Ubisoft was kind enough to invite GameTactics to their Montreal studios yesterday to check out the multiplayer mode of their upcoming AAA title Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Anyone who’s played just about any Splinter Cell besides Conviction will instantly recognize the Spies vs Mercs mode and in fact the disappointment by Splinter Cell fans by it’s exclusion from Conviction was one the driving factors to bring it to Blacklist. There are three separate variations of the same basic concept, but suggesting they are at all the same would be far over simplifying things. It’s three different modes are Blacklist Spies vs Mercs, Spies vs Mercs Classic and the newly announced mode Extraction which Gametactics is one of the first to take a look.
Before I go any further, I should explain some of the basics for every mode in the game, generally you have teams of 4 v 4 Spies vs Mercs. Every mode involves capturing or protecting different points and items. Every one of the spies have some goggles to help them see in the dark whereas the Mercs are at an disadvantage. Both the Spies and Mercs have different pre-made classes though you can mix and match as you became more experienced. There are over 500 different load-out possibilities for Spies and over 500 for Mercs. The pre-made with spies include the Intel Scout whom can mark your enemies so the rest of the team can see their location, the Predators that have the ability to cloak themselves and the Saboteur who can disarm mines set by Mercs (perhaps at an Intel point). The Mercs on the hand have different but complementary pre-made classes to the spies, they have the Peacemaker who has powerful armor which is great for soaking damage, the Hunter who can control a floating airborne assault drone who can scout ahead and explode on command killing any unsuspecting spy and the Disruptor who is the Merc’s response to the Saboteur who can disrupt any technology such as goggles within their immediately vicinity. It was stressed that a successful team will have a complimentary array of all the different classes so that your team can cover all bases and I’d have to agree after my time with the game.
The Spies move just Sam Fisher does in the single player, that is to mean they are controlled in the 3rd person, fast, can sneak through vents and climb high where Mercs can’t reach, have weak guns and will involve a lot of sneaking around while the Mercs are slow but more resilient with strong guns and are controlled via a first person mode. I was told that you need to play Spies like a Spy and Mercs like a Merc where trying interchange strategies between the two will lead to your death. You get a chance to play as both Spy and Merc interchanging between two games with the better team after both games is declared the winner. With all the basics out of the way, let’s jump into the different modes.
The first mode that I had a chance to sink my teeth into was Blacklist Spies vs Mercs. The objective of this mode is for the spies to hack into 3 different terminals while the Mercs will protect each point from these hacking attempts. Once a terminal is being a hacked the Mercs know exactly which one is being hacked and then must locate the spy who is hacking it, the spy is stuck hiding near that point until the hack is complete. The other spies will also be moving the same room, or maybe the nearby rooms to kill potential reinforcements, trying to kill potential spy killers in the room or act as diversions to take away from the spy who actually is the hacker. This is a rather fast paced mode where Spies will generally be able to work individually though with a common strategy while, the Mercs need to patrol the main areas and run to a point once it’s being attacked. The maps are big enough that you have space to maneuver but not big enough you have trouble running into enemies. The kills happens fast and furious as either spy succeed attacking from stealthily or the Merc spots them and comes at them. You have plenty of variety given all the different abilities and it’s different from your standard fare from a Call of Duty or Gears of War making for a unique mode.
The second mode played is the newly announced Extraction mode. It’s the reverse of Blacklist Spies vs Mercs where instead of Spies trying to hack into a terminal you have the Mercs trying to capture pieces of intel and bring it back to their base. This mode basically boils to be Splinter Cell’s take on Capture the Flag. There seemed to be optimal strategies where Mercs should stay together have more people to defend against spy attacks once they have the intel while spies can create ambushes attacking all at once with knife kills and stun gun attacks trying to stop them from scoring. The switch from Spies vs Mercs is a refreshing change of pace whereas normally spies spend a lot time being the hunted while this finally allows them to turn the table and be the hunter while simultaneously opens up the possibly of new tons of new strategies that wouldn’t apply in Spies vs Mercs. The joy of hiding in the intel case room as Spies waiting for the Mercs to stumble in while you jump down from ledges is great fun. The already slow Mercs are even slower when one them has the intel case so it falls on their teammates to protect them or fall prey to the deadly spy ambushes. The Mercs 3 pre-made classes become even more important in this mode as you want the Hunter to scout out the area while the Peacemaker is probably the best choice to be the one who carries the Intel. That is just my basic strategy from playing it but it’ll be interesting what people come up with. This is sure to be a popular mode given how intensely teams need to work together to make any captures or successfully stop them.
The last mode played was Spies vs Mercs classic which is the only mode that only allows 2 v 2 matches. There are no gimmicks unlike the Blacklist version wheres both Spies and Mercs have a single class to choose from, the basic one. The levels is lit darker than those of Blacklist where the Mercs have to use an flashlight to light the room where you need to search the room being hacked carefully but quickly while the spy may be plotting a stealth kill or just hiding in a corner. These major differences make a world of difference even when basics stay the same as the lower player count puts more stress on individual team members and the lightning makes the environments very different. As a Merc it is that much harder to spot the spies given you need to intensely search the room and be careful to not miss the needle in the haystack. The spies then have the ever danger of the flashlight that’s shining throughout the room, if the Mercs even spot you in the room you’re more or less dead given you haven’t got too much to defend yourself. If you like the combination of intensity and stealth then this is going to be your multiplayer mode of choice, it was mine.
Overall I had a chance to sink my teeth into what appears to be a very fun and unique multiplayer mode with plenty of replay. I look forward to sharing more of my impressions when Splinter Cell: Blacklist comes out August 20th on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U and PC.
