Sam Fisher has saved the world so many times that we’re losing count. Still, the covert operative, from the mind of Tom Clancy, doesn’t seem to be showing his age, either in the game or with the millions of Splinter Cell fans around the globe.
After his misadventures in Conviction, Sam is now at the head of the newly formed 4th Echelon, a covert group answerable only to the President of the USA. And it is this group that is called in to deal with the situation when a group of rogue states, in protest to the fact that the US military has troops stationed in more than 150 countries, launches a series of terror attacks called the Blacklist. Sam’s orders are to hunt don these terrorists by any means necessary, and stop the Blacklist countdown before it reaches its horrific climax.
From what we have seen thus far, it seems that Ubisoft will stick to ideas that we saw in Conviction. These include faster, more flowing combat, enhanced by a system called Killing In Motion, which allows the player to mark and take down multiple bad guys in one smooth stroke. Further, Active Sprint will allow Sam to navigate the environment with greater ease – and all of this will be enhanced by fully motion captured animations.
Sam and his new team will have access to a full, real-time mission interface system, that will also allow upgrades and the like to be purchased with the cash earned from missions. And that, naturally, leads us to one of the cornerstones of the Splinter Cell franchise – the gadgets. There will be many, including some new and some returning favourites. Among the new kit are things like an upgraded snake cam and versatile (sometimes explosive) trirotor spy drone that will allow the player to scout and mark targets. The sticky shocker and Karambit knife are two of the fan favourites making a comeback for Blacklist.
