Gadgetory

what's up Internet Kevin here on tech of tomorrow and while our looks busy rocking out somewhere I'm here to bring you guys my full review on Splinter Cell blacklist now there were a lot of people that weren't entirely happy with how the last game in the series was handled conviction mainly because there was a lot of reduction in stealth elements in favor of making it a lot more accessible and more action-oriented and while they haven't removed all of the changes made in that game there has been a lot of promises that this one gets a lot more back to the stealth basics so the important question of course is how well do they live up to that promise now before we start breaking down the gameplay let's talk about visuals for a moment as well as bring you guys the specs for those that are interested now we're running this with MSI's GTX 780 as well as an i7 4770k overclocked to 4 gigahertz now if you're interested in the complete parts list of the system we're using you can check that out on the link below now when it comes to the games look and feel the environmental and character texturing is pretty good it's nothing too fantastic but certainly not below average one of the things it really is a high strengthen though is the lighting which is really important in a game like this because well the huge focus is hiding in the shadows so while playing the regular campaign on a mission that has a lot of sunlight on ultra settings we were seeing in average range per second of 118 on high settings you were seeing an average frames per second of 131 and on medium settings we were seeing 143 and a half so now to talk about the actual gameplay itself now it's clear right away there are some moves to make it more like the original games mainly because we do see a return of Sam's hallmark night-vision goggles now of course some of the additions that were made in conviction have stayed well they are still very relevant to the stealth feel these include the ability to mark multiple targets to execute them quickly all you have to earn the right to first with regular kills and the ability to see a ghostly layout of yourself for where anything saw you last now we're also seeing the return of some other mechanics that were left out in conviction that definitely helped make the game a lot more stealth focused such as the ability to hide bodies of enemies so patrols don't get alerted now while stealth is much more of an option in this game than it was in conviction the game still gives you the option to play it like a third-person shooter and in fact each level ranks your performance based on three different tracks you get rankings for your performance as a ghost which means you're avoiding enemy encounters or using a non-lethal means of subduing them Panther for those you that still want to use stealth but don't mind a little work and actually killing your enemies and last but not least their soldier which is for those you that want to treat this like a third person shooter and just unleash a hail of bullets on everything now missions in this game are in an episodic manner and before each one you're given a briefing period where you're told which of the three styles will fit most giving you an idea of what kind of equipment you should bring so for instance if it's a ghost style mission you should bring some grenades they don't kill anyone or soldier style mission where you just wear a heavy body armor and shoot everything apart with assault rifles well you're free to use whatever loadout you like there are some missions that show a very clear preference for one style or another you can make the game a lot harder on yourself by not being properly prepared for instance either being really easily noticeable in missions that instantly fail when you're discovered and missions where combat is more or less completely unavoidable and it only takes a couple of bullets to take it down now this point really strikes home in the game side missions which serve as both a way to give you extra experience and a way to play co-op with friends each of the missions is very focused on just one method on the other and they're actually some of my favorite ones because they really have the most consistent objectives especially the stealth missions where as soon as you're caught the mission ends as I said these side missions can be done in solo or co-op and Club really does make them a lot easier not just the combat oriented ones where you have extra firepower thanks to a buddy but even the stealth ones where you can work together to distract enemies or make use of unique routes because you need to work together to reach high ledges or breach doors so overall as far as gameplay is concerned while you can still play the game like a straight-up third-person shooter you benefit a lot from making sure to use stealth tactics and careful planning so overall stealth is a lot more rewarding than it was in conviction especially on higher difficulties now as for what plot the game has it's not the most original it's pretty run-of-the-mill as far as the different kind of military espionage storylines go it's not too intriguing but it is enough to keep you going through missions it's also really drawing to hear the change in voice actors in this one especially because he just sounds so young got something to say say it admittedly it is something you get used to over time but in the end it still just doesn't feel the same without Michael Ironside now one of my most favorite things about blacklist however is the fact that it now features the return of the spies vs mercs multiplayer mode which is something I honestly never really tried in the older games and now completely regret it now for those of you that haven't played this mode before the traditional modes have you divided into two asymmetrical teams on the one hand you have the mercenaries they're slow-moving heavily armored they play in a first-person view so they have better long-range shots but don't see as much around them directly and they have a much more reliance on lethal methods like assault rifles and grenades and on the other hand you have the spies who still play the game the traditional third-person mode of Splinter Cell giving them a lot more awareness of their surroundings they also have the ability to make use of exclusive routes and levels such as using ductwork or climbing really high ledges now they don't have as many offensive weapons but they do have a lot of ways to distract enemies like smoke grenades and flashbangs and can perform an instant kill and melee if they get the chance and while there is a deathmatch mode that allows for mixed teams to just shoot the crap out of each other the multiplayer really shines a lot more when you play in the traditional modes which more objective based and have teams focused on just one or the other play style one of the really hard things to do in asymmetric games is making sure that both sides are balanced and this is where blacklist does an excellent job I do feel like mercs have an easier time early on when they're a lot easier to learn once you get into higher levels and people start learning how to play spies right it gets a lot more balanced and a lot more interesting overall Splinter Cell blacklist is a great stealth game the main campaign is a little on the short side but it's supplemented by being able to do the side missions as well as the spies vs mercs mode which is a welcome break from usual multiplayer games and actually rewards good stealth gameplay in a multiplayer environment there's also a good bit of replayability in the campaign if you're the kind of person that wants to get all the different little hidden collectables or just clear it on the highest difficulty settings not to mention that any money you make in it can still be used to upgrade your character and multiplayer with how few stealth games we see coming out these days especially this year Splinter Cell blacklist is a welcome return to the older Splinter Cell formula and is definitely worth playing not just for fans of the series but just fans of the overall genre looking for something new to pick up so there's our review of Splinter Cell blacklist if you guys have played the game yourself make sure let me know what you think in the comments and if you haven't gotten it yet make sure to check out the link in our description for pricing and availability while you're down there if you're interested you can also check out the full parts list of what system we're running it on aside from that if you guys enjoyed this video and you want to make buddy happy make sure to hit that like button so if you haven't subscribed yet make sure to go ahead and click on my computer right here so you can do so to stay updating all of our latest video then I'm Kevin protective tomorrow I'll catch you guys and be