Games

by **recoil** » 29 Jan 2013 07:14

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77nYiyLItUE

Level Walkthrough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zha1_v8g5KI

by **dinopoke** » 30 Jan 2013 04:31

http://splintercell.ubi.com/blacklist/

The United States has a military presence in two thirds of the countries around the world. A group of 12 have had enough and initiate a terror ultimatum called the Blacklist – a deadly countdown of escalating terrorist attacks on US interests. Sam Fisher is the leader of the newly formed Fourth Echelon unit: a clandestine unit that answers solely to the President of the United States. Sam and his team must hunt down these terrorists by any means necessary, and stop the Blacklist countdown before it reaches zero.

Operate without Restrictions
Sam is back in his tactical suit and goggles, and he’s more deadly than ever. He is the only secret operative with the power to act above the law, and uses ruthless methods to interrogate enemies in order to extract crucial information that will prevent the next Blacklist attack. Pursuing the terrorists to the far reaches of the world, Sam flies from exotic locales to US cities as he races against the clock to find out who’s behind the Blacklist. Thrilling gameplay is enhanced by full motion performance capture, creating a highly cinematic experience.

Kill in Motion
Always one step ahead, Killing in Motion lets Sam strike with lethal precision by marking and executing multiple enemies in one fluid motion. Active Sprint allows him to traverse the environment easily and fluidly, climb walls and leap over barriers in order to reach his next target while on the move.

Unleash the power of Fourth Echelon Prototypes
Infiltrate terrorist cells by using new gadgets such as the upgraded snake cam and micro tri-rotor drone which allows Sam to scout ahead, mark targets remotely, distract enemies, or explode with frag grenade force. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® Blacklist™ is also bringing back fan-favorites like the sticky shocker, and for close quarters combat, players can wield the curved and brutal Karambit knife.

Build a New Echelon
With a mandate directly from the president, Sam is building a whole new Echelon unit; his team, his way. Anna “Grim” Grimsdottir is his technical operations manager, CIA operative Isaac Briggs brings additional firepower, and resident hacker Charlie Cole rounds out his support crew. Fourth Echelon is a fully mobile ops unit with unlimited resources and cutting-edge technology aboard the repurposed stealth airliner, the Paladin.

Enjoy a Fully Integrated Experience
Sam and his team are aware of terrorist attacks in real time thanks to the Strategic Mission Interface (SMI). The SMI allows the team to receive data about mission objectives while on the move. Players can earn money for completing missions and objectives and buy upgraded weapons and items from the SMI hub aboard the Paladin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy ... _Blacklist

The game's designer Maxime Béland confirmed that the "spy vs. mercs" competitive mode from the prior games of the series would be making a return.

In November 2010, Jade Raymond from Ubisoft Toronto announced that the studio was developing a new Splinter Cell game. During the Microsoft's press conference at E3 2012, Splinter Cell: Blacklist was officially revealed; the talk highlighted new features for the series including Kinect integration.

It was also announced that series veteran Michael Ironside would not reprise his role as the voice of Sam Fisher, with this part filled instead by actor Eric Johnson, who will also be performing motion capture duties. In a "Blacklist" developer diaries Ironside stated that he would not return to voice the character, but instead pass the torch to another actor.

Ubisoft executives said that the change was made to take advantage of new performance capture technology to create a richer experience, with Ironside assisting Johnson in the role. Elias Toufexis, voice and performance capture actor for Andriy Kobin in Splinter Cell: Conviction, has a major role in the game.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/11/splin ... ise-to-th/

Béland won't guarantee, however, that stealth junkies will make it through the game without killing anyone. "I'm not going to tell you, but I know exactly how many moments you're not going to be able to play stealth," he says. There will certainly be times in the story where Sam's tale takes precedence over any narrative the player's trying to put together. But Béland also understands that players want to play, not watch a movie. "We've minimized those as much as possible."

Ghost Play Through of the same level recoil posted above:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIBrtS1MFaY

Non-Lethal Variety:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YihY-CXsZGs

by **dinopoke** » 30 Jan 2013 04:38

http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/01/25/f ... rs-edition

Splinter Cell Blacklist publisher Ubisoft has revealed the Collector's Edition for the upcoming stealth game. The Paladin Multi-Mission Aircraft Edition for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will be priced at $169.99 and be available on August 20 (in North America and Latin America only). The box will include a copy of the game, a copy of the 88-page Splinter Cell Echoes graphic novel, a poster, the "Billionaire's Yacht" co-op map, the Upper Echelon Pack containing the "Dead Coast" co-op map as well as the Gold Sonar Goggles and Upper Echelon Suit in-game items, and a radio-controlled version of the Paladin airplane that hero Sam Fisher and his Fourth Echelon team use as their aerial base of operations. The Paladin is, according to Ubisoft, a "custom three-channel, dual-motor plane modeled after the in-game mobile headquarters." Yes, it actually flies.

by **Joshua** » 01 Feb 2013 02:00

Splinter Cell Blacklist’s Perfectionist difficulty will punish even the most talented of franchise purists. While the traditional challenge of hard mode presents adept AI that demand Sam Fisher think carefully about his next stealthy step, Perfectionist puts him at an even more familiar disadvantage:

Enemies deny melee attacks from the front.
Sam’s goggles don’t see through walls.
Mark and Execute doesn’t work.

Much of what we’ve been trained to expect by Conviction vanishes when playing Perfectionist – delightfully so for series veterans. Suddenly, Blacklist slows down, becomes more methodical, and makes players consider how they approach each locomotive infiltration. Or, at least it does when Fisher learns important lessons the hard way.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/30/ ... aos-theory

by **dinopoke** » 01 Feb 2013 10:03

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2 ... -blacklist

A number of outlets have gotten an updated look at Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Blacklist and one thing that's missing from the E3 reveal is the controversial torture scene. Blacklist producer Andrew Wilson told Eurogamer that the scene was cut and explained why it was in the E3 demo in the first place.

"Definitely we are not going to see when the game's coming out that there are torture scenes in it. That scene is not there anymore. I've not really heard anyone say they loved it," said Wilson. "It wasn't nice to see any negative reaction to something you've thrown your life into."

Wilson stressed that the scene - where protagonist Sam Fisher digs a knife into a hostage in order to extract information - was not indicative of the game's overall tone.

Ubisoft creative director Maxime Beland told Kotaku that torture may still be present in the game, but the interactive nature has been removed.

"No, there will not be interactive torture in Blacklist. On Conviction, we called those 'interrogations,' right? And it was kind of, my vision of Conviction was that the player to be in control all the time. We had no camera cuts, I always wanted to make it feel that it was nonstop," said Beland.

"We're doing certain things with interrogation moments where you won't be in control, but you will be in control of what you do with the guy after. So again, embracing that lethal/nonlethal side."

by **dinopoke** » 15 Mar 2013 07:34

http://www.vg247.com/2013/03/12/splinte ... es-inside/

Splinter Cell Blacklist developer Ubisoft has unveiled the game’s special edition bundles for PS3, PC and Xbox 360. We’ve got images of the swag here.

In a release sent to VG247, Ubisoft detailed each of the special edition bundles. We’ve got a breakdown of each version in the images below, but here are the contents in text form if you’re a fan of reading:

The 5th Freedom Edition (Exclusive to Game in the UK and Gamestop in Ireland):

A Sam Fisher figurine (24cm)
A steelbook case
A 96 page graphic novel, Splinter Cell Echoes®
Single and Multiplayer Co-op maps: Dead Coast and Billionaire’s Yacht
5 pieces of gear: Gold Goggles and Amber Goggles, Ghost Boots, Armored Boots and Tactical Gloves
5 suits: Elite Digital Ghillie Suit, Spy Suit, Mercenary Suit, Upper Echelon Suit and Eclipse Suit
5 Weapons: VSS Sniper Rifle, M1014 Tactical Shotgun, HK 416 Assault Rifle F40, Pistol and Crossbow

The 5th Freedom Silver Edition:

This edition is exclusive to Uplay® and includes -

An exclusive Silver Sam Fisher figurine (24cm)
A special steelbook case with silver finish
A 96 page graphic novel, Splinter Cell Echoes®
Single and Multiplayer Co-op maps: Dead Coast and Billionaire’s Yacht
5 pieces of gear: Gold Goggles and Amber Goggles, Ghost Boots, Armored Boots and Tactical Gloves
5 suits: Elite Digital Ghillie Suit, Spy Suit, Mercenary Suit, Upper Echelon Suit and Eclipse Suit
5 Weapons: VSS Sniper Rifle, M1014 Tactical Shotgun, HK 416 Assault Rifle F40, Pistol and Crossbow

The Ultimatum Edition:

This special edition includes-

Special-Ops Digital Watch
A 24 page Splinter Cell Echoes Graphic Novel
Single and Multiplayer Co-op maps: Dead Coast and Billionaire’s Yacht
2 pieces of gear: Gold Goggles and Ghost Boots
1 Suit: Upper Echelon Suit

Upper Echelon Day 1 Edition (Exclusive to Game in the UK and Xtravision in Ireland)

This Day 1 edition includes -

The Dead coast single player and coop map
A pair of gold goggles
The legendary Upper Echelon Suit
Early access to the HK 416 Assault Rifle
Elite Digital Ghillie Suit

Night Vision Goggles Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zmM26YzJ64

by **dinopoke** » 22 Mar 2013 03:09

Developer Tour: "Abandoned Mill": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9SvRX-8pZ4

by **ksevcov** » 11 Apr 2013 06:02

http://gematsu.com/2013/04/splinter-cel ... -for-wii-u

Nintendo has confirmed Splinter Cell: Blacklist, the seventh game in Ubisoft’s third-person stealth series, will come to Wii U alongside the already announced PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions on August 22 in North America and EMEA territories, and August 23 in the UK.

The Wii U version will offer “enhanced gameplay features” through the Wii U GamePad. It allows players to “operate innovative gadgets, take out enemies and move through the environment, and intuitively switch between weapons, among other features.”

by **icycalm** » 11 Apr 2013 13:00

I could not fit the Wii U tag in the thread title by one character, so I used the VAR one instead.

by **dinopoke** » 16 Apr 2013 04:09

http://uk.gamespot.com/features/splinte ... h-6406874/

Sam Fisher is a busy man. Ever since his debut back in 2002, this supersoldier has seen his series oscillate between strict stealth and dynamic action. Part of this shift in focus stems from the inherent challenges of the stealth genre and the tolerance of an ever-expanding target audience. Patrick Redding, game director at Ubisoft Toronto, explains how he and his team have approached these challenges, and what changes are coming in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

CHALLENGE ONE: SATISFACTION

What is so satisfying about stealth? Some might think it's slipping past guards and moving unseen. However, as Redding sees it, this is just a result and not the cause. "Stealth--from a level design perspective--is not about avoidance. Instead, it's about building an ecosystem, and [that ecosystem] needs to feel like it has an existence outside of what the player is doing. That's why having a really [dynamic] AI is so important." Having an AI that acts human can make a level feel alive and introduce that bit of randomness that keeps you on your toes.

"When you arrive in a new environment you start out in stealth by default. You haven't been detected, yet, and even if the first thing you do is pull the pin on a grenade and throw it, you are still dealing with the current state of that environment. The output of your action is going to have a different impact on the [ecosystem] in that moment than in another."

For Redding and his team, choice trumps avoidance in the scenarios they create. "There's a lot of depth in using gadgets in combination, understanding how sound will attract the AI, knowing where to hide bodies, and so on. By giving all these tools to the player, and offering multiple paths in the environment, you're reinforcing that they have the ultimate choice in how this is going to play out."

"At the same time, you don't want conditions to be so fragile or so volatile that the player feels like they have no idea what's going to happen when they push a button or pull a trigger," Redding says. "For the player, the challenge is surveying the situation, observing the AI, and then putting together a plan. The fun is then executing that plan and seeing whether it plays out exactly how you thought, went a little differently, or having it all go wrong and needing to [escape]. That's what's satisfying for stealth players."

CHALLENGE TWO: DEATH AND FAILURE

Death is a tricky design for games. It challenges you by using the threat of failure, but if overdone, that threat will leave you too cautious to try anything new. As Redding describes it, finding the right balance has always been a moving target for the Splinter Cell franchise. "If you look at the original Splinter Cell, that threshold was set very, very tightly. If you made a mistake, you either died or the mission was aborted. With every subsequent entry in this series, that threshold has been made a little more forgiving to permit the player more options and prevent there being just one solution to a situation."

"By the time we got to Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, we introduced this game loop called "PEV," or "prepare, execute, vanish." You would get into position, observe, and plan, and then act on that plan. And you always had the ability to break line of sight with the AI, who would then converge on your last known location. Of course, you could use that knowledge to set up a trap for them. PEV was our way of saying even if things go wrong and you get into a combat situation, that shouldn't be the end. [Combat] should just be the transition into another stealth experience."

With Blacklist, the team wanted to preserve those transitions between stealth and combat, while simultaneously tweaking the failure threshold once again. "What we've done is we've made it much, much harder to survive in an open firefight," Redding says. "Enemies now are [significantly] more dangerous, providing a much stronger incentive to remain stealthy." The hope is that you will adopt a panther style of play: picking off individual enemies while skirting around the threat of detection.

"The fluidity of Sam's movements has been improved to help encourage this panther style," Redding adds. "We really want it to feel like Sam is always multiple steps ahead of the enemy, which helps make the player feel more elite. When things go wrong, and you save the day, and you then disappear into the darkness leaving nothing but a trail of bodies in your wake--that, for us, is the game at its most fun. In our perfect world, we hope that everyone has the chance to pull that off."

CHALLENGE THREE: MASS APPEAL

Tolerance, specifically player tolerance, is yet another moving target for this series. As the desired audience for Splinter Cell games grows, the team must constantly question how much of the traditional, methodical stealth action an average player will tolerate. As Redding explains, "For us, we look at Splinter Cell and we look at the marketplace, and the challenge becomes, 'Can we make a stealth game that is going to appeal to a mass-market group of players?'"

"We've circled that [problem] a few different ways. When we got to Conviction, we tried a slight variation on our stealth design. We thought maybe the stealth needed to be faster and offer the player more chances to be aggressive and dynamic in the environment."

Before the release of Blacklist, such games as Dishonored and Mark of the Ninja revealed that asking the average player to play in a stealthy way wasn't such a tall order. "We didn't have to be as dogmatic about [the speed] because we realized from a lot of other games…that playing in a stealthy way can be immensely satisfying for the player as long as it's readable and the player doesn't feel like they have to spend hours watching AI walk patterns."

Readability is the difference between making you feel like a silent predator lurking in the night and making you feel like just some dude squatting in the shadows. That sense of empowerment can push you to be a little more patient, within reason. "As long as it can be done in a reasonable amount of time, asking the player to engage in observation and planning is totally acceptable. That was a very interesting lesson in understanding what the tolerances are for typical players that we needed to learn."

Over the years, Redding and his team have encountered players of all varieties. "There will always be players who are willing to be extremely deliberate and will monitor one guard for a very long time. However, just because other players aren't willing to go to that extreme doesn't mean they won't engage in some observation." This tolerance has encouraged the team to tap into more of the series' classic moments--where the challenges (and the consequences) are stricter--if only for a moment.

"If you tell the player, 'In this area, these are the types of rules you have to follow--go!' a lot of players really enjoy that. There are some players who love being told what to do, and others who love having choice, so we have to treat [our game] as a kind of buffet. There are these hors d'oeuvre moments where we give the player some very rigid constraints and maybe open their mind to another style of play without forcing them to do it everywhere or for half-hour stretches."