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[oO Arekkz Oo]

I know I'm lttp, but I didn't get a chance to play this game during all the Gamescom hype, so I just caught up now. I have to say Spies vs. Mercs is quite possibly the best thing in the entire game - it's awesome!

Also, I put together a few videos if anyone still hasn't picked up the game and needs further convincing

First Hour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBLVkjIHNMM

Spies vs. Mercs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzLBE77ICb4

Extraction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD8qxUqfO5w

Uplink Control:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-CnFLCdslw

 

[Sojgat]

Ugh, I caved and bought the weapons DLC... (I found like $60 I'd forgotten about in one of my old 360 profiles).

 

[The_Macho_King]

There's a miiverse poster going around saying the Wii U patch is coming this week. That's just a pipe dream isn't it?

The online community for the Wii U version took a huge dive lately. It looks like everyone stopped bothering with trying to find any stable matches.

 

[Pooya]

So, what's the point of gone dark meta game thing? can you do it after beating everything?

 

[SporeCrawler]

game finally arrived but i had to pay customs.. damn thehut.com

 

[Lima]

So, what's the point of gone dark meta game thing? can you do it after beating everything?

It gives you a 0,5 multi on everything you earn that day. Given how easy it is to earn money in this game it is kinda pointless though.

 

[MJLord]

I just finished the game and I had alot more fun than I thought I would with it. I just cant get over how the characters look different/younger though..

 

[JohnOfMars]

How can you sneak out, just through the front right? I got spotted almost right away.

I just hauled ass down the ramp as soon as you can. They're still getting set up, so you won't go into full alert. I did it a bunch on Perfectionist because I wanted to master Ghost. (And I did with some patience and using all of my gadgets).

 

[AwesomeSauce]

WTF!!!!

I think installing the new patch deleted my saved game ( Stupid uplay sucks ass.

I'm probably going to have to let this game simmer now for a bit. Losing my almost complete save is really demotivating and I was really enjoying the game too.

Edit- It looks like the new patch wasn't compatible with my 1.01 save. Since i didn't know that and this stupid game and service likes to save to the cloud every single time, just starting this damn game overwrote my previous save. And since i have uplay installed in my 2nd hard drive, I can't restore to an earlier date because i forgot to enable it

So PC people backup your save before installing the new 1.02 patch or else you highly risk losing your save file.

 

[DesertFox]

I'm trying to enjoy SvM (Blacklist) but it's just so broken and terrible that it's infuriating to play.

The spies frontal knife attack is absolutely absurd. A spy can be approaching me squared up while I'm mashing X to try and melee him, but it always awards the melee to the spy. (I have about a 20% success rate when giving up on melee and trying to get a headshot in these instances)

The knife/shoot to death while tazed is absolute bullshit. No other previous games allowed a spy to kill you while you were tazed. There is nothing you can do but wait for the inevitable.

Combine the spies suped up offensive capability with their 2 wall-hack vision modes, and you've no longer got a game where spies are defensively sneaking while mercs root them out with superior firepower. The focus has shifted to anemic mercs trying desperately to not get killed while attempting to locate the hacker.

It's hard to communicate what is wrong with SvM because at times it can be so much fun, but it has just lost it's soul. Spies shouldn't be slaughtering mercs left and right.

Spoiler

I know, I should just to play Classic, but trying to play with a random in that mode is terrible

 

[spineduke]

I'm trying to enjoy SvM (Blacklist) but it's just so broken and terrible that it's infuriating to play.

The spies frontal knife attack is absolutely absurd. A spy can be approaching me squared up while I'm mashing X to try and melee him, but it always awards the melee to the spy. (I have about a 20% success rate when giving up on melee and trying to get a headshot in these instances)

The knife/shoot to death while tazed is absolute bullshit. No other previous games allowed a spy to kill you while you were tazed. There is nothing you can do but wait for the inevitable.

Combine the spies suped up offensive capability with their 2 wall-hack vision modes, and you've no longer got a game where spies are defensively sneaking while mercs root them out with superior firepower. The focus has shifted to anemic mercs trying desperately to not get killed while attempting to locate the hacker.

It's hard to communicate what is wrong with SvM because at times it can be so much fun, but it has just lost it's soul. Spies shouldn't be slaughtering mercs left and right.

Spoiler

I know, I should just to play Classic, but trying to play with a random in that mode is terrible

Does Classic not suffer from the same issues?

 

[DesertFox]

Does Classic not suffer from the same issues?

Well, I guess for the most part - yes. But spies only have night vision (no wall-hack vision modes) and they seem a lot more fragile. But yes the frontal knife kills and knife/gun kills while tazed need to be patched immediately from all modes.

 

[chickdigger802]

new watch_dogs trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRAzrwRZ-T4


It's crazy how for some reason blacklist has killed most of my interest in watchdogs now that i know Ubisoft can put together a kickass 3rd person game...


hope some of blacklist's goodies trickles down to other ubi stuff :/

 

[Alpende]

Is there a European (timezones and stuff) Xbox player on here that is willing to do Briggs' co-op missions as stealthy as possible, a.k.a. the ghost playstyle?

Every random dude I join just wants to shoot everyone. I don't have time now but let me know if anyone's interested.

 

[danielcw]

Who has the Uplay patch link?

Doesn't the game patch itself for you?
(hope you don't mind if I ask)

 

[Dave1988]

I'm trying to enjoy SvM (Blacklist) but it's just so broken and terrible that it's infuriating to play.

The spies frontal knife attack is absolutely absurd. A spy can be approaching me squared up while I'm mashing X to try and melee him, but it always awards the melee to the spy. (I have about a 20% success rate when giving up on melee and trying to get a headshot in these instances)

The knife/shoot to death while tazed is absolute bullshit. No other previous games allowed a spy to kill you while you were tazed. There is nothing you can do but wait for the inevitable.

Combine the spies suped up offensive capability with their 2 wall-hack vision modes, and you've no longer got a game where spies are defensively sneaking while mercs root them out with superior firepower. The focus has shifted to anemic mercs trying desperately to not get killed while attempting to locate the hacker.

It's hard to communicate what is wrong with SvM because at times it can be so much fun, but it has just lost it's soul. Spies shouldn't be slaughtering mercs left and right.

Spoiler

I know, I should just to play Classic, but trying to play with a random in that mode is terrible

Preach on, brotha. Another thing that absolutely drives me nuts is the ability of spies to invest in armor. I can't even count how many times I got knifed by a spy that ran straight for me even though I emptied half a clip into him. Ironically, I mostly get killed in one burst from a merc no matter how much armor I have on. I guess lag plays a role in all of this.

To make matters worse, the matchmaking system is flat out broken. First example from today: We're playing a SvM Blacklist Match. Most of the first round is played with 2 players on both sides because randoms quite mid-match on both teams. At the end of the first round, 2 more people join and how does the game balance it? It doesn't. The second round starts with me and one random vs a team of 4 and stays that way for the whole second round. Needless to say, I lost the match and the random I was stuck with bailed out a few minutes into the round.

I really like how SvM plays but all this bullshit with the netcode / design decisions is really testing my patience.

 

[DesertFox]

/snip

To make matters worse, the matchmaking system is flat out broken. First example from today: We're playing a SvM Blacklist Match. Most of the first round is played with 2 players on both sides because randoms quite mid-match on both teams. At the end of the first round, 2 more people join and how does the game balance it? It doesn't. The second round starts with me and one random vs a team of 4 and stays that way for the whole second round. Needless to say, I lost the match and the random I was stuck with bailed out a few minutes into the round.

I really like how SvM plays but all this bullshit with the netcode / design decisions is really testing my patience.

Exactly - I feel like if Ubisoft could just quickly resolve these glaring issues (Overpowered spies and host migration failures especially) then they would have a real gem. The gameplay otherwise is very good.

 

[spicy cho]

Is it just me or are the maps way smaller and worse than the svm maps in previous titles? Like there's only one stage of hacking terminals?

 

[TheSeks]

here

http://static3.cdn.ubi.com/splinter_cell_blacklist/Splinter_Cell_Blacklist_Patch_v1.02.exe

480MB

Thanks. But I don't see anything about fixing the co-op bug in Brigg's fourth mission?

 

[AgentOtaku]

There's a miiverse poster going around saying the Wii U patch is coming this week. That's just a pipe dream isn't it?

The online community for the Wii U version took a huge dive lately. It looks like everyone stopped bothering with trying to find any stable matches.

Yup. Already sold off my copy to amazon who were offering the most
I'll pick up the PS3 version down the road

 

[Megasoum]

Just finished the game.... Wow, I never thought it could happen but I think this game is better than Chaos Theory (so de facto best in the franchise).

Also fuck Michael Ironside, I actually prefer the new Sam. Less drunk and more bad ass.

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

Just finished the game.... Wow, I never thought it could happen but I think this game is better than Chaos Theory (so de facto best in the franchise).

Also fuck Michael Ironside, I actually prefer the new Sam. Less drunk and more bad ass.

Yeah, I like this "reboot" of Sam, voice actor and all.

 

[Grisby]

Finally deleted the game off my hard drive. Probably pop it in occasionally for SvsM. Just an overall great game. Blacklist definitely has some of my favorite gameplay of the year and it was nice to get back to some of the series older roots.

 

[Cannon Goose]

What's up with the weird gigantic jaggies I see every now and then?

On the right here:

Something to do with depth of field perhaps?

 

[The_Hitcher89]

Wait, this game has actually turned out to be very good? Can I play it full stealth, without frustrating moments which have been designed for action?

If its anywhre near as good as Chaos Theory, I'll buy it at a high price

Not sure if I'm allowed to do this in here, but I'm selling a code for th Digital Deluxe PC version for £20 if anyone's interested

Gonna put the money towards the PS3 version so I can play SvM with my brother

edit: Potentially sold elsewhere, if interested you can still let me know

edit2: Sold

 

[jet1911]

Wait, this game has actually turned out to be very good? Can I play it full stealth, without frustrating moments which have been designed for action?

If its anywhre near as good as Chaos Theory, I'll buy it at a high price

Not sure if I'm allowed to do this in here, but I'm selling a code for th Digital Deluxe PC version for £20 if anyone's interested

Gonna put the money towards the PS3 version so I can play SvM with my brother

It's really good, yeah. It's the perfect balance between Chaos Theory and Conviction.

 

[The_Hitcher89]

It's really good, yeah. It's the perfect balance between Chaos Theory and Conviction.

Sounds great. Might buy it tonight and play through it before GTAV

Did they sort the AI out, looked a bit dodgy in th previews?

 

[Future PhaZe]

Wait, this game has actually turned out to be very good? Can I play it full stealth, without frustrating moments which have been designed for action?

If its anywhre near as good as Chaos Theory, I'll buy it at a high price

Not sure if I'm allowed to do this in here, but I'm selling a code for th Digital Deluxe PC version for £20 if anyone's interested

Gonna put the money towards the PS3 version so I can play SvM with my brother

I've barely played it and kind of want to hate it because of the past abandonment of CT...but I have no complaints. Due to the depth and quality of the gadgets, full stealth seems mostly possible.

There are a few instances where the story seems to force action, but I can't really be mad about that.

 

[Effect]

There's a miiverse poster going around saying the Wii U patch is coming this week. That's just a pipe dream isn't it?

The online community for the Wii U version took a huge dive lately. It looks like everyone stopped bothering with trying to find any stable matches.

A shame. I've been waiting for the patch before I decide to buy the game but I figured this would happen as soon as negative reports regarding the online came out. What little community there was would die if the issues weren't addressed quickly and that in turn would hurt any future the WIi U version might have had.

 

[Sojiro]

There's a miiverse poster going around saying the Wii U patch is coming this week. That's just a pipe dream isn't it?

The online community for the Wii U version took a huge dive lately. It looks like everyone stopped bothering with trying to find any stable matches.

Yeah I have a hell of a rough time trying to find some matches by the time I get on (usually post 9 after getting kids to bed), and anymore the games I find I will assuredly freeze/lock up at least 2-3 times. Its really depressing, I absolutely love this mode and would devote way more fucking time to it if I could. While I would love to believe we'll be seeing the patch this week i'm skeptical on it. Hopefully Ubisoft includes headset support outside of Off TV play, and can do something about the atrocious load times, but I would just be content if they can make mulitplayer actually playable, before what remnants of the community for it are gone.

 

[The_Macho_King]

Yeah I have a hell of a rough time trying to find some matches by the time I get on (usually post 9 after getting kids to bed), and anymore the games I find I will assuredly freeze/lock up at least 2-3 times. Its really depressing, I absolutely love this mode and would devote way more fucking time to it if I could. While I would love to believe we'll be seeing the patch this week i'm skeptical on it. Hopefully Ubisoft includes headset support outside of Off TV play, and can do something about the atrocious load times, but I would just be content if they can make mulitplayer actually playable, before what remnants of the community for it are gone.

No headset support is fucking maddening. That is not an acceptable option at all. I blame Nintendo and their shit online approach and even if that does happen I would be using the pro controller while being tethered to the Upad for mic support. horrible just horrible

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

I'm traveling for work this week - and I can't stop thinking about this game. Rarely do I "miss" a title while on the road. But I just can't wait to hop back into Sam's boots and get mys stealth on.

Wish this would have came out for Vita; drats. Guess I should get going on Persona 4.

 

[imBask]

No headset support is fucking maddening. That is not an acceptable option at all. I blame Nintendo and their shit online approach and even if that does happen I would be using the pro controller while being tethered to the Upad for mic support. horrible just horrible

if you bought the game on Wii U expecting a good online, you did something wrong... it's sad, but it is what it is, never expect good online/good online community on Nintendo

I'm enjoying the Wii U version so far, but seriously those loading times are ridiculous, they managed to do worst than Lego City Undercover somehow...

 

[glaurung]

I kept playing through the game and then... in the middle of something like the fourth or fifth main campaign mission, the game forces you into playing lethally. I was so dismayed I have not gone back to tackling that bit yet. Ugh.

Other than that, the genuine stealth do-not-disturb-anything Grim's optional missions are pure dope. So good, but there's only like four of those.

 

[TheSeks]

Doesn't the game patch itself for you?
(hope you don't mind if I ask)

Not for Uplay. Steam does, as it should.

I'd rank the 4E missions as:

Grim (Solo) > Kobin (Solo, but I've only played one so far. Maybe more forced action later) >>> Briggs (Co-op, Ghost) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Charlie's hoard mode >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Briggs (Co-op, Assault)

More "Splinter Cell" "co-op" missions, Ubisoft. Less "Call of Fisher: MARK AND EXECUTE READY"

 

[Sober]

I kept playing through the game and then... in the middle of something like the fourth or fifth main campaign mission, the game forces you into playing lethally. I was so dismayed I have not gone back to tackling that bit yet. Ugh.

Other than that, the genuine stealth do-not-disturb-anything Grim's optional missions are pure dope. So good, but there's only like four of those.

You can finish the entire SP campaign without killing anyone (as Sam), not sure where they are forcing you to be lethal. You might have to actually KO some people in your way though, if that's what you mean.

 

[The_Macho_King]

if you bought the game on Wii U expecting a good online, you did something wrong... it's sad, but it is what it is, never expect good online/good online community on Nintendo

I'm enjoying the Wii U version so far, but seriously those loading times are ridiculous, they managed to do worst than Lego City Undercover somehow...

There is no reason for there not to be good online. Black Ops 2 worked great.

It's not just an issue of infrastructure either. There's no headset jack for the pro controller. Honestly, the Upad offers nothing of significance to the game. Motion controls for the Trirotor is a joke.

 

[The_Macho_King]

I kept playing through the game and then... in the middle of something like the fourth or fifth main campaign mission, the game forces you into playing lethally. I was so dismayed I have not gone back to tackling that bit yet. Ugh.

Other than that, the genuine stealth do-not-disturb-anything Grim's optional missions are pure dope. So good, but there's only like four of those.

The Briggs mission can still be played with a stealth approach.

 

[glaurung]

You can finish the entire SP campaign without killing anyone (as Sam), not sure where they are forcing you to be lethal. You might have to actually KO some people in your way though, if that's what you mean.

The place where

Spoiler

you have to escort that douchebag from his panic room and the house is under siege. There are pretty much wave-based corridors of bad guys and I couldn't figure how to deal with them. My stun gun was empty too.

 

[Gibbo]

finished it last evening. easy top 10 of what ive played this year. i was very surprised at how meaty this game is. and not the filler stuff you mind in the AC series sort of way. completed it at 17 hours and i only touched one of grimms missions

 

[imBask]

There is no reason for there not to be good online. Black Ops 2 worked great.

It's not just an issue of infrastructure either. There's no headset jack for the pro controller. Honestly, the Upad offers nothing of significance to the game. Motion controls for the Trirotor is a joke.

oh I don't know, I kinda like the cameras and the trirotor controls on the gamepad, it adds a little something to the gameplay instead of centering the game around dumb waggling motions, which was my main complaint about the Wii.

And I know there is no reason for the online to be shitty, but it's been that way forever with Nintendo so I don't know what you expected at this point... Whenever I buy something on the Wii U or 3DS i'm expecting Single Player only. And yeah Black Ops 2 worked great, but the community was nowhere near as 360, PC or PS3... I gave up on their online play and i'm pretty sure many others did the same, it's kinda sad

 

[Effect]

if you bought the game on Wii U expecting a good online, you did something wrong... it's sad, but it is what it is, never expect good online/good online community on Nintendo

I'm enjoying the Wii U version so far, but seriously those loading times are ridiculous, they managed to do worst than Lego City Undercover somehow...

Sorry but no. All the elements are there. There is nothing wrong with the hardware that is stopping Ubisoft from providing a decent experience. Activision managed to just fine with Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 other then no additional DLC and that was on them not the Wii U as Ubisoft managed to provide it. EA/Straight Right seemed to as well with Mass Effect 3 other then simply not providing any additional DLC support either. I've heard no complaints about Need for Speed: Most Wanted U. When it comes to Ubisoft Assassin's Creed 3 also had issues in regard to how it's online worked. I know the community for that game was tiny but I still believe the match making system simply didn't work. That different companies are managing to do different things without issue and purposefully holding back in others makes believe the issue isn't the system but what they are willing to do with it. If there was one common negative with all the games I'd be more open to putting the blame on Nintendo and hardware. Population is clearly on Nintendo's head. However no reason for the actual gameplay experience to be the way it is when some games run just fine and Splinter Cell is experiencing freezing, etc.

 

[Dave1988]

The place where

Spoiler

you have to escort that douchebag from his panic room and the house is under siege. There are pretty much wave-based corridors of bad guys and I couldn't figure how to deal with them. My stun gun was empty too.

Try using the sleeping mines, proximity shockers, cameras and such to deal with them. This section of the game isn't even that hard to deal with once you know enemy spawns as you can take out 95% of them with two well thrown sleeping mines. Buy the crossbow if you don't have it already, too, as it is a very powerful weapon for stealth thanks to its versitility.

 

[Sober]

The place where

Spoiler

you have to escort that douchebag from his panic room and the house is under siege. There are pretty much wave-based corridors of bad guys and I couldn't figure how to deal with them. My stun gun was empty too.

Spoiler

Smoke Grenades and Prox Shockers are helpful since they clump up for the most part. If you haven't bought the crossbow yet that thing has a bunch of options as well. Honestly the crossbow is a straight up upgrade from the stungun since it fires sticky shockers, gas grenades (slightly smaller radius), EMP grenades and noisemakers - and this is on it's own separate ammo pool.

To deal with the

Spoiler

spec ops guys, first set of two you can climb along the edge and get them before they breach through the door. Next 4 or 5 come in from the ground floor and if you stay on that ledge you can easily surprise them either with a trap or if you can melee them from behind that should be alright as well; easiest way I've seen it done for stealth anyway.

 

[glaurung]

Spoiler

Smoke Grenades and Prox Shockers are helpful since they clump up for the most part. If you haven't bought the crossbow yet that thing has a bunch of options as well. Honestly the crossbow is a straight up upgrade from the stungun since it fires sticky shockers, gas grenades (slightly smaller radius), EMP grenades and noisemakers - and this is on it's own separate ammo pool.

To deal with the

Spoiler

spec ops guys, first set of two you can climb along the edge and get them before they breach through the door. Next 4 or 5 come in from the ground floor and if you stay on that ledge you can easily surprise them either with a trap or if you can melee them from behind that should be alright as well; easiest way I've seen it done for stealth anyway.

Try using the sleeping mines, proximity shockers, cameras and such to deal with them. This section of the game isn't even that hard to deal with once you know enemy spawns as you can take out 95% of them with two well thrown sleeping mines. Buy the crossbow if you don't have it already, too, as it is a very powerful weapon for stealth thanks to its versitility.

Thanks guys! My problem was that when I reached that bit all of my non-lethal ammo and mines were gone.

Might have to invest in that crossbow then.

 

[TheSeks]

Thanks guys! My problem was that when I reached that bit all of my ammo and mines were gone.

Might have to invest in that crossbow then.

If you're playing on Perfectionist, reset the checkpoint. It'll refill your ammo, does it on co-op as well.

 

[imBask]

Sorry but no. All the elements are there. There is nothing wrong with the hardware that is stopping Ubisoft from providing a decent experience. Activision managed to just fine with Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 other then no additional DLC and that was on them not the Wii U as Ubisoft managed to provide it. EA/Straight Right seemed to as well with Mass Effect 3 other then simply not providing any additional DLC support either. I've heard no complaints about Need for Speed: Most Wanted U. When it comes to Ubisoft Assassin's Creed 3 also had issues in regard to how it's online worked. I know the community for that game was tiny but I still believe the match making system simply didn't work. That different companies are managing to do different things without issue and purposefully holding back in others makes believe the issue isn't the system but what they are willing to do with it. If there was one common negative with all the games I'd be more open to putting the blame on Nintendo and hardware. Population is clearly on Nintendo's head. However no reason for the actual gameplay experience to be the way it is when some games run just fine and Splinter Cell is experiencing freezing, etc.

that might've come out wrong (english is my second language), i'm not blaming Nintendo or the hardware! I LOVE Nintendo and their products. I'm trying to say that people don't generally lean towards Nintendo consoles for their online needs, leading to deserted online community and also leading to devs not putting in the effort to please the Nintendo online community, knowing that people got used to not playing online on these consoles and not many will complain

 

[hao chi]

Well, I guess for the most part - yes. But spies only have night vision (no wall-hack vision modes) and they seem a lot more fragile. But yes the frontal knife kills and knife/gun kills while tazed need to be patched immediately from all modes.

Sounds like the additional armor and knife range in Blacklist is causing most of your complaints. That's also one reason I usually stick to Classic.

Regarding the knifing, I think the Mercs' guns need either better stopping power (so Spies slow down when they're being shot), or make it so Spies can't knife while being shot.

 

[Shellshock929]

that might've come out wrong (english is my second language), i'm not blaming Nintendo or the hardware! I LOVE Nintendo and their products. I'm trying to say that people don't generally lean towards Nintendo consoles for their online needs, leading to deserted online community and also leading to devs not putting in the effort to please the Nintendo online community, knowing that people got used to not playing online on these consoles and not many will complain

About the huge online community on the 3DS, with Mario Kart 7, Kid Icarus Uprising, Luigi Mansion and soon Pokemon X & Y; they have been doing really well with those. That is because Nintendo does not mess with their online in their titles like most 3rd parties, which is why they find huge success online; success that we are most likely to see in upcoming Wii U games such as Mario Kart 8, Monolith's X and Smash Bros. The Monster Hunter community on Wii U is doing well because unlike a lot of things Capcom has done in the recent years, this is something they've done right.

The main issue is that Ubisoft has not released a patch for all versions besides PC to fix this, so online numbers are dropping because half of this game is multiplayer and co-op including co-op only missions.

 

[Bittercup]

Never mind, the server was just down.