Great gameplay, excellent gear/weapons upgrade system; Very high replay value since it leaves you wanting to try different methods to succeed

None

, President Caldwell has shut down the increasingly corrupt Third Echelon and replaced it with the cleverly titled Fourth Echelon. The newly minted Fourth Echelon is a much more streamlined covert team rather than a massive agency like the NSA or CIA.

+ Crisp gameplay; + Beautiful lighting and environments; + Quantity AND quality; + Awesome amount of character customization

- Playing as Briggs during the SP campaign; - Faces look awful during cinematics

Hanging from a ledge on a balcony, I pressed the Back button on the Xbox 360 gamepad and grizzled superspy Sam Fisher drew an armed guard closer with a whispered a come-hither taunt. Decision time: do I toss an incendiary grenade at his feet and watch the flesh cook off his bones?

Replayable campaign, Spies vs; Mercs multiplayer, Beefy co-op modes, Great story

Dated graphics

After a frankly stupid amount of pre-release trailers and press-baiting teasers, the new Splinter Cell is finally here amidst the weeks where the industry kicks back before the run-up to Xmas. Was it worth the wait? Oh, hell yes.

+Tight controls; +Great story

-Lacks technical polish; -Difficulty spikes

Find out why this is the best Splinter Cell in years in our full review.

+ Level design, + Spies vs; Mercs, + Gorgeous visuals, + Co-op missions

Some frustrating sections; Character models outside of Sam

Thank you, Ubisoft. Before getting into the pros and cons of Sam Fisher's latest outing, it's only fitting to open a Splinter Cell Blacklist review with gratitude. Sam Fisher is back, and I couldn't be happier.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist follows the recent trend of making stealth games more appealing to the masses while still making the core hardcore stealth elements available for those that want them (see , ). This is a good thing. You can go stealthy. You can go Rambo.

Running game on Xbox 360, 65" HD (1080p) and 5.1 Dolby For background, I played all previous Splinter Cell games, all on Xbox and/or Xbox 360. I loved them all until SC: Conviction.

Good story arc; both single player and multiplayer offer variety and replayability

Some cut scenes can be drawn out; graphics not leading edge; a bit buggy in some multiplayer connections

Splinter Cell: Conviction's action-oriented gameplay left hardcore fans questioning the new direction that Ubisoft was choosing for Sam Fisher. However, there were also gamers, including newcomers to the franchise, who greatly enjoyed what Conviction had to offer.

+ Endless amount of gameplay, + Variety of play styles, + Captivating story, + Spies vs; Mercs

- Lack of narrative alteration due to choices; - Some play styles within areas are predetermined; - Filler game sequences feel out of place

The Splinter Cell series has had a pretty fantastic run so far, with nearly every game scoring mid-80s or much higher. That said, Splinter Cell: Conviction received a little more of an icy reception (though it scored well with most outlets) for a few nagging technical issues and some...

Solid and mostly believable narrative, Better-than-average voice acting, including Eric Johnson as Sam, The Paladin as a hub is a great concept, Spies vs; Mercs is back!, and better than ever, Solid graphical presentation overall, Varied environments make for fantastic playgrounds, This game is a...

Occasionally characters get stuck in the environment; Some minor graphical texture tearing; Disc switching for cooperative missions once you get to disc two