Splinter Cell 4 Screenshots

[MindlessOath]

Ubisoft has released the first screenshots from Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 4 (working title), the next chapter in the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series (thanks: Arne). The game will be available in Spring 2006 for current and next generation consoles as well as for PC.



Source:

[Fixxxer]

So apparently you do still play as Fisher...in jail.

Wha?

[SilentEdge]

You guys know how much I hate making early calls about games, but if it LOOKS like that the graphics are a step down, and if it's a jail drama I wanted, I'd watch prison break.

Big, Bad move by UBI.

[sithdemon]

yeah it looks kinna weird, but so far they've gotten better and better with each title, my hope is, this drastic shift is worth it. Plus this might just be the single player screen/story line, if they do a co-op campaign again it could be a totally seperate story again.

plus fisher might have alot of enemies in jail, weapons smugglers and the like.

as far as the engine getting worse I'd certainly hope not. I'll wait for high rez photos or a gameplay vid before casting a final verdict on how it'll look.

[TaLoN]

those arnt screens of in game, or even models, thats concept art.

[D1-007]

I hopes so.  Also, they better move him out of that stupid jail and get him back behind enemy lines again.  Last time I checked splinter cell is about sneaking around without the enemy knowing, not sneaking around without the stupid in-mates or jail guards (jail not POW camp guards) knowing.  But, there is of couse still hope, not bashing yet, just saying what they better do.

[MONOLITH]

just saying what they better do.

Give it a chance. Sometimes change is better than you first think.

When Metal Gear Solid moved away from the industrial environments and into the Jungle for MGS3: SnakeEater, I though "Oh crap,what the hell are they thinking"; but it actually turned out pretty good.

[Fixxxer]

The game could easily be transformed into Sam getting caught, becoming a POW and his government turning their backs on him. Thus how he ends up in jail and was discharged from Third Echelon.

However...becoming a POW and fighting my way out of prison is not what I want. The story would have to be even more unrealistic to pull off such a task. If you catch someone like Sam Fisher your odds of being able to break out of prision is fairly slim I would imagine. I don't think they'll leave him unguarded in a chickenwire cage. He'd have multiple guards around him daily and would probably be chained up.

Being the US governments eyes and ears behind enemy lines and essentially committing acts of war to prevent war is what the series is all about. It shouldn't be about Sam Fisher, he's just who you are now. If he gets caught you cut the strings and get a new guy to take his place.

This is obviously all speculation though. Maybe breaking out of prision is just the first mission. Or maybe you're put in prision intentionally to gather information from the inmates.

There are a number of ways to make this jail break interesting and still undamaging to the series, but there are many ways this can just screw the series up altogether. Based on Ubi's track record (with Clancy titles for the most part), this is very unsettling.

Only time will tell I guess..

[MrCouch]

what the hell...

[Aramis]

*cough*

[BajaBravo]

Personally I'm interested in the new plot. We've had 3 full versions of SC which were all great but keep doing the exact same thing and it will get tired. This new story line, if done well, could be a fun break from the same-ol' same-old.

Just my $0.02.

[Fixxxer]

Personally I'm interested in the new plot. We've had 3 full versions of SC which were all great but keep doing the exact same thing and it will get tired. This new story line, if done well, could be a fun break from the same-ol' same-old.

Just my $0.02.

You're right, and I respect your opinion.

I guess from the three titles so far I've become accustom to being Third Echelon's SIGINT Ninja. This new plot is just...too new. I will have to see how it is to truely have an opinion.

[SilentEdge]

So is James Bond in need of a revamping? Sure, some changes would be great, but having a plot hole which the player is separated from will ruin some really interesting possibilities IMO. Why not have the player PLAY its way into prison.

Sometimes there's no need to reinvent the wheel.

[Fixxxer]

So is James Bond in need of a revamping?

Actually, James Bond needs fixing. In the last movie he was captured by the enemy and discharged from MI6. CAPTURED!!! James-freaking-Bond...captured.

Delete that film and fire the director/producer/writters, please.

[SilentEdge]

Actually, James Bond needs fixing. In the last movie he was captured by the enemy and discharged from MI6. CAPTURED!!! James-freaking-Bond...captured.

Delete that film and fire the director/producer/writters, please.

I don't consider anything starring Pierce as a "Bond" movie. I meant Connery.

Actually, Connery is Sam Fisher in my mind.

[sithdemon]

For all we know perhaps he was captured in a moment of weakness, either physically or emotionally. Especially if his daughter is dead. He's old, and worn out from doing a demanding job. we should also keep in mind this is one setting, the likelyhood of the WHOLE game taking place in jail I think would be slim unless they can fit everything in one setting. it could very well be the start of the game, or the end, we all have no idea. and while charecters like sam or james bond are suppose to always be on top and elusive it dosen't mean they can't be captured, each is only one man. Heck sam could easily be ambushed when he's off duty, if his personal information was leaked, for whatever reason. with enough ingenuity any story can becomes realistic, we'll have to see if this case is a postive one.

I agree with baja, this could very well be a break for the various teams that have developed SC from it's inception. It's like relic moving on from Homeworlds, after a few years developing a game world into near perfection it becomes harder to keep improving a game enough to call it a sequel and not a glorified expansion, especially when you have to cover the costs, since expansions must be priced lower then full blow sequels, even games on the same engine tend to get cheaper as time goes on, while new engines can demand bigger price points.

I've been let down before game wise (deus ex 2), but some times those lessons are worth learning (theif 3). If they fall on their ass with one game, it isn't so bad, that is if they can recover from it and make the next one worth the faliure of one title.

Always keep in mind they need to sell copies to keep thier jobs, sometimes that means selling out to the suits, however keeping a majority of fans happy is key to any franchise (grand theft auto comes to mind), and smart suits understand that. while we might be dissapointed if this drastic change makes for a crappy game, people will lose thier jobs if sales are low, and you know some of those peoples might have familes. Ultimatley if it fails, someone will make another splinter cell like game, much like SC IS a MGS game that tapped the more stealth audience. Heck there are a few titles I saw at E3 that were takes on SC/MGS, one was cold war and it sucked IMO from the demo. '

If people are still writing books, there's a good chance people will be making games well into the future, perhaps forever. we'll get good games eventually, if not we might just have to put up with other entertainment mediums, untill that next killer game drops, killer that is for your taste.

[Fixxxer]

It's like relic moving on from Homeworlds, after a few years developing a game world into near perfection it becomes harder to keep improving a game enough to call it a sequel and not a glorified expansion

The problem there doesn't lie with setting or your role, it's about redundancy. If every SC game they make is a mirror image, of course they'll need something to spice it up.

But then you have games like The Elder Scrolls. Four games nearly identical, how do they keep selling games (and expansions)? And to boot, every TES titles starts off in the same setting (you in jail either being released or breaking out) and your objectives are the same (establish yourself in an unfamiliar world). They don't need to make Sam Fisher a convict to add more to the storyline just like Bethsoft didn't feel they needed to make TES 4 a space sim to gain some new fans.

And as far as them needing to sell copies to make money...where was the poll that asked if people wanted a drastic change to the game? That's where my problem lies, game developers essentially don't care what the fan base wants (that being very pessimistic, of course), they're out to make the game the way they want (and rightfully so). No matter what they do to the storyline they will always have a fan base. The long-time fans may be alienated (GR2) and leave, but they bring in new fans. So doing this to the storyline is moot. They run the risk of losing/gaining fans no matter what they do.

But, I'll reiterate, I'll wait to see the final product before I have any sort of final opinion. My opinion now is based on speculation and speculation alone. Perhaps a little bit of past Ubi "evolution" is in there aswell.

If this prison "footage" is just a small percentage of the storyline, I think it could work out very well. If Sam is charged with being a war criminal and your mission this time is to clear your name with the help of some old friends, it would be cool.



As it stands now, I'm nervous. It can be pulled off, but quite frankly, I'm sick of watching good titles being ruined because some hot shot feels the need to spice it up.

[xSargenX]

Hey Mindless - you still playing  any R6 dont mean to bring back bad memories but, I havent seen you around since way back when the platton was all about R6.

[MONOLITH]

It's amazing how much conversation we can have about a game we have absolutely no real information about. :smile:

[D1-007]

It's amazing how much conversation we can have about a game we have absolutely no real information about. :smile:

Agreed.  Well, if they've accomplished anything, they've definately got people talking about it.  Free adverstising, sort of.