Post-Apocalyptic Setting

Oftentimes, we see Ubisoft games existing separately from each other with vague indications of their relations. That’s changed in the past year or so with Ghost Recon Wildlands crossing over with other franchises. So why not just roll with it? Have the next Splinter Cell take place in a post-apocalyptic setting and follow events from Sam’s perspective.

Infinity War

The Far Cry universe just can’t get rid of Hurk, regardless of pirates, violent kings and a nuclear apocalypse. He appears in Far Cry New Dawn, having fathered a son, but you can still take him on as a Gun for Hire. Of course, despite taking place several years into the future, Hurk still references current pop culture. On being downed in a firefight, Hurk will say, “Mister Stark, I don’t feel so good” and “I don’t wanna go!” echoing Peter Parker’s memorable dialogue from Avengers: Infinity War.

The last Splinter Cell game we got was Blacklist, all the way back in 2013. It’s been more than five years since, and fans of Ubisoft’s stealth game franchise are waiting for a new entry. In fact, rumors regarding a new Splinter Cell reached fever pitch earlier this year, when retailer leaks suggested that a new one may be announced at E3.

Sadly, that never happened, and in the wake of E3, we had Ubisoft confirm that for now, no new Splinter Cell game is in the works. However, once upon a time, it was. Speaking in a new video interview with Gamereactor, Jade Raymond, who was the producer and overseer of Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs at Ubisoft, as well as Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and who then went on to work at EA’s Motive studio, confirmed that once, long ago, Ubisoft had begun hashing out a new concept for a Splinter Cell game.

“The last Splinter Cell is the last one that shipped, so…”

“You know what?” she continued. “There is a design that we actually had and worked on and would have wanted to make, but since I am not at Ubisoft anymore I can’t talk about it and I don’t know who wants to share that concept.”

It is hugely unlikely that whatever Raymond had worked on is what a new Splinter Cell game, should it ever come out, will be like, but for fans of the series, maybe simply knowing that Ubisoft actively sought to follow up on Blacklist with a new game, and not just cute references in other games, will be enough for now.

Ty Olsson – Dead Rising 4

Dead Rising 4 wasn’t exactly the most stellar example of an open world zombie game, much less a great Dead Rising title. But hey, at least you got to hear the signature voice of TJ Rotolo as Frank West, right? Wrong because Ty Olsson was the voice of Frank instead and while he wasn’t the worst part of the game, it still came across as more of an imitator than the ladies’ man who covered wars, you know.

And as I mentioned with video games being more and more realistic, you will find that cinematic finishing moves are getting more common, brutal, and can range from amusing to classy, and can go beyond disgusting and gory. Keep in mind that the takedowns mentioned here vary from a mere beating to plain executions. With that said here are our top takedowns in video games.

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Note: List is in random order

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The X-Men Origins: Wolverine  game was quite good and had potential to be a great game, the combat was fluid, you could actually see Logan’s scars being healed, and the best thing about the game was that the takedown moves were just over the top. For example, Logan can also use the environment to his advantage, such as by impaling foes on spikes. Or if he is really angry, he can impale a person with his claws and then rip them apart.

In the middle of the hype and hoopla surrounding Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, most of us forgot about Ubisoft Toronto’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Considering that it appealed to some fans while rubbing others the wrong way, it’s no wonder that it’s been somewhat relegated to the background. That being said, animation director Kristjan Zadziuk believes that the studio is yet to perfect the formula.

In conversation with OXM, he stated that, “If you look at them, there’s no two Splinter Cells that are the same. They’ve all evolved and adapted. That, to me, is what makes it really exciting. We’re getting closer to what that game is, and maybe it isn’t necessarily about Splinter Cell being a 15-16 million Call of Duty-type best-seller. Maybe it’s just about it being the best Splinter Cell that it can be.”

While the team may take inspiration here and there from other Ubisoft games, Zadziuk doesn’t believe in taking ideas just because it’s there. “It’s not like we sit around and go ‘I’m having that’; it’s what works for each game.

“Far Cry 3 is such an expansive game, so they’re trying to find you an organic way of giving you a map. That wouldn’t work for Splinter Cell – there’d be no point in Sam climbing to the top of a tower and pressing a button. But then again, we have our version of active sprint. It’s not a way of copying Assassin’s Creed, it’s our way of making Sam more fluid.”

What are your thoughts on the same? Did you enjoy Splinter Cell: Blacklist or loathe it? Let us know in the comments below.

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.

“As we have said we have experienced lower sales than we anticipated when we gave our targets. Already released games such as Splinter Cell, Rayman and others.” The transition to the next generation of consoles is being blamed, with the logic being that users prefer to wait for newer consoles rather than investing in the ones they currently have. Ubisoft also lowered its financial forecasts for the upcoming year after Watch Dogs was delayed till Spring 2014.

“Watch Dogs was trending towards the higher part of our guidance because the pre-orders were very good. We had more units than we had on the original plan,” according to Martinez.

Dark days ahead of Ubisoft? We’ll have to wait and find out, but things look dicey for now.

The DLC includes Billionaire’s Yacht, a co-op map in which you infiltrate a rogue rich man’s yacht on the Coral Sea; Dead Coast, in which you must take out a terrorist cell in the Middle East; a crossbow with sleeping gas bolts; the Upper Echelon Suit which helps up your defense and stealth; the 4E Eclipse Suit for more gadgets and protection; Gold, Amber and White goggles, which essentially change the iconic green lights to something more…something; and an exclusive Mercs and Spy Skin.

It should be noted that the co-op maps can be played either solo or with a friend. The DLC is currently out now for the Wii U, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 version of Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Check out our review of the game here.

Debuting at number 1 this week is Uta no Prince-sama: Music 2, which sold 68,415 units. Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist also entered the charts at second place on PlayStation 3 with 22,425 units sold. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is down to third place with 19,720 units (with lifetime sales at 445,437 units), while Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate debuted in fourth place with 18,625 units sold. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn managed to sell 12,336 (with 196,354 lifetime sales).

Regardless, 3DS titles weren’t out completely, as Tomodachi Collection: New Life sold 11,814 for 1,420,996 lifetime sales and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team shipped 11,466 units for 293,166 lifetime sales. Killzone: Mercenary debuted for the Vita with 11,053 units sold while Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life sold 10,740 units for lifetime sales of 255,309 units. Meanwhile, Yokai Watch rounds out the top 10 with 9,539 units sold and 164,230 lifetime sales.

(Source)