Splinter Cell: Blacklist Review

There aren't many games out there that make you feel like a true badass. Even on games like Prototype, where that is almost the sole point of the game, this isn't always the case. Splinter Cell: Blacklist is one of those games that really does make you feel like a badass. Whether it's because you just silently killed an entire room without getting noticed, sneaked through the room without ending any lives or brutally murdered everything with good ol' bullets and explosions, Splinter Cell makes you feel awesome.

Put into the shoes of the elusive Sam Fisher, the player has to try and stop a series of attacks on the USA from a mysterious terror organisation known only as the Blacklist. Sam isn't entirely alone however, as he has the help of the Fourth Echelon, a group of specialists brought together on the Paladin. The Paladin is a plane that houses some incredibly high-tech gadgets - the most impressive of which is the SMI. The SMI is essentially a huge tablet computer, but it's there in place of a menu to let you select missions, gear and access multiplayer.

The storyline itself is a little bit unimaginative but at the same time quite realistic; well, apart from one person essentially stopping it on his own. As explained, the Blacklist are plotting an attack on the US and due to the government's apparent lack of competence, it's up to Sam and his pals to stop it. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, not least in a Splinter Cell game before, but it's a tried and tested formula, so why change it?

The 'tried and tested' formula of the old Splinter Cell games is slightly modified however, to allow for some room to manoeuvre if you get spotted, or alternatively, you can just face everyone straight up. It's clear that the game caters to stealth though, through level design and rewards. You get larger rewards for playing like a 'ghost' (and there's even an achievement for not killing anyone through the whole game as Fisher) than playing as a 'panther' (silent kills) or going into 'combat'. In my experience it's best to mix it up, as this allows you to experience all aspects of the game and be more flexible at any given situation. Diehard fans may be disappointed to see the shift to faster, more action based games, but there's still the option to play stealthily and it's definitely encouraged. Playing stealthily is much more fun in my view, as balls-to-the-wall combat can be done on a lot of games - subtle, clever stealth is best suited to Splinter Cell.

In order to help you through the game, you carry with you 3 weapons and between 4-10 gadgets, depending on your outfitting. Your pistol is your go-to weapon for 'panther' style play, whereas as a ghost you may opt for the stun gun or crossbow as your weapon of choice. Gadgets range from mines, to exploding cameras all the way to simple sleeping gas grenades. Whilst there is a decent selection of gadgets, you often find yourself using the same few over and over again if they work well. Your third weapon is up to you; do you want an assault rifle, just in case everything goes wrong? How about a suppressed sniper, so you can silently kill from distance?

Graphically, the game is good without being outstanding, but as you spend a lot of time in the shadows, the graphics are not entirely important. Sound-wise, the game is very impressive, with footsteps locatable if you have surround sound. The music is very complimentary with the game, racketing the tension up through slow, deliberate pieces of music. One criticism of the game is that maybe the single player storyline isn't particularly long, but this is drawn out by side missions and the interesting Spies vs Mercs game mode. Here there are two teams, one Spies and of course, one team of Mercs. The Spies have to infiltrate and hack certain access points in the map, whilst the Mercs must stop them. The main issue is that being a Merc really isn't very exciting, whereas being a Spy is much more fun and rewarding.

However you choose to play, the game does a very good job of making you feel awesome about taking out or evading everyone. Splinter Cell: Blacklist is a rewarding, challenging game that is intelligent in it's design and most importantly, fun to play.

My Score:

89%

"I used to love that game!" #3 - Back 2 the (Fifa) Street

Building on the huge success of the original, Fifa Street 2 was a much-loved title on the PS2 and original XBOX. EA enjoyed almost total monopolisation of the 'small-sided football' market, due to the little variety of options out there.

Games like this never really captured the imagination of football fans.

What did Fifa Street 2 had over the other games that tried to tap into this market? High production values were a key part of it. As EA are a big company with huge funding they could make a very good game, without flaws and market it well. The other two games are almost unknown (though I had both) because they had no marketing and lower production values. This made the game less glitchy, more accessible and just a generally better game. 

Licenses are something that generally don't bother me, but knowing the players makes the game more comfortable. Fifa Street 2 had a unique career-mode type mode, where you start off with a bunch of rag-tag unknowns and your player, slowing bringing in better players as you beat better teams. It was fresh, innovative and a whole lot of fun. The time you get the first professional you recognise is an awesome moment. 

Gameplay-wise, the game is slick and easy to control. Standard Fifa controls apply, but with a twist. Using the right stick the player initiates 'beats', skill moves to take you past players. The more elaborate and difficult tricks earn more points. Beats are used to go past players, but gain points so that you can earn GameBreakers. This is where your shot becomes insanely powerful and accurate, but for every player you beat with skill, your shot counts as an extra goal. Beating all outfield players then scoring wins you the game instantly. 

There are many different match-types to add variety to the game. Standard time games, first to 3/5/7 goals, panna, first to a certain score and more. My personal favourite is panna, where nutmegs count as a goal, so it would be like a normal first to 10 game, but nutmegs, or pannas, count as one goal each.

As well as a fantastic game, FS2 had one of my favourite soundtracks on a video game of all time. Songs like this:

That I still enjoy to this day.

In conclusion, Fifa Street 2 was a game that I loved as a kid and would probably still enjoy know. I hope that nostalgia hasn't clouded my view, and it is genuinely still a good game.

Games You've Never Played #2: Nothing is Impossible

Due to the huge amount of strategy games that over-saturate the PC market, it takes something either brilliant or unique to stand out. For example, Rome Total War stands out due to it's fantastic quality, whereas Impossible Creatures stands out because it's unique.

So what makes it so unique? Where most strategy games have armies with standard military units, in Impossible Creatures the player designs their own army of nine creatures by combining two animals to make one. If you've ever wanted to lead an army of camels with a gorilla head into battle, then this game is for you. There are 50 animals in the game at the start, with 15 extra free to download and various player-made mods to further customise the game. Each animal has a unique balance of stats and abilities which makes it impossible to make the 'perfect' creature.

In order to balance the game, there are 'research levels', which cost resources to research. The best creatures are at level 5, so they aren't available to build until late on. A creature with better stats might cost more resources to build, making it harder to build lots at once. Coal and electricity gathering are a huge part of the game and if you get left behind in resources, you'll be left behind in battle. Finely balancing your resource gathering, researching, building and creature building are key to victory.

Combat is fairly simple - there are three types of attacks, melee, artillery and ranged. Melee attacks are generally more powerful but you may have to get close, obviously, which often gives the ranged units a defensive advantage. Ranged units however, have a huge problem with artillery units. There are a lot less ranged and artillery than melee units, so choosing them carefully is important.

The game's story mode is fairly unspectacular, but helps you to learn the ropes. Where the game really shines is multiplayer. Unfortunately, official servers and support for IC multiplayer no longer exists, so you might have to find some friends to play with over LAN, or use other software in order to connect over the internet.

Despite the game being over 10 years old, it is still fairly good graphically and importantly, the gameplay is still unique, varied and freaking awesome. If you've never played the game, I recommend you download it immediately. One of my favourite games of all time.