Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist vs Vanquish
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist is the latest game under the Splinter Cell franchise and it is possibly the best one yet. As opposed to the more disappointing Conviction, Blacklist manages to combine the best of both the original and Conviction titles and added in all the features that players have complained the sequel lacked, including actual stealth-based gameplay where you can avoid an enemy instead of forcing you to engage him, as well as performing non-lethal takedowns.As usual, you'll have access to an arsenal of impressive gadgets which does make your job a whole lot easier, but this time around, certain unique enemies are able to counter your devices, forcing you to come up with new alternative plans rather than simply sticking to the "distract-and-take out" routine. This is very unlike Conviction where the gadgets had made the game too easy.
The storyline is also pretty good since the protagonist, Sam Fisher, now has free reign to do what it takes to take down a group of terrorists called The Engineers and their ultimate terror attack plan to launch escalating attacks on US interests around the world, codenamed Blacklist. Your mission? Flush out their leader and take him down.
Aside fromt he campaing, the game has cooperative missions that you can play with friends online as well. However, the servers have long since been taken down and thus, you either have to play those coop missions alone - it's possible, thankfully - or you can try LAN.
Vanquish
Vanquish puts you into the shoes of government operative, Sam Gideon, who is part of the elite group of operatives that has their own Augmented Reaction Suit which give them superior firepower, superhuman speed and agility as well as a certain amount of suave as they take down groups of hostile and deadly robots. The combat system in this game is incredibly well-made and unique. Aside from having a bullet time system, it also provides players with a smooth gameplay, be it when they are performing kinetic melee moves or when they are trading gunfire with the robots.However, many players have mentioned about the flaw when it comes to weapon upgrades in this game. Unlike most games, you actually have to be equipping the correct gun type in order to pick up the upgrade cube, which randomly appears. It does provide players with the incentive to keep replaying the game but it can be pretty frustrating if you had to give up picking up a hard-earned cube because you don't have the weapon you need.
Besides this downside though, Vanquish is among the top-most third-person shooters that have excellent, well-designed mechanics. If you enjoy smooth combat and a cool and somewhat Halo-like suit, then this is definitely the game for you!