New Splinter Cell: Blacklist Wii U details
Fresh details on the Wii U version of Splinter Cell: Blacklist are in. ONM posted a preview of the game, which contains quotes from producer Liu Jun. You can find a little bit of information and talk from Jun below, and ONM’s full piece here.
– GamePad acts as Sam Fisher’s arm computer (OPSAT)
– On Wii U, you can see what Sam sees through OPSAT
“The GamePad screen is the player’s version of Sam Fisher’s arm computer or OPSAT (OPerational SATellite uplink). Sam uses his OPSAT throughout the game to access and control his gadgets and to communicate with his team. With the Wii U version, the player gets to experience first-hand how OPSAT works for Sam and how it feels to operate it. In the Wii U version, players can see what Sam sees through the OPSAT and it’s a very powerful feeling to choose how to use this gadget to make decisions as the leader of Fourth Echelon.”
– Pilot drones: similar to ZombiU, need to be careful and pick your moments carefully when whipping out your backpack and glancing away from the TV
“Players are going to be constantly making tactical choices on the fly, such as, ‘should I kill this guard or just knock him out?’ or, ‘should I use a Five-Seven with a silencer, or a shotgun?’ We use the GamePad screen to help players make tactical choices on the fly, without breaking the game’s flow or story’s tension. So, at any moment and by simple touch, you can pick any of your weapons or gadgets, or switch from lethal to non-lethal takedowns.”
– Killing in Motion ties into the GamePad
“Killing in Motion is a core gameplay philosophy in Splinter Cell: Blacklist, enabling the player to move through the environment to kill quickly and fluidly and we’ve connected this in an innovative way to the GamePad. By raising the GamePad, for example, you can activate the thermal vision on your GamePad screen. From there you can use the motion controls to scan the environment and conveniently mark enemies with a simple touch. Once you’ve mastered Sam’s abilities, you can give the execute command, and enjoy the spectacle of the Killing in Motion you’ve just triggered on the screen.”
– ShadowNet: multiplayer menu where you can track friends’ progress
– See friends and receive challenges/updates
– Can access ShadowNet features through the GamePad
“In Blacklist, we’ve created ShadowNet and while we aren’t discussing all the details about it yet, players will be able to see their friends and receive challenges and updates. These features can be accessed via the GamePad without breaking the flow of your game. We’ll have more to announce about ShadowNet closer to launch.”
– Team is fully taking advantage of Wii U
– Wii U version on par with other versions
“In the Wii U version of Blacklist we are taking full advantage of the hardware to really show off the details in our game, particularly with light and shadow, a core element of all Splinter Cell games. Also, it’s the first time with a Nintendo console that we can offer an online multiplayer experience on par with the other consoles. It’s an exciting challenge to design with two screens in mind and make them equally useful.”
“At Ubisoft, we believe in exploring new technologies and we believe in the potential of the Wii U as a platform for core games. We already released many games for the platform including Assassin’s Creed III and ZombiU. Really, the only question for us was whether we could do Splinter Cell justice on the Wii U. The answer is a big yes and we think Wii U owners will think it was the right decision, too.”
– Jun pitching Blacklist only using Nintendo analogies
“Well, I guess our Death from Above takedowns used to neutralise enemies from higher ground can be seen as homage to a very famous Nintendo character’s way of dispatching enemies.”
