S10 // "THE L4TEST L3AK 33" / "SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST" GAME REVIEW...

"...AS I TRIP THE DARKNESS."...
//POR RIKI LEE// 21 AGOSTO / 13...

 "L4TEST L3AK"'S THOUGHTS ON THIS GAME...

 ( IN FULL - ENGLISH ) "SPLINTER CELL:  BLACKLIST" ( Microsoft Windows / PS3 / XBOX 360 / Wii U ) - Ubisoft´s SAM FISHER is the man with a plan.  Basically He's going to break in...and then out...of one of America's "MOST SECURE" prisons to free a CIA captive.  If he fails, well the world gets screwed, but if he succeeds, a rival agency will be pissed along with the President and probably his daughter too.  One of his crew says it all:  "THIS IS INSANE"....That neatly sums up the sixth game of Tom Clancy series.  It pulls between opposing influences - the action - heavy focus of predecessor "Conviction" and earlier, stealthier forbearers of the "SPLINTER CELL " name and it cannot please everyone.  Yet, it tries to please by simply being a game that's mad, sometimes bad and unquestionably dangerous, but also fun.  The tutorial establishes the blockbuster tone, which sees Sam crashing in a helicopter as Katyusha rockets rain down over at Guam´s Andersen Air Force base...an action for which the mysterious terrorist outfit known as "THE ENGINEERS" claim responsibility...and of course, they promise weekly shows of violence against American interests, unless all US troops serving worldwide are sent home.  Obviously, that can't happen, so it's time for Sam to suit up with his trifocal thingies and go Jack Bauer on their asses ( I'd like to see a Bauer vs. Fisher match )...

 YOU, THE PLAYER...get to oversee THE NEW 4TH ECHELON campaign from your airborne HQ, THE PALADIN, where you're free to explore and talk to the crew before missions.  Such interactions are limited by the drab conversations and environment, but the side missions acquired by chatting to the cast of stereotypes make them worthwhile.  You also get to talk to old friend Anna "Grim" Grímdóttir - for a bunch of GHOSTING SCENARIOS that played like old - school "Splinter Cell" - or tough - guy Isaac Briggs for CO - OP OFFERINGS.  THESE EPIDOSES, as well as being significantly better executed than the main storyline, provide you with bonuses upon completion, such as an EVEN STEALTHIER STEALTH SUIT which comes come handy between fending off attacks on AMERICAN SOIL and a veritable feast of global hotspots including Benghazi, Sana'a, Grozny and Greenwich.  Sadly, the geographical variety doesn´t exactly translate to the range of interesting environments it should.  There are exceptions though - like THE OLD US EMBASSY IN TEHRAN with its twisted Lady Liberty statues - but infiltrations are mostly confined to identikit compounds. Thankfully, movement through these environments is less stilted.

 The game awards you points for upgrading your kit whether you take enemies out loudly, quietly or not at all - and contrary to "Conviction", you have the choice this time.  The stealth option isn't perfect but it is at least viable.  If you want to play like "Conviction" Sam though, you can.  "Blacklist" is defiantly OTT in retaining the 'execute' gauge, which allows you to mark and take down 3 foes in a single second.  The head shots with the silenced pistol are brutal.  Personally, I like the middle ground of systematically knocking people out and hiding them in bins.  The problem comes when you're forced to adopt one of these approaches against your wishes and dumping you in a situation for which your customized character is unprepared for.  At times, stealth becomes mandatory due to the sheer volume of foes and frustrating infrequency of checkpoints, but elsewhere YOU'RE MANDATED TO KILL 30 OR MORE PEOPLE in a tight arena before you can proceed.  Other action set - pieces fall equally flat.  A first person section proves dangerous and a "DEATH FROM ABOVE" drone episode is both improper and unwieldy.  The less said about the use of a quick - time event in an important battle, the better. 

 It's not a great spoiler to say this villain combines Hollywood's favorite baddie tropes by having them be BRITISH AND ARAB.  For all its terrorist blah,blah, NSA tracking and "Stuxnet - style" viruses, the game has about as much insight into the post - 9/11 world as "Tetris" did for the Cold War.  The story is hokum and ITS APPALLING SCRIPT is reinforced by the absence of Michael Ironside's voice - SNIFF!!!! - ...The best that can be said for the plot is that IT'S FORGETTABLE.  Of course, you could just avoid it entirely and seek refuge in the infinitely better online options and aforementioned side missions.  Starring in the former is the much - anticipated return of SPIES VS. MERCS, which sees Fisher - like spies face off against slower, but better armed mercenaries in games of two against two or four against four.  It's an experience unparalleled anywhere else online, proving undeniably tense as you work with a buddy or team in a glorious game of cat and mouse.  Bringing a buddy along for co - op missions is also a worthy endeavour, but there will be occasions where you'll expressly have to help each other to advance.  Like so much of the game it's brilliant, but leaves you wanting more.  It's clear that, like Sam, UBISOFT HAS A PLAN.  They want a "Splinter Cell" that builds on "Conviction" but is truer to the series' heritage - and with "Blacklist" they've achieved that, albeit imperfectly.  If the next game can refine the formula and give it a proper plot, then just maybe Ubisoft can deliver a classic the next time Sam...IS THE MAN WITH THE PLAN....Now, as for that "DEAD RISING" THING that´s running around the WEB....

 "DEAD RISING 3" TRAILER - WITH THE XBOX ONE...JUST AROUND THE CORNER, it was only a matter of time before they began to showcase the true raw power of the new graphic engine.

"Dead Rising 3" is the 1st official game to be on the frontline of "DAY ONE", as with other titles such as "CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS" And "BATTLEFIELD 4" amongst other big titles to be available on "DAY ONE" this game´s graphics appear to be...beyond belief;  Now I´m wondering what the actual gameplay will look like, or will it be exactly like the E3 DEMO...Hope not... The perfection of movement, and the quality of detail in this cinematic trailer really has me hyped up for whats to come...

 "DEAD RISING 3" FOR XBOX ONE...coming NOVEMBRER / 13...

"DEAD RISING" 3 TRAILER....


 Here´s another opinion regarding "SPLINTER CELL:  BLACKLIST"...

IGN REVIEWS: "SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST" - REVIEW...