Can this new stealth game manage to please both fans and new people?

Jan 17, 2013 10:46 GMT  ·  By

What we know:

Splinter Cell games have delivered some great stealth-focused experiences over the years, but with the latest Conviction, Ubisoft took Sam Fisher's adventures into a more action-oriented direction.

With the upcoming Splinter Cell: Blacklist, however, Ubisoft wants to offer different experiences both for stealth purists and for those that prefer a more direct approach.

The game picks up after the events of Conviction and Sam is now the head of the newly formed Fourth Echelon, a new agency that's faced with a series of terrorist attacks taking place on the territory of the U.S.

As such, Fisher together with his new team must go on the offensive and prevent any future attacks.

The famous spy can achieve this through a variety of ways, as Ubisoft has already showcased how the combat in the game came to be and what sort of lethal and non-lethal takedowns he can pull off.

While the game is looking quite good, based on the different gameplay videos released up until now, fans will be sad to hear that Sam's voice actor – Michael Ironside – won't return to Blacklist.

Why it matters:

The whole stealth genre has experienced a resurrection in recent years, as plenty of great titles have appeared, including Dishonored, Hitman: Absolution or even Mark of the Ninja.

Even so, Splinter Cell titles played a key role in the popularity of the genre, so it's going to be interesting to see if Ubisoft can respect the legacy of the franchise with Blacklist.

While Michael Ironside will no doubt be missed, the new voice actor – Eric Johnson – can handle the job of bringing the famous spy to life judging by recent gameplay videos.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is expect to appear on August 20 for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.

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