Splinter Cell: Blacklist

As someone who has followed the Splinter Cell franchise since its inception, I've always hoped it could stand shoulder to shoulder with Metal Gear Solid. While I realized early on that the two are almost entirely different beasts-one focused on narrative depth and world-building, while the other thrives on stealth and tension-I've still stuck with Sam Fisher through thick and thin. The earlier titles, particularly on the Xbox and PS2, were plagued by clunky controls that kept me at a distance, but then came the resurgence with Conviction, and now Blacklist.

In Blacklist, you find yourself hunting down a terrorist group with your trusty crew. The game is structured around levels, offering a somewhat linear experience with the freedom to choose action, stealth, or a combination of both. In many ways, I'd say Blacklist is the best installment in the series, yet it's also the most disappointing for me personally. More often than not, I leaned towards the combo style during my playthrough-because who doesn't love a little chaos alongside precision?

Right from the start, the game pulls you in with a promising tutorial level. For a moment, I was back in the thick of it, feeling like the agent I had long admired. However, as I moved on to the second level, I began to notice a couple of quirks. The optional levels felt more like arenas-some mission types focused on survival while others leaned heavily on stealth. The difficulty in those side quests kept my adrenaline pumping and made me truly feel like a tactical agent. But when I returned to the main missions afterward, I couldn't help but feel they lacked that same intensity and thrill. They almost felt too easy, which was a letdown.

The controls? Major kudos to the developers here-they've made noteworthy improvements. I used to falter with basic maneuvers in earlier games, but that was a non-issue in Blacklist. The AI is decent; nothing groundbreaking, but it serves its purpose. Weapons felt responsive too, equipped with satisfying animations and clear sounds, even though I didn't explore many of them during my playthrough. The main campaign levels were well-designed, but again, after tackling the optional content, they felt a bit lacking.

The audio design enhanced my experience without overshadowing it. The ambient music set the tone well, although character development wasn't the game's strong suit. The new voice actor for Fisher had a slightly grumpy vibe, which worked okay but lacked the nuance I expected. The antagonist? Generic, to say the least. I found the final confrontation a tad anticlimactic, leaving me wanting.

I'd be remiss not to mention the co-op feature, but I skipped that since I prefer to tackle my games solo. I've often found that I want to play at my own pace, with no added pressure from another player.

Upon completing Blacklist, I found myself in a strange place emotionally. While it wasn't a bad experience by any means, it felt like the game never quite soared to the heights I wanted. It's a solid addition to the franchise, but I'm saddened that it didn't meet sales expectations. As a long-time fan, I can only hope for more adventures with Sam Fisher in the future.

**Rating: 7/10**

Clearly a good splinter cell, but i still dont like the action part of the game. I prefer to kill nobody and stay completely silent. We can with this game to do this alleluiah!. The story was pretty good too. They have the terrorist story and the story between Sam Fisher and his daughter. I clearly enjoyed to see this "emotion" part of the game and make the story engaging and interesting and want to keep up. This splinter cell is still a very good stealth game for sure.

"You're not going to like what comes next." - Sam Fisher

This game isn't just another stealth action title-it's a masterclass in how to revive a legendary franchise without losing its soul. Splinter Cell: Blacklist delivered everything fans craved: shadows, silence, strategy, and a relentless Sam Fisher who adapts to any threat. It's slick. It's smart. It's the kind of game that makes you feel like a ghost in the night.

Sam Fisher: The Shadow Still Hunts

Let's talk about the elephant in the room first: Michael Ironside, the original voice of Sam Fisher, didn't return. Fans were understandably skeptical. But credit where it's due-Eric Johnson stepped up and brought something different, but still damn good. His Sam was younger, more physical, more hands-on-but still cold, calculating, and ruthlessly efficient. Johnson didn't try to copy Ironside-he made it his own. And in the context of Blacklist's heavier action and motion-capture-driven performance, it worked.

Bottom line? Sam Fisher still felt like a man you don't want to see in the dark.

🎮 Gameplay: The Gold Standard of Stealth

Blacklist absolutely nails the gameplay loop: Ghost: pure stealth, no detection, no kills.

Panther: silent but deadly, a shadow with a knife.

Assault: go loud, blow the doors off, own the chaos.

It's not "play your way" as a marketing line-it's baked into every mission. The movement is fluid. The takedowns are vicious. The level design invites creativity and encourages exploration. From a rain-soaked London street to a Guantanamo infiltration, every location has weight and tension.

Gadgets: Tech for Every Type of Predator Tri-rotor drone? Check.

Sticky camera? Check.

Shock mines, sleeping gas, sonar goggles? You already know.

Blacklist loads you up with tools of the trade and lets you choose how to deploy them. Whether you're disabling security from afar or clearing a room without a single bullet, you always feel one step ahead-because you're supposed to be.

🌐 Story: Global Threats, Real Stakes

The plot is dark, modern, and brutally grounded. "The Blacklist" is a countdown of escalating terrorist attacks, and Sam's new unit-Fourth Echelon-is the only thing standing in the way.

This isn't cartoon villainy. These are real-world stakes: military intelligence, drone warfare, rogue nations, and political red tape. You feel the weight of every mission. Every decision. Every body you leave behind (or don't).

🎮 Multiplayer: Spies vs. Mercs = God Mode Good

Let's not sleep on this: Co-op missions with Briggs? Flawless tactical teamwork.

Spies vs. Mercs? Legendary. One of the most innovative, high-stakes, tension-filled multiplayer modes ever made.

It's a game of cat-and-mouse where you're either a stealthy spy sneaking through shadows or a heavy merc mowing down anything that moves. And both sides are ridiculously fun.

🏁 Final Verdict:

Splinter Cell: Blacklist didn't just live up to expectations-it redefined what modern stealth could be.

✅ Brutal but surgical gameplay ✅ A smart, morally grey story ✅ A worthy new voice for Sam in Eric Johnson ✅ God-tier multiplayer ✅ Pure tactical heaven

10 out of 10.

This is what it looks like when the shadows fight back.

Not a very enjoyable game if you like to keep going back to the same place again and again and missions get scrubbed and you have to begin all over again pretty meh to be honest.

I'm sure it's great if you are a hardcore gamer, but my wife and I played for 5 hours on rookie and couldn't get through a single mission. We aren't pro gamers but definitely aren't noobs either. When I play a game I play it to enjoy it, not to make me want to throw my controller through my TV. I play most games on normal or hard without a problem. Splinter cel conviction we played a lot on hard, and found it to be a lot of fun, and barely ever failed a mission. Gears of war I play on hard, halo, tons of shooters. The AI actually quite stupid on rookie, but that doesn't change the fact that taking out 6 heavily armed mercs with a wimpy gun that takes 10 straight head shots to kill and having no place to sneak behind them is a rather difficult task. Don't get me wrong, some parts of the game are so retardedly easy I could nearly play it blindfolded, but that doesn't really compensate properly. Thank goodness I bought at Costco so I can return this no fun game.