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. 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
  2. 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
  3. RemixX
    Aug 31, 2020
    0
    Bugged ****
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  4. 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...
  5. 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.
  6. 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
  7. 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.
  8. 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
  9. Mudpooch
    Aug 18, 2014
    3
    Don't waste your time or your money that's all I have to say..........................................................................................
  10. 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
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  11. 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.
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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.
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. 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.
  21. 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...
  22. 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.
  23. 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
  24. 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.
  25. 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
  26. 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
  27. 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!
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
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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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