DOWN
Banned
TLDR at the bottom.
I bought this for $10 in April (a sad price for such a young new AAA on console). Having played Chaos Theory, Double Agent (360), and Conviction, I feel like I have a sense of the different identities the series has aimed for.
By far, I would say Chaos Theory seemed to fit the ultimate anti-terrorism spy premise. The locations were top notch, Sam was dark and had a precise way of muscling through the environments and enemies. It felt like the real push that a spy might have, rather than the fantasy of James Bond charisma or the free wheeling action spy of Bourne or Mission Impossible. A very Tom Clancy take on spy gameplay. I can see why it's atop many people's lists for best stealth title ever. And my did I love the co-op, thanks in part to G4TV.
Next we had Double Agent (I know many enjoyed the different Xbox/Wii version more than the 360 version, but I only played on 360). While the opening in the icy north was thrilling, and it certainly still tried to keep some of Sam's deliberate muscle, there seemed to be a little more movie fantasy in it with the secret prison double agent plot. It didn't play as smoothly as Chaos Theory in my mind. Maybe due to it being a little rough for what I expected of the new HD gen. It wasn't bad, and certainly didn't turn me off the series, but it wasn't a favorite.
Then we got that bizarre hobo Sam reveal. It looked like Bourne in DC. It was going to have little to no official gear, instead relying on world objects to get through the ambitious crowds and interactive environments. That didn't work behind closed doors, and the project saw delays as it became the Conviction release as we know it.
Upon release, Conviction was a streamlined stealth-action spy story. The plot was fast, a bit over the top
thanks to a wild bit of murder at the Lincoln memorial and a meltdown of DC surrounding the White House
And here's where the ambitious Blacklist comes in. Taking the high production values that worked for players in Conviction, but the more traditionally Tom Clancy plot of an American field spy intervening in terrorist activity, it looked to take Splinter Cell's golden Chaos Theory heart into the AAA realm in truer form than ever before.
Back in his spy gear and goggles for this entry, Sam also has a military crew of old and new experts on board their plane HQ. Perhaps one of the most pleasing showings of the team's aspirations, the HQ is a bold, but not fantastical version of what might be useful for operating as America's best secret intelligence sector. Rather than a strict split between missions using cutscenes and menus, Blacklist features the Paladin airplane as a hub for upgrading Sam's gear, the plane itself, taking on a variety of co-op ready missions, and catching up with characters
like the returning Grim
Vick and his daughter
The campaign itself is where the return to form really shines, but let's get the game's biggest downer out of the way first. No, Sam doesn't sound much like Sam anymore. Couldn't they have even got a similarly toned voice over this young man's voice? (Would you replace Morgan Freeman in Se7en with Nick Cannon?) It's not that this guy is bad at all. He flows fine with the team and I suspect newcomers will be engaged, but there's a number of moment's for anyone familiar with Sam's age and voice that will be a bit jarring. On from there, the campaign is a strong, military spy run. The terrorism stays mostly in the realm of relevant and plausible, letting you focus on the steady shadowplay.
The game feels tailored back toward the notion of letting gadgets engage or going entirely unseen. The highest scores go for undisturbed enemies, followed by unaware enemy takedowns. I'd say this is the first time I felt both enticed into the patient process of learning enemy patterns every time in order to without disturbing anyone, but also liberated by the smoothness of movement from Conviction. Sam is still quick and can strike fast, but now more than ever, they've made it cool to use wit instead.
There's not a whole lot to more to say without spoiling it. The game simply does a good job reeling in it's Chaos Theory success. Does it usurp Chaos Theory as some say? Not for me, no. But it's uplifting to see how easily it swiped second place for me.
The real concern is that it is part of the unforeseen cratering last gen sales in the time following the announcement of the current consoles. The game seems like it was likely the most expensive in the series to produce, with its plethora of content outside the main campaign, including the return of both the co-op and Spies v Mercenaries modes, and motion captured cast. So could it's disappointing sales mean another reboot or the shuttering of the series like it's Prince of Persia Ubisoft brother? Perhaps Prince of Persia is taking an extended break like Rainbow Six and will re-emerge in the not-so-distant future?
TLDR: I can't help but feel bad for the studio with how much it looked like they really did their best to do the series justice, received critical success, and then lost ground when it came to getting it in the hands of players.
So, who else gave this one a shot? What do Chaos Theory fans think of it? I thought it was an ideal blend of Conviction's modern speed and the Tom Clancy core of Chaos Theory, landing it in a strong second place for me in the franchise.
