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Splinter Cell Blacklist (anti)hype thread | Experience All 5 Stages of Ironside Loss

And it seems less 'Spies vs Mercs' than 'Knives vs Guns'.
Pretty much my experience with COD.

Knives vs Guns vs Explosives vs Lag. Knives did way, way too well, all things considered.

And I'm not sure if there's anything in gaming more frustrating than plugging a sprinting knifer with a shotgun blast or SMG burst only to then die from rabid stabbination, and then watch your kill-cam and see yourself just standing there.
 
I've just been watching the news and it got me thinking.Could it be possible that the game will be delayed, due to the situation in Yemen or possible attacks on other targets? ( one of the mission locations is Sana'a, Yemen ).
 
That streaming video was pretty cool. The devs dominated as both Spies and Mercs. Really feeling the Mercs now. My main problem with the previous SvsM is that the Merc was a chore to play it. You're either really fuckin' bad or really fuckin' good, there's no in-between like the spies.

Can't wait!
 
Never played a S.C game, but I heard there was local co-op, and I am pretty sure I will day one this now.

I am also reading that this is apparently more like classic S.C games? Even though I've never played past games, it'd bother me to think that this is yet another IP that suffers from following the cookie-cutter formula for modern games
 

Sober

Member
Never played a S.C game, but I heard there was local co-op, and I am pretty sure I will day one this now.

I am also reading that this is apparently more like classic S.C games? Even though I've never played past games, it'd bother me to think that this is yet another IP that suffers from following the cookie-cutter formula for modern games
It probably won't top the fan favourite, Chaos Theory, but it certainly looks like a proper return to form for the most part whereas older Tom Clancy franchises this gen haven't really recovered from Hollywood-ization of video games (Rainbow Six from tactical shooter with planning elements into cover shooter, Ghost Recon a tactical-heavy focused shooter into shootbang cover shooter with some mild tactical elements). The second to last previous game, Double Agent, was an interesting experiment but ended poorly. The previous title that Blacklist is an actual sequel to, Conviction, was more of video game staring Sam Fisher (the playable character) than it was a Splinter Cell game. If you've also played Hitman: Absolution, I argue it is the same thing and it isn't a Hitman game, but a video game starring Agent 47.

Also depends on who you ask. Some "hardcore fans" have a "funny" revisionist history about the franchise being more akin to maybe something like Thief or something else. That is to say that Chaos Theory is like the reverse Spiderman 3 that was so good that it retroactively caused fans to think the first two games were just as open-ended and freeform, when in reality they were a bit more linear or slightly puzzle-y over sandbox stealth. It's mostly a shame that after Chaos Theory that the series thought it could go back to how it was prior to it; only now does it seem to dawn on the developers to try to capture that magic again.
 

Sober

Member
Here's an update, mostly starring the performance actors. I think it's a weird idea to go about it so late when they could've maybe introduced them a bit earlier in development. Not just Eric Johnson (Sam Fisher) when the "fans" started gnashing their teeth over Ironside's departure. So far they haven't really done too much of a convincing job to use motion capture ... well, unless I guess you add Far Cry 3 into the equation.

IGN Feature: Sam Fisher Declassified - talking heads with Eric Johnson and some of the development team about Sam Fisher (the character); Patrick Redding also has some choice words to say about the franchise as a whole (especially regarding Chaos Theory and where the franchise goes from there).

And then some interviews with the rest of the main cast:


Last but not least, spoilers but here is a walkthrough of a "ghost" co-op map, Hawkins Seafort, played with co-op. Second player camera is also shown inset.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH93Dytit0Y

Fairly short, but mostly because the level is just nice and open ended and in co-op it seems like you can just split up and go for objectives alone (since it also doubles as a solo map). Don't know if there are many or any co-op moves that open up some new paths, but it's nice to see the level is just a single location and pretty detailed exterior and interior to explore.
 
It probably won't top the fan favourite, Chaos Theory, but it certainly looks like a proper return to form for the most part whereas older Tom Clancy franchises this gen haven't really recovered from Hollywood-ization of video games (Rainbow Six from tactical shooter with planning elements into cover shooter, Ghost Recon a tactical-heavy focused shooter into shootbang cover shooter with some mild tactical elements). The second to last previous game, Double Agent, was an interesting experiment but ended poorly. The previous title that Blacklist is an actual sequel to, Conviction, was more of video game staring Sam Fisher (the playable character) than it was a Splinter Cell game. If you've also played Hitman: Absolution, I argue it is the same thing and it isn't a Hitman game, but a video game starring Agent 47.

Also depends on who you ask. Some "hardcore fans" have a "funny" revisionist history about the franchise being more akin to maybe something like Thief or something else. That is to say that Chaos Theory is like the reverse Spiderman 3 that was so good that it retroactively caused fans to think the first two games were just as open-ended and freeform, when in reality they were a bit more linear or slightly puzzle-y over sandbox stealth. It's mostly a shame that after Chaos Theory that the series thought it could go back to how it was prior to it; only now does it seem to dawn on the developers to try to capture that magic again.

Thank you for this.

I recently started playing Absolution, my first Hitman game, and I'm also reading into the criticism of the game's linearity and Hollywood focus.

I've played lots of IPs that suffered from this same crap, but I'm strongly considering getting Blood Money off of PSN to see what Hitman is at its peak.

If the co-op split-screen is as great as I envision and if it emphasizes smart stealth and tactic mechanics, then I may as well preorder. I especially love the idea of a Perfectionist mode, and I hope that carries over to the co-op.
 

Sober

Member
So this game has officially gone gold. Sorry, no last minute Michael Ironside voice over (DLC incoming).

Pretty confident or lots of money involved if IGN's review of it is going to be dropped on the 14th, pretty much a week before it releases.

OT should be up before then.
 

AJ_Wings

Member
So this game has officially gone gold. Sorry, no last minute Michael Ironside voice over (DLC incoming).

Pretty confident or lots of money involved if IGN's review of it is going to be dropped on the 14th, pretty much a week before it releases.

OT should be up before then.

Looking forward to the OT. Kinda weird I was really down on this game when it was announced and now it's one of the few AAA games I'm looking forward to this year.
 

danielcw

Member
Pretty confident or lots of money involved if IGN's review of it is going to be dropped on the 14th, pretty much a week before it releases.

I am not quite sure I understand what you are saying.
Would you elaborate or try to say in other words, please.
 

Sober

Member
I am not quite sure I understand what you are saying.
Would you elaborate or try to say in other words, please.
English, I suck at it apparently.

Ubi in this case must be very confident in the game to be reviewed well to allow a review to come out early (which IGN is writing). That extra week might net them some more people buying/preordering.

Or Ubi is willing to sink a bunch of money into it, but this game doesn't really feel like a big seller to justify buying a good review to convince people to buy the game. Just on Steam (so looking at the majority of PC DD - or just all PC sales) it's still sitting in the bottom half of their top sellers chart.
 

SMT

this show is not Breaking Bad why is it not Breaking Bad? it should be Breaking Bad dammit Breaking Bad
This game is amazing, you guys will be surprised when you get your hands on it.
 

Sober

Member
No, you don't :)

and thank you.


EDIT:
did we start collecting good deals for the game?

What is the cheapest way for PC gamers to buy the game?
Russian steam gift?
There might be people selling their keys from Nvidia codes, but those are UPlay keys (no Steam).
 

Sober

Member
As always, spoiler warning for SP/co-op videos


Gameplay:

Official trailers:

Dev Diaries/Interviews/Behind the Scenes stuff (might also contain SP footage):

Interviews with the performance actors:
 

Sober

Member
Again, this is Realistic. Title of the video has been changed to reflect it.
Huh that's weird, unless realistic also turns off perfectionist helpers. I know the AAR says realistic but some of the tell-tale signs of Perfectionist are there, like the lack of Mark and Execute even popping up (the gauge is gone, no "execute ready" prompt following a melee takedown) and the ammo boxes are turned off (no light).

edit: I guess I'll just omit the difficulty in the text but it certainly isn't normal because of the points he's getting.
 
The Robert Cram videos are probably the best this game's looked so far. I'm still not sold on day 1 because there are other releases around this I want more, but I'll be keeping my eye on it.
 

Ryan_IGN

Member
Pretty confident or lots of money involved if IGN's review of it is going to be dropped on the 14th, pretty much a week before it releases.

OT should be up before then.

Please don't do this. FYI we don't have an exclusive; the general review embargo lifts that day.
 

Sober

Member
Please don't do this. FYI we don't have an exclusive; the general review embargo lifts that day.
Well that's actually very surprising that Ubisoft is that confident in the game at this point. That being said, did not hear anyone else having reviews coming out soon, nor did I notice any major outlets doing some previews in August besides you guys.

Don't seem to see much actual chatter about the game from the general population though.
 
I am still so livid they got rid of Michael Ironside. Not hearing his voice in the game sucks ass.

I am getting a little more used to it, but the first time I heard that other guy's voice in the game I just sat there in disbelief.
 

Sojgat

Member
I am still so livid they got rid of Michael Ironside. Not hearing his voice in the game sucks ass.

I am getting a little more used to it, but the first time I heard that other guy's voice in the game I just sat there in disbelief.

TV's Flash Gordon will probably always be readily available, and want to be there.

Wish they had just introduced another character instead of recasting Sam though.
 

Ryan_IGN

Member
Well that's actually very surprising that Ubisoft is that confident in the game at this point. That being said, did not hear anyone else having reviews coming out soon, nor did I notice any major outlets doing some previews in August besides you guys.

Don't seem to see much actual chatter about the game from the general population though.

I agree that it seems to indicate a lot of confidence on Ubi's part. And there was a big full hands-on preview event fairly recently. If IGN was the only site you saw coverage on coming out of that, then I guess it just means we're excited about the game. :)
 
Any news on a Spies vs. Mercs demo? I would love to see for myself if this comes close to the sublime Pandora Tomorrow/Chaos Theory version instead of the disaster Double Agent version.
 

DrBo42

Member
Urgh those blue lights are irritating, any chance you can disable them?

The ghost blue is really nice IMO.

reward2.jpg
 
haven't been keeping up on this game

Is single player Deniable Ops, Hunter mode, infiltration, etc going to be in Blacklist?

---
I'm a huge stealth fan. Blood Money was my first but Chaos Theory made it a passion. Nothing beats shadow based stealth

But with GTA V coming out next month (fucking finally!!!), I have a dilemma. Blacklist, which looks like a true return to form, or GTA V, which is...the new GTA with the biggest world yet and that's really all that needs to be said

I'm only getting one $60 release so I have to decide
 

Zep

Banned
haven't been keeping up on this game

Is single player Deniable Ops, Hunter mode, infiltration, etc going to be in Blacklist?

---
I'm a huge stealth fan. Blood Money was my first but Chaos Theory made it a passion. Nothing beats shadow based stealth

But with GTA V coming out next month (fucking finally!!!), I have a dilemma. Blacklist, which looks like a true return to form, or GTA V, which is...the new GTA with the biggest world yet and that's really all that needs to be said

I'm only getting one $60 release so I have to decide

That's an easy decision IMO. I think we'll see Blacklist hit the $40 mark a month or two from release.
 
Is single player Deniable Ops, Hunter mode, infiltration, etc going to be in Blacklist?
Doesnt seem to be the same setup as Conviction. There are plenty of co-op missions, and some of them can be solo'd.

Don't think there is Hunter or Infiltration modes anymore, which I'll miss. Those are modes and maps I go back to again and again when I get that stealthy terrorist-hunt itch.
 
The last splinter cell that I played was Double Agent and it sucked on GameCube, the gamepad feature is a good addition to Blacklist so I will give this one a try on Wii U.
 
Now that's the Splinter Cell I fell in love width
Conviction was a good stealth action game, but this is true stealth. Stalking from the darkness, outmanuevering in the shadows

Was curious. between Batman's Predator stealth, MGS's line of sight stealth, Crysis/DE's cloaking stealth, I've always prefered SC's shadow based stealth over the others. Just seems more realistically, the way of a real operative would infiltrate. Which do you prefer?

And if anyone's interested in reading, I posted this little write up on NeoGAF two months ago:
From The Shadows: Why stealth is so empowering
 

Sober

Member
Doesnt seem to be the same setup as Conviction. There are plenty of co-op missions, and some of them can be solo'd.

Don't think there is Hunter or Infiltration modes anymore, which I'll miss. Those are modes and maps I go back to again and again when I get that stealthy terrorist-hunt itch.
Hunter/terrorist hunt still exists in the form of panther coop (soloable) maps as they seem to be in Conviction. Infiltration though it's less "hunter with a twist" and more focused on objectives and exploration.

From what I have seem it looks like panther/hunter style maps retain the Conviction style of "clear small sandbox area, move to next one" while ghost/infiltration maps are one large sandbox area (think something like the Bank mission in Chaos Theory) that seems to have nonlinear objectives.

Assault maps seem to be horde mode-ish where you have to defend a something against waves of enemies but you can use stealth.

Also, no jumping? C'mon Ubisoft.
To be fair I noticed you can literally climb on most things/ledges that works otherwise lower to dead ends/have no real navigational use ... Or do you mean using jumps as a cheap way to generate noise like in the old games? :p
 

legacyzero

Banned
To be fair I noticed you can literally climb on most things/ledges that works otherwise lower to dead ends/have no real navigational use ... Or do you mean using jumps as a cheap way to generate noise like in the old games? :p
In some videos, I noticed quite a few times where the Spy could have jumped from one ledge to another. It would have been perfect.
 
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