The Splinter Cell series was held back by its complexity, says Ubisoft Montreal Managing Director Jade Raymond in a recent interview
The stealth action series was one of Ubisoft's leading franchises at one time. However, in recent years, it has fallen behind the likes of Far Cry and the company's flagship series, Assassin's Creed, in Ubisoft's hierarchy.
"One of the things that held it back is despite all of the changes that have happened over the years, it's still one of the more complex and difficult games to play," Raymond says. "Even though we do have core fans who are like, 'Oh, I want to have more of this experience,' when you play any other game that has stealth elements, they're all a lot more forgiving than Splinter Cell. I guess Splinter Cell stayed with the most pure approach to that stealth experience."
However, Raymond strongly believes that the latest game in the series will be the best one, because it does not have an action-oriented approach.
"But Splinter Cell still really is a thinking game. It's really about being intelligent and taking that time in the first phase to plan out how you're going to do things, and understanding the elements, and even planning your gadgets and your load-out and being smart about it. That's where you get the thrill, but it's a different way of playing than most games on the market these days," she tells Eurogamer.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist is currently set for an August release on PC, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360.
