A new Splinter Cell: Blacklist gameplay video features the game's level design director Geoff Ellenor and community developer Zack Cooper playing through a round of Spies vs. Mercs: Blacklist.
In contrast to the Classic 2-on-2 version of the popular game type, the Blacklist version of Spies vs. Mercs pits eight players in two teams of four against one another. Spies have better tools to traverse the environment and play from the third-person perspective utilized by the player in the single-player campaign, while Mercs have a first-person view and significantly better firepower.
In the mission shown here, the Spies must hack computer terminals in a particle accelerator; the player who initiates the hack must stay alive in the immediate vicinity until it has completed while his teammates run interference, cause distractions and play defense. The video shows just how fragile the Spies are in head-to-head matchups with their Merc foes, but also what sort of tricks they have to survive. Spies can use a temporary cloaking device to render themselves mostly invisible, see enemy locations, and instantly kill enemies by jumping down on them from above.
The pair of developers will tackle the Mercs side of the match in a future video. Splinter Cell: Blacklist launches on August 20.
