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Splinter Cell: Blacklist goes gold
- Thread starter shinobi602
- Start date
I know that in Conviction, Mark and Execute was limited by range. They should have made it more so. The idea of Sam clearing out a group of enemies in a confined space makes more sense than the ridiculous long distance aimbot kills he's capable of in the game.
I could get behind setpiece combat encounters designed like this, rather than being relegated to cutscenes.
edgardavids
Member
Sounds great to me.
John Caboose
Member
This trend is definitely disconcerting. Hopefully it won't make an impact on my enjoyment of Blacklist. I know sure as hell that I don't want anything to do with AC4, Ubi completely lost me with AC after Brotherhood. Too many games, too little time, not different/good enough to entice me into playing.
Gun Animal
Member
Blacklist already seems to be quite like that: melee kill one guy while running, grab the next guy and use him as a human shield while executing three more guys, all in basically one motion. From what I've seen, the range is a bit shorter than Conviction. Also... I know what I'm watching tomorrow night! Thanks for the recommendation.
Same here. Can't really put my finger on the Splinter Cell indifference effect that has crept in lately, but meh, it is what it is.
dapperbandit
Banned
So they got rid of ironside and replaced him with...what?
From the videos I've seen he has zero personality. It actually looks like someone has tried to draw Commander Shepard from memory as well, it's literally the least creative way they could possibly have re-invented the character.
On the other hand, the gameplay looks pretty good so far. I'm disliking the prompts everywhere and particularly the mini map. From the sounds of things Perfectionist difficulty will deal with that however.
From the videos I've seen he has zero personality. It actually looks like someone has tried to draw Commander Shepard from memory as well, it's literally the least creative way they could possibly have re-invented the character.
On the other hand, the gameplay looks pretty good so far. I'm disliking the prompts everywhere and particularly the mini map. From the sounds of things Perfectionist difficulty will deal with that however.
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
Sunkist Gold.
Good grief, that guy is beyond annoying.
Okay. I just cracked my knuckles. Time to do some fact checking.
If you haven't read this thread, do it and stop being ignorant about the gamehttp://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=600891.
Conviction was a rush job, seeing as they spent most of their time trying to develop hobo Sam and realizing AC was already doing social stealth. There was a postmortem I read somewhere where they admit they didn't have time to include some older elements in the game to make the date for Conviction. It had to be pared down for polish's sake. The devs have actually been interviewed by some community members and said outright that they kinda fucked up with Conviction, at least for the older fans.
In regards to dogs, they actually seem to have proven to be a lot of trouble for most people playing the game, press or otherwise maybe not used to stealth. Even the devs had some issues playing on normal while chatting to press because dogs seem to have a pretty substantial small radius or whatever. Note that dogs aren't dangerous alone but as soon as they start barking the AI will also shift into alertness and start searching where the dog is barking. AI probably work together much more in this game than I have seen in previous games. Well, dogs will actually run at you and latch on (mash X to escape, actually) and will probably be able to find you from further away even if you break LOS.
Sound/ambient sound has been reduced a bit but it still matters. There are plenty of recent videos with people trying to "sneak" behind enemies but they clearly have the stick pulled forward so Sam is actually crouched at running speed, which generates sound and, we'll if it's not on easy difficulty they'll probably hear you. Bunch of other things like the tri-rotor make some slight noise and can be detected. No meter but you just have to eyeball (eardrum?) it. Sound also figures into the detection system I detailed above.
Splinter Cell has never been fully pacifist but apparently you can finish 99% of the game without killing anyone as Sam
- yes there is an achievement/trophy for that. I mean the number of people you pretty much have to interact/knock out/kill in Chaos Theory alone you can count on more than one hand, so it's not like SC is a stealth franchise where you never touch a single thing other than the objective and no one ever knows you were there (until after the fact).
SvM changes are different but they seem to be capturing the spirit of the game, just not the codebase, because honestly it seemed (and to me it was) extremely hard to approach. They've taken it in a way that makes it a bit easier to pick up but it is still fairly nuanced. Not to sound like an apologist but we really do have to wait and see for the metagame before shooting it down, but the intent is pretty clear on their design choices. I mean if the original creator of SvM thinks it is so, maybe it is for the better? Or should we start photoshoping devil horns and a tail on him?
I believe they also reduced the range (esp. on pistols) and actually fixed it so you can't abuse it by clipping geometry more often, so you pretty much need clear LOS to get everyone.
I would say you should watch this as the devs and Johnson also talk a bit about how they approached Sam Fisher this time around.
And if you are concerned he's just a pretty face tied to the performance capture, this video seems to show otherwise. From what I've heard from other people in the studio he's gotten pretty intense with being authentic to the whole "Sam Fisher is a fucking goddamn Navy SEAL and deadly American ninja" and even taking time off to keep practicing the training the stunt coordinator Kevin Secours would provide(who probably has the same training as Sam Fisher would). If he can show someone else how to hold a gun differently then yeah that's plenty of practice. I've actually also seen him do actual real fucking takedowns and knockouts on Kevin Secours for the press. Kevin will actually get choked out for fun and Eric will know exactly how to revive him, which is scary.
If you haven't read this thread, do it and stop being ignorant about the gamehttp://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=600891.
IGN gets the first review I believe, the Wednesday prior to release (14 August).
Conviction was a rush job, seeing as they spent most of their time trying to develop hobo Sam and realizing AC was already doing social stealth. There was a postmortem I read somewhere where they admit they didn't have time to include some older elements in the game to make the date for Conviction. It had to be pared down for polish's sake. The devs have actually been interviewed by some community members and said outright that they kinda fucked up with Conviction, at least for the older fans.
Light meter is out but the system is far from binary, other than the indicator. I know warning/detection arcs are probably the new shit in stealth games but how it's displayed is very subtle and guards getting suspicious/detecting you is on a gradient and depending on other variables. If you are closer, it fills up faster; if it fills up white, it looks like they get suspicious; if it starts jumping, it means they've definitely noticed something; red is full alert. At pretty much almost any stage of the detection arc, a guard will shift out of his routine and into a different mode of alertness to check out the issue. I believe I've seen videos where the detection arc merely flashes for a second, barely even filling but the player was really close so the guard moved to inspect whereas the arc takes a while to fill up but being far enough away means a guard doesn't really engage just yet but when it gets close to full, the guard does get suspicious if not freak the fuck out because he saw an American ninja.
In regards to dogs, they actually seem to have proven to be a lot of trouble for most people playing the game, press or otherwise maybe not used to stealth. Even the devs had some issues playing on normal while chatting to press because dogs seem to have a pretty substantial small radius or whatever. Note that dogs aren't dangerous alone but as soon as they start barking the AI will also shift into alertness and start searching where the dog is barking. AI probably work together much more in this game than I have seen in previous games. Well, dogs will actually run at you and latch on (mash X to escape, actually) and will probably be able to find you from further away even if you break LOS.
Sound/ambient sound has been reduced a bit but it still matters. There are plenty of recent videos with people trying to "sneak" behind enemies but they clearly have the stick pulled forward so Sam is actually crouched at running speed, which generates sound and, we'll if it's not on easy difficulty they'll probably hear you. Bunch of other things like the tri-rotor make some slight noise and can be detected. No meter but you just have to eyeball (eardrum?) it. Sound also figures into the detection system I detailed above.
Splinter Cell has never been fully pacifist but apparently you can finish 99% of the game without killing anyone as Sam
which means you do take control of other characters at points
You can also mark and execute with a stun gun if it makes you feel any better.
There are legitimate complaints and then there are "b....b....but it's not Chaos Theory". I mean SCCT was a fucking awesome fantastic game but it really didn't do the series any favours when everyone thinks the franchise suddenly didn't have action elements in them or anything when Clint Hocking wasn't in charge. Granted I loved the changes in CT that made it much more open-ended than the previous games but Splinter Cell has always had a more narrative angle to the stealth so some linearity and 'forced' sequences aren't going to make me uncomfortable when they show up, as long as it makes sense and isn't too often.Buy it for me and I'll be your coop and MP buddy!
On a serious note, I'm still hesitant on this but at least that video above made me feel a little better about the game. I just have so few funds that the risk isn't worth it yet since there's other games I could get that I know I'll love whereas Blacklist has soured me a bit. It's hard to say that being one of the biggest SC fans out there and someone who still considers CT's SvM to be one of the top 5 best MP games of all time.
I'm not sure why some of you act like fans can't be disappointed with what they've seen or heard though. Opinions differ so what's so hard to understand about some people not being happy with some of the radical changes we've seen? It's not like they're hating it to be edgy but for actual constructive reasons. No one is saying a series shouldn't evolve but no one should think that EVERY single change done is a good thing in the name of evolution. There's plenty of design changes that sucked in MP games and pissed off loyal fans and sometimes those changes were addressed by the developers so why not voice concerns over HUGE changes?
I'd like to get this just because I truly am a SC fan but that depends on if I can sell something I guess. That doesn't mean I like everything they've done but I do think there's still very few games out there that provide SC's gameplay. Maybe that's why people get annoyed at fundamental changes?
SvM changes are different but they seem to be capturing the spirit of the game, just not the codebase, because honestly it seemed (and to me it was) extremely hard to approach. They've taken it in a way that makes it a bit easier to pick up but it is still fairly nuanced. Not to sound like an apologist but we really do have to wait and see for the metagame before shooting it down, but the intent is pretty clear on their design choices. I mean if the original creator of SvM thinks it is so, maybe it is for the better? Or should we start photoshoping devil horns and a tail on him?
They actually tweaked M&E a bit more. Other than being able to use it while moving (so you don't stop to do it while in motion) there is a gauge to earn a token; although a melee grab will always fill it 100% but it gives something like assault players a way to take it without requiring a melee grab.
I believe they also reduced the range (esp. on pistols) and actually fixed it so you can't abuse it by clipping geometry more often, so you pretty much need clear LOS to get everyone.
Eric Johnson has worked with Michael Ironside before, if you're worried and Ironside did stick around to help train Eric on how to 'be' Sam Fisher, as in tone, etc. He's definitely not going to try to do an Ironside voice impersonation though, sorry.
I would say you should watch this as the devs and Johnson also talk a bit about how they approached Sam Fisher this time around.
And if you are concerned he's just a pretty face tied to the performance capture, this video seems to show otherwise. From what I've heard from other people in the studio he's gotten pretty intense with being authentic to the whole "Sam Fisher is a fucking goddamn Navy SEAL and deadly American ninja" and even taking time off to keep practicing the training the stunt coordinator Kevin Secours would provide(who probably has the same training as Sam Fisher would). If he can show someone else how to hold a gun differently then yeah that's plenty of practice. I've actually also seen him do actual real fucking takedowns and knockouts on Kevin Secours for the press. Kevin will actually get choked out for fun and Eric will know exactly how to revive him, which is scary.
chickdigger802
Banned
I just wish new sam fisher didn't look like a gameloft character.
legacyzero
Banned
GIMME DAT SPIES VERSUS MERC!
Seriously, the best kind of multiplayer around.
Seriously, the best kind of multiplayer around.
HawksWinStanley
Member
Jesus christ, why is everyone on this site so defensive? How did you possibly get that from what I said? All I pointed out is that the gameplay seems to have changed a lot from the originals. Back then the only thing I used a gun for was shooting out lights to stay in the dark because being in the open with more than one enemy was basically a death sentence. Now they have Sam running out into an open area in broad daylight surrounded by 5 enemies and taking all of them out in slow motion...God forbid I point out the obvious.
I didn't even say there's anything wrong with these changes, I was just surprised by how different it is from the others I've played.
I plan on it.
Hyperbole aside, you can die very easily even when they improved the gunplay so you can't play it like a simple cover shooter. I mean if you equip yourself in a bunch of armour you might be able to take an extra hit or two, but if you want to play loud most of your time will probably be spent on the move before taking a shot or flanking them instead of direct confrontation.
You can start on perfectionist.
HawksWinStanley
Member
What part was hyperbole?
Estocolmo
Member
Nice!
HawksWinStanley
Member
That you could ever mark and execute 5 people. 3 seems to be the hard limit regardless of weapon whereas there were weapons in Conviction that allowed up to 4.
Minor detail, I know.
Ah, maybe there were 5 in the same proximity and he only targeted a few of them. It's been a while since I saw that first gameplay video they released.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Late? How so? It's before the game launches, so it's in time. lol.
Oh god, watch something more recent. That old E3 demo, I can't believe people still base their opinions around that.
That being said if you wanted to smoke 5 motherfuckers in a short instant, mark 3, line up two for a headshot or headshot/melee followup then press execute. Sure it requires more effort I guess.
I would like to purchase someone's Nvidia key for $25.00. I bought a 770 before this promotion started
Same team!
Same team!
To top it off I thought I was eligible for the Metro Last Light promotion but that was only for 6 series cards. I find the situation to be poopy.
For anyone curious: Here is an extensive (but not exhaustive) list of videos on Splinter Cell: Blacklist that I have compiled.
If you want more info on the game, read my hype/anti-hype info thread and decide from there. I'm not going to try to sell you on the game if you already made up your mind.
That being said they didn't make it that easy to simply shoot your way through it like any other TPS.
If you want more info on the game, read my hype/anti-hype info thread and decide from there. I'm not going to try to sell you on the game if you already made up your mind.
It won't be entirely obtuse on picking it up. Looks like it'll be fine for beginners but if you are completely new to the stealth genre it might take a bit more time to get used to playing it with stealth in mind. If not you could try to play it a bit more action-y.
That being said they didn't make it that easy to simply shoot your way through it like any other TPS.
HawksWinStanley
Member
Why? Did that whole section get cut from the game?
It was for demo purposes. From what I've read and spotted in some videos, that part of the game is still in the game (Mirawa, Iraq) but has been reworked quite a lot to the point where I don't think that "interrogation" sequence is even there any more (they are still in the game though) and the final part with Jadid has changed quite a lot (even just the level layout so it's not "choose this breech point or choose the other one"). As in it's not just a giant empty room with an objective surrounded by guards but has a more elaborate layout.
They have been talking about this game a lot, its been about 3 trailers a week, yes they have talked a lot about AC4 too. I have not seen much new about Watch_Dogs like the other two.
Been following the game since January and it's been pretty quiet until maybe around May/June when it picked up a bit. Looks like they finally decided to do a bunch of shit this month like flying in YouTubers from around the world to Toronto to try the game out and in turn they go and tell their viewers about it. Well it certainly is different from posters/billboards/ads all over the place.
They probably could've spread out some of that stuff over some of the earlier months but I can only assume they were really doubled down trying to get out of beta or what-have-you.
iNvid02
Member
getting it for that svm action
could be that the other places are doing the mp section or porting it to stuff like wii u, its usually the case with ubi
could be that the other places are doing the mp section or porting it to stuff like wii u, its usually the case with ubi