Sam Fisher in Ghost Recon: Wildlands 'season' 2. - Michael Ironside back

So there was a teaser video for some Ghost Recon DLC with Sam Fisher. Hearing Michael Ironside back as Fisher really got me excited, so much so that I decided to actually go back and play Wildlands. The thing I'm really excited for though is the prospect of a new Splinter Cell game announcement at E3. I mean, they wouldn't get Ironside back just for some DLC, would they? Anyway, I'm pretty excited about it and wondered if anyone else was too.

It could mean that they’re making a new Splinter Cell, but I think this is more than likely just a thing they think fans will appreciate. I can’t imagine getting Ironside back for a few sessions would cost all that much.

Dope, but I thought he was kind of done with the whole thing after the reboot game from a few years back.

Splinter Cell: The Geriatric Years

Opening Level
Sam Fisher is sneaking around his nursing home, avoiding the nurses, while looking for his snacks that they took.

Nurses: "Go back to your room Sam, we see that huge green light duct-taped to your back!"

@rorie: I think their explanation for Ironside's absence from Blacklist was that he was too old to do motion capture work, so they opted for a young guy. I don't think he ever officially retired the role, but made some mild allusions to it to placate some upset fans over the decision to choose someone else. But if they're making this, and a new Splinter Cell is eventually released with Ironside, then that motion capture explanation was bogus.

@pappafost: I'd take an octogenarian Sam Fisher shambling around a nursing home as long as Michael Ironside's booming baritone played over it.

I believe Splinter Cell 2018 was heavily rumoured, even Ubi CEO said they are thinking about SC. Plus there was also amazon listing (but that could be fake) This seems to confirm the rumours and looks like a smart way to tease the new game. Ubi did something similar in the past in Watch Dogs 2 where you hack into their offices in-game and leak a trailer, then a video played of some sci-fi game clips and later at e3 Ubi conference 2017 it turned out it was Starlink, their sci-fi game.

I was real disappointed with they announced Ironside wasn't going to be in Conviction; honestly one of the main reasons I skipped it. Well, that, plus the fact that Chaos Theory was the perfect culmination of the Splinter Cell gameplay, and they haven't come close since then.

Edit: Wait, which one was the one without Ironside? Was it Blacklist? Was Conviction the one that had the cool tutorial where the writing would appear on the wall?

@jkz: Wait, really?! Oh man, now I wish they would release it on the current gen systems. I would totally love to get down on that game, if what you're saying is true. Though it would be such a bummer to not have Ironside voicing Fisher.

Does paying Ironside open up the doors for a potential Chaos Theory remaster? God i hope so.

If Sam Fisher and Predator get in the same area will they have a turf war?

Bringing in a new voice was the worst decision they ever made so bringing him back in any way is great. If they want an actual reboot then kill off the character or just bring in a new one.

I played the beta of wildlands and am still amazed at how many people like it, i guess it just wasn't for me.

@littlewask: He was in Conviction, you might be thinking about Blacklist though. If you're really curious though and have an Xbox One, you can get it as backward compatible. I love the old Splinter Cell style of gameplay; the first three games were superb (Double Agent is my least favorite Splinter Cell), but Conviction was also fantastic. Blacklist was a letdown, but it was good.

That's awesome. I'm going to have to check out the teaser.

Edit - Saw it. I have no idea what it means, but that's awesome! I hope it's something substantial. I've always wanted more crossovers between the Tom Clancy universes. Sam Fisher (Michael Ironside) just saying 'Ghosts' was exciting to me in and of itself. I guess I wouldn't mind a reason to jump back into Ghost Recon Wildlands either.

Sign me up for more Wildlands with Splinter Cell.

That being said, I want a new Splinter Cell game announced at E3.

A Splinter Cell like the original or Chaos Theory with Ironside back would be amazing.

I’m curious how serious Ubisoft is about their story so far. I liked the early run, and even liked the Man on Fire Splinter Cell game (Conviction?) where Sam tortured people and made enemies in the government.

Anyhow, I guess I’d be curious what a 2018 (19? 20?) Splinter Cell plays like and what happens with the fiction.

@ntm: I didn’t really like Pandora Tomorrow, but SC1 and Chaos Theory are classics.

I want to say that there were multiple versions of Double Agent that were drastically different from one another. I thought that one was okay, and that Conviction was a cool twist and progression of plot.

I don’t remember much about Blacklist aside from Fisher being replaced with a Twin Peaks-style tulpa.

@nutter: Yeah, the original Xbox version of Double Agent differs to the rest. I didn't play it other than when I went to friends house and we played co-op. The last-gen version (the 360 and PC ones that I have) aren't great to me. I've heard some say the original Xbox version was great though, which has me curious. It's unlikely I'll play it though. It also bummed me out the 360 version didn't have the co-op. I really liked Pandora Tomorrow, but yeah it seems to be the least popular. I played the first three games back-to-back, and I thought the first two were the same, while Chaos Theory had some of the best moments and some of my least favorite in the series up to that point so it balanced itself out as being equal to the previous two to me.

There's not much to say about Conviction; it's a superb game though too. Blacklist was disappointing in a handful of ways. I wasn't a fan of the mission select structure (it made it hard to go in order if you wanted to play the game again). Sam Fisher being voiced by Eric Johnson was fine, but it made no sense. In Chaos Theory Sam and Grim were already talking about how old Sam is getting, and then all these games and years later he sounds younger; as young as his daughter. The story was pretty bland and the change of characters was worse than what Conviction offered. It was a first-person part. I also had an issue initially getting used to the controls because it plays a lot like Conviction, but they made the controls more akin to standard third-person shooting controls.

The soundtrack was also less memorable than Convictions. That all said, it played well and I liked going through a lot of the levels, like the Christmas mall one I think it was. The customization was pretty cool too.

It was nice to hear Ironside's rumble again. The mission itself was pretty alright, and a lot more fun than the Predator fight.

Micheal Ironside is back,

Your exotic fan fiction has no place here..PM me.

Fuck. I could totally go for a new Splinter Cell. Completely forgot about that series.

@theht: the have to announce one at e3. It would be such a waste if they didn't. Especially since they're making a pretty big deal out of this crossover and brought Ironside back.

Just make blacklist with bigger and more complex levels and gear. And please for the love of God don't be open world.

@glots: Man, Michael Ironside just seems like a genuine good down to earth human being. I didn't know he have had cancer. I'm so glad he got over it. Cancer is a scary thing and I know how much it affects the ones you love. Ironside is awesome and I hope we still will have many years of Ironside goodness.

Also I didn't realize until now but I'm actually weirdly nostalgic for a new Splinter Cell game but only if Michael Ironside delivers the voice. The first 3 Splinter Cell games was a big deal back in the day, so even though I never owned any of the games I remember very fondly playing the demos and watching the trailers for them.

"He's never left. I'm Sam."

Fuckin' A right.

I think that Ubisoft kept pursuing him and worked with him to more fully develop the characters speaks to the fact that somebody - or several somebodies - there is a Michael Ironside fan and they probably hated having to replace him as much as the Splinter Cell audience hated losing him. If he's up for it, they should absolutely bring him back for a new Splinter Cell game. And a Splinter Cell game that gets the new Ubisoft post-release support? Fuck. Now is the time.

And, really, when you think about the Bombcast speculation of Ubisoft's E3 presence now that they're safe and free from the Vivendi takeover and Ben's suggestion of Yves Guillemot coming out and saying, "You should've kill me when you had the chance"...can you think of a better line for Michael Ironside's Sam Fisher to say in a teaser trailer for a new Splinter Cell? Speaks to Ubisoft being unshackled, Michael Ironside surviving cancer, and the return of an iconic Ubisoft property/character. That's how Ubisoft should start their press conference. Dark auditorium. A few moments of silence. Then Michael Ironside's gruff voice: "You should've killed me when you had the chance." That high-pitched whine as those three green circles appear on screen, hang for a moment, then converge and swirl to become the Ubisoft logo. Lights. Yves Guillemot comes out to thunderous applause.

It's too bad the mission in Wildlands with him kinda blows. Oh well, can't wait to hear more Splinter Cell news at E3. It's gotta be inevitable at this point.

Ironside seems to be genuinely interested in returning to the character, despite seemingly phoning it in last time. But who could blame him with the material they gave him to work with in Conviction.

@dharmabum: I thought he was great in Conviction.

I like the guys voice but honestly I played through Blacklist and thought that voice actor was also just fine. It’s not a big deal for me, not like the David Hayter switch in Phantom Pain was anyway.

Yea, Blacklist dude was decent and I didn't have that much of an issue with the change because the game was still amazing but Ironside's voice is just so iconic and awesome.

@sasnake: Yeah conviction was amazing wtf lol