How Ubisoft Lost Sight of Splinter Cell’s Greatness

[@GameStudioLore]

Check out the Rise and Fall of The Legacy of Kain series! kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJfHhmCPjc-Co5I

[@YOBAMUSTDIE]

This video has big mistake - Spy vs Mercs in Pandora and Chaos was not made by Shanghai or Montreal, in both games it was made by Ubisoft Annecy! Also there was not a single word said about introduction of CO-OP mode, which was developed by Montreal!

[@YOBAMUSTDIE]

OMG dude, you had cancer? I want to tell you something that may save you live in case it returns - official cancel information is a lie, and cure for cancer exist and pretty easy! DONT EAT CARBS! WHY? Cancer is nothing but a broken mythohondria of cell, that leads cells into "wild selfish survival mode", and in this mode cancer cell are only capable to eat carbs, and nothing else, and if there is no carbs aka sugar in a blood for long time (like a couple of weeks or month) - all the cancer cells dies of starvation! And 80% of reasons mythohondria breaks like that are carbohydrates in a first place - you eat carb every day (which you should not do and should eat fats instead, and cancer cells can eat fat, because this part of mythohondria is broken in cancer cell!) - you are risking to turn any cell in cancerous! There are other factors like alluminum from vox-cines and deodorants and other places, and some radiotation exposion and so on, but sugar or carbs in general are the most offten and widespread reason of cells getting into cancer mode! So if you dont want to get cancer again - dont eat carbs at all. And in case you already get some cancer cells - dont eat carbs at all! So called keto diet is good as preventive measure to not get cancer and is good as a cure to cancer, it also cures type 2 and 3 diabetes (3 type is also called Alzgamer and its caused by carbs as well). So please take my advice - dont eat carbs! This will save you from cancer and diabetes and many other health issues. Official health care industry would not tell you this because cancer and diabetes are billion dollar industries, which can easily be destroyed by people realising that carbs is the reason of many problems and that without carbs cancer dies without need for any expensive supliments and operations!

[@verschickter94]

everytime you hear developers saying the next game aims to be for a broader audience you know its going to be shit. then the developers go pikachu face why the sales are down.

[@GameStudioLore]

Yeah, the broader audience thing kills me, especially in this case when it was from the lead designer. usually thats the goal of investors. But just making a shell of a game in the name of a broader audience is pain

[@AzaIndustries]

I miss the realistic writing, not just "terrorist who hate america because of our freedom" bs that every even slightly military game now has. No nuance, no immersion, just brain dead drivel, no stakes, no intrigue. Sam got too fast, enemies became less impactful as individuals as well.

[@GameStudioLore]

Yes, they focused more on faster paced combat, which changed what the og game was about. The stories did get more basic without really any attempt for great writing that also made the ogs great

[@howardmctroy3303]

It seems bizarre that Sam is the protagonist in Blacklist, especially with Michael Ironside not reprising the role. Conviction provided a rather climactic end to Sam's story. He finds out what was going on behind the scenes in Double Agent, he gets closure on Lambert, and he's reunited with his daughter. And then comes Blacklist, where Sam returns to the field to have another standalone adventure that's unconnected to the myth arc that was built during Double Agent and Conviction. What's more, I have trouble buying that the Sam in Blacklist is Sam. It looks enough like him, but it's quite clearly the voice and movement of someone who's much younger, and not the 56-year-old Sam is supposed to be at that point. Since the plot is unconnected to any of the previous games, there isn't even any actual reason it HAS to be Sam. It could've just been some younger Splinter Cell, and Sam could've been his handler/mentor. That would've been a cool "passing the torch" moment and allowed the franchise to reinvent itself.

[@GameStudioLore]

Yeah they kinda just ignored the age thing. Prolly just act like its one of those alt timelines

[@AxisChurchDevotee]

Would have made more sense for blacklist to be a prequel tbh.

[@jordanlawrence8810]

Agree 100%

[@peppapump3542]

Blacklist was supposed to be with a new main character and Sam as a mentor role like Lambert. But the fanboys want to keep Fisher forever in the field even now in 2024. At the last minute, however, Ubisoft decided to put Sam back on the market with a lame scenario terrorist vs america, in the hope that it would also sell better (which isn't the case). The funny part is, we already have several potential successors waiting their turn to replace Fisher.

[@Aceimus1066]

I enjoy Blacklist but i have to say, Chaos Theory is where the series was at its best.

[@Sevatar_VIIIth]

I guarantee the next Splinter Cell will be a massive upset for the players/fans of not just Sam Fisher and the IP but of gaming im general. And I sincerely hope it flops so hard that Ubisoft will finally be forced to sell off all assets and shut down for good. That or the investors vote to have the CEO and executives fired and the leadership restructured to focus further development on quality games. At that point have new management go from top to bottom removing every single political/social ideological employee even down to the damn janitor and guy who picks up coffee for everyone. At that point I'd trust Ubisoft to make a Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon game, but not until that happens.

[@SpaceMarine2004]

My conspiracy theory is that Ubisoft maybe wanted to avoid having too much similar games. When Assassin´s Creed, as a stealth franchise, was getting more and more succesful they wanted to focus on these games and since they use a lot of mechanics in AC that I think were taken from Splinter Cell they didn´t want to develop these games as well. And then they also have Ghost Recon as a stealth Franchise and Watch Dogs and Far Cry also got some similarities.

[@GameStudioLore]

I could see that. Ubisoft had so many stealthy games, they could have really been known for creating the best, but maybe they just didnt want that >

[@danielallred4806]

What killed the Splinter Cell franchise for me was the direction of the story starting technically with Essentials for the PSP, when they made Sam a broken man whose daughter was killed and was forced to kill Lambert while undercover and was now a fugitive. This was basically retold in Double Agent through its two versions where the gameplay was built off of Chaos Theory especially the Xbox/PS2/Wii version which I liked but definitely not its story and I wasn’t too impressed with the Xbox 360 version gameplay or narrative. Conviction chose to canonize Lambert’s death despite the player having a choice in both versions of Double Agent, my opinion of Conviction as a whole is not good, it’s not my type of game. Blacklist was better, but to say it had an underwhelming ending is an understatement and the void without Michael Ironside is definitely noticeable. I understand that Ubisoft wanted to try something new narratively after the first three games, but I’m not a fan of their approach.

[@maodijong3661]

It's so sad that Splinter Cell's peak basically lasted a single generation and 3 games. Imagine if Ubisoft actually went down the route they initially planned for Double Agent, rather than a much more watered down version of the game...or they simply built on the mechanics of the first trilogy. So poorly handled.

[@GameStudioLore]

It was. Ubisoft has no chill and tried to make it more flashy and gun fighting, which the OG was def not. Plus the catering to a "wider" audience meant kids who sucked at stealth >

[@thefearofg0ds758]

0:42 Unfortunitely remakes are the only way we can ever see Sam back in action, as a completely new adventure with him is a chance that has long come and gone as canonically Sam is 68 years old now. And given the tradition of setting the games later in the future than irl he'd be in his 70's. The devs sort of shot themselves in the foot making Sam so old in the first game(45). Had he been 30 in the original he'd still have some(belivable) gas left in those old knees.

[@lukastruchly8594]

chaos theory peaked

[@RageQuit94]

The tragedy of splinter cell

[@SkyJacc]

great video! hoping this gets pushed deserves more views

[@GameStudioLore]

I appreciate that! Thank you for watching !

[@smashhouse5999]

Great video as always. Was just talking about this the other day

[@GameStudioLore]

I appreciate that! I've caught myself talking about SC more recently as well for some reason, been missing a good stealth game I think =(

[@Darth_Carlino]

The director for conviction and blacklist clearly didn’t understand why difficulty should be hard in a stealth game I could understand wanting to have different play styles but holy shit he wanted the game to be predator first, not stealth first.

[@billionthguide8]

20:02 Just to let you know, if you don’t kill Jager the helicopter pilot, he still dies

[@blinkachu5275]

God that director for Conviction sounds like a snob No wonder Conviction is where the series fell off

[@GameStudioLore]

Ha yeah. I was annoyed when I was doing the research.

[@lisleabrahams8730]

top level content here mate, you definitely earned a new subscriber - keep it up!

[@LimitlessSports]

I remember playing the first Splinter Cell game and thinking it was a neat concept.

[@GameStudioLore]

Very neat

[@Adrian-dl9nb]

Loved this essay. Splinter Cell is my favourite franchise and hope it could follow the path that the Hitman franchise took.

[@GameStudioLore]

Appreciate that! I hope it makes a comeback soon! Its been too long

[@smoke-o-time3913]

The only way ubisoft will bring it back is by making it an open world game, with rpg elements and loot mechanics, enemy health bars, gear and weapon stats, etc. 🤦‍♂️

[@GrumpyWolfTech]

My first Splinter Cell game was Pandora tomorrow on the OG xbox, it was a few months before chaos theory came out, I was addicted to the online spy vs mercs mode. There was nothing like it, and there still isn't today. Chaos theory improved it a little, but then double agent and everything following it killed the multiplayer. 17:37 maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are saying but the 2 vs 2 spy vs merc was in pandora tomorrow also. It was basically the same thing, they used the pandora tomorrow engine for the spies vs mercs and just added a few maps and tools. The single player got the new engine and looked much better. Also Blacklist spy vs merc was a joke, with pandora and chaos you had to time jumping on enemies, in blacklist it literally popped up a button prompt to do it, this took away all the fun and felt like it was holding your hand and took away any advantage to anyone who spent time playing the game and getting better.

[@LanternEnergy]

Yes, once they allowed more 5th freedom in the game it really killed the suspense and intensity of the game. I loved how in the earlier days of Splinter Cell, if you were detected, the music would speed up, it would make you hold your breath, you’d literally be going oh 💩 scavenging for cover or a quick diversion. The game forced you to think on your feet. The trade off was the general gamer didn’t like stealth games that required you to go slow and pace and think. Many wanted the run and gun shooters. I liked when Splinter Cell was exclusively on XBOX but I also understand from a business perspective you lose out on money that way

[@GameStudioLore]

Yeah, old school stealth was awesome! The hard part was trying to bring it to "Current times" without it just being crouch and silent kill. Personally not sure how they can do it, but someone will everntually, hoping its the SC remake lolol

[@LanternEnergy]

@@GameStudioLore I hope so, splinter cell is a AAA title and I feel should be exclusive on Xbox

[@walale12]

@@LanternEnergy How does it being exclusive to xbox benefit anyone? Don't be blinded by console war bs

[@LanternEnergy]

@@walale12 God of War has proved how being exclusive to one console can benefit “anyone” as you state. God of War had been PS only for years and it’s been doing just fine! Could you make more money if it’s on Xbox as well? OF COURSE! However it’s done just fine in sales for years! Call of Duty is Xbox excel and has done just fine in sales for years! Competition has always fostered better games! Just because you don’t put right say it’s not a console war doesn’t mean it’s not! Tesla hasn’t outright stated they’re in a car war with anyone but how many manufacturers have copied the Tesla features? With the disappearing door handles? The cameras all around the car feature? Trying to build their own navigation system? Sticking the big monitor in the center console area? That’s what competition does! It makes people either copy you or try to do better! Metal Gear Solid was PS exclusive and stayed on top for years until Splinter Cell came along and gave it a legit challenge! PS people hated Xbox 360 back in the day but you know what they wanted to play ? Halo! Splinter Cell! Call of Duty! Gears of War! They didn’t out their PS down but it made them consider picking up a 360! Xbox players were the same! Many didn’t care for PS! But they wanted to play Metal Gear! God of War! And Devil May Cry! And many of them picked up a PS for that reason! Does it lose money being exclusive? Yes! But it keeps your die hard firmly planted! Xbox was the same way and had its die hard for YEARS! UNTIL they did that XBOX ONE bs!

[@walale12]

@@LanternEnergy Do you know what a paragraph is?

[@MrRobert264]

This was a good vid, im glad to know now another VA saved a character from being boring. Funny to hear at the end unisoft is not considering Unreal, as it seems it was the engine for the other titles 😂

[@GameStudioLore]

Yeah! I dont think Splinter Cell would have done as well if Sam wasn't who he ended up being in the game!

[@dreadtheweekend]

I actually enjoyed all the Splintercell games. I seem to remember there were different versions of Double Agent and the Xbox version was superior to the Xbox 360 version. It was my favourite video game franchise at the time, I would have been surprised 10 years ago that we would have to wait this long for the next game in the series. I wish they would at least bring out remastered versions of the original games.

[@GameStudioLore]

YeH, It would be easy money to remaster them too, very odd decision honestly

[@unclelandy]

The Georgian Information Crisis was the name of the events of the game, not the terror group. The terror group was the Georgian government or specifically Nikoladze. As for Chaos Theory, The Algorithm is the Masse Kernels (from the first game) and the terror group was the ISDF

[@GameStudioLore]

Thank you

[@unclelandy]

@@GameStudioLore you’re welcome, Good video overall tho

[@IminyourwallsThonas]

The isdf and displace international

[@RackTheMilesWelding]

Ubisoft seems like a lost cause in getting any classic franchise back on its feet properly

[@GameStudioLore]

Yeah, its terrible

[@walale12]

It's also worth noting that Eric Johnson basically told Michael Ironside to kick rocks when he offered him advice on how to best capture Fisher's personality. It shows in how boring his portrayal is.

[@jeremiahgrayest]

hopefully they'll do a true Blacklist sequel, and give Sam's story the end it deserves

[@peppapump3542]

Too old and Blacklist was originally intended to have a new main character. The Fisher cycle should have ended with Conviction and then he would have a mentor role.

[@jeremiahgrayest]

@@peppapump3542 source?

[@JamesMckenzie-q1z]

The splinter cell remake is probably going to be some kind of reboot, and if that's the case, Sam will be 47 years old or younger.

[@edgonzales5411]

Black list was savage when it came out especially multiplayer was like splinter cell conviction more combat and different from chaos Theory but i would like to see old school chaos theory style because i don't trust them to make black list/conviction style without having stupid skins,dances,or voice lines added for buying.

[@vigilmain1087]

it so sad all of the games have been amazing idk why ubisoft abandoned one of their best ips

[@GameStudioLore]

Yeah its kinda an odd choice, I think they just banked everything on Assassins and Far Cry and just milked them as far as they could in terms of monetization =(

[@vigilmain1087]

@@GameStudioLoreNah fr ac kinda ruined any chance for another stealth game even though splinter cell is better

[@chr1998is]

I personally hated the fact they replaced Michael Ironside for the last game in the series.

[@FTWSamFisher]

Great video almost snuck by me

[@soontobecanceled7080]

Chaos theory is my favourite game of all time. When I bought it first I had a problem with the sound and I played trough, without any sound 😂 good memories.

[@GameStudioLore]

Thats actually kinda crazy lol. I bet it was a whole new experience with the sound lol

[@soontobecanceled7080]

@@GameStudioLore yes. It was like a good book that’s now a movie. If that makes any sense.

[@Vimes86]

Double agent to me was a failed interesting experiment, while i did not like conviction. Chaos theory is the best and i enjoyed blacklist. One of the few who enjoyed blacklist it seems

[@hawken796]

At least there's a remake coming

[@GameStudioLore]

Yup! I'm really hoping it captures the spirit of the OG

[@junioraltamontent.7582]

Blacklist was terrible. It ruins the immersion when evey day of the week a random embassy needs defending from waves of heavily armed attacks. Not to mention the "drug lab" level where the bad guys have one emaciated plant in a patch of dirt and a tiny set of bright food coloring vials on desk. The originals had a much more gritty and real feeling world.

[@GameStudioLore]

Yes the OGs were fantastic. Splinter Cell really got shafted and continues to do so

[@mahkhardy8588]

SC Conviction was the worst.

[@GameStudioLore]

Not gonna lie, I never played it. I'm still one of the ones that believes the OG game is the best and everything else was not so good lol

[@ThousandairesClub]

*I actually loved Double Agent/Conviction/Blacklist and thought they were the perfect finale to the franchise 👍 if you're asking if we NEED a new SC game, I would say No....but I'd Love to see Sarah Fisher as a playable character in Division 3 or 4 with Sam as her com support* 🙌

[@GameStudioLore]

I could see them doing that. I'm just sad stealth games are a rare breed these days =(

[@Dominosmusic]

such a good game. couldve beat call of duty

[@knightofvirtue613]

😂 what a debbie downer of a video. Splinter Conviction and Blacklist are just as good as pandora tomorrow and chaos theory. People don't like evolution and get their feelings hurt over a different voice actor

[@GameStudioLore]

There is evolution then there is completely changing the genre. To each their own

[@knightofvirtue613]

@@GameStudioLore ok, so if a new splintercell game gets announced without Ironside as the voice actor, you mean to tell me you're not going to play it?? C'mon! It's going to be crazy good. As long as it ain't live service.

[@GameStudioLore]

Oh me personally, if he up for it cool but if not I won't hate it for that reason. I mostly added that because I don't think a lot of people knew he left because if cancer and it did annoy some. And yeah, live splinter cell wouldn't work. Cheers for being chill 🙃

[@mohsinabdulshukur]

Conviction and blacklist are not evolution They are rebranding They are both third person shooters with some stealth elements and the first 4 are stealth games Imagine this you are sold saying the stuff you buy is scotch and when you taste it, its just beer Would you say thats ok atleast they are alcohol

[@Dkclemons1]

Almost everyone disagrees with you.

[@lazylesss_239]

Blacklist killed the franchise

[@GameStudioLore]

yuppppppp

[@billionthguide8]

I would say that conviction started to killed it, because at least blacklist try to add stealth, and even brought back SvM, but it definitely just felt wrong not hearing Michael Ironside

[@KaoticReach1999]

Eh Blacklist was just the devs desperately trying to fix the damage they did without even understanding what it was

[@lazylesss_239]

@@KaoticReach1999 you have completely right..

[@Dachin55555]

Blacklist is great

[@uncledibby]

Either way im voting trump

[@VunderGuy]

I don't understand the relevance but I upvoted anyways.