America is under attack by a group of terrorists known as “the engineers” and they are planning to destroy a series of targets in the country. Such a story has been told and re-told many times in the past and fails to generate any sort of real interest.
But where the plot fails, the gameplay shines. Blacklist is divided into a number of missions and most of them take somewhere around 30 minutes to complete. Like many games in the genre, the level design is semi-open and you are mostly free to play in a manner which is ideal for the situation and which suits your playstyle. How players perform during these missions, earns them points. You get points from simple tasks such as turning off the light bulbs or finding hidden paths, to hacking laptops or capturing a wanted target.
Gameplay is divided into three major categories — Ghost, Panther and Assault. Utilising the Ghost style of play, you get points based on how many enemies you evade or how many you knock-out. Killing enemies without getting noticed comes under Panther and playing Splinter Cell Blacklist like a third-person shooter gives you more assault points. These points aren’t meaningless, as they directly affect the amount of cash you get at the end of each mission. As a result, upgrading the Paladin and Sam Fisher with new gear and weapons turns highly addictive.
Being a secret agent, players have access to a variety of gadgets — tear gas, EMPs, noise makers, incendiary grenades, goggles to let you see through walls and many more. You can also buy different kinds of weapons and upgrades, although the shooting elements aren’t most enjoyable. What Splinter Cell: Blacklist is best at is making stealth a lot of fun to play.
Perhaps the most interesting gameplay mechanic is executing enemies. Tag a group of enemies using the shoulder buttons, and watch Fisher kill them using headshots in slow-motion. While the main story is single-player only, it comes with a good selection of co-op missions. Spies vs Mercs is easily the most enjoyable multiplayer mode. Most importantly, Splinter Cell: Blacklist is a great new addition to the series, and the game certainly knows how to engage players in a fun and interesting way. Sadly, the same cannot be said about the characters and the main story. It knows what its strengths are, and focuses heavily on making them shine through the roughness.