14 DAY TRIAL // I have been playing Splinter Cell: Blacklist, the most recent Sam Fisher-powered adventure, and I am constantly feeling like a failure even when I get through a level and manage to accomplish the various goals Fourth Echelon sets up for me.
The reason? The game rates me on three potential styles of play, stealth-based Ghost, hidden killer aka Panther, and guns heavy Assault, and then tells me exactly how I have performed during the previous mission.
I understand why Ghost, which emphasizes not being detected and silent nonlethal takedowns, is rated higher than the other styles.
I can also accept that for some player the post mission screens serve as a valuable tool to examine their performance and see how they can upgrade their equipment and change their approach to get even better results.
What I do not understand is why Splinter Cell fails to acknowledge that its very structure encourages player to mix and match approaches and levels of stealth based on the situation they are facing.
I often start out missions with my mind set on doing it all via stealth, trying to find alternate routes that take me to enemies from unexpected directions, using gadgets to attract and disorient enemies.
But Blacklist often uses daylight or huge numbers of opponents to make it hard to sustain this approach so, for a limited time, I choose to pick up a machine gun and take out the group as fast and loud as I can.
I then switch back to stealth for as long as I can.
I know that Splinter Cell purists will think I am playing the game wrong and I can acknowledge that I share that feeling at times.
And I expected the development team to acknowledge this and make Blacklist more inclusive by eliminating the evaluation or by making it take into account a wider variety of play styles.