Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist PC Video Game Review

By Olin Coles

Manufacturer: Ubisoft Entertainment
Product Name: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist
Price As Tested: $59.99 for DVD or Digital Download (Amazon)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by NVIDIA.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist is a Unreal Engine 2.5 video game that has been modernized to include DirectX 11 special effects thanks to direct support by NVIDIA. Single-player ‘Solo’ missions also enable a second player to join for ‘Co-op’ mode, while online multiplayer ‘Spies vs. Mercs’ mode expands the action for up to eight gamers. In this article Benchmark Reviews explores DirectX 11 Tessellation and NVIDIA TXAA features that help bring this game to life.

The Blacklist

According to Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist, the United States of America maintains a military presence in two-thirds of countries around the world. Some countries (most it seems) have had enough of the American presence. A large group of highly-organized terrorists calling themselves “The Engineers” initiate a terror ultimatum called the Blacklist – a deadly countdown of escalating attacks on US interests at home and abroad. Their threats are real, and the regular military appears to be outmatched.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell

Action hero Sam Fisher is back in his ops suit and goggles, and he’s more lethal and agile than ever. Joined by Grim, Briggs, and Charlie Cole to form Fourth Echelon, the President grants them freedom to do whatever it takes to stop the Blacklist. Sam and his crew fly aboard the C-1478 Paladin Multi-Mission Aircraft, from exotic locales to US cities, and race against the clock to find out who’s behind the devastating “Blacklist” threat.

Game Modes

Splinter Cell Blacklist builds on the stealth roots of the franchise, while exploring new directions to embrace the realms of action and adventure. Players can define their personal play styles and be rewarded for those choices: Ghost players want to remain undetected, Assault players rely on instincts and firepower to deal with a situation, Panther players strike lethally from the shadows in the most efficient and silent way.

Co-op Team Gaming

Through the use of the Stategic Mission Interface (SMI), the lines between the Single-Player campaign and CO-OP are blurred as the narrative between Sam and Briggs is deepened. Earn in-game currency and unlock additional weapons or gadgets via specialized missions assigned by members of the Fourth Echelon.

Multiplayer Game: Spies vs. Mercs

Spies vs. Mercs is a unique multiplayer experience that innovates from the roots of the Splinter Cell franchise.

On one end, you have a team of agile, stealthy Spies looking to infiltrate a location and hack terminals to gather information, all while remaining undetected. On the other end, you have a team of heavily armed and powerful Mercs that must defend their terminals and stop the Spies from gathering the data by any means necessary.

Each team has different abilities and tools that they must leverage to outsmart their opponents, setting the tone for big rivalries and very fun competitive gameplay.

Unreal Engine 2.5: Splinter Cell Blacklist

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist video game is based on Unreal Engine 2.5 developed by Epic Games, and introduced in the original Splinter Cell title that debuted in 2004. UE2.5 offers improved rendering, basic physics, particle effects, and 64-bit support.

For Splinter Cell Blacklist, Ubisoft teamed with NVIDIA to breathe new life into their aging game engine. Primary among the improvements is DirectX 11 Tessellation effects and NVIDIA TXAA graphics quality.