from the Microsoft Xbox 360 Pre-E3 2012 Press Briefing, we see why the integration of Microsoft Kinect is such a game-changing element, as well as revisit the selective and dynamic targeting that, combined with the bullet-time feature in the game adds to the strategic feel of play.

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Having observed that, it behooves us to remember that keeping the faith here means, realistically, that we must try to remember that while so much has changed, so little has been altered. The lion's share of the overall elements that made this series (and each game in it) unique and an almost instant favorite -- and for many of us prompted its inclusion in our personal list of Must Have Games -- has more to do with our comfort levels with the character of Sam Fisher and all of the awesome kit that collectively makes him one of the most effective (and dangerous) secret agent warriors ever, is also why we should emphasize in our minds that the reality here is that what we are being given is a fusion of what we know and love, mixed with new experiences, tech, and tactics, and therefore is something to be eagerly anticipated, and not dreaded.

Sam Fisher would be the first to point out that "Assumption is the Mother of all Screw-Ups" -- but even so it feels safe to assume, based upon what we know and what we can reasonably speculate on, that the end-results in what will be the finished game is a solid action-adventure stealth title that fuses the more traditional war games with what series purists will consider the stereotypical Sam Fisher style -- or put another way, the start of something new and good for the series and for our relationship with Sam and 4th Echelon.

Speculation aside, the briefing demo today has reassured us that the old moves and actions are still present, and rather than creating a new game with a new focus, the wizards at Ubisoft have just augmented the goodness that was with a new set of moves and actions -- and kit -- that will surely find us once again encountering little to be mourned and much to be celebrated in this rethinking of the Splinter Cell franchise!