Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist PC Games

Released on 23-Aug-2013

• Grab the popcorn - Splinter Cell movie is in development

  Tom Clancy's stealthy hero, Sam Fisher, has been in shadows for a while now, ever since his last game outing in 2010's Splinter Cell: Conviction, but he'll be back in action in 2013 in a new game and, it seems, a blockbuster movie.

  Several movie studios are apparently circling the rights to make Splinter Cell: The Movie. "Warner Bros had engaged in talks," says Deadline Hollywood's Mike Fleming, "But now, the conversation is with Paramount Pictures, which is the frontrunner to land the project."

  "Ubisoft will be very involved and retain control over how the game is translated into a film," he goes on to add. The French publisher has invested heavily in its own movies recently, with short live action films to promote both Assassin's Creed and Ghost Recon.

  Paramount, of course, has a long history with Tom Clancy projects, having been home to the Jack Ryan series, which has seen stars like Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck play the stoic secret agent in hit movies such as Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger and The Sum of All Fears.

  New game Splinter Cell: Blacklist will be reaching our TVs first, however, with Sam Fisher now in charge of the Fourth Echelon espionage team. There'll be voice-activated features for Kinect, and you'll also be able to use something called "killing in motion" to seamlessly transition from one stealth kill to the next while moving.

  Splinter Cell: Blacklist is due for release in Spring 2013. As for the Splinter Cell movie, which of Hollywood's current tough guys do you think deserves to wear the goggles?
  

• Morality play: there is no "good option" in Splinter Cell: Blacklist

  The life of a hardened secret agent doesn't leave much room for black and white moral choices, and the upcoming Sam Fisher adventure Splinter Cell: Blacklist will reflect that. Talking to Game Informer, Ubisoft creative director Maxine Beland explained how the game will put you in scenarios with no apparent easy way out.

  "We love the idea of putting the player in those situations that [real soldiers] are going through," she said. "It's not a question sometimes of doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Sometimes it's I need to do the wrong or the wrong-er. What do I do? There's no good option."

  Scenes in which Fisher interrogates enemies for vital information are just one way the game will force you to consider unpalatable options - and it won't spell out which choices are "good" or "bad" either.

  "If we told you, if you're the good guy, you're gonna to get this, and if you're the bad guy, you're gonna get that, you're not thinking 'what am I doing here?'" Beland said. "What I like is when you play them and you talk to your friend about it after, you say 'I did this. What do you think?' That's the kind of discussion we want. And I think it's cool to make people reflect on it and hopefully grow as humans a little bit. Because we've got some guys everywhere in the world that are making those decisions every day for us."

  Splinter Cell: Blacklist finds Fisher in command of The Fourth Echelon, a new intelligence agency, at the same time as twelve notorious terrorists join forces to unleash a sequence of terrorist attacks on US soil.

  Look for it early next year on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

• Tom Hardy will play Sam Fisher in the Splinter Cell movie

  Ubisoft is deadly serious about leaping from the joypad to the big screen, it seems. Following from the news that Michael Fassbender will star in the fast-tracked movie version of Assassin's Creed, the French publisher has announced that Tom Hardy will headline the Splinter Cell film.

  Hardy is best known for playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, but has also won acclaim for his turns in films such as Inception and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He'll next be seen taking over from Mel Gibson in the post-apocalyptic Mad Max: Fury Road.

  Splinter Cell first appeared on consoles back in 2002. Created by Tom Clancy, the series follows covert agent Sam Fisher as he uses stealth and cunning to take down enemies of the state. The character was previously voiced by veteran tough guy Michael Ironside. Here's hoping Ubisoft offers him a role in the movie, as a nod to the fans.

  "Tom Hardy is currently one of the biggest talents in the film industry, and he has a phenomenal ability to take on complex and varied roles with his broad range of acting skills," said Jean-Julien Baronnet, the head of Ubisoft's Motion Pictures division. "His involvement in the 'Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell' movie is exciting news for movie and video game fans alike."

  The next game in the series, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, is set for release next year on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

  Published: 15/11/2012

• Splinter Cell: Blacklist offers 'unmatched flow' in combat

  Sam Fisher will be more lethal than ever when he returns next year in Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and that's thanks to Kevin Secours. He's the game's combat consultant, and is also the man in the motion capture suit for all of Fisher's movements.

  A thirty year martial arts veteran, with black belts in more than six different disciplines, Secours has also trained in law enforcement weapons and tactics, and has provided security training and advice to international airports, hospitals and coast guards. He is a real life Sam Fisher, in other words.

  How will this experience translate into gameplay? "Unmatched flow," says Secours in a new developer video diary. "We are going to see a level of fluidity that I believe has not been in games before." Based on Secours' input, Fisher will also wield an Indonesian karambit knife rather than the straight blade of old. It's better for "rending and tearing" apparently. Nice.

  As for the moves that Fisher will be inheriting from Secours, we can expect to see elements of everything from karate, jujitsu, kung fu, Russian systema, Muay Thai boxing and more. All will be utilised for the new "killing in motion" gameplay feature, which allows Fisher to take down multiple enemies in sequence.

  Splinter Cell: Blacklist is due for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC next spring.
  

  Published: 27/11/2012

• Splinter Cell: Blacklist - Preview

  
  

  

  Sam Fisher's back. Well, seeing as Splinter Cell: Conviction's only a couple of years old, he's not exactly been gone long. Okay, what we mean is that the Sam Fisher of old, the one who stalked in the shadows sporting a fetching little triangle of green lights on his bonce, has returned. Except Michael Ironside, the voice of the old Sam Fisher, has been sidelined to make way for a new, more youthful and more athletic lead. Alright, this is getting complicated. Let us explain.

  See, there hasn't been a Splinter Cell in the traditional sense this generation of consoles, and arguably the last to fly that flag was 2005's Chaos Theory. When the series made the jump to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with Double Agent, it ditched the panther suit, and introduced a more brutal and more human Fisher.

  They weren't exactly bad games - Conviction, in our opinion, remains an action highlight of the last few years - but there's been a hankering for something more traditional, and that's where Splinter Cell: Blacklist slots in. This is Sam as you know and love him, if you've a little grey in your beard and know your Manic Miner from your Mario.

  

  Back In Black

  Sam's no longer a rogue agent, and is now operating with Fourth Echelon, a new organization that is set aboard a flying fortress called the Paladin. Here's one of the first really interesting things about Blacklist - the Paladin hosts all your comrades, and you're free to roam around it in between missions, building relationships and engaging in side missions. It's more than a little Mass Effect, but we're certainly not complaining.

  On the ground, it's slightly more traditional, though Blacklist doesn't abandon all the innovations introduced in Double Agent and Conviction. You're back in the suit, but you're more agile than before, and while pure stealth is an option, ghosting through the shadows in an attempt to never be detected, you're also free to pounce and kill or, should you so desire, go weapons free and play it like a Call of Duty game. We really wouldn't recommend that last one though - Sam goes down like a wet cardboard box, meaning it's best to play this one a little smarter.

  Two levels in this early preview highlight these approaches best. The first, set in the dazzling daylight of Benghazi, has Sam finding shadow in the glorious shabby brickwork of the city - note that this is an almighty fine looking game - leaping around from window-ledge to window-ledge like a modern day Ezio de Auditore before indulging in some lethal and athletic takedowns.

  

  Returning To The Shadows

  Mark and Execute, the system introduced in Conviction whereby you can tag multiple enemies before downing them by triggering a slow-motion state with a single button push, returns, and combined with the new takedowns it makes for a much more fluid style of play. Blacklist's real trump card is how it never punishes you for playing how you want to - straight-up kills will earn you Assault points, attacking from the dark will earn you Panther points and going through undetected will earn you Ghost points, and they all tot up in the end while also reflecting your own style of play.

  The final mission shown takes place in London's Docklands under the cloak of darkness, and it's here where the real Splinter Cell traditionalists will find most cause for excitement. There's ingenuity to the level design that can be seen in the countless nooks and crannies to hide in, and plenty of bad guys to stalk. Sam's suit, which has had some minor upgrades and is, for the first time in the series, fully upgradeable thanks to a new in-game economy fuelled by those points we mentioned earlier, is an incredibly empowering piece of kit.

  A triumphant return for the series, then, and one that's set to find the perfect balance between the action of more recent games and the smarts of old. Sam Fisher's never really been away, but still - it's great to have him back.
  

  Published: 27/02/2013

• Splinter Cell: Blacklist special edition details

  Tom Clancy's goggle-faced espionage neck-snapper is back in action soon, and he'll be smuggled inside a trio of Splinter Cell: Blacklist special editions for the UK.

  The 5th Freedom Edition is exclusive to GAME and includes some seriously tempting trinkets. The game itself comes tucked inside a steelbook case, and is accompanied by a lovingly crafted 24cm Sam Fisher figurine and Splinter Cell Echoes, a 96 page graphic novel.

  You'll also get some cool in-game content, including two maps - Dead Coast and Billionaire's Yacht for single and multiplayer co-op play. Fisher, meanwhile, gets fifteen new bits of kit to play with. Gold goggles, amber goggles, ghost boots, armoured boots and tactical gloves can all be equipped along with five bonus suits: Elite Digital Ghillie Suit, Spy Suit, Mercenary Suit, Upper Echelon Suit and Eclipse Suit. Weapons are included as well, with a VSS Sniper Rifle, M1014 Tactical Shotgun, HK 416 Assault Rifle F40, Pistol and Crossbow all added to your arsenal.

  There's also an Ultimatum Edition which swaps the figurine for a digital watch, and the graphic novel for a 24 page comic book. You still get the two maps, plus the gold goggles, ghost boots and upper echelon suit items.

  Finally, there's the Upper Echelon Edition - another GAME exclusive - for those who may only want the in-game items. This contains the Dead Coast map, the gold goggles, upper echelon suit, elite digital ghillie suit and early access to the HK 416 Assault Rifle.

  Splinter Cell: Blacklist is out in August for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

  Published: 12/03/2013

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