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Splinter Cell: Blacklist |OT| Warning: May Contain Trace Amounts Of Stealth

Exile20

Member
Is this game worth it just for the multiplayer? I was never into the singleplayer for splintecell but the spies vs mercs look really interesting and something I can get into.
 

K.Sabot

Member
Is this game worth it just for the multiplayer? I was never into the singleplayer for splintecell but the spies vs mercs look really interesting and something I can get into.

It's alright, more like Double Agent than Chaos Theory.

Some poor level design holds it back.
 
The lack of a host migration feature is infuriating. Had a few good games of SvM, only to have the host of the match leave right before the time expired.
 
Weird. I'm finding the game a ton of fun, but the side missions are fucking pissing me off. Keep failing on the first one from Kobin, while Grim's first one, I finished after a lot of tries. Maybe I'm just really rusty?

I'm enjoying the story a lot though. I'll play the campaign and maybe spies vs mercs, earn some cash, upgrade equipment, then do the side missions.

Oh, btw: Silenced Sniper Rifle IS THE BEST, MY GOD.
 

Onikaan

Member
Still on the first mission, so I'll hold my full judgement for now.

However, it's really frustrating to play. Might just be getting used to the controls but I've been screwed over a lot already by Sam moving to places I never wanted to put him in the first place.
 
In the original SvM in Pandora Tomorrow it was basically a techo game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. No matter what the enemy countered you with it was possible to counter that again. If the Spies were using anything electronic the Mercs had a vision that could detect electrical devices, even what the Spies were using. Are you saying that there is nothing that can be used to see the Spies camouflage?

Off the top of my head I cannot remember the 'gadget', but the mercs do have an active ping type accessory that will 'kill' camo... It likes a red laser bubble that grows away from the merc in a pinging fashion? Hah, best I can describe it.

Even then, regardless... Game is hardcore unbalanced in favor of spies to a ridiculous extent. And to me, classic mode really was a gut punch when I played it and said to myself 'so this is what ubi feels was 'classic' about SvM? Wonderful'.
 

haikira

Member
It's finally unlocked here in the UK! Definitely going to try some multiplayer later on.

Noticed a problem with steam. It's not tracking my playtime for Blacklist, on my account. I know it's not that important, but it's bugging me lol.
 

evanbrau

Neo Member
Just started trying to play this on the PC (steam copy) and used the fix to actually get the thing to launch. Then, when I get into the game it hangs on the first screen unless I alt-tab to something different then continues to display the mouse cursor throughout the first few moments of the game before crashing completely. Was looking forward to this one too...
 

LTWheels

Member
Can't decide if I should pull the trigger on buying the game. If it was single player only it would be quite easy to hold back until a steam sale. But with spies v mercs, I'm afraid that if I don't buy it now, the online population would have died off by the time I get around to buying the game.
 

Pyronite

Member
I gave in and bought this for $60 today. The Giant Bomb Quick Look sold me in the end, along with the impressions you guys have had.

Here's to some stealthy fun.
 
Loving the hell out of the campaign and side missions and loadouts and replayability, but man it can all come to a crashing halt when the campaign throws you into scripted ambushes with a few seconds to react tops before being completely overwhelmed, killed, and forced to restart from the checkpoint, again.

The farther into the game I get the more these situations come up and the more trial and error they become. Really sours things.

The disk swapping is also annoying. Am on disk two of campaign after what, six missions or so? And if I want to do any of the side missions I have to load up disk one again, and then disk two for campaign from where I left off. Why is this even necessary with a game installed to the HDD?

Final gripe: Shifting from cover around corners or through doorways rather than swat turns isn't something you can accomplish smoothly, especially when under fire. This really hurts the assault playstyle, which I'm trying to get to click for me. So far assault seems to be about rewarding points to players for making the absolute worst tactical decisions possible.

That all reads as negative but don't get me wrong, I'm having a great time otherwise. There's a *lot* to love here. I haven't even watched this week's Breaking Bad yet because of this game's monopoly on my free time. Believe me, thats about the best compliment I can give it at the moment :)
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
The disk swapping is also annoying. Am on disk two of campaign after what, six missions or so? And if I want to do any of the side missions I have to load up disk one again, and then disk two for campaign from where I left off. Why is this even necessary with a game installed to the HDD?
Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense on 360. The PC version clocks in at almost 20gb. :O
 

UrbanRats

Member
Weird. I'm finding the game a ton of fun, but the side missions are fucking pissing me off. Keep failing on the first one from Kobin, while Grim's first one, I finished after a lot of tries. Maybe I'm just really rusty?

I'm enjoying the story a lot though. I'll play the campaign and maybe spies vs mercs, earn some cash, upgrade equipment, then do the side missions.

Oh, btw: Silenced Sniper Rifle IS THE BEST, MY GOD.

I found that Grim's are fairly doable, but Kobin's can be a real pain in the ass.
I mean they're basically the same (if you get caught you have to restart) but since in theory, in the Kobin ones you can continue after being caught, they're more full of people and you have to get them all.
Been playing them all solo on realistic tho, and i'm definitely NOT good at stealth games.

I'm loving the game too.
I only wish it had LAN support. :\
 

Gaz_RB

Member
Yeah after
Philadelphia
I'm starting to dislike those damn action sequences...

The train made me want kill myself... I can't understand why they would not let you go along the side or something. Funneling you down the tiny ass train was a stupid game design decision. At least the whole game isn't like this. Didnt like the airplane assault sequence either. Hopefully Louisiana and onwards is better.
 

Pyronite

Member
Remember how incredibly pissed off people were when the trailer was released and how 95% of GAF was absolutely sure this game completely did away with stealth? (I was working for Ubi at the time, and it was ridiculous the amount of hate it got.)
 

Zep

Banned
Remember how incredibly pissed off people were when the trailer was released and how 95% of GAF was absolutely sure this game completely did away with stealth? (I was working for Ubi at the time, and it was ridiculous the amount of hate it got.)

Blame the marketing team, not GAF. After that initial showing, I wasn't gonna touch this game with a 10ft pole. Luckily I came back and saw a ghost playthrough that clicked with me right away and I bought it.
 
Remember how incredibly pissed off people were when the trailer was released and how 95% of GAF was absolutely sure this game completely did away with stealth?
How were people supposed to react? We had Conviction as the last release and the marketing was all about assault, killing in motion, going loud, airstrikes, explosions and torture.

People react to what is shown, and marketers should know that first impressions are hard to shake off.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Remember how incredibly pissed off people were when the trailer was released and how 95% of GAF was absolutely sure this game completely did away with stealth? (I was working for Ubi at the time, and it was ridiculous the amount of hate it got.)

You can't blame GAF or the rest of the internet for what you/Ubisoft showed at the time.

People/fans didn't like Conviction. Why the fuck would you show more of that?

Spike6663 said:
So spies being able to knife mercs from the front....I'm no SC purist but this just seems ridiculous.

Only ridiculous because Spies can corner hump and then rush a Merc that has no way of shooting the corner humping spy because their hitboxes are fucked up.
 

legacyzero

Banned
Remember how incredibly pissed off people were when the trailer was released and how 95% of GAF was absolutely sure this game completely did away with stealth? (I was working for Ubi at the time, and it was ridiculous the amount of hate it got.)
You had my money the moment you showed Spies Vs Mercs. ALL I NEEDED.
 

foxtrot3d

Banned
Remember how incredibly pissed off people were when the trailer was released and how 95% of GAF was absolutely sure this game completely did away with stealth? (I was working for Ubi at the time, and it was ridiculous the amount of hate it got.)

I'm playing the game now and the pre-launch hate was justified. The game is just Conviction 2.0 in fact I think it has more action crap than Conviction. Gone are the days where one or two guys with a flashlight was the tensest a mission got. Now every level has a room of about 20 bad guys and its damn near impossible to get through a mission without killing anybody (that includes non-lethal takedowns because it's really the same as killing someone) and not being seen.

I'm supposed to be a spy not god damn Jack Bauer or Jason Bourne, I don't wanna kill anyone, I don't wanna know anyone out, I don't want anyone to see me. I don't need an action set piece with explosions, or UAV/AC130 missions that are about 7 years old now, etc.

Also, who wrote this story and mean Christ it is terrible especially the dialogue. I'ma just super quick sound off on things that really piss me off in the story and in case you wanna know where I am storywise
I just beat the Iran Embassy Mission

1. Sam and The President, why does Sam and Grim speak directly to the President? They did that crap in Conviction too, I'm sorry but the President doesn't speak directly to operatives there is a chain of command. Look at MGS at no point does Snake ever receive direct orders from the President himself, it's always channeled through the chain, hell even the past SC games knew that.

2. Chain of Command, is Same in charge or what? The game feels like an episode of NCIS or some other bad police procedural. Everyone just throws in their two cents and does things without approval. This is supposed to be a covert militarily structured outfit, Sam is in charge that means any actions must be approved by him, and Grim can't go talking to the FUCKING PRESIDENT while Sam isnt even present. That's called "going over someones head" a big no-no in the military world.

3. The dialogue and characters, I'm sorry but I have to state this again it's horrible it really is just like a bad police procedural. You got the weird tech constantly spouting techno babble and talking about hacking this and that, the person that doesnt think you should be in charge but grows to respect you, the rookie learning the ropes who the main character is at odds with first due to this lack of experience but grows to trust him. And then, the dialogue just plays out from these stereotypes.
Also, did Grim really think it was ok to launch UAV strikes in Iran
You can;t cover that up, that is a direct cause for war
You just killed dozens on Iranian soldiers and officials, in their own country, on a highway, after you invaded
 

Pyronite

Member
You can't blame GAF or the rest of the internet for what you/Ubisoft showed at the time.

People/fans didn't like Conviction. Why the fuck would you show more of that?

I wasn't on the marketing team, but I can only assume they thought it'd present better to a general audience. I'll agree that it was a mistake in regards to hardcore Splinter Cell fans, but it's hard to make a sober stealth trailer exciting. The designers on the team made a point to come out and reassure the hardcore fans that there was a big focus on stealth, but that got lost in the reaction to the trailer.

You had my money the moment you showed Spies Vs Mercs. ALL I NEEDED.

Add me on Steam if any of you guys are up for SvM sometime. I need a good group.

Also, who wrote this story and mean Christ it is terrible especially the dialogue. I'ma just super quick sound off on things that really piss me off in the story and in case you wanna know where I am storywise
I just beat the Iran Embassy Mission

I didn't write the story... but I worked with the guy who did! (Sorry you didn't like it.)

He's generally a great writer, and writing is what he does. They put a lot of work into it. I haven't played through the SP yet, so I don't have any opinions on that front. He's definitely not the far-right Team America-type that some of the responses to the game's story have indicated, so I'm curious to see how it plays out. Maybe that just works better in this style of game.
 

SystemBug

Member
Honestly, some of the narrative discrepancies outstanding - the game sings.

Also, one thing I have realized with ghosting a few areas is that you can do them really quickly i.e. the rooftop in the Abandoned Mill mission
 

Grisby

Member
Tip for xbros, I've been doing all of the side missons before moving on with the main stuff. Think I'm still on the 4th misson.

Doing it so I don't have to keep swapping discs back and forth.
 

DesertFox

Member
I use RFD, useful for when spies are always using vision modes on you. Truth is all the merc vision modes kinda suck though.
I was afraid of this. The augmented reality one that highlights gunfire and "movement" has so far been completely worthless.
 
I've got no complaints on the story. Its better than average for these games, and it sets the tone, provides context and gives each character their own perspective and arc. The tech jargon has all made perfect sense so far and the "police procedural" criticism almost sounds like an accolade when it comes to stories in modern military games, so yeah, its all more than OK by me. :)

Tip for xbros, I've been doing all of the side missons before moving on with the main stuff. Think I'm still on the 4th misson.

Doing it so I don't have to keep swapping discs back and forth.
Now that I've dipped a toe into the side missions I'm actually going to do the opposite and save em for after the campaign. Unless I'm completely out of cash and need some kit that is.

And yeah, I'd probably have gotten this for the PS3 if I knew it swapped like this. Any comparisons between the 360/PS3 versions out there?
 

PusherT

Junior Member
Another wii u owner signing up to fight the blacklist. Wii u gaffers unite my Nintendo network handle is Airchap hit me up guys for co op.
 

Grisby

Member
Eh, I'll save the story comments until I finish the game.
And yeah, I'd probably have gotten this for the PS3 if I knew it swapped like this. Any comparisons between the 360/PS3 versions out there?
It's actually not that bad because all of the side stuff seems to be on the first disc, which is what I'll be replaying the most anyways.
 

Xellos

Member
It's been a long time since I bought a Splinter Cell game (Chaos Theory), but I'm enjoying this so far. This gameplay seems more action oriented than CT, but there are plenty of options for stealth too.

My favorite moment so far was engaging a squad of guards, watching them set up defensive positions at a gate, throwing a smoke grenade at said gate, and then circling around them in the confusion. The whole time they kept looking to the spot I where had been, and one of them wondered aloud if I was still there. It was pretty cool. I also liked Grim's optional mission, but I kept getting spotted by the dog and running into laser alarms.

Anyone have tips for stealthing past dogs? The one in Grim's level spotted me every single time. One time it even spotted my fiber optic camera while I was in the next room! I evetually threw a sticky cam into the room and used the knockout gas, but surely there's a better strategy than that.

Picked up for Wii U, so console specific impressions: Gamepad as Sticky Cam/fiber optic wire is a gimmick, but it's a really cool one and fits well with the game. Touch pad for weapon selection is a nice convenience. As for graphics, it holds 30fps for the most part. The framerate chugs a bit during sections more enemies (moreso if they're alerted), and briefly when the game needs to transition to a new area. Nothing too bad though, and certainly better than launch games like AC3 or Batman. Haven't tried multiplayer yet, but I'm hoping that I won't run into the freezing bugs that some of ther posters in this thread have encountered. I haven't had a hardlock since the last major OS update. *knock on wood*
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
I wasn't on the marketing team, but I can only assume they thought it'd present better to a general audience. I'll agree that it was a mistake in regards to hardcore Splinter Cell fans, but it's hard to make a sober stealth trailer exciting. The designers on the team made a point to come out and reassure the hardcore fans that there was a big focus on stealth, but that got lost in the reaction to the trailer.

Protip for next-time: Show people ghosting around and maybe silently taking out dudes from behind. Don't show "HOOAH OSCAR MIKE! OSCAR MIKE! WE NEED AN AIRSTRIKE HERE SO WE CAN OSCAR MIKE!"/Call of Duty explosions a minute as an initial trailer for a stealth series you know? It doesn't give a good first impression.
---

Anyway, speaking of which: Anyway to ghost/no-kill the non-Grim missions on Perfectionist or should I ignore them and continue the main story for my no-kill run? I tried doing the computer nerd's Hoard mode but that wants you to kill people or something. :/
 
Is the Blacklist server unavailable for anyone else? This is pissing me off!!!

Miiverse pic, 5 mins ago:

zlCfzRGbBjEzi-7xS6
 
Looking for PC players to tackle the coop missions with sometime. "keltickennedy" on uplay.

I'm down. I haven't done a single one yet.


Krappadizzle on Uplay. I'll send you an invite.

Seems I can't find you on Uplay. Try sending me on?

edit:

If anyone would like to tackle co-op, I'd like to give it a try on Realistic. Krappadizzle on uplay. I have a mic and a mumble server that GAF has been using for DayZ forever. If anyone wants mumble info let me know.
 
Can't decide if I should pull the trigger on buying the game. If it was single player only it would be quite easy to hold back until a steam sale. But with spies v mercs, I'm afraid that if I don't buy it now, the online population would have died off by the time I get around to buying the game.

Not just that but there is a cash unlock system which means whatever is left playing will outgear you significantly, or you can just be a spy and play god mode.
 
I know that it seems unlikely, but does anyone happen to have a spare Upper Echelon code? My retailer seems to have screwed it up, looks like I'm not getting the code anymore...
I don't really care about the cosmetics but I'd love to have access to the map for upcoming co-op sessions.

Just let me know via PM. It'd be much appreciated!

Edit: I'm on 360, by the way.
 
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