Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist

 PC
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 976 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 657 out of 976
  2. Mixed: 195 out of 976
  3. Negative: 124 out of 976
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  1. Beatlejuice6687
    Aug 21, 2013
    3
    Beatlejuice6687
    3
    This review is only for the online multiplayer, which is the only reason I bought it. I wouldn't have paid 60 bucks for a rehash action spy game which looks exactly like Conviction. I really liked Pandora Tomorrow totally new and innovative spies vs mercs. It was a huge step forward in bringing suspense and fun to consoles in it's day. Chaos Theory made great    Beatlejuice6687
    3
    This review is only for the online multiplayer, which is the only reason I bought it. I wouldn't have paid 60 bucks for a rehash action spy game which looks exactly like Conviction.

    I really liked Pandora Tomorrow totally new and innovative spies vs mercs. It was a huge step forward in bringing suspense and fun to consoles in it's day. Chaos Theory made great improvements to that online play. Spies had to play cautious and sneaky. Although kills could be done, it was a careful move that had to be made. Double Agent went down the wrong path. Remote hacking, the more techno look. It was bad. This one ups(or downs) that one. Dumbest thing ever in SC??? Spy one button insta-kills. Run near a merc from any direction, press a single button, almost faster then a merc can shoot you down and you get a insta kill.

    Merc's being considered the hunters are a total joke. Spies are so overpowered in their ability to run from any direction and insta-kill its just a horrible idea from whatever person thought this was good. I am done buying Splinter Cell games. They killed the best multi-player concept with silly and dumb gameplay and managed to do worse then the worst spies vs mercs offering they had put out until now.

    It also crashing about every 20 mins with the DX11 client.    … Expand
  2. Maragavin
    Aug 22, 2013
    0
    TLDR: port of Call of Duty meets neutered Sam Fisher. Do not waste your money on this.

    Right. If you liked the original trilogy, this game is an insult. If you, like me, bought this on the promise of a return to the "classic" SvM multi-player. You were lied to, like me. There is nothing classic about it. Yet another game killed by the desperate screams from some jackass about "BROADEN    TLDR: port of Call of Duty meets neutered Sam Fisher. Do not waste your money on this.

    Right. If you liked the original trilogy, this game is an insult. If you, like me, bought this on the promise of a return to the "classic" SvM multi-player. You were lied to, like me. There is nothing classic about it. Yet another game killed by the desperate screams from some jackass about "BROADEN THE APPEAL" and "THIS IS WHAT OUR FRAT-PARTY FOCUS GROUP WANTS!" To put it bluntly, even the lackluster DA`s multi-player was better then this.

    As for QA? On the PC? From Ubisoft? Its not there. Its no way that any QA department is this incompetent. Failing to deliver a somewhat stable dx11 build of your game, in 2013? Settings? Nope. Key-bindings that you cant change, since then the game wont understand you, for instance, button x have one use in game, and one use when you interact with something, remap it, and you wont be able to use the latter function.

    Oh, and just as a final kick in the teeth while we as players and suckers, are down, Ironsides is no longer involved. So yea, you`re not playing as Sam anymore, even if insists that you are. Shame on you, Ubisoft, Shame on you for acting just like good old Jim called out out to be, crummy, sniveling, French morons.    … Expand
  3. Drv302
    Aug 20, 2013
    0
    I have a brand new gaming computer that runs every game without crashing except this one. I fixed the crashes by switching to DirectX9 because using Directx11 was very unstable. The game is a very poor console port. I am a Splinter Cell Chaos Theory Versus mode fan, and I can tell you that Classic Mode here is a gimmick, it is nothing but a dumbed down version of "SvM Blacklist" (youI have a brand new gaming computer that runs every game without crashing except this one. I fixed the crashes by switching to DirectX9 because using Directx11 was very unstable. The game is a very poor console port. I am a Splinter Cell Chaos Theory Versus mode fan, and I can tell you that Classic Mode here is a gimmick, it is nothing but a dumbed down version of "SvM Blacklist" (you better believe it). The control customization options for the PC user are non-existent. You will find yourself doing things you don't want to do half of the time because the Mercenary controls are merged with the Spy controls which are merged with the Coop controls and Single Player controls. It is a nightmare. The aiming and overall responsiveness of the game is extremely sluggish even with a gaming mouse on high DPI settings. Knifing mercenaries as a spy feels very unrewarding and the spawn points are randomized, and it feels too much like COD or BF3 where you just spawn and die a lot.

    Other notes: "back to wall" is now "cover and drop" so sometimes if you wanna take cover you will drop.
    "Sprint" is now "sprint and climb" so a lot of times if you are sprinting near a ledge or a window you will often times accidentally go farther than you want to.
    "Hand to hand combat" (knife as spy) is now also "Knife and hack" so if you ever want to attack a merc standing next to a terminal you may start hacking it and get killed.

    THIS IS A TERRIBLE CONSOLE PORT.    … Expand
  4. Hitler_Balls
    Aug 31, 2013
    1
    What a good game! Lol, I'm just kidding. Another franchise lost forever to the Call of Duty audience. I quit playing when the game BECAME A FIRST PERSON SHOOTER. Why did they do this to such a good franchise? your gay Ubisoft, just make a new IP if you want to make a bad Call of Duty clone, don't shoehorn it into a once strong franchise.
  5. AstronomyDomine
    Aug 23, 2013
    3
    I have been a Splinter Cell fan since the first game was released on the PC back in early 2000. Since then I have watched the decline of the franchise, which IMO began in Conviction, not Double Agent like a lot of other fans claimed. I remained optimistic of Blacklist after watching trailers and hearing interviews with the devs claiming they were making the game more stealth-heavy thanI have been a Splinter Cell fan since the first game was released on the PC back in early 2000. Since then I have watched the decline of the franchise, which IMO began in Conviction, not Double Agent like a lot of other fans claimed. I remained optimistic of Blacklist after watching trailers and hearing interviews with the devs claiming they were making the game more stealth-heavy than Conviction.
    Upon purchasing the game, I found it actually wouldn't load. It kept crashing every-time I opened the exe and I later discovered this was fixed with a day one patch with a whopping size of 2GB. Looking through the patch notes, I find it absolutely humiliating on behalf of Ubisoft that they could have released a product with as many game-breaking issues that needed to be fixed with a patch.
    Once I finally got the game to work, I played it for about three hours before switching it off. If you are a fan of Conviction, chances are you will love Blacklist as it is basically more of the same. But for long-time Splinter Cell fans, and perhaps even stealth game fans in general, I would highly suggest you give this one a miss.
    Graphically the game is fine. I see a lot of other reviewers here complaining about low frame rates, but I am running everything on max settings and getting a constant 40fps. Disappointingly though there is no FOV slider. The controls on the other hand are downright terrible. You can tell it was designed with a gamepad in mind, because using a keyboard and mouse is extremely awkward.
    If I had to describe the game in one word, it'd be COD. There are first person sections galore, and you will mow through dozens of enemies at a time without any hint of danger. Compare that to the first four SC games when even a single enemy could kill you within a few seconds if you were spotted. As well as that, you now have 'upgrades' such as a crossbow (I laughed out loud when I saw a crossbow in the game) as well as the redundant ability to change the color of Sam's goggles.
    Instead of hiding in the shadows, the 'stealth' aspect of Blacklist entirely revolves around cover. You will find yourself progressing throughout the level not by moving normally, but by shifting between bits of cover.
    Blacklist brings back the ability to hide bodies, but for seemingly no purpose other than for the hardcore fans that like covering their tracks. Enemies completely ignore bodies and leaving them exposed have absolutely no consequences, making this a completely pointless feature.
    Enemy AI is pathetic. I was frequently spotted when I was well hidden behind cover, and other times enemies would walk straight past me when I was in full view and not even notice me. There are also groups of baddies banded together for specific use of the 'press to win' mark and execute feature.
    But overall, like Conviction, this has just validated my suspicion that the franchise is no longer about playing a fragile character that has to strategically outmaneuver enemies, into the equivalent of a James Bond game that is all about being as action packed and flashy as possible. Calling this a stealth game is almost insulting to games such as Thief and MGS, I would be more inclined to label it a third-person shooter.
    In summary, if you are a Splinter Cell fan, do not buy this. This was a waste of my money and I will be looking to sell this in some way very soon. If you enjoyed Conviction however, this is more of the same and I'm sure you will love Blacklist.    … Expand
  6. mastershakez
    Aug 27, 2013
    2
    Splinter of Duty: Blacklist is about as entertaining as smashing your face against a keyboard repeatedly. Incidentally, that's the best way to play Blacklist.
  7. fukustream
    Aug 27, 2013
    0
    Ubisoft really killed it this time. Conviction was the end; it wasn’t the best but definitely better. Putting aside that the controls of this game on a PC is just outrageous, you run around triggering movements that should only be a controller perk, causing laughable death exposing yourself to the enemy. This is going to the worst PC game of the decade in terms of console port issues. TheUbisoft really killed it this time. Conviction was the end; it wasn’t the best but definitely better. Putting aside that the controls of this game on a PC is just outrageous, you run around triggering movements that should only be a controller perk, causing laughable death exposing yourself to the enemy. This is going to the worst PC game of the decade in terms of console port issues. The graphics is nothing new anymore for this age, it just looks as it should, no wows or any better. Missions are very fragilely crafted, as if Ubisoft tries to focus on both coop and single player at the same time and fails at both. The “mother ship” or “base” concept in a shooter is not new anymore, Mass Effect was epic; Blacklist is abysmal. Besides, it is not even a good one. Is Ubisoft trying to cram 20 games into one? This is a really good question. These people need to stop having whiteboard meetings using dumbed down theoretical groupthink and feel like achieving. What happened to genuine creativity? I feel cheated of $50 playing this game for real. How much worse can it be?… Expand
  8. Tango6
    Aug 27, 2013
    2
    Essentially, this game combines poorly executed elements of Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect. Cover-based shooting, poor AI, boring and predictable action sequences/cutscenes, and the loss of Michael Ironside make Blacklist the worst Splinter Cell yet, narrowly beating out Conviction.

    Very disappointing. If you were a fan of the first three Splinter Cell games you may be yet again    Essentially, this game combines poorly executed elements of Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect. Cover-based shooting, poor AI, boring and predictable action sequences/cutscenes, and the loss of Michael Ironside make Blacklist the worst Splinter Cell yet, narrowly beating out Conviction.

    Very disappointing. If you were a fan of the first three Splinter Cell games you may be yet again sorely disappointed in the lack of ingenuity and creativity put forth in this title. The game has regressed into yet another cover-based shooter, extremely linear in its level design and limited in its replayability. Certain reviewers have claimed that the developers were intent on bringing the series closer to its roots in stealth gameplay, however I found no evidence of that in this title. Things like horde mode, a weapon/gear unlock system, "heavy" enemies, and laughable plot devices bring the game closer to what we've come to expect from AAA console titles. You will notice that in this game, the Fisher character we once knew has morphed into Captain Shephard from Mass Effect, with his own personal spaceship that flies around from mission to mission to kill the ancient aliens known as the "Engineers." Once on the ground, Fisher again morphs into a superfast Enzio-esque monkey who is only capable of running or sprinting, and knows no concept of the word "sneak" (on the PC version at least he may be able to walk slower using a thumbstick on console).

    Still, I can see the appeal for some people who just want a very easy, on-rails cover-based shooter that basically plays itself for you, not to mention the beautiful graphics. It's just a shame that Splinter Cell has gone down that path, because games that actually make you think and plan ahead a la SC: Chaos Theory are incredibly rare these days.    … Expand
  9. SuperNaiv
    Aug 23, 2013
    3
    In the title it stands "Splinter Cell", although it doesn't feel like Splinter Cell. It feel more like
    Splinter Cell: Conviction vol. 2. The characters are flat and boring without any depth. But, in the defense of Splinter Cell series, the characters had never any real depth in the series. Sam Fisher doesn't feel like Sam Fisher any more. The way he talks and moves is different and not    In the title it stands "Splinter Cell", although it doesn't feel like Splinter Cell. It feel more like
    Splinter Cell: Conviction vol. 2. The characters are flat and boring without any depth. But, in the defense of Splinter Cell series, the characters had never any real depth in the series. Sam Fisher doesn't feel like Sam Fisher any more. The way he talks and moves is different and not different in good way. He sounds like a guy without any conviction, without any real threat in his voice. He always moves quickly, even when he "sneaks". He climbs fast too, like a spiderman, and it looks kind of ridiculous and very unrealistic, since he is an old man. I felt right from the beginning that it was different from previous Splinter Cell series. More action oriented, which defies the whole idea of what Splinter Cell series is all about. I see this new trend in more games now. I understand why Ubisoft made this approach. They wish too appeal too wider audience, I get that. But on the other hand, they are in danger of alienating fan boys who like this game for the slow sneaking pace. When I play this new Sam Fisher now, I felt like I was playing an inexperienced boy scout playing sneaking and shooting for fun. Not like the bad ass Sam Fisher with his deep voice that gave him character and with his black sense of humor that suited Sam Fisher character perfectly. There are a lot of new options in the game. There is a lot of new gadgets available for purchase. But is it a good thing. It can be, but it's not because of the new costumes or new fancy that you can buy and upgrade. It's the tension and excitement of sneaking that made this game series great. Some people may like this "freedom to choose", I guess. But too much choice can make it as an unnecessary distraction. I'll be honest. I haven't play the whole game, but I don't think if I have patience to get through the whole game. I got tired of this fast pace action shooting game, with sneaking elements, very fast. I understand that this game have some appeal, but it's not for me. Call me old faction, but I like sneaking and hiding in the shadows, the Sam Fisher way, the old    … Expand
  10. sdcosgrove
    Aug 20, 2013
    0
    Horribly optimized, dragged down by Uplay, and a intellectually crippled addition to the Splinter Cell franchise. I'm sure Multiplayer would be fantastic if it weren't for the fact that this is a horrible, consolized port.
  11. Goden
    Aug 30, 2013
    2
    Just like Conviction this game is incorrectly sold as a stealth game when in reality it is nothing but a cover-to-cover action shooter. Like Conviction, it has optional stealth segments here and there but it is by far the most inferior way of completing your missions and is basically a handicap unlike the Splinter Cell games of old where stealth was your best ally. The 2 comes from theJust like Conviction this game is incorrectly sold as a stealth game when in reality it is nothing but a cover-to-cover action shooter. Like Conviction, it has optional stealth segments here and there but it is by far the most inferior way of completing your missions and is basically a handicap unlike the Splinter Cell games of old where stealth was your best ally. The 2 comes from the fact that it looks decent and it runs okay after the patch but I couldn't stand the game for very long due to the above issue and because personally (as a non-American) I found the overly-patriotic "God bless 'Murrica" story to be vomit-inducing. I'll pass, thanks.… Expand
  12. WB-Sion
    Feb 3, 2014
    0
    Seriously, what the hell is this. I buy this game, intending mainly to play it multiplayer with a friend, and it doesn't work at all. I look on the forums to see what's up, to see if there is some fix or anything, willing to do an amount of work to fix it, and nothing. All I see is that for some people it works and for others it doesn't. I have an excellent computer and great internet, andSeriously, what the hell is this. I buy this game, intending mainly to play it multiplayer with a friend, and it doesn't work at all. I look on the forums to see what's up, to see if there is some fix or anything, willing to do an amount of work to fix it, and nothing. All I see is that for some people it works and for others it doesn't. I have an excellent computer and great internet, and so does my friend, so it's not those. It's simply a dumb game that doesn't work as advertised.

    Maybe the single player is good, I don't know. But for me, I bought this game for the multiplayer and coop with a friend, and I got nothing out of it. If you want to play multiplayer, **** save your money. The Devs don't respond to any of the forums. Not they just can't figure out how to fix it. THEY ARE IGNORING IT.

    Not to mention this awful Uplay fiasco. Seriously? why do we need this Uplay **** It adds nothing to the game and only makes everyone pissed. I, for one, seriously want my money back.    … Expand
  13. AliStark
    Oct 13, 2013
    2
    the game is just too boring. I played it and after three missions I had enough. The missions are monotonous, the weapons are no good, the storyline is just too bogus and other like that. Good for kids, for adults.
  14. Squicker
    Oct 26, 2013
    4
    I can't see what all the fuss is about for this game. The characters are unengaging, it's padded with tedious cut scenes, the graphics are so-so and the controls are awful and will result in regular death.

    This is a like a 5 or 6 year old game, avoid.
  15. fataardvark
    Sep 22, 2013
    0
    Extremely disappointing. I love stealth games, but I simply can't believe that the enemies are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO STUPID and yet do crap-tons of damage. You can't outsmart them or lure them on higher difficulties; you simply have to avoid their pre-programmed walking paths. THIS IS NOT HOW A STEALTH GAME SHOULD BE!
  16. chinglingding
    Aug 27, 2013
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ok, this is the only review I ever hope to write. Ubisoft killed one of my favorite franchises. I've owned and played every Splinter Cell and loved them all, Conviction was barely passing as OK. Now this next part is a rant, that I kept forcing myself not to talk a about, but I just can't stay away for. it. The old and wise, deep voiced, badass Sam Fisher that we all know and love is GONE, he's dead. I refuse to believe that this new horribly voiced, George Cloony hair kit, 32 year is Sam. Fisher in this game just straight up comes off to be egotistical my, boring, and hard to look at and listen to. ok, but with rant aside, how does the game play? It's honestly barely passable. Gun play is just awkward at times and has some smoothing problems, some aps feel like they discourage stealth, and those missions that make you fail on alarm raises make no sense. you can kill of knock out and guard if you're undetected, but when Sam exfils it's like nothing happened, WTF The actual story is rides the fine like if average and bombarded with stereotypes, like ALL OF THE CHARACTERS IN THE GAME. Smart bad guy, nerdy hacker, old russian misfits looking arms dealer, new generic white washed african American soldier, intel officer, etc. I couldn't find myself to Carr or like anyone besides Lobin and Charlie. I honestly don't even know if anyone is reading at this point, but bottom like is, this game isn't worth it. I'm obviously talking from an extremely biased point of view, but I beat the campaign in about 10 hours on realistic difficulty, not including Charlie or Brigg's missions, the multiplayer is whatever, and Sam Fisher is dead. Btw he doesn't even should like he would Sarah's dad, he sounds and looks like a 32 year old pervert that bought a George Cloony hair kit.… Expand
  17. Thornblade
    Aug 31, 2013
    4
    SNAFU. Well, I really wanted to like this new Splinter Cell game. I've played them all and let me tell you folks this is the absolute WORST when it comes to graphical optimizations, and especially, crashes. Some graphics settings require restart of the game, but when you restarted, you discover everything has been defaulted to "Low". The game just won't start until you edit one .iniSNAFU. Well, I really wanted to like this new Splinter Cell game. I've played them all and let me tell you folks this is the absolute WORST when it comes to graphical optimizations, and especially, crashes. Some graphics settings require restart of the game, but when you restarted, you discover everything has been defaulted to "Low". The game just won't start until you edit one .ini file from "My Documents". Graphics glitches appear after altering the settings from the default "low" ones. random crashes to desktop are something of a usual matter.
    Gameplay? not much to say after ragequitting because of the graphics. All in all seems like the typical mediocre action shooter with terrorists. I never liked this whole plot-line "we are USA, the absolute power, we see them terrorists everywhere and we kill them", but at least the first 3 games were good stealth games. The other 2 looked good and were acceptable. But this one? In one word GARBAGE.
    Seriously guys, wait for a cut to 25% of the release price, maybe one year or so, also for some 3-4 graphics patches to come out.    … Expand
  18. Babaloo2U
    Sep 5, 2013
    4
    Here's Ubisoft's vision. If the game is broken (Conviction) and loses more fan base than it gains, make a 2nd one that is the same exact thing but bring back multiplayer to win-back our lost fans. Granted, I am very happy that they brought back Spies vs. Mercs again. But the Single Player (Which I used to enjoy) was short, felt like a 3rd Person Shooter, and I didn't feel those tenseHere's Ubisoft's vision. If the game is broken (Conviction) and loses more fan base than it gains, make a 2nd one that is the same exact thing but bring back multiplayer to win-back our lost fans. Granted, I am very happy that they brought back Spies vs. Mercs again. But the Single Player (Which I used to enjoy) was short, felt like a 3rd Person Shooter, and I didn't feel those tense moments of getting discovered as I did earlier in the series. Please don't try again.… Expand
  19. Shruikan
    Sep 18, 2013
    0
    If I look at the critic reviews it is obvious that they were either paid, or otherwise incapacitated. Just installing this game already made me hate it.
    First of all, I had to install UPlay which I really didn't want to I had to wait all day for the 19 gig download (that's fine thats normal) but then I had to actually install it "Oh wait let me download another 800meg of who knows    If I look at the critic reviews it is obvious that they were either paid, or otherwise incapacitated. Just installing this game already made me hate it.
    First of all, I had to install UPlay which I really didn't want to I had to wait all day for the 19 gig download (that's fine thats normal) but then I had to actually install it "Oh wait let me download another 800meg of who knows what." Ok...fine...so now lets play this game "Oh wait! Let me download another 1gig or who knows what." Right...now I'm thoroughly annoyed and completely lost my desire to play.

    I try again the next day I load up the game and instantly I am thrown into an intro video no menu or nothing but oddly enough it's in windowed mode...other than possibly Minecraft, why would a game EVER want to run in windowed mode?! So fine I watch the video cringing at the horrible Sam Fisher voice, crying slightly inside realizing that this marks the loss of what Splinter Cell used to be. Finally when the video is over I can go and change my settings to not be in windowed mode anymore and now I'm ready to play. Oh wait...why is my keyboard not working? I can't move...or look. I have zero control over Sam. I check my settings ok, for some reason all my move keys are unbound. I bind them, still nothing. I restart the game nope. At this point I'm just ticked off and I don't think I'll load up this game again.

    As others have said this is a terrrrrrrible console port and I hate Ubisoft for destroying the one game franchise I actually really loved to play. I am willing to forgive their screw up with Chaos Theory not working on Windows 7 and their absolute lack of caring about it, but this? Sorry guys I may never buy a game from you again. But that's ok because I can tell I won't be missing out on much.

    I wish companies would realize that PC gamers are not a thing of the past. When last I checked I think our numbers may actually be growing. Here is a tip create a beautiful game full with goodness, good game design, mechanics etc but create it with a PC in mind. THEN...take your knife and gut the heck out of it to fit on a console. This way PC gamers get your best, and console players won't notice a thing please do this instead of how everyone seems to be currently doing it which is the other way around creating the game as if the whole concept of it has been gutted, and then trying to slap some foundation on it to make it look pretty for the PC players.    … Expand
  20. Nickstanator
    Mar 17, 2014
    0
    VERY buggy. Constant crashes. Sometimes doesn't even start thanks to Uplay. Doesn't save games. The small amount of the game I managed to play uninterrupted was very linear, dull and predictable. Avoid at all costs.
  21. poopface
    Dec 14, 2013
    0
    This game is garbage. Coop is broken and Ubisoft doesn't care. Go die plz. If you're going to make us go through port forwarding and firewall nonsense, then you've broken the game and done something wrong. Thanks for being idiots as usual.
  22. LegitN00b
    Sep 29, 2013
    3
    Bought the game. Started it up. Instantly greeted by a forced cutscene and mission. No time to configure options, nothing. Alright. Play through the 30 minute intro. That's fine, I didn't want to actually start playing a real game. Start up Spies vs. Mercs, which is primarily what I bought it for. Play first round as a Merc. Sensitivity is absolute garbage and feels sluggish no matterBought the game. Started it up. Instantly greeted by a forced cutscene and mission. No time to configure options, nothing. Alright. Play through the 30 minute intro. That's fine, I didn't want to actually start playing a real game. Start up Spies vs. Mercs, which is primarily what I bought it for. Play first round as a Merc. Sensitivity is absolute garbage and feels sluggish no matter what. Spy must be better, right? Nope. Want to take cover? That's nice, as soon as you exit cover you're sprinting no matter what. And how do you stop sprinting? I don't know, not with the sprint key, that's for sure. Oh, and while sprinting, you automatically leap over obstacles and run up any walls you come across. "I'm just gonna walk up to this cover and... alright, just jump into the Merc's sight, that's cool." Every single action is bound to the same button as another action, so have fun trying to convince the game that you want stab people and not hack a terminal. The controls were obviously designed for a controller, not a keyboard and mouse, so just plug in a controller, right? Wrong: it'll read your controller for about 5 minutes, then decide it doesn't like it anymore. This game just angers me beyond belief.

    CLEARLY DESIGNED FOR PEASANT BOXES.    … Expand
  23. Trokur
    Sep 12, 2013
    1
    I purchased two copies so I could play coop with my wife. The multiplayer simply does not work. I can't even send an invite to join. I've done everything the forums say to do, and its just plain broken.

    I'm not real surprised though. I've never purchased a single Uplay game that actually worked the first time. There is always something broken with the game because Uplay is such a    I purchased two copies so I could play coop with my wife. The multiplayer simply does not work. I can't even send an invite to join. I've done everything the forums say to do, and its just plain broken.

    I'm not real surprised though. I've never purchased a single Uplay game that actually worked the first time. There is always something broken with the game because Uplay is such a piece of garbage. It completely ruins the experience.

    I submitted a request to UBI for help on the issue two days ago. Nothing.    … Expand
  24. Paser
    Jan 2, 2014
    0
    A truly terrible game, completely butchered. Uplay is a horrible piece of software, and it actually downloads the installer, rather than the installed game. I had about 10 minutes of fun little flashbacks to the last time I actually installed a game instead of just using Steam. After that was finished, guess what! Time to install patches! So now that Uplay has established itself as 100%A truly terrible game, completely butchered. Uplay is a horrible piece of software, and it actually downloads the installer, rather than the installed game. I had about 10 minutes of fun little flashbacks to the last time I actually installed a game instead of just using Steam. After that was finished, guess what! Time to install patches! So now that Uplay has established itself as 100% useless in that it acts like neither an installer nor an updater... whatever. Let's just play the ga... oh. Enter my activation code? Okay..... "The activation code you entered is already registered to another account."

    Good job Ubisoft, for once again screwing over the people that actually paid for your game. I wonder if the fact that I already purchased it gives me the right to get a working version through torrents?

    If you must put DRM on your games, at least make it somewhat like Steam's. Never in the way, it just works. Sign in and play. None of this activation code nonsense, and just download the installed game. After I finish purchasing and downloading a game I expect to be able to play.    … Expand
  25. pjlx911
    Sep 4, 2013
    3
    Let me first state that I came into this thinking that Ubisoft finally balanced out the came from that pure garbage of a game known as Conviction (which, was really just nothing more than a third-person shooter with some stealth elements). The sort of did. They did allow for multiple options, and routes, to get around enemies and eliminated much of the linearity of Conviction and allowedLet me first state that I came into this thinking that Ubisoft finally balanced out the came from that pure garbage of a game known as Conviction (which, was really just nothing more than a third-person shooter with some stealth elements). The sort of did. They did allow for multiple options, and routes, to get around enemies and eliminated much of the linearity of Conviction and allowed for actual stealthy game-play to come back (and let's face it, the only "stealthy" parts of Conviction was the Deniable Ops mode). The game-play, to me puts this at a higher level than the previous game.

    Which would be great, if not for two things. Number one. The game is WAY too short, and it makes ZERO sense. I don't know why they've decided to allow Sam to still be apart of the series in this sort of a fashion. I might allow a prequel game, but this is a continuation off of Conviction...And Sam is 56 years old in this game. In fact, not also is he 56 years-old, he looks like he's in his 30's and can do gymnastics and parkour like he was in his late-teens! Really Ubisoft? And what about a possible replacement? I'm pretty damn sure that seeing a geriatric Sam Fisher, in his 70's doing the same kinds of craziness, would be hilarious, but why not just make him to the point where he's: a) too old to do the job and turns into an Irving Lambert role, or b) have him already in an Irving Lambert role and have one, or two, new characters take the role. Heck, it could have it that Archer and Kestrel be the replacements (cause, I don't know, that might bring CONTINUITY to the series). Heck, it could even make the game LONGER. Because, after the missions are over (12 side missions that you can do in solo mode that feels more like a chore than something that adds to the game) you're going to feel a little underwhelmed. Like "that's it?" kind of underwhelmed. Not good unless Ubisoft is going to try to nickle-and-dime us for more glorious DLC (correction..."ULC", yay!).

    The second is uPlay (or what I like to call uCrap). I had bought the game from Steam and everything seemed to be cool with it...For one day. The next day, guess what happened when I tried to log-on? I CONTINUOUSLY got kicked back with uCrap telling me that my password/username doesn't match! Here's the fun part, after messing around with uCrap for the better part of an hour (re-inputting my username/password) I could not play my damned game! I tried to get my password reset, but I guess the website has a thing for cookies as it kept telling me to allow cookies for the site! Here's the funny part...BOTH browsers I have allows cookies! This is my main complaint, that if Ubisoft wants to run this crappy, intrusive, always having to log-on before playing DRM crap, AT LEAST have a working program! To add on to this (and I am in no way promoting this), but I had to get a crack just so I could play a game that I paid $55 for. Let me reiterate...The crappy, P.O.S. DRM "service", that never worked right, that is buggy, that stopped me from playing a game that I spent hard-earned money on had caused me to not only re-download a whopping 18GB game, but also forced me to have to get a crack so that I could circumvent the RE-F***ING-DICULOUS, always have to log-on, never-working, uCrap DRM service. For f***'s-sake, Ubisoft, if you want DRM always on, great, there are A MULTITUDE of options: work with a 3rd party, have the game synced up with the MAC/IP address of the computer, or HELL, DON'T HAVE IT. But no, you have put in place a DRM so sh*tty that it causes people to find non-legal routes just to play their damned game! Thanks a lot Ubisoft.

    It gets a 3 because of the uCrap issues. If it worked great, I would be more inclined to give it a 7 as the game-play is genuinely fun, although the story makes no sense, it's too short, and plays on every ridiculous stereotype known to man (which I skipped through most of), I actually liked it (it balanced and actually rewarded stealth game-play). But they need to find a way to replace Sam (and NOT have it so that he looked to have downed the Fountain of Youth) and they should've done this yesterday.    … Expand
  26. Samtheman53
    Sep 1, 2013
    2
    This is not splinter cell. This is a typical example of how devs are making their games accessible "to a wider audience", in other words dumbing it down so much stupid 10 year olds can play it and think they are good. Not challenging, pathetically easy and disgrace to the rest of the series (excluding conviction, that was too).

    If this didn't say Splinter Cell on the cover I might    This is not splinter cell. This is a typical example of how devs are making their games accessible "to a wider audience", in other words dumbing it down so much stupid 10 year olds can play it and think they are good. Not challenging, pathetically easy and disgrace to the rest of the series (excluding conviction, that was too).

    If this didn't say Splinter Cell on the cover I might think of giving it a 4 or 5, but unfortunately it does, which hurts me, as well as the original SC fan base. Do not buy.    … Expand
  27. OldManCoot
    Sep 28, 2013
    0
    This game is the second kick in the nuts from Ubisoft after SC:Conviction. It seemed like a half-decent game when I first heard about the Perfectionist difficulty. Now let me tell you why that was complete bull****.
    The whole game is just a big mess they tried to build an actual stealth system on this Conviction-esque engine. Well, it's a drunkard's decision to say the least (probably    This game is the second kick in the nuts from Ubisoft after SC:Conviction. It seemed like a half-decent game when I first heard about the Perfectionist difficulty. Now let me tell you why that was complete bull****.
    The whole game is just a big mess they tried to build an actual stealth system on this Conviction-esque engine. Well, it's a drunkard's decision to say the least (probably Maxime Belland at it again). It just doesn't feel natural at all like the past good Splinter Cell games Yes, even Double Agent feels better.
    The upgrade system seemed like a fun addition, but it's actually redundant. It's a pain in the ass that you have to buy something in order to get the next item on the list available. Also, why the hell does Sam have to buy "nanofiber vector-space quantum-silenator" pants and shoes to sneak up on someone, who WILL eventually just turn around, because the AI 'somehow' heard him coming up from behind?! How the hell did Sam manage to sneak up on guards in Conviction with cargo pants and hiking boots and they didn't even hear him at all?! I can only assume he's gotten so old, that he's got bad knees or some other idiotic reason. But it's hard to believe he's any older than 30 (55 in-game) when he looks like Commander Shepard from Mass Effect.
    The new voice actor is horrible too, he sounds like a depressed teenager. I don't know what the hell were they thinking when they didn't decide to have Michael Ironside as the voice actor again. Mocap seems like a sorry excuse, because it's something that anyone barely notices in comparison to just simple hand-made artificial animations...
    I dealt with everything up to the point where I decided to do a solo/coop mission. The one thing that cost me so many brain cells was the fact that there was no manual saving system. Every time I got caught in the mission, I had to be sent all the way back and do all the menial knock-outs and stealth passes again. I don't even know how it's supposed to be a "fun challenge" when it's just having to do the same trash over and over again. Finally, after wasting more than an hour on it, I get past it and then greeted by another two checkpoints... That means I spent a whole hour doing only one third of the whole mission. And that's where I pretty much snapped If I was about 20 or 30 years older, I probably would've smashed my screen and then proceeded to kill myself via overdose of anger management pills, downed with a bottle of Jack Daniels.
    I hate this game beyond redemption. It is just so bad: gameplay & controls almost identical to Conviction (which means it's bad), the characters and voice actors bland as hell, the sound and music could've been way better, the animations decent, but the fact that mocap meant no Michael Ironside it's horse****, the missions nothing but repetitive objectives, side-missions a ragefest for your brain, enemies agitating and some are overpowered, weapons & gadgets frequently ineffective (waste of all the money), upgrade system redundant, replay value barely any, because replaying it would be boring as hell, checkpoint system satisfactory for the story missions, but a kick in the head for solo/coop missions, graphics they look bad and obsolete (the menus look better than the actual game itself), and finally DLC it can kiss my hole, because I'm not giving away another single cent to Ubisoft after seeing how typically bad they messed up again. Hell, even Hitman: Absolution would be better worth called a Splinter Cell game (minus the gadgets) than this pile of camel vomit.
    Needless to say, the sooner Ubisoft bankrupts, the better off the world will be.    … Expand
  28. Highport
    Aug 25, 2013
    0
    I wouldn't recommend this game at such a steep price point. Gameplay was passable. Story was shallow.

    It was ported from consoles with little or no testing or effort spent on making sure it ran correctly. I wouldn't advise spending money on it regardless of how good you think the gameplay looks. It crashes at least every half hour and texture glitches abound on a variety of different    I wouldn't recommend this game at such a steep price point. Gameplay was passable. Story was shallow.

    It was ported from consoles with little or no testing or effort spent on making sure it ran correctly. I wouldn't advise spending money on it regardless of how good you think the gameplay looks. It crashes at least every half hour and texture glitches abound on a variety of different graphics cards and systems. don't bet on being the excepting. The control scheme was half-hearted and not thought out for PC. Being able to use a mouse and simply aim at an enemy's head makes the single player far too easy. I'm sure its difficulty is much more balanced when played with thumbsticks? To top things off I had to complete the final mission three times just to see the ending because the game crashes immediately following the mission summary screen and wouldn't save the progress.

    tl;dr: You aren't missing a game of the year here, and it's a perfect example of a terrible console port.    … Expand
  29. DarkMR
    Aug 30, 2013
    0
    I'm really sorry but I cannot recommend this game at all because, once again, Ubisoft has ripped us off with their online servers and connections.

    I have been trying to play with a friend for several days, and all we get is disconnections and "unable to connect to the lobby" messages. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory had the same problem, and so did Conviction, and it seems that they just    I'm really sorry but I cannot recommend this game at all because, once again, Ubisoft has ripped us off with their online servers and connections.

    I have been trying to play with a friend for several days, and all we get is disconnections and "unable to connect to the lobby" messages.

    Splinter Cell Chaos Theory had the same problem, and so did Conviction, and it seems that they just don't care about programming some decent multiplayer network, because in Blacklist it will fail and fail once and again.

    If you want this game to play SpiesVSMercs or Coop Missions with a friend... DO NOT buy it! You will be wasting your money. Servers work really really bad, and all Ubisoft does to fix it is to tell you to forward your ports, deactivate your firewall, and some other stuff which do nothing to fix the situation, because they just won't accept that it's a problem on THEIR end.

    If I have 15 online games in my computer, and all of them work perfectly online but Blacklist, I'd say it's pretty easy to guess which one has some problems that their developer needs to fix.

    DO NOT get ripped off by Ubisoft.    … Expand
  30. Immovable
    Sep 8, 2013
    3
    Very disappointed by this game and I've lost faith in Ubisoft once again. Splinter Cell had one of the best systems for interactivity and now it's the worst. I've had instances where instead of knocking out a hostile, Sam would turn ON a light and then close the door. It's simply staggering how the fundamentals of this title are so disheveled and unorganized.

    There was a time where    Very disappointed by this game and I've lost faith in Ubisoft once again. Splinter Cell had one of the best systems for interactivity and now it's the worst. I've had instances where instead of knocking out a hostile, Sam would turn ON a light and then close the door. It's simply staggering how the fundamentals of this title are so disheveled and unorganized.

    There was a time where there were features in Splinter Cell that made sense and now a lot of the game is completely illogical. The game is ridiculously simplified and even on the hardest difficulty setting, I found no problems beating the game. The cover system makes the game very easy and the execution mechanics are ridiculous! Absolutely outrageous!

    This is NOT Splinter Cell. Just a terrible attempt at making Splinter Cell "modern" and to appeal to a wider audience. I do not recommend this game to anyone. Predictable story-line was not at all entertaining and neither was the very quick transition to First-Person shooter view for a full 5 minutes.
    The gun mechanics were terrible all round and felt completely unpolished. I feel embarrassed for Ubisoft and sincerely hope that this was the last Splinter Cell title.    … Expand
  31. julienjj
    Sep 3, 2013
    3
    Expected the comeback of the old (and good SC). Very disapointed.

    The voice acting in SP is average at best. In SP the cover system is very unbalanced, if you are crouched in a dark area the enemy will spot you right away, however if you are using the cover system you go totally undetected. If you try to sneak by the parkour path is really obvious and very linear. The night vision is    Expected the comeback of the old (and good SC). Very disapointed.

    The voice acting in SP is average at best. In SP the cover system is very unbalanced, if you are crouched in a dark area the enemy will spot you right away, however if you are using the cover system you go totally undetected. If you try to sneak by the parkour path is really obvious and very linear. The night vision is almost useless and there is no thermal. Whatever difficulty level you play, enemies are equally dumb and the only variable factor i show much healt you have which does come back after a few seconds, call of duty style)

    The multiplayer is a major disappointment, as I was expecting the old classic SPY vs MERC game mode to include at least a few old SC2 maps and the older game mechanics. Albeit the "Classic" name, it has nothing in common. The equipment the player have at his disposal is utterly limited compared to Pandora tomorrow. No special visors in merc side, spy have no thermal vision, just a lame Black and white NVG. The spies objective is to hack a terminal, while doing so they have to stay in the surround of the terminal to keep the up-link active, but since the map are so small its super easy to find the spies while they hack and to kill them.

    The way the control are setted up is annoying, they dont use enought bindings and having multiples actions on singles buttons gets confusing. There is also no way to adjust your moving speed. You are either walking super fast (in such a noisy manner that would get you noticed in .1 sec in any older game) or sprinting

    Non-gameplay related, they game is very bugged, dropping bodies in certain places will have them do the bacon on the floor( with associated loud noise that goes unoticed by the enemy). Many crashes to desktop, and the FOV isnt well suited for multiple monitors gaming. Sometimes NPC textures have "holes" that allow you to see thru them    … Expand
  32. SandyHookMVP
    Sep 3, 2013
    0
    This game is no better than Conviction, perhaps even worse. I don't play Splinter Cell to pretend I'm playing Call of Duty, but that is exactly what this game feels like. With Juggernauts, Shielded Juggernauts, Spybot controllers, dogs and countless other absurdities taken from the least creative methods of applying difficulty, this game is hugely disappointing.

    This game feels like a    This game is no better than Conviction, perhaps even worse. I don't play Splinter Cell to pretend I'm playing Call of Duty, but that is exactly what this game feels like. With Juggernauts, Shielded Juggernauts, Spybot controllers, dogs and countless other absurdities taken from the least creative methods of applying difficulty, this game is hugely disappointing.

    This game feels like a re-skinned Assassin's Creed but far less immersive.    … Expand
  33. curv4k
    Nov 18, 2013
    0
    Run to this object and hide behind it, now run to the next shadow and hide. Now choose from either this shadow or that shadow to hide in. Ok, now Stop making Call of Duty, Mass Effect, hide and seek, ripoff games you jackasses. Those games are made for idiots who do not like challenges in anything. And the bar continues to be lowered...
  34. Invader-Nik
    Jan 29, 2014
    0
    This game is horrendous! I was given this game by a friend, thinking that it would be good.
    After a painful hour of installing this (and having to patch everything up, thanks to the abomination that is uPlay). The second I was given control of the main character, I was instantly disappointed. Average visuals, clunky and stiff controls, and it suffers massive frame drops.
    After about a    This game is horrendous! I was given this game by a friend, thinking that it would be good.
    After a painful hour of installing this (and having to patch everything up, thanks to the abomination that is uPlay). The second I was given control of the main character, I was instantly disappointed. Average visuals, clunky and stiff controls, and it suffers massive frame drops.

    After about a half hour of playing this, I gave up and uninstalled it. I'm glad I didn't spend $90 on this excuse of a port.
    Dark Souls was a better PC port compared to this.    … Expand
  35. Not_Casual
    Mar 13, 2014
    0
    I have not a single clue why this is called splinter cell, or why it is labeled a stealth game. Stealth for dummies would be a better title (If it had any stealth). It is clear that these people have no idea why previous installment were successful because the core mechanics have been scrapped and dumbed down to something new and horrible. Every single aspect of this game is utterlyI have not a single clue why this is called splinter cell, or why it is labeled a stealth game. Stealth for dummies would be a better title (If it had any stealth). It is clear that these people have no idea why previous installment were successful because the core mechanics have been scrapped and dumbed down to something new and horrible. Every single aspect of this game is utterly abysmal. Everything from controls to user interface has a bad feel and hinders any chance at fun gameplay. They could not even bother to take the time to work with the lighting properly. If your gaming room has any sort of window to the outside you will be unable to see anything on screen while you play as a merc (Who no longer have flashlights for some reason.) Stealth is about being patient and tactical, neither of which are present in this sprint to kill mess. This is not only yet another slap in the face to all fans of the series, but even managed to be worse than conviction when it comes to controls and movement. This game is clearly made to cater to people to brain dead to be bothered with real stealth or tactics (Casual Gamers).
    Boycott this uncreative atrocity that spits on the epic name of splinter cell. Avoid at all costs, oblivion and morrowind have better stealth than this.    … Expand
  36. ScantyChunk
    Sep 16, 2013
    0
    The new gameplay is alright, but Chaos Theory was better.
    But that's not the reason for my low score...
    You cannot play this game (or any Ubisoft PC game for that matter). The ports are so terribly done and the team neglects to fix the huge amount of bugs in this game. Blacklist has more bugs than a rainforest. - Launching the game, you have to cross your fingers that it won't    The new gameplay is alright, but Chaos Theory was better.
    But that's not the reason for my low score...
    You cannot play this game (or any Ubisoft PC game for that matter). The ports are so terribly done and the team neglects to fix the huge amount of bugs in this game.

    Blacklist has more bugs than a rainforest.

    - Launching the game, you have to cross your fingers that it won't crash on launch. You have about a 7/10 chance.
    - The loading freezes when first logging on, so the loading time is delayed by 15 secs 1 minute (depending on your computer)
    - You get low FPS. Period. It doesn't matter what your setup is.
    - The online multiplayer is terribly designed. Not the gameplay (arguable), but the general online connectivity and matchmaking system. There is no logical matchmaking. It just throws people together regardless of experience.
    UPlay encourages you to add friends and invite them to your party to play with them. The crappy thing is, you can play with everyone on the internet, except people on your friends list.
    I don't know how Ubisoft could even make that glitch possible... But they did. And they won't fix it.

    Ubisoft makes good games, but doesn't give a sh*t about its online community. This is what consoles have over PC.

    Ubisoft, stop porting, or at least spend a little more time/attention to your online community and PC games. It's sad that this is consistent. They make PC games because people will buy it hoping for a product that WORKS. But it's just so the company makes money. Giving a half-a**ed product in return.    … Expand
  37. Kackhans
    Jun 26, 2014
    0
    The game itself is great. The graphics are decent, the sound quality is good, it captivates the splinter cell feel, although not as well as older games of the series.
    Here's the problem though: I bought this game for coop with my friend and it doesn't work because it runs with **** UPLAY CRAP.
    **** YOU UBISOFT WHY HAVE YOU CREATED THIS ABOMINATION THAT IS UPLAY?! WHY?! I TRIED FOR 5    The game itself is great. The graphics are decent, the sound quality is good, it captivates the splinter cell feel, although not as well as older games of the series.
    Here's the problem though: I bought this game for coop with my friend and it doesn't work because it runs with **** UPLAY CRAP.
    **** YOU UBISOFT
    WHY HAVE YOU CREATED THIS ABOMINATION THAT IS UPLAY?! WHY?!
    I TRIED FOR 5 **** HOURS WITH MY FRIEND, INSTALLED COUNTLESS PATCHES, REINSTALLED THE GAME, EVEN REINSTALLED **** UPLAY BULLCRAP AND IT STILL DOESN'T WORK!
    AND IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE THE **** LAUNCH OF THIS **** **** AND UBISOFT HAVENT GOTTEN THEIR **** TOGETHER!

    F
    U
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  38. phisher177
    Jan 2, 2014
    2
    Terrible control design, short storyline, almost impossible to get an actual match going in multiplayer, and it starts in windowed mode at basic graphics and plunges you right into a long cutscene where you cannot adjust graphics options... no seriously, pressing escape literally makes a pause icon pop up. Are you high, Ubisoft?

    But by far the worst part of it is the absolutely    Terrible control design, short storyline, almost impossible to get an actual match going in multiplayer, and it starts in windowed mode at basic graphics and plunges you right into a long cutscene where you cannot adjust graphics options... no seriously, pressing escape literally makes a pause icon pop up. Are you high, Ubisoft?

    But by far the worst part of it is the absolutely depressing story line. Its literally an X Y Z progression through each level that doesn't change. You'll be Sam Fishering along and suddenly INCEPTION HORN! and some knife fight, "oh whats that?" you ask yourself "did I seriously just beat the game?" It's so mundane and predictable that Bruce Willis could do better in die hard 6.

    Also no more Michael Ironside... I hope you're ready for that.    … Expand
  39. SkepticalHippo
    Feb 13, 2014
    2
    Having just played AC4 (Black Flag) I guess I've grown used to fluid movement controls (and sea shanties), which makes Blacklist all the more grating. It's just horribly inconsistent, you can't climb over things you expect to be able to climb over, you can't drop off things you expect to drop off, the cover system works here but not there. And if you get caught in the open by a heavy, youHaving just played AC4 (Black Flag) I guess I've grown used to fluid movement controls (and sea shanties), which makes Blacklist all the more grating. It's just horribly inconsistent, you can't climb over things you expect to be able to climb over, you can't drop off things you expect to drop off, the cover system works here but not there. And if you get caught in the open by a heavy, you might as well surrender, because you feel like a drunk puppeteer as you try and bring shots down on target.. I had to rage-quit so many times (in order to avoid a coronary) that I ultimately decided to uninstall after completing just under 50%. So frustrating. Avoid.… Expand
  40. joosttothek
    Feb 4, 2014
    1
    The game is pretty good, WHEN I can play it. With Uplay it's almost impossible to get it to run, and when it runs, it doesn't save. BEWARE of Uplay! Don't buy this game, Uplay will make sure you won't be able to enjoy it.
  41. donkeyboy
    Feb 18, 2014
    1
    I would not recommend this game to anyone who wants to play online with friends. Like so many of Ubisoft's games - the "play with a friend" game type does not work. One only has to read the forums to see that this is not an isolated problem. It's half a game. And if you're like me and purchased the game mainly because you wanted to play online with a friend, then you'll be sorelyI would not recommend this game to anyone who wants to play online with friends. Like so many of Ubisoft's games - the "play with a friend" game type does not work. One only has to read the forums to see that this is not an isolated problem. It's half a game. And if you're like me and purchased the game mainly because you wanted to play online with a friend, then you'll be sorely disappointed. If you are just looking for a single-player FPS then you probably could do worse than SC: Blacklist. But if you're after co-op fun with friends, then avoid at all costs.… Expand
  42. trytoblockmenow
    Aug 21, 2013
    2
    crummy console port, don't bother. Short campaign, getting a 2 because Spies vs Mercs was pretty well thought out. As a fan of the original two games this is of course a disappointment.
  43. Jaunty
    Aug 30, 2014
    3
    I cannot get over how awful this game is. This isn't Splinter Cell. This is a cover-based action shooter with some very light stealth thrown in, and a big chunky helping of modern Ubisoft everything-and-the-kitchen-sink design smattered on top.

    Sam Fisher has been turned into Commander Shepard. Why do I need to buy upgrades for my ship, which now serves as a hub to access levels    I cannot get over how awful this game is. This isn't Splinter Cell. This is a cover-based action shooter with some very light stealth thrown in, and a big chunky helping of modern Ubisoft everything-and-the-kitchen-sink design smattered on top.

    Sam Fisher has been turned into Commander Shepard. Why do I need to buy upgrades for my ship, which now serves as a hub to access levels from? And why can I now purchase radar and regenerating health boosts? Was the core Splinter Cell gameplay not interesting enough by itself that you had to add a shallow progression system on top of it that effectively allows you to cheat?

    Why was Michael Ironside omitted from the game when he is the most important part of Sam Fisher? There is zero charm in the game now. The dialog and cutscenes are dull and the writing is not much better. Sam sounds like a bland 30-year-old now, yet he's supposed to be in his late 50's. And why can old fart Sam climb, run, jump, and attack 10 times faster than he ever could before? Can Viagra do all that?

    By the time I reached the Call of Duty-esque on-rails-grainy-camera-shooter sequence I wanted to barf. Why did Ubisoft feel the need to cater to this crowd? Splinter Cell fans never asked for this. Aside from Conviction, which was far better than Blacklist, the franchise has always been about slow, methodical stealth gameplay. Stealth first, action second. You can't even stealth-open doors in Blacklist--you just throw open every one of them like the James Bond wannabee **** you are.

    The music is awful as well, taking a little too much inspiration from Battlefield 3's jarring static fest of a soundtrack. Graphically, it's technically impressive, but artistically bland. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired of going to Iraq and Afghanistan in my games. Are there not hundreds of other interesting countries one could create a story around?

    We've seen it in Hitman: Absolution. We've seen it in Thief 2014. We've even seen it in Deus Ex: Human Revolution: the dumbing down of games to appeal to a "wider audience". Sometimes it works and we get to see a franchise change directions gracefully, but this time they've gone so far from Splinter Cell's roots that it does not feel like a Splinter Cell game. It just doesn't.    … Expand
  44. Severn
    Sep 6, 2013
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The multiplayer is an incredible disappointment and Uplay should just cease to exist at all, especially for a game purchased on Steam. Ubisoft makes good attempts at stealth multiplayer that are all ruined by this Uplay. Prop Hunt has more intelligent steath gameplay than this garbage. Spoilers: Alex will never have me.… Expand
  45. Dreiraben
    Sep 13, 2013
    0
    I must admit I'm new to the franchise so I didn't expect much and yet the game managed to disappoint in almost every aspect. I don't know where to begin! The actual Installation process itself was a pain in the ass! You had to manually update all patches (which would be okay if the game wouldn't require Uplay) I mean where is the point in selling a game over a Downloadplattform when youI must admit I'm new to the franchise so I didn't expect much and yet the game managed to disappoint in almost every aspect. I don't know where to begin! The actual Installation process itself was a pain in the ass! You had to manually update all patches (which would be okay if the game wouldn't require Uplay) I mean where is the point in selling a game over a Downloadplattform when you still have to install everything manually?! The Game has so many issues that, even now after 2 major patches, it is barely playable. The game crashes frequently (especially when you run it in DX11), the graphics are way below average yet the game has random frameratedrops for no apparent reason. And the gameplay especially in coop is just horrible. The controlls are totally up 50% of the time you end up dying its because of the clunky and glitchy controls. There are so many bugs and glitches like: enemies moving without animation, entering an area after a cutscene and falling through the floor, enemies detecting you through the floor or walls, enemies killing you after a succesfull melee animation. You'll end up restarting most of your coop games due to some gamebreaking glitch. The multiplayer is horrid the skins and modells in mp look like a cheap sourcemod and the matchmaking is just broken. The game really has potential and could be fun if it wasn't for the cheap and rushed realisation. I can not recommend buying this game in the state it is in- and i doubt it'll be fixed anytime soon or at all for that matter....… Expand
  46. Mudpooch
    Aug 18, 2014
    3
    Don't waste your time or your money that's all I have to say..........................................................................................
  47. nitai007
    Oct 19, 2013
    0
    this game is good though i expected it to be better. the game really lets you feel like a spy, and you have a lot of cool gadgets. some levels are big which give you a lot of reason to come back and play them. the story is pretty good, though i preffered convictions story.characters are also pretty good. a really good thing is the talks with sara(his daughter) between missions. the stealththis game is good though i expected it to be better. the game really lets you feel like a spy, and you have a lot of cool gadgets. some levels are big which give you a lot of reason to come back and play them. the story is pretty good, though i preffered convictions story.characters are also pretty good. a really good thing is the talks with sara(his daughter) between missions. the stealth mechanics are solid, and you can hide bodies(which you couldnt with conviction.) the game also lets you choose how to play (most of the times) and gives you a lot of options and tools for every playstyle.
    the game does have some problems. first of all, the graphics arent good. theyre a bit below average. faces also look pretty bad.lip syncing is also an issue. the game also has some technical issues like prompts not appearing. the port for the pc feels clunky and unresponsive. also a problem is that sometimes the game forces you to a style of play, like assault style. this moments are annoying and bad, because the shooting mechanics arent good enough to support these moments. the multiplayer is ok, nothing more than that.
    overall a good game. i expected it to be better. its too bad that it technical shortcomings take it back.    … Expand
  48. lhmtgame
    May 28, 2017
    4
    This is not a stealth game at all. All the time is face to face in enemy because the levels designed to be that.
    Weapons in game is loud and poor. Missions are not interested. The Double Agent is old but better than Blacklist.
  49. marcolone
    Dec 21, 2018
    0
    full of bug, the weapons is terrible, the IA of enemy is so stupid but the dogs are genius, they know where are you from your drone and they allert immediately all the enemy traking your exactly position...
    also the dark doesnt help, they see you anyway...
  50. RemixX
    Aug 31, 2020
    0
    Bugged ****
    FHsadgusduiglsghol[rjhkdejkhlkdjph[djophkihjdfiojhdofjhdkjhiodjophjdoihidsjiho-sdfjhniofgiohjdoiphdipfhjuidjhopidsjhiopsjhidfsjhudsipowfdhuejfihjdfoihjdsfiopkhiofgmnjugjhudfhgjsagyu9fhugghjusdhndfiopfdsjhdisfjh
  51. Echo9k
    Dec 2, 2014
    3
    The story is good, I cant blame Tom Clancy's books. But Ubisoft made a bad console port to pc, leaving the optimization with too much to do, so the game crashes and is annoying very often.
  52. Budget_Security
    Mar 5, 2015
    4
    SHORT VERSION:
    Underneath the many small flaws and irritations, SplinterCell:Blacklist is still "ok" in the end, and sometimes even enjoyable. I can recommend it at the sale price.
    LONG VERSION (WITH SOME RANTING): Sorry, but I will have to go against consensus and say this is no better than SplinterCell:Conviction, which was average in my opinion. The intro video is great, but the    SHORT VERSION:
    Underneath the many small flaws and irritations, SplinterCell:Blacklist is still "ok" in the end, and sometimes even enjoyable. I can recommend it at the sale price.

    LONG VERSION (WITH SOME RANTING):
    Sorry, but I will have to go against consensus and say this is no better than SplinterCell:Conviction, which was average in my opinion.
    The intro video is great, but the rest of the game does not hold up quite as well.

    As with the last game, the campaign story is decent - very much like a typical hollywood action movie, and most enjoyable if you don't try to think too hard.
    Gameplay mechanics are ok - fairly solid and very conventional. There are the typical minor issues and inconsistencies, but nothing too bad. As usual you observe the predefined enemy patrols, and sneak past when a gap inevitably appears. If you follow this rule successfully, you are never forced to improvise (unless its scripted). Level design is still too tight and linear, offering no real freedom in how to approach an objective, but this is normal for mainstream console games. I do miss the greater freedom of movement games like IGI 2, Stalker, and ARMA offer though, when you are infiltrating enemy positions. At least the visual detail in some areas was quite good. There is also the usual over emphasis on cover in the level design. Whether you are sneaking or shooting, you will spend most of your time glued to cover and pressing a key to dash to the next conveniently placed cover object. I can put up with this, but it gets repetitive quickly - the market is already saturated with cover based shooters.

    Sam's new voice actor and model are less likeable. He used to be mature, calm, witty and cynical, but now he comes across like a smug jerk. And they made him younger and heavier - he looks like a steroid-pumped rip-off Commander Shepherd from Mass Effect. He also looks angry all the time and delivers so many lame pep-talk statements with a cold suave voice.
    The setup of Sam's new team is less believable - A small group of super elite ex-teens with total freedom, subject to absolutely no bureaucracy, with "license to kill", who report directly to the US president? come on! Also, the depiction of technology is so full of BS, even by SplinterCell standards, that it is immersion breaking. The computer interface the protagonists use looks more like gibberish alien tech from Starwars than something from real life. It seems the devs tried too hard to impress gamers who they assume are just as dull-minded and tech illiterate as them. Some events in the story are so utterly laughable that I cannot resist analyzing an example here (MINOR SPOILER WARNING):
    In the singleplayer story, the team's huge transport plane loses power in-flight. To "lose weight" and slow the loss of altitude, the team dumps a helicopter out of the loading bay. Facepalm. (And I'm not even describing the stupid way they get it out the door) Assuming a weight of 350 tons for the aircraft (a loaded Antonov-124), and a weight of 4 tons for the helicopter (AS565 Panther), that small loss of weight is not going to help much, and opening the loading door would induce massive additional drag, causing greater loss of altitude. Why not jetisson most of the fuel? Military aircraft often have systems to do that. (An Antonov-124 can hold up to 200 tons of fuel, up to half the entire weight of the aircraft) But I guess that would not have been "dramatic" enough. Most video games lack plausibility to varying extents, but Blacklist is one of the worst offenders.

    The control scheme has been changed since last game, and for the worse. Who thought binding “Use”, "Open/Smash Door", “Climb/Vault” and “Move to next cover” all to 1 button was a good idea? (you cannot change this). This is not a game breaking flaw, but is it really asking too much to let us use separate buttons for everything on our 100+ key controllers (aka keyboards). Controls feel a bit sluggish and sometimes even unresponsive. The 3rd person camera feels wrong - too much randomly changing perspective and mouse sensitivity. Night vision is near useless, might as well turn up gamma on my monitor. Alt-tab no longer works (at least not for me in Dx11). I did not have many of these problems in SplinterCell:Conviction.

    As for multiplayer: "The Splinter Cell Blacklist service is not available. Please try again later."

    I also notice this game series is feeling more and more like an Assassins Creed or FarCry3 clone. It seems Ubisoft is trying to be a bit too efficient with pooling development resources between it's studios, and as a result all their games feel very similar. Its not a big problem, and not necessarily a bad thing (copying the best features across all your games).

    Overall this is by no means a 'bad game'. None of the flaws are game breaking, and if you can live with all the irritations I mentioned, you will probably enjoy it. Otherwise, you should put Ubisoft, Uplay, and this game on your blacklist.    … Expand
  53. Chowjust
    Dec 4, 2022
    3
    Was a huge fan of Splinter Cell: Conviction so I thought this game would be more of that but it wasn't. The game has a different feel to the first one and that's probably due to it being developed by another studio. Blacklist feels more like DLC to the first game than a sequel with most of the best features from the first game removed or changed. The game also will crash every 10 minutesWas a huge fan of Splinter Cell: Conviction so I thought this game would be more of that but it wasn't. The game has a different feel to the first one and that's probably due to it being developed by another studio. Blacklist feels more like DLC to the first game than a sequel with most of the best features from the first game removed or changed. The game also will crash every 10 minutes if you run it in full-screen. Instead you have to run it windowed....… Expand
  54. draco199
    Sep 16, 2020
    0
    Now, since Sam Fisher getting added into siege I wanted to play a Splinter Cell game. I wanted to download Chaos Theory which Uplay+ said no to so I had to settle with Blacklist. Now, this game has a pretty good story, in fact i was really interested in it. Problem is, game crashes every 20-30 minutes. This apparently was a problem even when the game launched in 2013, which I don't knowNow, since Sam Fisher getting added into siege I wanted to play a Splinter Cell game. I wanted to download Chaos Theory which Uplay+ said no to so I had to settle with Blacklist. Now, this game has a pretty good story, in fact i was really interested in it. Problem is, game crashes every 20-30 minutes. This apparently was a problem even when the game launched in 2013, which I don't know how this hasn't been fixed yet. Like what?? Seven years later and people are still having this problem. Since all fixes are from years ago and stuff updates I can't figure out how to fix this game.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

39
#39 Best PC Game of 2013
42
#42 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
39
#39 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. GameCritics
    Jan 22, 2014
    80
    With Conviction, the Splinter Cell series seemed to be veering off course, but Blacklist thankfully grabs the wheel and gets it back on track.
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  2. Level7.nu
    Dec 12, 2013
    80
    Splinter Cell Blacklist is one of the better entries in the long lived spy-saga. It offers great gameplay choices and sneaking is heavily rewarded. On top of that the multiplayer is also confidently crafted. The one thing lacking is the banal story with flat characterization that hinders Splinter Cell Blacklist from reaching any narrative high points.
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  3. PC PowerPlay
    Sep 25, 2013
    80
    Though it lacks the subdued intelligence of Chaos Theory, there's still some cracking good sneaking to be had. [Oct 2013, p.92]
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