Ubisoft Plans to Win Next-Gen; ‘Splinter Cell’ and ‘Rayman’ Underperformed

If you were looking forward to playing Watch Dogs or The Crew then you’ll need to keep that enthusiasm up for quite a while longer. Ubisoft announced this week that Watch Dogs is being delayed until spring 2014 in order to give the development team enough time to finish polishing it up, before doubling up the bad news shortly afterward with the announcement that The Crew has also been delayed, and won’t come out until some time between July and September 2014.

A few of our readers who had already pre-ordered Watch Dogs as part of a bundle with PS4 asked what was going to happen to their orders in the light of the delay.Amazon and Gamestop have already issued statements assuring customers that their orders are still secure, and the most likely solution will be that customers will simply have to choose an alternative launch title to come with their new console.

As might be imagined, these two delays have had a significant impact on Ubisoft’s projected income for this fiscal year. CVG reports that Ubisoft’s initial forecast of $1.94 billion by the end of the 2013 fiscal year has now been adjusted down to a far more modest $1.38 billion.

Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez said during an earnings call that the delays of The Crewand Watch Dogs were the biggest factors that will lead to the company failing to hit its target income, but not the only factors. Recently released titles, includingRayman Legends and Splinter Cell: Blacklist, have apparently underperformed according to Ubisoft’s expectations.

There are numerous possible reasons why Rayman Legends and Splinter Cell: Blacklist might not have sold as many units as Ubisoft would have liked. Both games were delayed and released quite close to the launch of a new console generation, but that alone doesn’t seem like enough to kill gamers’ enthusiasm for these new entries in well-established franchises.

The more likely explanation is simply that Ubisoft’s projected sales were simply too high – similar to how Square Enix was disappointed earlier this year by Tomb Raider selling ‘only’ 3.8 million units in a single month. For example, Martinez also revealed during the earnings call that Ubisoft expects to sell over 2.5 million units ofThe Crew – a frankly unrealistic target for a driving game that’s also a new IP. The company is also anticipating that Watch Dogs, another new IP, will sell around 6 million units.

Despite the tempering of their income for this year, Ubisoft seems willing to take the hit in 2013 in the hopes of a major comeback during the 2014 fiscal year.VG24/7 reports that, after Ubisoft shares fell by up to 32%, the company issued a statement to shareholders assuring them that, “Our long-term goal is to win the next generation… We are building franchises that will become perennial pillars of Ubisoft’s financial performance.”

Rocky days for Ubisoft as the company waits out the end of this fiscal year and the advent of 2014. Do you think that those in charge really have a handle on things, or will their optimism and the game delays trip them up at the very start of the next generation?

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‘The Bureau: XCOM Declassified’ & ‘Splinter Cell: Blacklist’ Launch Trailers

With launch trailers tasked with the dual goals of giving one last dose of marketing hype, while beginning to celebrate the game’s reception among fans, this week holds two very different releases. The boasts made in the launch trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist are fair, since the game has already received positive reviews prior to launch (read our own review as proof). As such, the team at Ubisoft saw fit to honor Blacklist with one more musically-infused trailer so common for the company these

Meanwhile, 2K Marin‘s long-awaited – and since renamed – The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is also preparing for launch. The pros and cons of The Bureau have been kept close to the chest by the publisher, but the final trailer for the game once again emphasizes the game’s strengths: a well-developed 1960s era setting, and more shadowy, censored government ops than you can shake a black marker at.

By contrast, there’s very little about Blacklist that prospective buyers don’t know; both the singleplayer improvements in varying gameplay and the multiplayer ‘Spies vs. Mercs’ have been extensively previewed, and the story trailers have promised a new Sam Fisher that is deadlier than ever.

With so much substance detailed and revealed so far, it seems appropriate to bring a sense of drama and occasion to what Ubisoft is clearly hoping will be yet another tentpole in their mass-market franchises. And to celebrate the occasion, Fisher (and Hawkins) is placed smack in the middle of a stylish launch trailer that, whether it convinces consumers to pick up a copy of Blacklist or not, is an interesting idea well-executed.

Now, for some good old-fashioned, secret alien warfare. Take a look at The Bureau‘s launch trailer:

We’re happy to see that the Cold War setting – one surprisingly under-utilized in the video game space, in our estimation – of The Bureau seems to be used effectively, and has always been one aspect of the XCOM universe we’d hoped to see explored further. The most recent developer diary highlighted the team’s commitment to telling a ‘secret war’ story befitting the era of Cold War paranoia and UFO conspiracy theories – but will it be enough to keep players from comparing it to Firaxis’ recent success?

How The Bureau will help or hinder the momentum created by Enemy Unknownremains to be seen, but from the trailer, it’s clear the two games are treading very different ground. Even if the environments and combat share some strong similarities.

Which of these games will you be picking up this week? A sci-fi shooter, or a stealth-action adventure? Leave your picks in the comments.

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Splinter Cell Blacklist will be available on PC, Wii U, Xbox 360 and PS3 from August 20, 2013.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified will be released on August 20 for the PS3, Xbox 360 & PC.

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‘Splinter Cell: Blacklist’ Trailer Highlights Gadgets, Multiple Combat Strategies

Splinter Cell: Blacklist, the first game in the series to be produced by relatively young studio Ubisoft Toronto, has so far given the impression that it will change up quite a few aspects of the stealth shooter series; aspects that have come to be close to fans’ hearts, but accompanied by promises that the essence of Splinter Cell remains intact.

When we got the chance to preview Blacklist earlier this year, we found that many of those changes will make the game the biggest in the series so far, with plenty of new detail, technology and gameplay features. Now we know that the game is one step closer to being unleashed upon fans who have heard enough, and simply desire a chance to try the new Splinter Cell experience for themselves.

With the time until release closing in fast, Blacklist has just gone gold – the first game to do so at Ubisoft’s recently-established development studio in Toronto – and is now being manufactured ahead of its release later this month. To mark the occasion, Ubisoft has released a 7-minute trailer showcasing the best of the action and customization available in both the singleplayer and co-operative modes.

The noisy approach to combat was a big focus of the game’s original reveal at last year’s E3 preview, so it’s understandable that the studio would want to appeal to gamers with a range of preferred gameplay styles. But then, there’s no shortage of generic cover-based military shooters out there, and one of the staples of the Splinter Cell series from the very beginning has been its focus on stealth abilities and smart infiltration, rather than simply wading in with guns blazing. Luckily, the new trailer doesn’t skimp on details about Blacklist‘s stealth gameplay.

A member of Sam Fisher’s support team, Charlie Cole (voiced and modeled by David Reale), encourages the player to diversify their approach, but there are hints that the gameplay might still be slanted more towards strategic stealth than a run-and-gun offense. The ‘Ghost’ approach (in which the player strives to never be seen) is described as “the mark of a great operator,” and covert technology available includes a spy-cam that can go into small vents and fire darts to knock out bad guys, along with gas grenades to take out an entire room.

Other designated play styles include ‘Panther’ – a stealth-based but more aggressive and deadly method of approach – and the aptly-named ‘Assault,’ for players who just want to let loose. Players will also be able to mix and match strategies thanks to a wide variety of ever-upgrading gadgets and tech; letting players lean on skills that suit their play-style best.

A number of elements within Splinter Cell: Blacklist could risk upsetting hardcore fans, not the least of which is the recasting of Sam Fisher, but this nonetheless looks like a strong stealth shooter, and in a genre all too sparse these days, is well worth checking out upon release.

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‘Threat’ Trailer & Multiplayer Videos For ‘Splinter Cell: Blacklist’

With the next installment in the iconic Tom Clancy Splinter Cell franchise releasing in a few short weeks, Ubisoft is opening the floodgates on detailing and teasing the game’s story and gameplay features. For fans of the series, there has been some disappointment over the marketing emphasis on all-out gunfights as opposed to the stealth action gameplay the series is known for. In the newly released trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist, players get another brief glimpse of more stealth-related activity, punctuated by 24-style countdown effects.

In the “Threat” trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist above, a mysterious terrorist organization known as “The Engineers” – the antagonistic organization that forces Fisher into command of the newly formed Fourth Echelon secret ops team – make their threat to the United States of America, vowing its destruction. Inter-spliced with the trailer’s interrogation montage are clips of this The Engineers’ brutality.

The trailer also bombards viewers with the question, “what is the blacklist,” and it’s likely that several plot points from the previous game will continue in order for this question to be answered fully. Stealth elements of the game are briefly shown in cutscene form, with Fisher back in the darkness where he’s used to being, albeit somewhat more violently than we have seen him before. Given the personal subject matter of previous games in the series, it’s possible that Sam’s daughter could play a role in the events of the story.

For fans still questioning the balance of stealth versus action, from our hands-on sessions with the game, players can choose to play non-lethally or lethally and the game rewards each playstyle accordingly. Ghost is for the true stealth players who are never discovered and never kill, where Panther is for the quick and silent lethal type who take action but do so also without being seen. Assault is for the run-and-gunners, so every player can be there own Sam Fisher.

No gameplay footage is shown in the Threat trailer, nor is any mention given to the game’s multiplayer and co-op features. Fortunately, Splinter Cell Community Developer Zack Cooper narrated a few videos detailing the “Spies vs. Mercs” multiplayer gameplay in Blacklist, and how it has evolved from previous iterations.

Classic Spies vs. Mercs (2 vs. 2 with predefined, limited loadouts on darker maps) returns with New Spies vs. Mercs (up to 4 vs. 4 with different classes and customizable loadouts on lighter maps). These videos help give players an understanding of how tactical stealth elements work together in a multiplayer setting, specifically using gadgets to your advantage, and outwitting other players in combat scenarios. While this and other multiplayer gameplay will be readily available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows platforms, the Wii Uversion will be somewhat lacking in order to make same August 20th release date.

While online multiplayer gameplay will remain the same for the latest Nintendoconsole, a feature missing from the final game will be offline co-operative multiplayer. Producer Liu Jun of Ubisoft Shanghai confirmed this recently, citing this pressure to release the game on time as the key factor in this decision.


“In order to ship at the same time as the other consoles, we unfortunately weren’t able to delve into this feature. But we think Nintendo gamers will be really excited to get the game at the same time as other consoles.”

The Wii U version of Blacklist does come with unique features that take advantage of its touch-enabled GamePad technology, but if future triple-A releases continue to have difficulty releasing on time, and now, with less features, this is yet another issue in 3rd party support for Nintendo’s latest console.

Splinter Cell Blacklist will be available on PC, Wii U, Xbox 360 and PS3 from August 20, 2013.

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These Are The Most Pre-Ordered Games Coming Later This Year

This time last year Halo 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Assassin’s Creed III were topping the video game pre-order charts, but with the range of exciting new games on the way it’s time to take a close look at which titles that are set for release over the rest of 2013 have convinced gamers to start putting down their cash early.

Pre-order bonuses for some of the games have already been announced, such as the bonus “Free Fall” map for Call of Duty: Ghosts, the Upper Echelon edition of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and the Commander-in-Chief edition, complete with the ‘Merica Gun and Uncle Sam suit, of Saints Row IV. There are plenty of perks to be had when pre-ordering games, and we can now get an idea of which titles are currently winning in the race for pre-order sales.

CVG has released a ranking of the most pre-ordered games to come this year, based on research conducted by data analysis firm Cowen and Co., and despite the ribbing that Infinity Ward has received for putting Riley the Dog at the centre of the promotion for Call of Duty: Ghosts, the canine comrade seems to have won gamers over. Call of Duty: Ghosts is ranked in the number 1 spot with a score of 73, though Cowen analyst Doug Creutz pointed out that the next installment is still under-performing in comparison to Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Perhaps one of the more surprising entries on the list is Ubisoft’s new vigilante hacker game Watch Dogs, which is ranked as the second most pre-ordered game of late 2013 with a score of 69.6. Though Watch Dogs does look great based on the gameplay footage so far, the IP is so far untested and it’s impressive that Ubisoft has garnered so many pre-orders for it without an existing fan base.

With that in mind, Watch Dogs is most likely in third place, not second place, since Creutz emphasizes that the list only reflects sales made since E3 2013. This means that the ranking for Grand Theft Auto V, which is in third place with a score of 58.4 but has been available for pre-order since November 2012, is likely to be very inaccurate (Cowen states that all other projections are between 96 and 97 percent accurate). Grand Theft Auto V may well turn out to have even more pre-orders than both Watch Dogs and Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Battlefield 4 is, somewhat appropriately, in fourth place on the list, and the highest PlayStation 4 exclusive, Killzone: Shadow Fall, is ranked slightly above the best-scoring Xbox One exclusive, Forza 5. Check out the list of the top 20 most pre-ordered games below to see if your most highly-anticipated game made the cut:
Call of Duty: Ghosts (73)
Watch Dogs (69.6)
Grand Theft Auto V (58.4)
Battlefield 4 (54.7)
Killzone: Shadow Fall (30.3)
Assassin’s Creed IV (29.2)
Forza 5 (18.8)
Diablo III (18.2)
Batman: Arkham Origins (17.2)
Dead Rising 3 (15.0)
Ryse (13.2)
Saints Row IV (10.1)
Knack (7.7)
Gran Turismo 6 (5.0)
Beyond: Two Souls (3.3)
Wolfenstein: The New Order (3.2)
Drive Club (3.0)
Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2.9)
The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (0.4)
South Park: The Stick of Truth (0.2)

Let us know which games you’ve pre-ordered or are planning to pre-order this year in the comments. Alternatively, if you never pre-order games then tell us what puts you off the idea.

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‘Splinter Cell Blacklist’ Trailer Shows the Transformation of Sam Fisher

He’s climbing in your windows, he’s snatching your people up: Sam Fisher is back and he’s tooling up for Splinter Cell: Blacklist, the latest installment in the popular stealth action series. This time around, the threat is a mysterious terrorist organization called the Engineers, who have vowed to commit a series of escalating attacks (“The Blacklist”) in order to achieve their ultimate goal of bringing death to America.

Along with Fisher’s transformation from the average man about town into a hardened Fourth Echelon solider that is shown in this trailer, Splinter Cell: Blacklistalso brings a change behind the scenes, as long-standing voice actor Michael Ironside has handed the reins over to young whippersnapper Eric Johnson, who was more physically capable of handling the movement required for the new performance capture technology being implemented by Ubisoft in the game. A similar change has been made to Sam Fisher’s brother in stealth, Garrett of theThief series, who has also had a change of voice actor for the upcoming reboot.

Speaking of stealth, there have been a few concerns from fans of the series about the gameplay trailers for Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which showed Fisher engaging in run-and-gun assault rifle battles and leaping over cars in a manner that seemed a bit unwise for anyone attempting to keep a low profile. Then again, Fisher has been granted the “Fifth Freedom” by President Patricia Caldwell in Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which grants him the right to pre-emptively kill, torture and spy on people in order to prevent them from killing, torturing or spying on people that he’s fond of.

For example, this trailer shows Fisher using his expert stealth skills to… blow a hole in someone’s ceiling using explosives and then drop down onto their head. Admittedly, a trailer showing the character squatting in a shadow waiting for a guard to pass by probably wouldn’t be as thrilling. He does also promise to “become what you fear most” and “make you believe I am everywhere,” and since the combat style is being left up to the player, there will assuredly be plenty of options for stealth fans to explore.

Based on the gameplay, the voice acting from Eric Johnson, and the pieces of exposition about the story, does this trailer leave you excited or apathetic aboutSplinter Cell: Blacklist?

Splinter Cell Blacklist will be available on PC, Wii U, Xbox 360 and PS3 from August 20, 2013.

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‘Splinter Cell Blacklist’ Co-op Trailer & Screenshots

Following multiple successful forays into console gaming, the Splinter Cell series had every right to kick back, relax and iterate the ever-loving life out its lucrative stealth formula. Instead, developers Ubisoft took the daring decision to revamp the series, eschewing wall-straddling stealth in favor of Conviction‘s more action-oriented approach (read the full review here). Now, with the game’s sequel,Splinter Cell Blacklist appearing to reconcile the series’ previous play styles, Game Rant suits up to take a sneaky peek at the title’s co-op credentials, a feature we’ve been excited to learn more about.

Focusing on the collaborative efforts between series veteran Sam Fisher and newcomer Isaac Briggs, the latest Splinter Cell Blacklist trailer is bursting with back-and-forth chit-chatter, twin takedowns and slow-motion melee galore – embracing the game’s multiple combat styles. Old favorites like the ledge pull down, wall boost and over-the-counter combo all mark their return.

Possible additions to the formula include a Call of Duty-style breach system, as well as a tantalizing bait-and-blast dynamic as indicated by the trailer’s early moments. Fisher, now played by actor Eric Johnson who takes over the physical motion capture role as well as the voice previously played by Michael Ironside, is shown casually perusing his surroundings when an eagle-eyed sniper takes aim at the tri-sighted spy. With Fisher’s brains set to paint the patio, Briggs appears just in time to thwart the shooter, though whether this kind of action will be easily replicable by players is, as yet, unknown.

Conviction’s controversial target-marking system, known as ‘Mark & Execute’, also musters up a brief appearance, as Fourth Echelon’s leading men are forced to neutralize an all-out ambush in record time. Just how this time-slowing, killing in motion functionality will play out amongst two or more individuals is hard to fathom without playing the title, players essentially act in unison to achieve the effect.

In terms of multiplayer content, the trailer touts a return to Splinter Cell’s unique Spies vs. Mercs mode (coming with new and classic variants), one that traditionally favors the use of masked, nameless spies over Sam and company. Given the trailer’s sudden loss of visual fidelity at this point however, it’s safe to assume that viewers are not only watching multiplayer, but multiplayer that at long last includes the Silver-haired sleuth.

With 4 co-op mission types, 14 multiplayer maps and both online & split-screen play available, Blacklist may yet sleuth its way into a few best-of lists.

Splinter Cell Blacklist steps out of the shadows on August 23, 2013 for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U.

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Ubisoft Confident Nintendo Will Make Wii U a Success

While one publisher has pulled Wii U support completely, another is reaffirming its faith Nintendo will make their latest console a success. Shortly after Electronic Arts revealed they had zero Wii U games in development, one of the Wii U’s stronger third party publishers has come out to give Nintendo’s public image a much-needed boost.

After all, Ubisoft has supported the Wii U from day 1 with ports of all their latest games – from Assassin’s Creed 3 to Watch_Dogs – and a console exclusive inZombiU. Not to mention they were, at one point, willing to sacrifice potential 360 and PS3 sales by making Rayman Legends a Wii U exclusive. That’s no longer the case, but the initial thought still counts.

While most publishers are “abandoning ship” or reeling in Wii U support, a spokesperson for Ubisoft wants to assure the public they will do the exact opposite. Ubisoft believes that their fall 2013 content will give consumers plenty of reasons to pick up a Wii U.


“As with any new console, it takes some time to grow an established base. Ubisoft has a varied and high-quality line-up for Wii U, with more big titles on the way including Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and Splinter Cell Blacklist. We’re confident that this will help in continuing to attract gamers to the Wii U system and that Nintendo will take steps to ensure that the Wii U is successful in the market.”

Sure, gamers can pick up Assassin’s Creed 4 or Splinter Cell: Blacklist on the Wii U, but will they? When a game like Watch_Dogs is available on consoles gamers already own, what is the incentive to purchase a new console? This would be good news for gamers who only own a Wii U, but there’s no telling how many of those are out there.

It’s also important to mention that a new console generation is looming in the horizon, and pretty soon those new platforms will become the standard. And while the Wii U will become the superior alternative to the PS3 and 360, it will still presumably be at least a few steps behind both the PS4 and Xbox 720.

So while Ubisoft reaffirms their faith that Nintendo will be successful, their success isn’t really dependent on third party publishers like them. Rather, it will be Nintendo’s exclusive content that will make or break the console – games likePikmin 3, Super Smash Bros., Mario, etc. These are the types of games that most deem “system sellers.”

Do you think third party titles from publishers like Ubisoft will help Wii U sales? What will it take for Nintendo to recover?

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New ‘Splinter Cell: Blacklist’ Gameplay Trailer Highlights Multiple Combat Styles

Splinter Cell: Blacklist might be unearthing the stealthier roots of the franchise’s earlier installments — night vision goggles, the stealth suit and ultramodern gadgets, for three, have been sourly missed — but make no mistake: The highly efficient combat machine Sam Fisher became in 2010′s Splinter Cell: Conviction – the One-Man Army to the classicist’s Silent Killer — is now and inexorable part of his gritty and grizzled makeup.

And players just might need every ability afforded to Sam to overcome Blacklist’sshadowy new enemy, the Engineers. The latest trailer for the game released byUbisoft opens to terror network’s the menacing manifesto, but highlights the varying methods at Sam’s disposal as the head of the new Fourth Echelon.

Following the opening, America-at-war montage, the trailer partitions Sam’s predatory talents into three phases: Stalk, Strike and Silence. It’s a flashier way of representing the three unique play styles that factor into Blacklist’s dynamic scoring system: Panther, Assault and Ghost. We went hands-on with a demo of the game back in January, and Ubisoft emphasized the way gameplay is tailored around player choice — actively rewarding users in unique ways by measuring how each mission unfolds (think metrics for body counts, detections, alarms, etc.).

Judging from how the trailer unfolds, it appears as if that trifocal vision is very much intact. Sam stalks an enemy from the shadows, dropping from a ceiling pipe to perform a quiet takedown. He strikes an enemy in open-terrain, dashing 20 yards and hurdling obstacles before sweeping him off his feet (and out of his spinal alignment). Finally, likely to highlight the hybrid “Panther” play style, we witness Sam neutralize an entire squad of mercenaries after shooting out lights with a crossbow, leaving them helpless and blinded in the company of a familiar friend: darkness.

It’s been almost a year since Splinter Cell: Blacklist debuted at E3 2012 with an impressive 10-minute gameplay demo and a newly voiced Sam Fisher. Contrary to its annual franchise, Assassin’s Creed, however, the publisher has given its Toronto studio three years to meticulously devise the game’s new direction. Similar simmering was allowed for November’s Far Cry 3, which captivatingly blended customization and exploration with an open-ended approach to combat. And while the two games certainly don’t resemble each other style-for-style or narrative-for-narrative, the concept of substantial development time and multifarious gameplay is fairly identical.

We’ll see if it pays off when Splinter Cell: Blacklist releases on August 20, 2013 for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U and PC.

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Ubi Toronto Working on Future ‘Assassin’s Creed’ & ‘Splinter Cell’; Is ‘AC 5′ in Production?

If there was any mutinous doubt that Ubisoft was devoted to making Assassin’s Creed an annual franchise after four annual releases spanning Assassin’s Creed 2and Assassin’s Creed 3, it was cast overboard as jetsam the moment Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag sailed into view this Spring, signaling that the series was prepared to meet the next generation head-on with its brand new protagonist in Edward Kenway.

But similar to, say, Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed appears to have become an annual franchise only in the broader, terminal sense of games on shelves.

The massive size and scope of Assassin’s Creed 3 was the result of a three-year development effort at primary studio Ubisoft Montreal; we know Black Flag has been stitching itself together there since mid-2011; and now it’s been disclosed by Ubisoft Toronto managing director Jade Raymond that her studio is already assisting Ubi Montreal on a forthcoming, post-Black Flag Assassin’s Creed. Tentatively, we’ll call it Assassin’s Creed 5.

The relationship revealed itself when Raymond spoke to Polygon regarding Ubisoft Toronto’s future. Having wasted no time in making an impact since its inception in 2009, the studio is fresh off completing the multiplayer maps for Rainbow Six: Patriots (which appears destined to be a next-gen title) and rolls out its first plat du jour this August in Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Beyond that, well, in addition to announcing plans for an additional Splinter Cell title, here’s how Raymond described Ubi Toronto’s rapidly expanding workload for the coming years:

“We have two big collaborations coming that we’re not talking about, on two of the biggest franchises at Ubisoft. We also have two new IP.”

Ruling out Splinter Cell — Polygon attributes the revelation of a post-Black Listproject to a separate comment — “two of the biggest franchises at Ubisoft” couldinclude a number of different properties: Far Cry, Rainbow Six, Prince of Persia. They certainly include Assassin’s Creed.

It seems — no, it’s way — too early to begin speculating about the direction ofAssassin’s Creed 5, or whatever installment eventually succeeds Black Flag. It’s only been weeks since AC 4 was unveiled to the public, and we’re still getting acclimatized to the tropical, sultry Caribbean, to Ubisoft (Montreal)’s journey back into the Golden Age of Piracy and to its tethering of land and naval combat/exploration into one of the first triple-A titles of the next generation.

Still, Ubisoft Toronto’s future involvement with Assassin’s Creed would add some serious talent to a series that, over the last several years, has evolved into a cavalcade of collaboration: Seven additional Ubi studios — Ubisoft Annecy, Bucharest, Kiev, Montpellier, Quebec, Singapore and Sofia — are on tap to assist Ubisoft Montreal with AC 4: Black Flag, up from the five that assisted on AC 3. With Raymond, Toronto’s leader and a longtime Ubisoft visionary, sounding eager about the work that lies ahead, it’s quite possible, even likely, that the next next annual installment of Assassin’s Creed is already in the early phases development.

Ranters, what impact do you think Ubisoft Toronto is apt to have on Assassin’s Creed? Is it too early to begin speculating about Assassin’s Creed 5 and, on that note, where would you like to see the series head after AC 4: Black Flag?

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‘Splinter Cell Blacklist’ Hands-On Preview

We traveled to Ubisoft Toronto earlier this week to preview the young studio’s first title, Splinter Cell Blacklist. The presentation and hands-on demo were strictly focused on the single-player experience, aimed to highlight the new offerings Ubisoft aims to deliver with the franchise’s sixth installment.

Ubisoft Toronto is now the home of the Splinter Cell franchise going forward and even though the studio is brand new, it was staffed with senior team members from around the company and industry. The presentation began with Creative Director Maxime Beland and Game Director Patrick Redding introducing the game to journalists in a room surrounded with PCs setup with a playable demo of the game, all featuring a Sam Fisher desktop background, Xbox 360 controllers andSteelSeries headsets.

The introductory hands-off demo first began however, with a sizzle reel comprised of real-life footage of terrorist attacks, foreign occupation, riots, etc., emphasizing the state of the world, with an intimidating voiceover. The end of the video reached a climax with the mysterious and powerful phrase “We are The Engineers.” The video represents the “opening salvo” of the Engineers’ agenda and serves an introduction to the narrative of Splinter Cell Blacklist.

The Engineers are a new international shadow terror network that formed in response to the fact that the United States has a presence in two-thirds of the world’s nations. It’s backed by unknown parties who for their own interests, need the U.S. to pull their troops out, and is led by one “super terrorist” figure modeled after the infamous political terrorist Carlos the Jackal. They have an ultimatum with set deadlines, backed with an organized series of escalating terror attacks (“The Blacklist”).

In response to the crisis, President Patricia Caldwell – who dismantled corrupt Third Echelon after the events of Splinter Cell: Conviction – covertly puts together a new organization that’s, as Redding describes, “blacker than black, very small, extremely mobile, self-financing, utterly deniable and will be able to go after the organizers of the Blacklist behind-the scenes while she deals with the more public reaction.” And the one man qualified to lead such a team? Sam Fisher.

The core team we saw from the demo includes familiar faces Anna “Grim” Grímsdóttir, a staple of the franchise and Fisher’s old handler; Isaac Briggs, an ex-CIA operative who joins Fisher on the field; Charlie Cole, the tech nerd who helps with weapon and gadget mods. At least one other character joins team in an unexpected capacity, and we expect there could be a few other guest members along the way.

The creative drive behind Splinter Cell Blacklist was to get Fisher back in his iconic special ops suit and back in the field, but in a way fans haven’t seen before. Many of the game design choices, new features, Fisher’s new role as a team leader instead of lone wolf – and even the redesigned Sam Fisher character – are all evidence of this.

The first and most exciting feature of the game is how it rewards player choice in terms of play style. Splinter Cell Blacklist caters to true stealth players and fans of the original Splinter Cell, but it also allows (and actively rewards) gameplay styles from players who may have entered the franchise with the last installment, Conviction, and shooter fans who may jump in as newbies forBlacklist. It does this by rewarding three styles of play. Where stealth games like Hitman: Absolution often punish players for taking a non-stealth approach,Splinter Cell embraces it with a dynamic scoring system that ranks players on three different playstyles:

Ghost
Panther
Assault

Ghosts are the players who traverse an area and complete objectives without anyone knowing they’re even there. Assault is for the run and gun players who suit up with bigger weapons and heavier armor for direct confrontation. We’re told that players likely start playing one of these two styles but as they master each, they become more of a panther, someone who can lethally and quietly take out opponents in the most efficient way possible. The game is able to reward points based on metrics involving lethal vs. nonlethal play, detected vs. undetected, etc.

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‘Splinter Cell: Blacklist’ Gameplay Trailer Brings Back the Stealth

2010′s Splinter Cell: Conviction brought Sam Fisher a long way from his mid-aughties hedey of silence, shadows, and frequent no-kill/no-detection missions. Just as Sam’s government superspy status was stripped away, so, too, was the imperative of invisibility, those ever-present tracks to be hidden at all costs.

But stealth has always been a staple of Ubisoft’s legendary franchise, and forSplinter Cell: Blacklist, fans have been eager to see how the team in Toronto isre-incorporating the style back into gameplay. While the latest gameplay trailer from the developer doesn’t delve into any new mission or story territory – it’s the same level shown in the Blacklist E3 and Gamescom trailers – it serves as a road map for the non-lethal approach.

Dubbed “Ghost Style,” the trailer is narrated by Splinter Cell community developer Zach Cooper as Sam once again thwarts enemy patrols en route to a terrorist leader’s compound. Splinter Cell: Blacklist puts Sam in command of the newly-minted Fourth Echelon (in lieu of Third), and Jadid, his current target, is one of many threats in the game believed to be plotting an attack on the United States.

Sure, Blacklist fans could breeze through the level wearing a blindfold at this point, but Ubisoft clearly wants to instil their message of “your-way” gameplay. In the end, it’s definitely worth witnessing. The way Sam masters his environment, the way he studies pedantically every pathway, enemy, and ability at his disposal in order to remain unseen – those are mechanics that should always have a home inSplinter Cell and even in rough pre-alpha form, there’s reason to believe Ubisoft is keeping them in mind. At any rate, the trailer is a noticeable departure from the frenetic motion killing/Mark-and-Execute demonstrations of the past.

There’s a lot more to learn about Splinter Cell: Blacklist. As assiduous as Ubisoft has been in guarding the stealth elements promised for Sam’s return, we haven’t seen the action set outside the Mirawa village above, or a city rooftop in a teaser trailer. We haven’t seen gameplay where Splinter Cell truly shines: in the darkness.

Ranters, we’ve asked before, but after seeing Blacklist’s pre-alpha stealth gameplay (as Cooper notes, non-lethal animations haven’t even been added yet), which combat style are you eager to use in Sam Fisher’s next outing?

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is slated for a Spring 2013 release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, with a possible Wii U edition in development. A rogue Amazon UK listing last month hinted a date of March 29.

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‘Splinter Cell: Blacklist’ Combat Style is Up To The Player

It’s hard to say why there are only a handful of gaming franchises known for competent stealth gameplay, but it didn’t take long for Splinter Cell to become synonymous with striking from the shadows. That approach has been given a serious overhaul in recent years, most notably in the announcement of Splinter Cell: Blacklist at this year’s E3.

Director Patrick Redding maintains that Ubisoft Toronto has put together an experience far more in keeping with Sam Fisher’s stealth roots than the initial trailer might imply. In fact, a larger emphasis is being placed on a player’s chosen play style, from level design all the way to cinematic cut-scenes.

Redding had previously discussed the studio’s decision to showcase Blaclist‘s daytime, action-packed gameplay in order to make more of a statement at E3 2012, and taking the demo as an indication of the entire game was premature. The amount of discussion that the game’s showing has generated shows they made the right call.

The full interview from VG24/7 gives a bit more insight into Ubisoft’s method of bringing stealth and action together in one new campaign, with handing the choice to the player being toted as one of the ways to keep evasive or stealthy gamers happy.

The heavy emphasis on action witnessed at E3 was a result of the extremely refined gameplay section, according to Redding. Sam Fisher’s trigger finger was overworked in the demo, but that is by no means the only way to play the game from start to finish:


“When we hand the controller to someone else they can elect to try to avoid those conflicts, and if they’re good they can succeed at it. As with any Splinter Cell game there is a challenge in being stealthy and undetected, and there are advantages to being stealthy and undetected, and it’s certainly a valid option that’s available to the player. And we give them tools to do it if that’s the way they want to do it.”

Walking a line between making the player feel capable of handling every situation and demanding they avoid detection has never been easy. In fact, the Splinter Cellseries almost encapsulates the entire struggle, from the insta-fails of the original games to the ability to mark-and-execute one’s way through Conviction.

With Ubisoft Toronto promising a blend of both, some stealth fans may not be so easily convinced after similar claims were made in the past. It may simply be that a developer hoping to earn more than niche sales just can’t release a game that rewards only those who agonize over going completely undetected.

Redding explained that the “blueprint” for the game’s level design and narrative is centered around trying to offer satisfying experiences to both camps:


“We went out of our way to make sure that there were missions that put the emphasis on stealth and then there were other missions that put the emphasis on combat, but that it was never 100% one or the other. There might be occasional moments in the game where you need to go undetected, but we didn’t want to create a lot of situations where it was like an ‘instant fail’ if you got detected.”

Keeping the experience moving forward whether detected or not may or may not solve the problem, but this integration of each player’s decisions into the overall game will be extending beyond remaining in cover or opening fire. We saw firsthand in our preview of Blacklist that players will be able to deal with informants in different ways. Apparently Sam’s behavior won’t just change the end of the attached cut-scenes, but carry over to his interactions with the other members of Fourth Echelon who may approve or disapprove of his decisions.

Hints are all the developers seem happy to give at the moment, but fans of stealth are expected to be addressed as the game gets closer to release.

How do you Fisher-fans and newcomers feel about the balance being struck by those making Blacklist? Think the blend is the best solution, or not what you had hoped? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is tentatively scheduled for a release in early 2013 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

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Ubisoft Explains ‘Splinter Cell: Blacklist’ E3 Preview

The fact that gamers are still talking about this year’s E3 means developers have done something right. Ubisoft certainly turned heads with its preview of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which was among the more notable demonstrations at the event. In a move that seemed to defy the very premise of the series itself, Ubisoft launched Sam Fisher into the spotlight at E3 by making him much more visible and having him behave more like a soldier — traits that were only briefly touched on inSplinter Cell: Conviction.

Blacklist picks up a few months after the previous game, and plans to explore the option to play as stealthily or as destructively as the player wants. While this was a key point in Conviction, this new entry into the series kicks it into high gear.

In a recent interview with VG 24/7, game director Patrick Redding explained the decision to show more explosive, action-based gameplay at E3.


“I think the important thing to remember about E3 is you’re always out to make a splash, to make your mark, to make sure everybody sees you in the backdrop of the other games which are out there. So we kind of needed to go with something that was a little bit different and explosive, and maybe even a little controversial in terms of the franchise.”

Ubisoft understandably wants to walk the line between stealth and action combat, but players were definitely thrown a curve ball with the Blacklist demonstration (though we enjoyed our preview of the game). According to Redding, fans of the previous Splinter Cell games should rest easy, rather than cast the Conviction follow-up aside as yet another Hollywood-influenced action title.

“We know that we’re going to have to have the conversation with more established fans and fans who stealth play, and we definitely have a lot to talk about with them on that exact subject and we’ll be doing just that in the coming months.”

It was certainly a bold move to show a more rough-and-tumble side of Sam Fisher right out of the gate, but as he has left Third Echelon behind since his previous missions, it may just be exactly what he needs in this new chapter of his life. It is a big risk to shift Fisher’s character from one specific kind of bad-ass to another — one that Ubisoft seems confident will pay off.

Ranters, are you content with knowing Ubisoft has no plan to leave older Splinter Cell fans behind, or are you on board with a more straight-forward, action-oriented Sam Fisher?

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is tentatively set to release in the first quarter of 2013 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

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Ubisoft Reveals ‘Splinter Cell Blacklist’ Coming In 2013

Ubisoft revealed the latest entry in the Splinter Cell franchise at Microsoft’s E3 conference. Titled Splinter Cell Blacklist, the game will see series protagonist Sam Fisher return for a release in 2013.

Splinter Cell Blacklist focuses around a terrorist group known as Blacklist, as Sam Fisher attemps to thwart the group’s plans in the Middle East. Despite fighting in broad daylight, Fisher still bears his trademark night-vision goggles.

Much like Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Blacklist will make use ofKinect integration. Players can use voice commands to trick enemies, an interesting twist on a classic gameplay element. The demo showed Ubisoft employees saying “hey you,” causing an enemy to turn around confused, giving Fisher time to incapacitate the soldier. Fisher could also call down airstrikes, and has access to a wide array of tactical gadgets, offering the ability to see through walls.

In addition to the single player campaign, the beloved multiplayer mode Spies vs Mercs will return, as well as a new co-op mode.

Splinter Cell Blacklist will ship in Spring 2013.

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