Splinter Cell: Blacklist may not have been the best sequel to the series that fans had been expecting, but according to game designer James Everett in conversation with Games Industry International, he believes the team did a good job balancing the core Splinter Cell mechanics with enough accessibility for new-comers.
“At a root level, at a gameplay level, we took nothing away. We just made everything easier to get at, and we made it feel better. I think if you take the things people love and you find a way to amp them up without diluting them, I think that’s probably your best bet.”
Everett also emphasized on the shooting in the game, stating that players could go out guns blazing but would encounter tougher enemies such as the Heavy type in the process. “The heavy character was brutally hard if you run straight in like a shooter. We needed that moment of something hard to shake people loose a little bit from maybe how they’re used to playing a standard third-person game.” And before you ask, yes, Dark Souls seems to be an influence here.
“If Dark Souls was genuinely frustrating, you wouldn’t go back to it. I think frustration’s something to avoid. Challenge though – even the hardest challenges, so long as player feels and knows that they can learn from each failure, and that the challenge is surmountable in some way, shape, or form, those are the best games in some ways.”
Does it make for a fun game though? That’s still up for debate. What did you think of Splinter Cell: Blacklist? Let us know in the comments below.
