Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013)

Splinter Cell: Blacklist has something for everyone. It brings the best bits from Conviction and Chaos Theory to appease seasoned fans, and allows more freedom of choice, appealing to action gamers in general.

You are allowed one of three ways to approach a mission; Ghost (non-lethal stealth), Panther (lethal stealth), or Assault (cause as much carnage as possible). Whichever you choose, finding cover and playing tactically is vital to success.

Blacklist presents a different Sam Fisher than we're used to seeing. Gone are the witty one-liners, instead he goes about his business with stone-cold efficiency. His obvious resentment of pretty much everything paints the game with a dark overtone.

A terrorist cell creates a list of planned attacks against the US, called The Blacklist. It makes no secret of when the attacks will happen, but "where" and "what" are unknown, causing fear and hysteria. The President calls in Fisher and assigns him his own counter-terrorism unit, and told they can do whatever they need to do to get the job done.

The single player campaign is really fun but a little too short, but there are several co-op side missions to play.

The major downside to this game is definitely the Spies vs. Mercs multiplayer game. Spies vs. Mercs is so incredibly unfun and pointless. It dosen't build upon any of the strengths of the rest of the game and is a complete waste of time. I really hope they get rid of Spies vs. Mercs in any future Splinter Cell game. Instead they can concentrate on adding more co op missions and making the single player campaign longer.

Blacklist is a great addition to the series.