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[KingSnake]

I don't trust Edge one bit since the shameful review they did for Lego City Undercover. Remember, Edge gave a 5 to LCU, the same as Aliens Colonial Marines.

 

[iNvid02]

the tearing was immense, wouldn't touch this for a long while if it werent on PC

 

[diffusionx]

I'm not some hardcore Splinter Cell fanboy, I just want a good game.

Conviction was not a good game, and it got great scores. I can't believe any of these sites regarding this franchise.

It is, granted. You can play it as stealthly as you want: the fact you can also act more aggressively doesn't mean you're forced to and that it will be as rewarding, exactly like you can do in Dishonored.

I don't even consider Dishonored much of a stealth game - the game got way more fun when you had to fight your way out of situations. Conviction, though, wasn't really a stealth game and the combat wasn't even fun. It also had maybe the worst modern combat level that isn't in a PSX Spec Ops game.

 

[antitrop]

Man, that's just about the worst possible point to stop playing the series. You gotta play Chaos Theory ASAP.

Conviction was a pretty good action game, too.

 

[BRocknRolla]

Is the Edge review worth paying attention to?

I'm not familiar with their track record.

I tend to agree with Edge more than not. They're harder on games than a lot of other outlets, so I'm very happy they're around.

Conviction was not a good game, and it got great scores. I can't believe any of these sites regarding this franchise.

I'm with you on this. Obviously it's a matter of opinion, but games like these are exactly why it's important to find reviewers with tastes that match your own. Conviction and Dragon Age 2 come to mind as games that got great reviews that I was flabbergasted with disappointment by after finishing. Hard to know who to trust when the next iteration of the game comes around.

 

[xandaca]

On the verge of cancelling my pre-order. Having never played a Splinter Cell game before, I was hoping for something vaguely non-linear and a little more subtle than the bog-standard COD bombastics. Reads like this game is the opposite of that.

 

[Scoot2005]

Oh wow... Can't wait.

 

[Ridley327]

Platform comparison:

So, they basically turned on v-sync on the Wii U version.

They really need a new engine. Lead is so old and so not worth the iterating.

 

[PrivateRyan]

Interesting - Edge has scored Splinter Cell Blacklist lower than Spin The Bottle: Bumpie's Party

http://www.edge-online.com/review/spin-the-bottle-bumpies-party-review/

 

[lucius]

The reviews are pretty positive overall besides Edge, watching the cutscenes in the IGN review there were tons of tearing, which shouldn't really be, the graphics don't look anything that great.

 

[DukeBobby]

It's akin to a movie called Pirates of the Caribbean that has a pirate character named Jack Sparrow, set in space, featuring a bike race tournament to the death and giant robots.

That actually sounds much better, though.

 

[SJRB]

Interesting - Edge has scored Splinter Cell Blacklist lower than Spin The Bottle: Bumpie's Party

http://www.edge-online.com/review/spin-the-bottle-bumpies-party-review/

...what of it?

 

[Miker]

I wonder what the PC performance will be like. Conviction ran terribly for a modified version of the Unreal Engine.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

The point is that playing it non-stealth isn't punished, but actually rewarded. Yes, there's an option to play stealth, but there's also an option to play assault and this option isn't a switch, but decided by the player on the fly.

I really don't see the point here. I love stealth, I played Dishonored completely stealthly instead of using other approaches, and played and greatly enjoyed Blacklist completely stealthly (infact, it took me 12 hours instead of the 6 I read here). Should I be angry because it allows people who prefer an action approach to play the way they want?

There are even objectives rewarding you for completing the game without a single kill, or for mastering the Ghost style in at least 7 missions (there are for mastering the other styles too, as every mission is replayable at will).

So where's the problem? I should be angry for a game that allows me to play and enjoy it the way I want? C'mon... if Edge's writer wanted a stealth game and rushed through it using the assault style, then he wasn't playing properly.

 

[labaronx]

well that's another for next week splinter cell and saints row... your up xcom

 

[Ridley327]

I wonder what the PC performance will be like. Conviction ran terribly for a modified version of the Unreal Engine.

Blacklist is running on a modified version of that engine, so I can't imagine things will be much different. The engine is terrible, plain and simple.

 

[Demon Ice]

Fully expected all of the reviews to be like EDGE / Kotaku given how rough the game has looked in every trailer they've released. And I have a sneaking suspicion that those are the most accurate reviews in the OP.

 

[Resident4t.]

What? Since when in games time flows like in the real world? Blacklist takes place 6 months after Convicion, while IRL it's been 3 years.

Sam is 47 years old in the first Splinter Cell, which is set in 2004. Conviction is set in 2011, so that would mean he is around 54-55 years old when adding the 6 month gap from Conviction to Blacklist. Dude is old.

 

[Cave Johnson]

Opinions galore. The high praises stem from sites who appreciate the "accessibility" of the franchise while others (EDGE) remarks on said trope hampered on by AAA studios as of late. Nothing special, Totally Predictable.

I know where my money is going...

Spoiler

STEAM SALE.

 

[wrog]

Good scores, day 1 for me.

 

[neorej]

I really don't see the point here. I love stealth, I played Dishonored completely stealthly instead of using other approaches, and played and greatly enjoyed Blacklist completely stealthly (infact, it took me 12 hours instead of the 6 I read here). Should I be angry because it allows people who prefer an action approach to play the way they want?

There are even objectives rewarding you for completing the game without a single kill, or for mastering the Ghost style in at least 7 missions (there are for mastering the other styles too, as every mission is replayable at will).

So where's the problem? I should be angry for a game that allows me to play and enjoy it the way I want? C'mon... if Edge's writer wanted a stealth game and rushed through it using the assault style, then he wasn't playing properly.

Does the game punish you for making a mistake while playing stealth?

 

[dragonbane]

Pretty much.

So glad I gave up on this series after Pandora Tomorrow.

Terrible mistake.

 

[PrivateRyan]

...what of it?

What of what? I said it's interesting.

 

[MAX PAYMENT]

Metal gear solid 4 allowed for balls to the wall and super stealth gameplay, but doesn't receive the same gameplay criticism. Hell it was GAF's GOTY 13 times!

 

[Hystzen]

Metal gear solid 4 allowed for balls to the wall and super stealth gameplay, but doesn't receive the same gameplay criticism. Hell it was GAF's GOTY 13 times!

Splinter Cell was a title that mainly concentrated on pure stealth and little gunplay , MGS was always up to you how to play it

 

[foxtrot3d]

By the time you reach the end of Blacklist everything has grown so big and so explosive that you’re left exhausted but not entirely satisfied, and maybe after all that incoherent action you’ll recall the time when a single flashlight in Chaos Theory’s Panamanian bank made you hold your breath. Ten men searching for Fisher doesn’t make for ten times the excitement, but it sure does give him a lot to shoot.

Damn. Sounds just about right, SC has really lost its way.

 

[Sober]

Where's Sober?

I was watching True Blood.

 

[glaurung]

Read the EDGE review and was really disappointed. On the plus side, there's one less game to buy this year.

*relegates Blacklist to the buy-when-below-15-pounds blacklist

 

[IncandescentPrecept]

Edge trying too hard.

 

[bronzeP]

I don't trust Edge one bit since the shameful review they did for Lego City Undercover. Remember, Edge gave a 5 to LCU, the same as Aliens Colonial Marines.

Aliens Colonials Marines isnt even worth a 2/10

 

[Miker]

Blacklist is running on a modified version of that engine, so I can't imagine things will be much different. The engine is terrible, plain and simple.

This just went from 50% off sale to 75% off sale.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

What of what? I said it's interesting.

How is that interesting?

 

[John Harker]

Edge is some of the best in the business. It amazes me how such a dedicate forum attacks them. Agenda bias of the individual?

 

[vladdamad]

Love the originals, but really wasn't impressed with what I saw during E3. I guess I'll wait for a price drop.

 

[Neuromancer]

firstperson missions

Wait, what?

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Does the game punish you for making a mistake while playing stealth?

If that's your objective, it "punishes" you without rewarding the perfect Ghost stile in the mission debriefing screen. In fact, I restarted many checkpoints just because I wasn't willing to give away that objective and was obsessed in completing everything perfectly.

 

[bronzeP]

Wait, what?

we had that already in Double Agent

 

[chickdigger802]

Any pc reviews yet?

is there even a pc one at launch?

 

[DerZuhälter]

Seems like it's good enough to keep you engaged till the end, but you will ultimately have completely forgotten about it come the end of the year.

Except if you play Spies vs Mercs.

 

[Kazerei]

Man, I'm so desperate for ANY stealth gameplay that I still want to pick up Blacklist.

 

[Skunkers]

The point is that playing it non-stealth isn't punished, but actually rewarded. Yes, there's an option to play stealth, but there's also an option to play assault and this option isn't a switch, but decided by the player on the fly.

That, and taking on 20 guys guns blazing in broad daylight, is what makes Conviction and Blacklist a departure from Splinter Cell.
It's akin to a movie called Pirates of the Caribbean that has a pirate character named Jack Sparrow, set in space, featuring a bike race tournament to the death and giant robots.

With that analogy, it totally makes sense that I'm still excited to play this; because I would totally watch the shit out of that movie.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Wait, what?

In the story campaign, there's one single mission where you alternate yourself playing as Sam and Briggs. As Sam you play third person, Briggs is FPS. But you still can play stealthly surprising enemies from the back and stunning them. Totally, the FPS missions will be something like 5-10 minutes of gameplay. There's the SvM multiplayer then, where you can play FPS as a Merc.

 

[NullPointer]

Those reviews seem pretty damn positive, except for the Edge one that reads like a Karambit to the carotid.

For the stealth-insistent, Blacklist is the most punitive game in Splinter Cell’s history. There are too many targets to evade and too little space in which to do it. Blacklist’s level design defies improvisation and ingenuity, and its checkpoint system denies creativity. It’s possible to fail and be returned to a checkpoint in a location you never visited – high on a catwalk rather than in the downstairs vent you used on your first attempt, perhaps – or be dropped several minutes before the encounter that made you hit pause/restart, or the wrong side of a temporarily unskippable cutscene, or standing a few feet from a terrorist who will see Fisher if you don’t immediately drop him.

Gah...

In the story campaign, there's one single mission where you alternate yourself playng ad Sam and Briggs. As Sam you play third person, Briggs is FPS. But you still can play stealthly surprising enemies from the back and stunning them. Totally, the FPS missions will be something like 5-10 minutes of gameplay. There's the SvM multiplayer then, where you can play FPS as a Merc.

Considering the way Spy vs Mercs is setup it's not so crazy a decision to give a hint of it in the campaign.

Man, I'm so desperate for ANY stealth gameplay that I still want to pick up Blacklist.

I'm still picking it up as I don't need it to be 100% stealth with no other options, so the mix seems fine - but if you're looking for something else I'm pretty sure Mark of the Ninja has DLC hitting this week.

 

[dragonbane]

we had that already in Double Agent

What, where? Probably only on the last gen versions right?

 

[AndrewDean84xX]

Can you play with bots with the Spies vs. Mercs Mode?

 

[Sober]

Edge is some of the best in the business. It amazes me how such a dedicate forum attacks them. Agenda bias of the individual?

Edge has some decent criticisms toward the game, but I do agree it seemed like maybe UbiTO designed themselves into a corner by having to bump up enemy counts at times because of Conviction. Then again watching Sessler talk about it he seemed very happy with the level design and already wanting to replay it or planning his next playthrough anyway, so maybe it's more of a slow burn.

If that's your objective, it "punishes" you without rewarding the perfect Ghost stile in the mission debriefing screen. In fact, I restarted many checkpoints just because I wasn't willing to give away that objective and was obsessed in completing everything perfectly.

You can improvise is the basic intent, but yeah the game rewards you. Dishonored I think did the same thing where if you murdered more people, later on in the game they would give you more people to murder, they just didn't advertise it heavily as Blacklist might.

Any pc reviews yet?

is there even a pc one at launch?

PC review copies apparently are after console ones otherwise I'm sure places like RPS would've gotten a WIT out on it?

 

[Soren01]

I like Edge.

 

[Sober]

What I'm actually waiting for is the saltiness involved when the official forums 'discovers' the EDGE review.

 

[Ein Bear]

The Edge review is the only one that isn't really positive, I don't know why everyone's fixating on it so much. Game sounds great, I've gone from zero interest to hyped.

 

[Sub_Level]

I would absolutely give Edge more credence than any of the others. And not because I agree with them all the time either (I had an Xbox preorder when they released their infamous This Is Your Next Console article for example)