Category Archives: blacklist
[NEWS] Splinter Cell Blacklist Release Date, Box Art Revealed
Mat Paget
And here we are, with a Splinter Cell Blacklist release date. Words cannot describe the feelings I am feeling right now. One of them being that I’ll have to get through it in under a week in time for PAX Prime.
That’s right, Splinter Cell Blacklist will release on August 20 of this year. If you don’t know much about the game, there will be an arsenal of new gadgets and weapons (including reinventions of classics); a new mechanic called “Killing-in-Motion” that sends Sam through an environment, allowing him to take out and kill enemies in a quick and fluid manner; and gameplay that seems to be taking a lot of cues from Assassin’s Creed.
You can check out the newly-revealed boxart after the Inauguration Trailer below.
Also, don’t forget that we got the opportunity to talk to Eric Johnson, the new voice for Sam Fisher back in June. You can check that interview out by clicking on the link right here.
Speaking with the New Sam Fisher
Mat Paget & Myles Milligan
How different is acting in mo-cap compared to acting on stage?
“Performance capture is like a combination between live theater and film and TV. You still have to be aware of camera angles and have a basic cinematic understanding of how the scene is going to be shot but at the same time you also want to nail the scene in one perfect go to allow the animators to only have to use the one take.
Honestly it’s sort of its own beast. It has technical demands that far exceed TV and FILM and also requires even more imagination that traditional theater.
One of the biggest hurdles is getting used to the camera and light mounted on your head and the array of technical gear strapped to your back. These things become increasingly cumbersome as the physicality of the scenes increase. Obviously for [Splinter Cell] we can get quite physical.”
How does it feel to be taking on the role of such an iconic character? The James Bond of videogames, if you will.
“It’s a huge thrill for me. I’ve always been interested in working in video games and to get to be a part of a franchise like Splinter Cell is a huge honor. Obviously I expected a backlash to my overtaking the iconic role of Sam Fisher. I see that backlash as a positive sign. It means people are fans and invested in the brand and honestly care about Splinter Cell. I for one was not overly impressed with Daniel Craig when he was announced as the new James Bond but he certainly won me over and I can’t wait to be able to do the same for the fans of [Splinter Cell].”
What kind of choices did you make in terms of bringing the Sam Fisher character to life?
“Sam is in a class of soldier all by himself. He’s seen everything. So Sam is calm, cool and collected. He also has balls of titanium, so even when faced with a life threatening situation he has confidence he’ll figure a way out of it. The best analogy I have for Sam is that he’s a Panther. Quiet, stealthy and by the time you know he’s there you’re already dead or knocked out.”
Michael Ironside was the previous voice for Sam Fisher. Did you look at his portrayal of the character for inspiration?
“Michael and I had discussed the character but both of us felt it very important to not do an impersonation of Michael Ironside being Sam Fisher, but to interpret the words and character and make it my own. It just adds to the authenticity of the performance. The whole point of doing the voice and physicality at the same time is authenticity. The subtle ways we move when we talk, mannerisms etc, can not be fully realized by animation alone so messing with it’s authenticity would be compromising the whole process. The great hing is I had already played the Splinter Cell games and the Internet is a vast resource in [Splinter Cell] info.”
What was it like interacting with Michael Ironside?
“Michael was kind enough to loan his time and come and visit us while shooting. A ceremonial handing over of the goggles if you will. I was fortunate enough to have worked with Michael years earlier. He supported me early in my young career and I’ve always held him in high esteem. To be able to take over the role from him was a huge honor. Michael can be an intimidating figure, Splinter Cell fans will know what he can do with just his voice. But beneath an outwardly gruff exterior is a very kind and generous man. I’m very grateful for his involvement in Splinter Cell. It wouldn’t be what it is without his influence. There is no replacing Michael Ironside, so all I can do is follow in his footsteps and continue to try and make Splinter Cell Blacklist the best [Splinter Cell] game yet. Anything less than that is a slap in the face to both Michael and all the fans of the game.”
Who are some of your biggest influences when it comes to acting? Voice acting?
“My influences for acting are numerous. It doesn’t matter what age the performer, anytime I see something honest and real on TV, Screen or stage it influences me. As for voice acting, as a kid I always admired the actors on the Simpsons in particularly Hank Azaria. I hope the show goes another 25 years, maybe by that time I’ll have [guest starred] on it.”
Do you have anything you’d like to say to the fans of the Splinter Cell series?
“I can’t wait for you to play this game. Everyone is working tirelessly to make this the best Splinter Cell game yet. The attention to detail and story, as well as the multiple ways you can play, from all out stealth to more all out action AND the inclusion of some amazing co-op and multi player options? This game is going to rock your socks off. Fans of the game will be excited and I guarantee flocks of new fans will be joining you. It’s going to be fun.”
The GameSparked Podcast June-12-2012
The GameSparked Team
The Team is missing Myles, as they join together in Damian and Leighton’s new place! Leighton and Jordan haven’t done a whole lot, Mat talks about his feelings concerning Max Payne 3, and Damian finally beats Bastion. The Team also decide what their favourites of E3 are, which include Injustice: Gods Among Us, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Watch Dogs, and Assassin’s Creed III. All this, and much more, in this week’s edition of The GameSparked Podcast!
Original Intro/Outro by Cody DeBoer
The DubSparked Remix by Kevin Madden
Download Link (Right Click, Save As)
Ubisoft at E3: You’ve Read It, Now Watch It!
Mat Paget
Microsoft at E3: You’ve Read It, Now Watch it!
Mat Paget
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Madden NFL 13
Mat and Myles’ E3 Extravaganza: Part One
The GameSparked Team
Damian joins Mat and Myles for conversation on the first day of E3 press conferences. They talk about all the things they loved, and hated, that came from the presenters at Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, and Sony. Some of the topics drooled over include Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Resident Evil 6, Dead Space 3, Rayman Legends, Assassin’s Creed III, and of course, Watch Dogs. Mat’s tired from writing, Damian is tired from moving into his own place, and Myles is wide awake. All this at E3, and more!
In a Nutshell: Microsoft at E3 2012
Mat Paget
First thing up was a live-action movie that lead into a look at Halo 4, the upcoming entry in Xbox’s fabled franchise. The setting was a tropical jungle planet, and the gameplay looked absolutely incredible. The view was from behind Master Chief’s helmet, as if you were the man behind the armour. There was also a viewing mode reminiscent of Arkham City‘s detective mode, or the Predator’s thermal vision in the movie of the same name, where invisibile enemies would be revealed to the player.
Following a small opening speech by Don Mattrick was a reveal of the next Splinter Cell game from Ubisoft’s Toronto studio. Splinter Cell: Blacklist brings the series to Iraq, where players must stab dudes in the throat. The game seems to be leaning more towards action than stealth, but from what was shown, that seems like a good thing. The presentation also showed off the ability to use Kinect as a way to distract, or lure, enemies. Players will also be able to use Kinect to make commands in the heat of battle. The game will follow suit with Confrontation, and feature a co-op mode.
FIFA 13 shows off why its “Better with Kinect.” Its mostly used for subbing players, setting up formations, commanding the players, or calling the ref a ****. Now it’s Madden NFL 13‘s turn, and hey! That’s Joe Montana! Joe calls his plays, yells at players to get into formation, calls for the center to hike the ball, and runs it in for a touchdown!
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| Halo 4! It looks really awesome! |
Fable: The Journey is shown, and it brings a look at the enemies and release date. It still looks like an on-rails game, but hopefully Peter Molyneux and Lionhead can prove us all wrong.
And here comes a look at the newest entry in the Gears of War saga. Gears of War: Judgment is on fire, and will be out in 2013. No gameplay was shown, but a young Baird confirms more thoughts that the game is a prequel to the trilogy.
New action-racing game in the Forza series, Forza Horizon, for the Xbox 360 has a lot of dubstep. Unfortunately, no gameplay was shown, but it looks like the game will be more like Criterion’s racing games opposed to past entries in the series.
Xbox is making things simple by using Kinect to travel through the menus of the Dashboard. Selecting movies will be made as easy as saying the genre, or title, of movie you’re looking for. There are also thirty new media providers for Xbox Live, including Nickelodeon, Paramount Movies, and Machinima. The NBA, and NHL, are joining MLB on Xbox Live, and you’ll be able to get 24 hours of ESPN Live Programming, seven days a week, right on your Xbox 360, as well.
Xbox Music was also announced, and has over 30-million songs to choose from.
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| Splinter Cell: Blacklist! It also looked really awesome! |
And apparently some fitness thing is coming to Kinect. Oh, Nike is bringing their innovative training facilities to homes everywhere in Xbox 360, and Kinect. Kinect Training is supposed to be good for athletes, or even people who are just starting. It’s coming this Holiday 2012, and appears to be a retail product.
Smartphones aren’t actually that smart, but Xbox SmartGlass will make sure they’re intelligent enough for you. SmartGlass will make it so your phone, tablet, and TV are connected. Watch a movie on your tablet, and then continue it on your TV. Your tablet will then transform into an information dock about the piece of content you’re viewing.
Now for some demos of SmartGlass being used with games. Madden NFL 13 plays are shown, and being selected, on a tablet. In Halo 4, data will be accessible on your tablet, including single-player campaign, and multiplayer, information.
“Now, through the power of Xbox, the magic of Kinect, and the intelligence of Xbox SmartGlass,” Internet Explorer is coming to the Xbox 360 by the end of this year. We’re taken to the Project Prometheus website, and are shown one of the latest trailers. Charlize Theron has a flamethrower. The browser can also be controlled by your voice, tablet, or smartphone.
Xbox Live Entertainment will be coming to Windows 8 tablets, and PCs.
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| Xbox SmartGlass in action! |
Crystal Dynamics shows off some new Tomb Raider gameplay. Lara is being stealthy while she uses a bow to pick off enemies. She also obtains a shotgun, but seems to be partial to her bow, and stabbing dudes in the throat. The environment can also be used as a weapon, such as shooting lanterns to light a group of enemies on fire. Skip forward a bit, and Lara is falling down a waterfall, using the shotgun to break through objects in her way. A scene similar to Jurassic Park II is shown, where she reaches for a bag, but then the glass beneath her breaks. Shortly after she falls, she uses a parachute to guide her into safety among a group of trees.
Three new titles are being shown. Ascend: New Gods is a brutal-looking Fantasy game, where a giant red guy with a sickle obliterates hordes of enemies. The red guy takes on a huge boss-like enemy, and it’s coming out in 2013. It looks like a God of War-type game.
The second game is from Twisted Pixel, and it’s called LocoCycle. All the charm that they’re known for is back, and it’s coming in 2013. It sort of looks like Tron.
Last, but not least, Matter is shown. It’s made for Kinect, and is coming in 2013. I’m going to take a wild guess, and say that it’s a puzzle game.
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| THIS ALSO LOOKED REALLY AWESOME! |
Next up, a Resident Evil 6 demo is shown. Leon picks up his partner in what appears to be a zombie apocalypse. Gameplay is shown, which consists of Leon walking and shooting, jumping around, rolling on his back, and taking cover. No HUD is shown, much like the Dead Space series. Peeking around corners seems to be a significant part of the game. Leon uses an axe to cut off a zombie’s head, and now he’s dual-wielding! Skip forward a bit, and Leon’s running away from a huge explosion of vehicles, but don’t worry! He jumps into a helicopter, and is being groped by a zombie. He manages to kick it off, but they’re not safe yet. THE PILOT’S DEAD. They land the helicopter into a train, which sends it flying through a parking garage, right into a bunch of neon signs. They fall out of the helicopter, and right into an immense crowd of zombies, ending the demonstration.
A brand new Kinect title called Wreckateer is shown. Players fire catapults, and control the cannon balls in the air with their hands. Special shots include linked cannon balls that adapt to your wingspan, and what seems to be some sort of airplane that will be able to be flown into a plethora of explosives.
The next thing up is a look at South Park: The Stick of Truth. It’s a trailer that looks exactly like the show we’ve come to know and love after all these years. The back-and-forth between the boys is here, and it looks like it’s shaping up to be a really funny game. And here come Trey Parker and Matt Stone! There goal was to put players into an episode of South Park. They discuss about how they had to actually map out the town of South Park, since they had no idea where anything actually was. And now they’re off to continue work on the game!
Unfortunately, this is where our stream stopped working for a while, so we may have missed a thing, or two.
But we do know that Dance Central 3 was revealed with music that seemed to spawn several generations (including The Hustle, my personal favourite). Usher is now singing, and showing off some dance moves, which I’m sure is impressing many of the attendees.
Don Mattrick finishes off with a few closing words, and wishes everyone a great E3!
Oh, wait… there’s another game to show. That game is Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. It starts in Downtown Los Angeles with the President being chaperoned by a group of buff-looking guys. Lots of big explosions are shown as L.A. is being attacked. Some really intense action scenes are presented, such as the main protagonist hanging over an overpass. The scene makes it seem like something from an Alien Invasion movie, which is fitting considering the futuristic setting. I’d like to make it known that they aren’t being attacked by aliens.
Players are then given a choice on how to proceed, a big change for the Call of Duty franchise. A new sniper rifle is being shown that allows players to shoot through walls, and other obstacles. One thing is for sure, this is definitely Los Angeles. Seeker drones are shown flying through a mall. Perhaps players will encounter something similar as a new enemy? Flying sequences will take place in the game, as well. There was a crack about the computer handling it, so this may just be an on-rails segment. Hopefully, Treyarch gives the player some control. Everything looks futuristic, but believably so. It looks like a breath of fresh air in the Call of Duty series.
And that’s it! Microsoft had a really strong showing this year, and has effectively made a lot of people anxious to get their hands on several games.
And remember, kids… The Future is Black!
GameSparked 