Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series is responsible for some of the most fundamental stepping stones in the evolution of stealth games, and fans have been anxiously waiting on a new game for almost six years now. Inspiring the likes of Assassin's Creed, the Batman Arkham series, Watch Dogs, and a handful of other modern stealth games, Splinter Cell established itself as one of the genre's greatest milestones. From the stripped down stealth essential in Chaos Theory, to the intense, cinematic stealth-action style of Blacklist, the nine games in the series have given us plenty of highlights, and a new entry would put a smile on a lot of faces... but only if it's done right. On that note, this is what we want to see in the next Splinter Cell game.
A Meaningful, Engaging, Story
As far as giving fans a compelling story, Splinter Cell is normally pretty strong in this field. Protagonist, Sam Fisher, will most likely return, which is what everyone is naturally expecting. What would really get us excited though, would be Michael Ironside returning to voice the character. Eric Johnson did a great job in Blacklist, but Ironside's performance as Fisher has become iconic, and it would be a treat to see him reprise the role. When it comes to the narrative, something a bit more bound in realism would be an exciting approach. As much as we love the story of an agent saving the world from a giant nuclear disaster and stopping a network of terrorists, it has been done time and time again, so something a bit more grounded would certainly be refreshing. An unfiltered, gritty storyline that feels like it could actually happen somewhere in the world is the exact breathe of fresh air that fans are looking for.
Back To Stealth Basics
If you ask any fan of the series what their favorite Splinter Cell game is, the most common answer you'll hear is Chaos Theory. Chaos Theory is the essential Splinter Cell experience, and its gameplay gave us a unique style of stealth that we hadn't seen before, and that we haven't seen since. It presents simplistic, objective-based challenges, while simultaneously giving you plenty of options in how you'd like to go about completing those challenges. From shooting out lights, silently slitting throats, and gunning down enemies with silenced weapons, the game gave you almost as many options in combat as it did in planning. The timing and circumstance in which you took out your enemies was just as important as what weapon you used, and the thrill of successfully clearing out a room of bad guys was rarely matched by any other game.
Given this recognition, it should go without saying that we would absolutely love to see some elements of Chaos Theory in a new game. Actually, we'd love to see a ton of elements from Chaos Theory in a new game. The stripped back style of stealth gave us some incredibly memorable gameplay, and the capabilities of today's consoles could maximize that element. A game that gives multi-layered challenges encourages ingenuity and thoughtfulness, rewarding the player when they succeed. That being said, stealth games have come a long way. If we're getting a new entry in the series, Ubisoft will have to step up their game if they want to set the same bar that they did with Chaos Theory.
What About Blacklist?
It's also important to take a look at what type of game we most recently received from the Splinter Cell series, and that would be 2013's Blacklist. Blacklist received generally favorable reviews from critics, although many hardcore fan's of the series criticized it for abandoning Splinter Cell's iconic stealth style for a more action-oriented hybrid. The game is certainly entertaining, and the gameplay is excellent compared to many of the other shooters released in 2013, but the title didn't set itself apart as effectively as the series' earlier releases. Stealth and decision making still played a huge factor in how you completed the game's challenges, but it more frequently encouraged you to take an aggressive approach, and run in guns blazing rather than strictly sticking to stealth.
Was Blacklist a good game? Absolutely. Some might even call it a great game, but it doesn't embody everything that makes Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell. If a Splinter Cell game resembling Blacklist is released, it can very likely succeed both critically and financially, but it is less likely that it'll be able to stand apart from the crowd as well as Chaos Theory did.
Something that better fits the Splinter Cell bill is a game with the same carefully designed stealth challenges that the series has become known for. The type of game that, when you're caught by an enemy, you'd restart from the last checkpoint rather than blast your way through the rest of the mission. A Splinter Cell that continues to redefine stealth games and give players an experience that only Splinter Cell can give will be a game that will make just about everyone who loves the series happy. Though, if that can't happen any time soon, we promise that a Chaos Theory remake would hold us over.