The Splinter Cell Megathread: Stealth just ain't what it used to be

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The Splinter Cell Megathread: Stealth just ain't what it used to be

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

themrguy posted:

God drat the story for this game is dumb. I mean I don't really see it as being "immoral" cause the bad guy is pretty unambigously a cartoonishly bad dude, blowing up bases and killing soldiers and stuff, but the plot is just so loving stupid.
They work directly for the goddamn president, they couldn't just ask her to let them talk to the guy in Gitmo? Also:
"We need to prevent a war with Iran!"
*Launches high explosive missiles at a highway killing dozens of innocent Iranians *
"WAR AVERTED, good job team! _{Also, it turns out they had nothing to do with the Blacklist attacks. Whoops.}

Gameplay is excellent though, especially the South America section.

You're not putting yourself in the Tom Clancy mindset. In that world, there's no such thing as innocent Iranians.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2013 02:19

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 17, 2024 07:31

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

Kontradaz posted:

Wow this thread is almost dead considering this game just got released...

This game got released against Saints Row 4 and its from a franchise that takes a really long time between releases and who's last game was...divisive. Its not surprising that Blacklist might take a while to get going.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2013 05:55

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

Protip: Side missions apparently disappear after you do a plot missions! Thanks for warning me Blacklist!

# ¿ Aug 22, 2013 06:06

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

Honestly, I kinda wish Ubisoft had just done a soft reboot of the series with the same concepts, but all new characters. Ironside and Claudia Besso (who voiced Grim in previous games) both brought a lot of personality and charm to their respective characters. The new voice actors don't have any of that. Kobin's voice actor is the only one who's actually doing a good job.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2013 07:14

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

ShineDog posted:

5e hunting down 4E. 6E hunting down 5E.

Its echelons all the way down, Sam.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2013 20:03

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

doctor 7 posted:

Chaos Theory had great interrogations because they were so fun.

"Hi there!"

"Screw you US lapdog!"
"He isn't talking should I kill him?"
"Negative! Negative! Do not kill the target!"
"Ok they said I should kill you."
"Oh God I'll talk!"
"Excellent."

The best Splinter Cell interrogation ever.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2013 20:26

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

I personally think having the first mission set in Benghazi after a militia raid on a CIA safehouse kills the personnel there is pretty tasteless!

# ¿ Aug 28, 2013 04:52

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

Sigma-X posted:

People hated DA on the 360 because it didn't involve shooting a lightbulb every 7 feet and had the audacity to require you to sneak around in the outdoors, in broad daylight, for some of the missions. Also since you're a Double Agent working with a terrorist cell, you don't get the same gadgets, which results in you throwing sticky cameras instead of shooting them.

Or because it was hella buggy, the safehouse sections gave you basically zero direction if you wanted to get everything out of them (including THE WORST MINIGAME IN THE ENTIRE WORLD HOLY poo poo), and started the move towards a "gritter, edgier" Splinter Cell that only got worse in Conviction and has hit rock-bottom in Blacklist.

Double Agent isn't a terrible game or anything, but it was definitely a letdown from Chaos Theory.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2013 18:03

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

E-Tank posted:

I liked it because you actually had to stop and think about the ramifications of your actions.

A good early one that sort of shook me was The killing of the helicoptor pilot. It was the 'test' to see if I was a killer like they needed. I didn't want to. But I rationalized it away as the fact that if I didn't do it, the rest of them would kill him, and me too. This way his death had meaning. His death would help cement my cover and keep Sam alive. And then after I pulled the trigger on the man, begging and pleading for his life, It suddenly struck me how hollow the excuse I'd made was.

It made me think. It made me wonder. Was this really needed? If I wasn't there to do what they needed, wouldn't they have gotten caught anyway? Or been unable to do poo poo without me? At the end of it all, did I save more lives than I killed? Was it worth it at all? I didn't know.

There's an interesting and subtle thread running through the pre-Conviction Splinter Cells where Sam has legitimately become so battle-scarred and tired that he realizes that so much of what he and the US does in the name of "national security" and "the greater good" is all bullshit. He only keeps it up because its better than the alternative.

It comes through best in Chaos Theory where Lambert criticizes you for rescuing the pilots or in Pandora Tomorrow where if you kill the Israeli agent, you never get told why you did that. It never becomes dominant or distracts from the Tom Clancy "USA USA USA" jingoism but it was a nice touch that differentiated the series and Sam from other modern military games.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2014 03:49

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 17, 2024 07:31

1stGear: Jan 16, 2010; Here's to the new us.

Kibayasu posted:

The first time I played that sequence I pretty much immediately shot the agent and honestly had to ask myself why I did that so readily. Sam reminding me that shooting an unarmed woman in the middle of the street does seem a lot like terrorism didn't help.

Its a loving brilliant piece of storytelling and its kind of a shame that it got stuck in the forgotten Splinter Cell game.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2014 04:03

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The Splinter Cell Megathread: Stealth just ain't what it used to be