Topic: Splinter Cell: BlackList

[MysterD]

NEW -- 8/10/2013:
UbiSoft -> Day 1 PC Patch for Version 1.01 released.

OLD:
UbiSoft Forums -> Blacklist PC Version system requirements revealed.
IGN -> SC: Blacklist has gone gold.
EGMNow -> "Ghost Playthrough" -- An alternate "sneakier" play-through through the same area they showed-off at E3 2012...with body carrying, dragging, dropping, & hiding at 5 mins and 10 seconds.GameSpot -> E3 2012 - Gameplay vid.
GameSpot -> E3 2012 - Gameplay vid w/ Max Beland.
Youtube -> Jade Raymond talks about UbiSoft Toronto studio and that they're working on Splinter Cell 6.

[Xessive]

Damn, some day I'll land gaming job.

[MysterD]

I almost fell out of my chair when they said they want to ramp-up that studio eventually to 800 employees.

[Xessive]

Revival!

Splinter Cell Blacklist is indeed being developed by Ubisoft Toronto, lead by none other than Jade Raymond.

Studio head Jade Raymond has stated that the game will still have the "action flick elements" from the series previous games, but also explore "...something a little bit more interesting that is actually one of the themes that's at the root of the franchise historically, but never has been surfaced so much."

WHAT ACTION FLICK ELEMENTS?!! None of the games in the franchise were like an action flick! They were tactical stealth games! The only one that really broke out of the formula was Conviction but even then it retained strong stealth-based gameplay mechanics!

I've said my piece (peace?) on their Facebook page (through their main website), which i will post here once I get a chance.

[MysterD]

@Xessive

I can't wait to see what you wrote over there posted on here, hehe.
I did like Conviction, but I still want MORE stealth elements like the earlier SC games. HIDING bodies - It was VERY annoying that they removed that in Conviction.
I want more lights to shoot out and stealthy things like that, which was NOT used as much in Conviction compared to the previous SC games.

I still think Chaos Theory was the best of the SC club. I don't think they'll top CT, if they keep going in the forced "less stealthy" direction. What was great about CT was you could go stealthy, but even if you screwed that up [unlike earlier SC games - it forced you to go 100% stealthy], you could go action-style and still [barely] find your way out of it. That was something the Hitman game series always did well, as well.

[Xessive]

Ungh, those Ubi bastards have taken extreme measures to conceal my comment among others! I had to dig it up from my Facebook Activity log since it is nowhere to be found on the Splinter Cell page.

Anyway here it is:

SC Blacklist is certainly a far deviation from the Splinter Cell series.

Is it just me or is Sam getting younger? At first I thought this was going to be a prequel but apparently not.

Honestly, I think if they couldn't get Michael Ironside on board then the main character may as well not be Sam Fisher. This could have been an opportunity to introduce a new protagonist and perhaps link him/her to Fisher.

I like some of the game mechanics but that's only because they're derived from previous SC titles (mainly Conviction). As a fan of Splinter Cell I wasn't impressed by the E3 demo because it strayed too far from familiar ground and felt like it spit in the eye of everything Ubisoft Montréal has built with the franchise over the years. Sam is now a generic agent, looking more like a cross between Logan (Siphon Filter) and Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible) than the grizzled old veteran that he is.

The greater concern though is that the game looks more like a sequel to "kill.switch" than any of the Splinter Cell games. The interface also has a very "arcade" look and feel rather than the tactical-styled UI elemets of previous games.

Overall it felt like they've taken out the gravity of stealth, making the game seem more like it was derived from a low-budget TV action series than a renowned tactical stealth game franchise.

They've still got time to make appropriate changes and I hope that they'll bring the game closer to home for Splinter Cell fans across the globe. Wishful thinking considering Ubisoft's past blunders *cough*Double Agent*cough*."

Yo, I posted another comment responding to their "E3 success" post.

The fans have no doubt that Ubisoft Toronto will deliver a high-quality production; the question is will we get the game we want?

I don't know why Jade Raymond would say that the game will still have the "action flick elements" from the series previous games, considering none of the previous games were about that at all. Yes Splinter Cell games have some action sequences but they're tactical stealth games not rampant action games! Stealth needs to be the focus of the gameplay. If you insist on making an action game then don't call it "Splinter Cell" because that will only deceive the true fans of the genre.

In terms of the story, it has to be canonical since it is chronologically following the events of Splinter Cell Conviction. Sam cannot be inexplicably younger than he was in Conviction. Furthermore, as the head of the newly founded Fourth Echelon how is he also in a field operative? That seems counterproductive especially considering (without giving away any spoilers) the events of Conviction and how critical leadership and loyalty play a role in the operation of a clandestine organization.

Throughout the series we keep hearing about "Splinter Cells" and field operatives who do a lot of the grunt work. We saw glimpses in the co-operative multiplayer of Chaos Theory (the two co-op agents, Blue & Red), and Archer from Conviction but no depth to their stories and background.

Anyway, as I mentioned in a previous comment, since Michael Ironside is not on board maybe it's time to retire Sam Fisher and give way to a new protagonist (y'know since the alternative seems to be making Sam magically young again). With Eric Johnson doing the voice and mo-cap, I'd say he deserves a role and unique character all to himself!

[MysterD]

[Applauds Xessive's posts]

I can't argue w/ any of that.

I know that at E3, especially since more air-time is usually given to stuff w/ action [especially on TV], this could be one of many reasons why we saw a more action-esque side of Splinter Cell. I really hope they will bring back some of the stealthy elements from previous SC games, but I really doubt they will. They'd have to show me in some previews that this is the case, that it will be in this game w/ some game footage. But, I still doubt it.

And Sam looking, moving, and acting younger - yeah, this is silly. Maybe Sam underwent some surgery or something? Wishful thinking here. Poor "Deus ex machina" moment. Great, maybe UbiSoft will steal that idea.

I really think SC: Blacklist will still be good and all, but yeah - it doesn't seem like it'll be a [stealthy] SC game, as far as I'm concerned.

You know what would be really funny? If, in the end, something like Watch Dogs turns out to be WAY more stealthy than SC: Blacklist.

[MysterD]

EGMNow -> Ghost Playthrough - An alternate "sneakier" play-through through the same area they showed-off at E3 2012.

CARRYING, DRAGGING, DROPPING, and HIDING bodies is back at 5 min 10 secs in the vid!!
YAY!!

[MysterD]

UbiSoft Forums -> SC: Blacklist PC Version system requirements revealed.

Hey guys... here are the official specs.
One difference you may notice from here and what you'd see on steam is the min spec for Processor.
It's 2.13GHz, not 2.53GHz.

Otherwise... here you go:

Minimum:
OS:Windows® XP (SP3) / Windows Vista® (SP2) / Windows® 7 (SP1) / Windows® 8
Processor:2.13 GHz Intel® Core™2 Duo E6400 or 2.80 GHz AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 5600+ or better
Memory:2 GB RAM
Graphics:512 MB DirectX® 10–compliant with Shader Model 4.0 or higher
DirectX®:9
Hard Drive:25 GB HD space
Sound: DirectX 10–compliant DirectX 9.0c–compliant
Additional:Peripherals Supported: Windows-compatible keyboard, mouse, headset, optional controller (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended)

Recommended:
Processor:2.66 GHz Intel® Core™2 Quad Q8400 or 3.00 GHz AMD Phenom™ II X4 940 or better
Memory:4 GB RAM
DirectX®:11
Hard Drive:25 GB HD space
Sound: (5.1 surround sound recommended)
Other Requirements:Broadband Internet connection
Additional:Peripherals Supported: Windows-compatible keyboard, mouse, headset, optional controller (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended)

[gpw11]

So, I bought this for PS3 on sale for like $5 last week and it's the first Splinter Cell game I've played since the original way back when.  Is it just me or is this game kinda hard?   I also feel like the FOV is waaaaay too low but I imagine both points are something that could go away with a few more hours practice.

[Xessive]

So, I bought this for PS3 on sale for like $5 last week and it's the first Splinter Cell game I've played since the original way back when.  Is it just me or is this game kinda hard?   I also feel like the FOV is waaaaay too low but I imagine both points are something that could go away with a few more hours practice.

It depends. For me I found it much easier than SC Conviction. It'll take some getting used to but once you figure out the AI and systems you'll practically fly through it.

As for the FOV, it's pretty low for my taste as well but I found I generally relied more on sound and vision modes (or visual cues) later anyway so it didn't bother me for long.

[MysterD]

IMHO, BlackList is the best SC game since Chaos Theory. Highly recommend it.

[gpw11]

It depends. For me I found it much easier than SC Conviction. It'll take some getting used to but once you figure out the AI and systems you'll practically fly through it.

As for the FOV, it's pretty low for my taste as well but I found I generally relied more on sound and vision modes (or visual cues) later anyway so it didn't bother me for long.

Oh, maybe that makes sense because it also seemed like having infared or the ability to peak through doors would solve a lot of my problems with the FOV.  Well, that and it usually takes me a while to get into the swing of it with these types of games