Splinter Cell series still "evolving" on its own terms, says Ubisoft

Splinter Cell Blacklist was hailed as a step closer to form by many critics and gamers, but Ubisoft has stressed that the series is still "evolving" and doesn't have the formulaic luxury of the Assassin's Creed franchise. The publisher has explained why in a new interview.

Speaking with OXM, Ubisoft Toronto animation director Kristjan Zadziuk said, "We haven't got the luxury of Assassin's Creed where we know our formula; we're still evolving.

"If you look at them, there's no two Splinter Cells that are the same. They've all evolved and adapted. That, to me, is what makes it really exciting. We're getting closer to what that game is, and maybe it isn't necessarily about Splinter Cell being a 15-16 million Call of Duty-type best-seller. Maybe it's just about it being the best Splinter Cell that it can be."

It might be easy to suggest that Ubisoft Toronto just pinch formulae from the publisher's other IP and integrate them into the Splinter Cell format, but Zadziuk stressed that he and his team don't want to take such short-cuts.

He concluded, "It's not like we sit around and go 'I'm having that'; it's what works for each game. Far Cry 3 is such an expansive game, so they're trying to find you an organic way of giving you a map. That wouldn't work for Splinter Cell - there'd be no point in Sam climbing to the top of a tower and pressing a button.

"But then again, we have our version of active sprint. It's not a way of copying Assassin's Creed, it's our way of making Sam more fluid."

Do you feel that Splinter Cell is evolving for the better? Are you glad it isn't simply lifting mechanics and ideas from other Ubisoft IP? Let us know below.