Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 435 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 306 out of 435
  2. Mixed: 66 out of 435
  3. Negative: 63 out of 435
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  1. KillerToad
    Sep 16, 2013
    7
    Boy was I excited when a new Splinter Cell was revealed. I grew up playing the original trilogy these games are what defines the stealth genre for me (along with Metal Gear perhaps); everything from the old stealth meter, the sound of your footsteps according to your speed and of course the many cool gadgets available. Chaos Theory is to this day one of my top 5 favourite games because itBoy was I excited when a new Splinter Cell was revealed. I grew up playing the original trilogy these games are what defines the stealth genre for me (along with Metal Gear perhaps); everything from the old stealth meter, the sound of your footsteps according to your speed and of course the many cool gadgets available. Chaos Theory is to this day one of my top 5 favourite games because it had amazing voice talent, graphics (at the time at least), narrative and overall fun gameplay along with an interesting story. I played that game so many times compared to others.
    So when Double Agent came along I was sort of disappointed in how they had changed the game from being the old-school get-in-get-out mission to something more guerilla style. It was like a point of no return in my eyes, and Conviction only built further on top of that.

    Splinter Cell: Blacklist is... a video game. You have a points system and leaderboards, some challenging gameplay and lots of the elements from the older titles in the series, but... I just can't seem to enjoy myself this time around. When Ubisoft first showed the game at E3 I was worried about the game becoming Conviction 2.0 (like many other fans), basically meaning that it would most likely be some predator-like gameplay where you sort of 'had' to take out enemies instead of "Ghosting" through the map. I was happy then when they revealed the option of playing the Perfectionist difficulty level and that you actually also get points for evading enemies I've spontaneously begun to restart from checkpoints if I'm discovered in order to get that "Hostiles undisturbed" bonus, but why do I even bother?
    As I mentioned above I'm not really having fun with this game. From the get-go I was disappointed with the graphics even when I run it on Ultra (PC of course) and they didn't even bother with some cool CGI cutscenes like in the old games. On top of that came the horrible choice of replacing Michael Ironside... why would they do that and then not even make sure the new voice actor actually fit Sam's character? When Kojima replaced David Hayter with Kiefer Sutherland I was equally disappointed but at least the little I've heard in trailers has actually impressed me somewhat. But whatshisname is not fitting Sam Fisher at all, and besides there is no emotion in his voice it's how I would imagine Kristen Stewart voicing a game character. The other characters in 4th Echelon seem equally transparent and I just don't understand how this could happen it's a new department of Ubisoft's many studios but I mean... don't they have some sort of checklist of how a game in a certain series should feel? To me it feels half-heartedly designed.

    I realize that this is becoming a bit of a rant but I'm just really disappointed with the quality of a game whose name I've always recognized as one of the very top franchises in video games. And while I'm sad it turned out this way I must also try and be somewhat objective in my review:
    If we see Blacklist as a standalone title I would still complain on the transparent voice actors, I wouldn't be sad if Grim or Charlie were killed becuase they just don't matter to me in the way they have been represented. They are shallow and the Engineers are too I don't feel any contempt with the bad guys because it's mostly a mission of going in somewhere and disabling some generic bad guys, not like "Go in and get Douglas Shetland" or maybe tracing a VIP for information. So while I find general story, narrative, characters and actually also level design to be half-hearted, I must say though that the gameplay bears potential to be fun if you're not as critical as I am being (maybe if you haven't played the old games?). You have the choice of going in guns blazing or you can stalk your prey like an animal... or you can go the perfectionist way with ghosting through, which is actually quite a challenge (damn dogs, right?). I've retried a lot of checkpoints in order to get a perfect score with no kills, knockouts and detections and that's probably the most enjoyable part of this game, because it actually proves to be quite a challenge in respects of how old-school games were tough to master.

    With respects to the gameplay potential for fun and challenging missions (the horde mode ones are especially tough) I'll give the game a 7 because I think it's in some very disconnected way an enjoyable experience, at least if you ignore the old games of the series. Ubisoft probably wanted to reboot the franchise by giving same a new agency to work for instead of having him hunted and well ok, I just don't like the Splinter Cell name being connected with this new franchise then, because it doesn't remotely honor fantastic classics like Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory.

    Those are my thoughts thanks for reading     … Expand
  2. bertalach
    Sep 9, 2013
    5
    I approached this game fresh from the Thrill ride that was SR4, which does in one part do a very good job of calling into question the tropes of Stealth games. So I was prepared to slog through a procedural game which required you to learn guard patterns and shoot out lights. In this respect I was not disappointed what I was not prepared for was a lack of checkpoints! So you have spentI approached this game fresh from the Thrill ride that was SR4, which does in one part do a very good job of calling into question the tropes of Stealth games. So I was prepared to slog through a procedural game which required you to learn guard patterns and shoot out lights. In this respect I was not disappointed what I was not prepared for was a lack of checkpoints! So you have spent forty five minutes carefully getting through a level to finally have Fisher wracked by indecision as to if he should open a door thereby hiding himself or leap upto the ledge above revealing himself to every guard in the world you have to restart from the very beginning. It brings a ground hog day quality to the game, retreading the same level over and over again seeking to get it right. Also guard dogs that can smell me from four rooms away. The graphics are fine, acting okay however minus Michael Ironside.

    If you want to play a decent stealth game this may be for you, I did prefer Hitman and Assasins creed, I have a big issue with the "a" button doing everything so you can in a moment of indecision open a door instead of snaking it or climb at the wrong moment. This also works for running in what I call the Creed issue, chasing someone can invariably lead to Mr Fisher parkouring up a building!!!!

    It's not bad once you know the controls shortcomings, but it's not as good as people make out and if you have a low tolerance for frustration I cannot suggest you buy this. I enjoy a hard game as much as the next man but only if that games difficulty does not come from a frankly idiotic control system. Yeah I hate the controls!!!!    … Expand
  3. Nubsauce328
    Oct 26, 2013
    6
    This game makes me furious.
    First off, it is NOT like Chaos Theory like you would hope it'd be. It is an OKAY game and is fun when it allows. The story is your basic good guys vs terrorist bad guys with no interesting twists or turns that make you care. Characters are 2D and as flat as you can imagine and the switch of Eric Johnson allows for some awkward conversations with his daughter    This game makes me furious.
    First off, it is NOT like Chaos Theory like you would hope it'd be. It is an OKAY game and is fun when it allows. The story is your basic good guys vs terrorist bad guys with no interesting twists or turns that make you care. Characters are 2D and as flat as you can imagine and the switch of Eric Johnson allows for some awkward conversations with his daughter and some weird gruff voice imitation and then more natural voice portrayal. It's ridiculous. There is a good amount of content, however replayability is really at a low. You never get to "play your way" in every sense of the word. The controls are abysmal and whoever programmed this game should be hung because they had the release delay to remove at least a good chunk of bugs and I'm seeing a whole LOAD of them. I can't have a play session without at least seeing 5 glitches or bugs. And if it's not the bugs that aren't letting me have fun, it's the controls. You will find yourself saying, "That's not what I wanted to do" too many times and if you don't, you clearly haven't tried out various movements. The multiplayer community is terrible, leaving matches left and right, likely because of the game attracting a larger audience of people who just want some quick fun. then the rage inducing multiplayer seeps into their emotions. The multiplayer takes more decision making skills rather than control skill. However, a good team is essential, as you cannot play without a good team, unless you are a beast. Classic mode is not classic btw and it's gotten to the point where nobody plays the game anymore, so you either find newcomers who come to play and leave or veterans. Rank does not matter, so a level 1 can beat the out of anyone because they can theoretically buy every equipment up front; they don't actually need it though. The music score is mostly terrible in game as you'll hear annoying electronic music. The tracks that are good are either by Kaveh Cohen or a part of the song. Patches haven't solved enough to make me enjoy the game each time I play it. Huge disappointment. Whoever said "Chaos Theory Killer" hasn't played enough or is swept up in the moment upon first playing it.    … Expand
  4. JTheJackal
    Sep 23, 2013
    6
    I'm giving this game a 6/10 so as not to be too harsh despite being massively disappointed as a fan of the Splinter Cell series and as a fan of gaming in general.

    I'll start on a positive note. The Splinter Cell series has a lot of good history behind it, providing challenging gameplay, exciting gameplay mechanics, smooth visuals and animation, interesting stories and characters that    I'm giving this game a 6/10 so as not to be too harsh despite being massively disappointed as a fan of the Splinter Cell series and as a fan of gaming in general.

    I'll start on a positive note. The Splinter Cell series has a lot of good history behind it, providing challenging gameplay, exciting gameplay mechanics, smooth visuals and animation, interesting stories and characters that have managed to become recognisable through clever and witty script writing coupled with a voice actor who managed to deliver the script perfectly. The games managed to deliver a tough yet rewarding experience through stealth based gameplay and always managed to excite by giving you a variety of movements to work with in a challenging environment.

    Splinter Cell: Blacklist looked set to build on this with very interesting ideas that appealed greatly by allowing the player to take a more action oriented role if they so wished by providing solid gunplay, customisation options for Fisher and his weapons, a "hub" to break up the linearity of the missions by choosing what we want to do next and slick presentation all while retaining the solid foundation of the series.

    Sadly though, this is 2013. Instead, we're given a dumbed down, cover based shooter with diluted Splinter Cell elements shoehorned in to cater for a market that favours games with the complexity of that of a Kinder Egg. Without the Splinter Cell name and signature goggles, it would unrecognisable as part of the series we've grown to love.

    Within seconds of playing, it's major flaw is made apparent. The movement of the main character "Fisher" is awful. Gone is the analogue sensitive movement speed which allowed you to decide how fast or slow to move around the environment and instead we're given two speeds: "quick" or "quicker" depending on how far you move the analogue stick. This makes for painful moments as you overshoot corners you wanted to stop at, sneak up behind an enemy as you accidently go "quicker" causing him to hear you and just general movement around the levels. This, coupled with the horrendous animation, makes for Blacklist's biggest downfall.

    It’s baffling why they released Blacklist with character animation that looks like it was created by a bad hobbyist. Fisher dives between context sensitive cover with stuttered animation, he hangs from ledges and shuffles along like some sort of primate on crack cocaine, he hangs from horizontal pipes and pulls/pushes himself along at tremendous speed while his legs don't move an inch and actually glitch into the pipe itself, all a complete contradiction to the smooth animations the series used to provide.

    As mentioned above, context sensitive controls rears it's ugly head once again as it's featured heavily in Blacklist. Creativity and ingenuity of escaping/hiding from enemies by split jumping between two walls, hanging onto random pipes or ledges and dropping down to safety are instead replaced with a one button fits all approach. You walk up to a glaringly obvious pipe, the green button flashes on your screen and the 360 does the rest, you can't even drop down until you reach the other end or an enemy passes below you causing the blue button to flash on your screen (exciting, I know). All this button flashing business means you don't have to worry about deciding when to move, when to strike, when to jump etc. All of that requires you to do a thing called "judge" which is taxing and such effort needs to be reserved for more challenging tasks like Facebook or Twitter.

    At the risk of beating a dead horse, I'm going to describe in detail a scenario which crops up time and time again to reinforce just how tragic an experience the above three flaws in conjuncture with one another can create. Fisher is standing infront of a door, which is next to a light switch and above them is a ledge which is within reach. You try and edge Fisher forward so you can see the big A button appear on screen to open the door but you can't move that precisely, so he runs forward too far, you press A and he turns off the light switch, you run around a little to realign yourself with the aforementioned door which again ends in failure, press A and you climb onto the ledge. You press B twice to get back down the ledge, realign yourself correctly with the door, press A and hurrah, it opens. Now, that's a lot of effort to open a door, especially when three guards are standing 50 yards away from you with assault rifles.

    To wrap it all up, I'm going to say Splinter Cell: Blacklist showed potential to build on an already established and solid series with interesting ideas and concepts that really would have moved things forward but instead decided to create a game that plays like it was created by a rival studio who borrowed elements from Splinter Cell and Rainbows 6, mashed them together and blew the rest of the budget on finishing their 3D animation course; A true testament to the games industry and market of today.    … Expand
  5. Diaord
    Oct 16, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Splinter Cell: Blacklist is a frustrating game. Both technically and in difficulty. Technically, it suffers from a confused direction that cannot be ignored, but this is almost made up for by the sincere level of difficulty experienced in realistic or perfectionist. By looking at each in turn, it becomes possible to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of this particular Splinter Cell.

    First, the Technical Problems for Splinter Cell. There are Several, the plot, the voice acting and script, as well as the sometimes confusing or downright unreasonable situations the game puts the player in. The plot falls short of a good splinter cell game, with characters having very little life to them and much of the attitude of Sam Fisher's character cut out. This is further cemented by the new voice actor's lack of inspiration for the role. Another annoying turn is the way Fisher has turned into a dickhead, rather than being that sassy "maybe I'm beneath you, maybe I'm behind you; either way you're dead" character we've grown up with. My second pain is the way Blacklist outsteps the bounds of the traditionally third person stealth shooter genre. At random intervals, you're thrust into this stupid first person shooter role as some unmemorable token black guy, who apparently doesn't even understand the concepts of taking cover or selecting a fire mode other than full auto on his Assault Rifle. This is all cemented by the fact that to complete the story line, you must play as this confused and boring character. My third gripe is with the way the game does its side missions. The first three solo/co-op are fine. But then you have that same black guy's missions. If you want to finish the game's missions you must play online with another player. This infuriates a player who doesn't like to play MMO games, let alone 3/FPS online.
    The final problem this game suffers from is the way the story missions sometimes force the player to do things that don't suit the games playstyle or that are just downright impossible to complete without going on the internet. I am, of course, talking about a stupid scene where you have to rush to the end of a train to catch a bad guy, one where you have to shoot and crash through a window to kill a pair of enemies that kill you within two seconds if you don't immediately go to cover.

    So, now that we've looked at the ways the game departs from the third-person shooter role, let's look at the ways it gets it right. Firstly, you have a real difficulty at realistic or perfectionist difficulty. The game has to be played stealthily, or you will die. Using distractions, from gadgets, to mines to just the dead bodies of terrorists you've already killed in creative ways helps to get through missions. finding the right mix between shooting out lights, executing enemies and sniping helmeted targets will garner the player the ability to advance through the missions that don't rely on a shoddy first-person departure from the game. The second good point in this game is the weapon customisation. While the game undoubtedly falls into the pitfall of "there's this one uberweapon in each class", it can be fun racking up kills with different weapon types and trying new things. The final nice thing is that the game never gives the player a place to hide; you must always move and reposition, or else you'll be spotted.

    Otherwise, the graphics are good, the controls are effective and usually responsive, the game is linear but has tactical diversity at each stage and doesn't hand-hold too much. In some ways, it is better than Conviction, in other ways, it is worse. I guess my problem is that they tried to do new things and those things weren't right for the genre.

    Plot: 3/10
    Gameplay: 8/10*
    Control: 8/10
    Graphics: 7/10

    (would be 10/10 if it weren't for the first person shooter departures and the train mission.)    … Expand
  6. bwp
    Sep 18, 2013
    5
    Previous Splinter Cell games have been among my all-time favorites, so of course I was excited for this it is ultimately a decent game but a tad underwhelming for several reasons. I actually thought Conviction was a brilliantly designed game, after getting over the initial shock of realizing it abandoned all the previous core qualities of SC games. The reason it worked was although itPrevious Splinter Cell games have been among my all-time favorites, so of course I was excited for this it is ultimately a decent game but a tad underwhelming for several reasons. I actually thought Conviction was a brilliantly designed game, after getting over the initial shock of realizing it abandoned all the previous core qualities of SC games. The reason it worked was although it lacked much stealth, it is at its core a great strategy game with levels designed to be able to be traversed multiple ways. This game is a direct continuation of Conviction but ultimately is not as successful for the following reasons.

    1. The environments and noirish ambience are a huge part of what makes SC games so enjoyable. (Jerusalem, the Paris train, Seoul, Hokkaido, the Siberian supertanker, the Washington fair, etc) Unfortunately, although the level structures are pretty well designed, the environments are very uninspired, with several taking place in generic sandy Middle Eastern locations that looks like any other 50 games from the last few years, and more levels are simply just unremarkable run-down warehouses.

    2. This seems to be at its core an action game that gives you the occasional option of stealth, not a true stealth game, and the stealth element here is not very successful and seems to have been added just to appease people who were dissatisfied with Conviction. The ability to cross between the two styles is better in theory than in practice, as it just diminishes the experience of both in the long run.

    3. The actor replacing Ironside is flat and dull, and all the quirks and humor and personality from the character has disappeared and he has become another interchangeable cliched gruff hard-boiled action man.

    4. Graphics are adequate but not particularly impressive.    … Expand
  7. Locimento
    Aug 27, 2013
    5
    Massive disappointment for fans of the series like me. For one Ubisoft butchered Sam Fisher, his face looks like an entirely different person, and most of his personality from the previous games has vanished. The biggest problem with the game to me is the voice of Sam Fisher is no longer being done by Micheal Ironside but by Eric Johnson, who fails to sound anything like Micheal or evenMassive disappointment for fans of the series like me. For one Ubisoft butchered Sam Fisher, his face looks like an entirely different person, and most of his personality from the previous games has vanished. The biggest problem with the game to me is the voice of Sam Fisher is no longer being done by Micheal Ironside but by Eric Johnson, who fails to sound anything like Micheal or even portrait the character correctly. Seriously, I was unable to take the first couple missions seriously hearing a different voice, it just felt so out of place! It almost feels like a Batman movie without Batman in it.

    Just like Conviction, the game has too much of a focus on action rather than stealth. Since Im a stealthy player I absolutely hate it when they force you to mark and execute targets, even if it is just showing you how to do it i should have the freedom as the player not to. Story and gameplay wise its great.

    But probably the best part of the game is the multiplayer. Spies VS Mercs was totally awesome, and is absolutely worth playing. Playing as a merc and constantly scanning your surroundings for the lurking spies was very fun and trying to hack terminals as a spy was totally cool as well.

    I would say go ahead and pick up the game if the absence of Micheal Ironside doesn't make you cringe inside like me, or if the multiplayer sounds like your thing i would recommend picking it up just to play it.    … Expand
  8. unbiasedcritic
    Sep 3, 2013
    5
    here goes.

    I could go on how ive played nearly every sc, I wont. from the first couple levels of blacklist I felt already the game was different, controls were snappier, a.i. was more aggressive and deadlier than splinter cell conviction but the overall game didnt feel as polished up. the storyline was a bore, but I wouldnt know too much because I primarily skipped around every    here goes.

    I could go on how ive played nearly every sc, I wont.

    from the first couple levels of blacklist I felt already the game was different, controls were snappier, a.i. was more aggressive and deadlier than splinter cell conviction but the overall game didnt feel as polished up.

    the storyline was a bore, but I wouldnt know too much because I primarily skipped around every cutscene, its great they allow this feature because this is a LONG game with LONG cutscenes...I can say for certain I felt pretty uncomfortable with the interrogation scenes as they are pretty brutal compared to previous splinter cell games...the game itself forces you to make some pretty bad decisions like putting a bullet to someones head while watching the person get shot multiple times or impaling a person with a spike until he stops suffocating and dies...brutal, am not sure why they included this in the game you always have the passive decision of letting them live but then you feel as though they got away. they should have figured out a medium in the cutscenes for dealing with the criminal, instead sam fisher seems like the terrorist, he always seems pissed off and short attention spanned unlike the previous actor michael ironside he approached things with more control and intelligence. which reminds me...the acting was terrible and the rehashed sam fisher sounds so unoriginal and cliche...to bad.

    as for the game itself. the cat and mouse gameplay was great, there were some challenging levels where you had to think twice on how to approach a level. lots of replay ability in this game i could tell.

    could not play multiplayer because i had downloaded the pirate version. but am thinking of buying the game for replaying the levels and multiplayer itself.

    there are a ton of gadgets and gizmos not to mention arsenal of weapons like sc3000 returning, different ways to customize them with acogs to redots. the guns seem pretty balanced and well thought out. as well as customize sam's suit, goggles,    … Expand
  9. tyler558906
    Aug 26, 2013
    7
    PROS:
    Ubisoft reverts back to some Splinter Cell basics in which made the series great. The levels are very complex and well designed. You have multiple choices in levels to take different routes and utilize your surroundings such as ceiling pipe take downs, wall/cliff/rail take downs, craw space routes, roof routes, or just sticking to the shadows something that Conviction just didn't    PROS:
    Ubisoft reverts back to some Splinter Cell basics in which made the series great. The levels are very complex and well designed. You have multiple choices in levels to take different routes and utilize your surroundings such as ceiling pipe take downs, wall/cliff/rail take downs, craw space routes, roof routes, or just sticking to the shadows something that Conviction just didn't execute right.
    I also enjoy some of the small things that Ubisoft brought back, like lighting effecting your goggles and Sam having very minimal life, which I tend to enjoy as it penalizes you for getting sloppy if you try to take on more than you can handle again ensuring the player focuses staying discrete.
    Lastly, one of the major improvement/addition is the hand-to-hand take down/combat system, which in my opinion, is the golden gem of the game. It gives you the upper hand in maintaining stealth and opens a multitude of options in which you can chose to complete a mission because of your versatility. Another being Sam's suit, gear, gadgets, and weapons can also now be purchased and upgraded using money earned in missions or side missions.

    CONS:
    THE BAD: The story line and characters, ugh! Boring! The cliche story of terrorist attacking America in addition to the characters in the game having a personality of a politician makes the story very uninteresting. Out of all characters Sam is the worse. With all the fuss of everyone being disappointed that Michael Ironside no longer voicing Sam you'd think Ubisoft would try to reward us with a someone decent. No, instead Sam's new character has no emotion, personality, or dark/dry humor that Fisher had which makes his character extremely bland. He has bland reactions and responses to situations or characters an 8 year old could have come up with. To top it off he no longer even looks like Fisher!

    THE UGLY: Although there are many opportunities in levels and mission to try to maintain stealth, for some reason Ubisoft thought it'd be a good idea for many missions to end in cut-scenes of you being caught and now you must escape, resulting in a not-so-subtle gun fight or attempting to dodge bullets A few missions begin the same too. Why?! I can understand 1 or 2 missions but Ubisoft seems to force the player too much (after the player focused on staying stealthy) to go all out action-packed. There is little to no place for that in stealth games and Splinter Cell has never been an action/shooting game and don't know why Ubisoft felt the need to add so many of these scenarios. The ending result doesn't feel like a tactical espionage game many times in which the Splinter Cell series all the way up to Chaos Theory executed very well.

    OVERALL
    I'd still have to rate BL a 7/10 as the graphics, sounds, level design, AI and overall gameplay still provides a nice solid fun game to play with many side missions for replay-ability. But the bland characters, story line, and some of the forced action is the reason it doesn't get a 10/10.    … Expand
  10. SimpleMethod
    Aug 22, 2013
    5
    Splinter Cell: Blacklist is a huge disappointment. I bought it along with Saints Row IV with my friend yesterday, and we both agreed it suffered from moronic controls that made the stealth sloppy and slippery. The graphics aren't that great either and the story, at it's core, is nonsense.
  11. netcoder
    Aug 23, 2013
    5
    It seems the 5 years between Chaos Theory and Conviction had everyone forget what made the series so different than everything else.

    "Stealth Action Redefined" was the original subtitle of Splinter Cell. I always thought that the point of a secret agent was that his existence remained as much a secret as possible. In SC:B, it's quite the contrary. The SC fans will likely opt for the    It seems the 5 years between Chaos Theory and Conviction had everyone forget what made the series so different than everything else.

    "Stealth Action Redefined" was the original subtitle of Splinter Cell. I always thought that the point of a secret agent was that his existence remained as much a secret as possible. In SC:B, it's quite the contrary.

    The SC fans will likely opt for the Ghost approach. In SC:B, being a Ghost means you can be seen by the enemy as long as you knock him out within a second. You can knock out as many people as you want, shoot out light bulbs, destroy cameras, you name it. The next morning, nobody will remember a thing and will probably blame the destroyed light bulbs and cameras on a power surge or something.

    You'll go on this mission where you must hack some computers, and where, if you're "detected", the enemy will wipe out the data and the mission will be a failure. But apparently, if you knock out the entire base before hacking the servers, it's not suspicious at all and they won't wipe out the data, because, bleh.

    And if you remain completely invisible without leaving as much as a drop of sweat, the game rewards you with a lame 11000 points and a few thousand dollars. If you opt for wiping out the whole base, you'll get 20000+ points and even more money. Even shooting light bulbs rewards you with money.

    Everything that was challenging in the previous games is now gone.

    It's a somewhat fun game, but it's pretty far from what made Splinter Cell "redefine the stealth action" genre. Sadly, I don't think it's ever coming back.    … Expand
  12. MrArtemka
    Nov 12, 2013
    5
    Well, some of my friends say, that I judge the games and don’t even play in them. Well I completed this game on xbox. I completed everything I could complete. EVERYTHING IS COMPLETED. So I can judge the game anyhow I want.
    So let’s begin.
    That was the first game I actually completed from Splinter Cell Multylogy, but even in my first game I can say that it is completely SAME. Every single    Well, some of my friends say, that I judge the games and don’t even play in them. Well I completed this game on xbox. I completed everything I could complete. EVERYTHING IS COMPLETED. So I can judge the game anyhow I want.
    So let’s begin.
    That was the first game I actually completed from Splinter Cell Multylogy, but even in my first game I can say that it is completely SAME. Every single mission looks exactly the same as previous one. Just changed decorations. Like Call of Duty series from Call of Duty 4 MW1. There is also a no-weapons-for some-reasons-because-we-think-all-people-playing-TPS-games-are-masochists cliche. So it also looks same as other TPS. This was a general review. Lets make it more detailed.
    Graphics
    Missing textures somewhere are included so… True TPS I played on XBOX so graphics are like other TPS games, because xbox 360 cant make graphics in game better. Its just 1080p. Nothing special. Not PC. And stuff…
    Logic
    No logic. Lets continue.
    Sounds
    Russian version sounds nice. But also nothing special. Epic moments Epic music. Just walking around just walking around music. Nothing special. Just TPS.
    Gameplay
    BUGS, BUGS, BUGS. Like in pre-last mission with bombs. I fell on the ground and exploded for no reason. Just because And just TPS. Weapons are nice but too expensive. Also lets remember that black market weapons should be bought like: buy a plane upgrade buy 1 nice 6/ ‘bout 15 weapons buy second upgrade buy another weapon that you need after buying a Honey Barger (or something like that). That’s all. Oh by the way that 2 upgrades cost you 200k single. And weapons from black market cost ‘bout 60k each and aren't really upgrading. BTW nice fact. I completed game with sniper rifle… even in low range missions. OMG LOGIC!!!!!!
    Story
    Cliché. Game is cliché. Everything is cliché. People have you got any brains with fresh ideas in them???!!!
    You read till this place. Man your brain is made of iron!!!!
    So… MARKS TIME (like adventure time).
    Graphics 7/10 (just 1080p game nothing special)
    Logic 2/10 (no logic)
    Sounds 6/10 (everything like it should be, but still nothing special)
    Gameplay 4/10 (made me scream with really bad words like a girl)
    Story 5/10 (because of nothing special and cliché)
    7+2+6+4+5=24
    24/5=5
    So……..5

    By MrArtemka    … Expand
  13. Rickin10
    Aug 29, 2013
    6
    SC:B comes close not just to being very good, but greatness. It does a mostly fabulous job of melding together what hardcore fans of the series have being crying out for since it lost it's way post Chaos Theory, and the more casual shooter mechanics that every publisher dictates absolutely. must. be. in. our. game!

    This is a genuine stealth experience if you choose to play it that way,    SC:B comes close not just to being very good, but greatness. It does a mostly fabulous job of melding together what hardcore fans of the series have being crying out for since it lost it's way post Chaos Theory, and the more casual shooter mechanics that every publisher dictates absolutely. must. be. in. our. game!

    This is a genuine stealth experience if you choose to play it that way, and a challenging one too. It's all set out very well with a wealth of customizable options from clothes to weapons, and you get lots of challenging, fun side missions that relate to the 3 different playstyles that you can dip in an out of between the main story missions. The more you upgrade and purchase the more options you have for not just success, but variety and fun. And there are certain sections of the game that are genuinely fantastic.

    Unfortunately the game stumbles badly in 3 major areas.

    The first is the checkpoint system. Whilst the distances between them isn't an issue, because of the nature of stealth games where you may spend between 10- 15 minutes meticulously clearing a relatively small area, it only takes a small error and your perfect run is ended or you are killed and all that time is wasted. This obviously discourages experimentation, which with so many options is a real shame.

    The biggest flaw though is the horrible artificial limitations the developers place in every piece of environment. Let me explain: You may be happily shimmying along a pipe only for Sam to suddenly grind to a halt with no apparent obstacle. But there's a ledge barely a fingers-width above you so you think I'll grab onto that and pull myself up no, the game thinks otherwise. You consider your options. There a window ledge below and a helpful red icon saying 'drop' appears, so you push this and Sam drops down to the ledge. Note there is no option to 'freefall' further because there is no icon telling me I can. So I go from one window to the next to the next, just under the original pipe i was on. Having gone past 3 windows I attempt to grab the identical forth only again hit an invisible wall. I know this because not only am I not moving but the 'green icon' telling me i can is now not showing. But there is a horizontal pipe that I can clamber on and edge over a guard upside down. I try to drop down but realise there is no red icon allowing me to, so I continue onto a a cubic pillar with an edge i can grab onto. I circle around the edge, but even though I'm no more than 7ft above the ground I'm not allowed to drop. Instead I have to find the face with a ladder and climb down right in front of the guard.

    This is just a short demo of how restrictive the maps are. Even though almost every new environment teases you with immense possibilities, you soon realise that even though you can go different routes, they are each heavily restricted along invisible, linear paths. Because there is no dedicated jump -or drop button, to interact with any scenery you have to wait for the game to give you permission via a colour prompt ensuring Sam can only stick to certain objects. You can't freely decide to move from one thing to another like in Assassin's Creed or Dishonored.

    The other major flaw which will infuriate Legacy SC fans is the forced action segments which include babysitting a hostage through waves of guards, chase sequences, some overhead drone-striking, and most inexplicably, a FPS section. Yes you read that correctly: A FIRST PERSON SHOOTER SECTION. IN A SPLINTER CELL GAME. W.T.F??? Thankfully they are reasonably short but regular enough to be annoying.

    The story is forgettably derivative and the new Sam is very harsh and unlikable, although the other characters were pretty decent for a videogame.

    SP:B is unquestionably the best SC since Chaos Theory (okay, possibly not saying much) and it does live up to the pre-release shtick of giving players the option of playing in the style they want. It also gives good value for money in terms of the content it offers.

    If only it was more encouraging of freedom, experimentation and didn't force you into action set-pieces, it could have been amazing, instead of a harsh, restrictive tease.    … Expand
  14. CheckGamesList
    Aug 25, 2013
    7
    The latest game in the Splinter Cell series does an acceptable job continuing the series, but doesn't make it better. The graphics were pretty standard, the story was quite intriguing despite repetitive scenes, and the overall gameplay was fair.
    However, a couple of the negatives would be that enemies usually could only detect you when you were in front of them, and in one extreme case    The latest game in the Splinter Cell series does an acceptable job continuing the series, but doesn't make it better. The graphics were pretty standard, the story was quite intriguing despite repetitive scenes, and the overall gameplay was fair.
    However, a couple of the negatives would be that enemies usually could only detect you when you were in front of them, and in one extreme case walking two feet behind an enemy didn't alert him one bit. Also, here and there, an animation was slightly off.
    In the end, Blacklist is a pretty good game, with a nicely designed multiplayer in addition. But in the end, it's not a groundbreaking one.    … Expand
  15. DarkWolf1991
    Aug 31, 2013
    7
    After playing Conviction and feeling disappointed because there was hardly any stealth game play I was rather concerned with how Blacklist would turn out. So I took the risk, Spent the £40 and I am more then happy to say I am enjoying it!

    Luckily, Ubisoft has focused more on improving stealth for those who like to play Splinter Cell the way it was meant to be played rather then going    After playing Conviction and feeling disappointed because there was hardly any stealth game play I was rather concerned with how Blacklist would turn out. So I took the risk, Spent the £40 and I am more then happy to say I am enjoying it!

    Luckily, Ubisoft has focused more on improving stealth for those who like to play Splinter Cell the way it was meant to be played rather then going Call of Duty style. So to me that is major kudos for Ubisoft right there.

    The story itself is rather decent but I won't go too much into details for those who hasn't played it but it does seem rather far-fetched with America saving the day and defeating a British bad guy.

    Spies versus Mercs is back in this series! But as a old school Splinter Cell fan, I am not too much of a fan of this. Mainly because spies are very over-powered, They can now attack from mercs from any angels, have gadgets that could kill etc. I'd go into more detail but I'd be here for ever. Overall multilayer does need some working on

    However, My only flaw with this game is that the controls are bit awkward, There are times where I climb up a ledge when I was meant to drop down so I could make a quick escape but only to be spotted which would mess up my Ghost score and have to restart from a checkpoint.

    Overall, If you're new to the series then you'r going to enjoy it a lot but old school fans of the series, You might want to rent it or buy it when you see it cheaper.    … Expand
  16. maceshatwell
    Sep 8, 2013
    7
    Splinter Cell Blacklist is a great single player game with lots of replay value. The computer enemies will take different paths depending on if they hear your character or see a body you left on the ground in plain sight. Unlock and upgrade different weapons and try three different play styles; Ghost, which is silent with no killing, Panther which is silent but deadly and lastly combat,Splinter Cell Blacklist is a great single player game with lots of replay value. The computer enemies will take different paths depending on if they hear your character or see a body you left on the ground in plain sight. Unlock and upgrade different weapons and try three different play styles; Ghost, which is silent with no killing, Panther which is silent but deadly and lastly combat, loud and deadly.

    Multiplayer leaves a lot to be desired. You play 2 rounds one as a spy and one as a mercenary. The game is slanted towards spy advantage so half the game seems too easy and other half seems too hard. I would have preferred a spy vs. spy scenario but that is not what we got here.

    Co-op via XBL is hit or miss, and by that depending on who you pull as a partner. There is duel executions to take down 6 targets silently at one time but your teammate needs to be able to recognize what you are doing. Further if you get a teammate with a different play style it rarely works out. However, with the right teammate co-op is very fun and rewarding silently meeting your objectives as a team. Also there are strategies only usable via co-op play. There is one mission that is co-op only.

    Overall SCBL gets a 7 from me due to the shortness of the game. I finished all missions in about 6 hours. Replay is very high though and co-op with right person/players enhances gameplay. Skip the multiplayer it is more of an aggravation than a fun feature.    … Expand
  17. BatFat09
    Sep 20, 2013
    6
    While splinter cell has never been about stunning graphics, or innovative stealth gameplay... this game is still mediocre. Not worth te price tag, bu i still kind of enjoyed it. Play hitman, it performs much better than splinter cell, and probably always will.
  18. Magdi_alafifi
    Aug 26, 2014
    6
    Okay I'll put it in separate points, mixing the pros and cons...

    - The writing is the weakest link of this game. If you want a game that cares about adequate story telling, three-dimensional characters, or thought provoking debates then this is not the thing for you. It's your typical jingoistic story. Murica's-right-everyone-else-is-wrong mentality runs throughout the entire game. -    Okay I'll put it in separate points, mixing the pros and cons...

    - The writing is the weakest link of this game. If you want a game that cares about adequate story telling, three-dimensional characters, or thought provoking debates then this is not the thing for you. It's your typical jingoistic story. Murica's-right-everyone-else-is-wrong mentality runs throughout the entire game.

    - Sam has lost all his wits and became unforgivingly brain-dead, angry all the time and very uninteresting. Others in his team are also very dull characters, perhaps Charlie and Kobin were slightly interesting. but that doesn't redeem how little they cared about writing complex characters. In fact, they ruined all the good parts that Sam Fisher had in the previous instalments.

    - You have the option to play in 3 different styles, and you're rewarded for playing in each, which is great. But still playing in panther (killing everyone but silently) is still objectively much easier to do, and subjectively more fun, which is not necessarily a bad thing, really. I enjoyed playing panther a lot.

    - The gameplay is fun and entertaining. especially in panther. It's very diverse and thought-provoking that at times it feels like a strategy game. You're constantly thinking what's the smartest approach. and it doesn't get boring fast, though after a while it doesn't feel very inventive any more.    … Expand
  19. TheManofSteel
    Jul 22, 2014
    5
    Splinter Cell: Blacklist is not necessarily a bad game.....its just not very good. Its predecessor "Splinter Cell: Conviction" is one of the best games of the past few years. It featured several innovative and entertaining features that Blacklist just throws out of the window. If Blacklist took the elements that made Conviction so great and added a new story, it would have been great butSplinter Cell: Blacklist is not necessarily a bad game.....its just not very good. Its predecessor "Splinter Cell: Conviction" is one of the best games of the past few years. It featured several innovative and entertaining features that Blacklist just throws out of the window. If Blacklist took the elements that made Conviction so great and added a new story, it would have been great but this game seems to have gone back in terms of its technical side. The game is enjoyable at best but its not as mind blowing as the previous game in the franchise was.… Expand
  20. Broyax
    Apr 17, 2017
    7
    Finalement et contre toute attente, un Splinter qui laisse le choix de l'approche et remet l'infiltration à l'honneur après le trop bourrin Conviction. Fort bien ! mais certaines situations induisent encore une approche bourrine (traverser une bataille, prendre à revers les ennemis) tandis que deux autres tiennent du ridicule : poursuivre un terroriste qui s'enfuit ?... Assassin's Creed !Finalement et contre toute attente, un Splinter qui laisse le choix de l'approche et remet l'infiltration à l'honneur après le trop bourrin Conviction. Fort bien ! mais certaines situations induisent encore une approche bourrine (traverser une bataille, prendre à revers les ennemis) tandis que deux autres tiennent du ridicule : poursuivre un terroriste qui s'enfuit ?... Assassin's Creed ! se taper la moitié d'un niveau en vue FPS ?... Call Of Duty ! mais on dira Far Cry 3 si on est indulgent...

    Cela dit, l'essentiel demeure, le choix de l'infiltration (ou pas) avec le lot habituel de gadgets revu encore à la hausse, l'interface excellente, les niveaux réussis et très étudiés, l'IA assez convaincante, l'histoire à la Clancy grotesque et sans intérêt (une constante dans les Splinter) les graphismes agréables et la VF impeccable (on retrouve la voix de Daniel Beretta (Schwarzy et Fisher depuis le tout premier). La musique marque le pas par contre, très oubliable et quelconque.

    Un avion, des personnages à qui parler ?... voilà un mini-Mass effect ou à tout le moins une mini-tentative guère concluante... mais rien de rédhibitoire. Ce qui a failli l'être, c'est le putain de QTE de merde de la fin... je ne sais pas ce qui leur est passé par la tête chez Ubi Soft !

    Quoi qu'il en soit, Black List est mieux que Conviction dans l'ensemble. Mais trop de maladresses l'empêchent de s'approcher de Double Agent ou Chaos Theory.    … Expand
  21. Dperks
    Jun 26, 2020
    7
    Blacklist is a definite improvement to its predecessor Conviction. While still hampered by problems both old and new to the series. Blacklist seemed to gel its more action focused set pieces with the traditional stealth that the series is known for a lot better then Conviction did. Although there are still some rather frustrating parts in the game typically involving action over stealthBlacklist is a definite improvement to its predecessor Conviction. While still hampered by problems both old and new to the series. Blacklist seemed to gel its more action focused set pieces with the traditional stealth that the series is known for a lot better then Conviction did. Although there are still some rather frustrating parts in the game typically involving action over stealth it doesn't go to overboard with it. The story isn't to great i wouldn't call it bad but its nothing to special. I also didn't care for the side missions as they seemed more built for co op and playing solo felt like nothing more then time wasters. Buying gadgets and equipment was a good addition it defiantly gives you initiative to go after side objectives in the missions although i wish they more interesting then the 3 options they have pasted in each level. Overall i think the game is fine the base stealth is really enjoyable and the levels were fun theirs just a lot of other things around the core game play that are rather week in my opinion. And i really do hope we get another game from this franchise as it could do so much better then this for a finally i feel.… Expand
  22. Shimmeywill
    Mar 9, 2020
    6
    A solid stealth game with mediocre visuals. Level design and pacing is decent.
  23. explorerbay
    Jul 20, 2020
    6
    Not as good as Blacklist, feels even more fast pace and less stealth than the predecessor

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2013
20
#20 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2013
5
#5 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 58 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 58
  3. Negative: 0 out of 58
  1. games(TM)
    Sep 23, 2013
    60
    Most will likely find it a fairly inoffensive time-consumer. But it is a new low for the series. [Issue#139, p.90]
  2. Games Master UK
    Sep 18, 2013
    81
    Meaty chunks of great stealth game book-ended by identity breaking flourishes. [Nov 2013, p.56]
  3. X-ONE Magazine UK
    Sep 17, 2013
    80
    The design mantra, it would appear, is to offer you as much freedom as possible. [Issue#102, p.70]
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