So I'm currently on my 2nd play through of Splinter Cell blacklist and I can't help but feel that Ubisoft has done a poor job on the semi reboot of the series. Sam Fisher is no longer voiced by Michael Ironside and now has a new younger 30 something voice actor that can perform the dialogue and the motion capture making the the development process slightly easier for Ubisoft. Now I have no problem with them changing things up a bit but with Ubisoft carrying on the story from the previous games while having Sam look 10-15 years younger just feels weird to me (plus I really like Ironside's voice). By the end of the game (DON'T WORRY NO SPOILERS!) it's clear that Ubisoft has set up a new team of characters to help Sam save the world as they continue this franchise, but with Sam supposedly being in his late 40s early 50s and in the previous game doing his best to retire an leave that life behind, this doesn't make a lot of sense. I know what you're thinking "it's video games" but I had an idea.

So, does anyone think it would've been better for the story (and cooler) if the new voice actor was basically Sam's protoge and Sam took the role of the deceased Lambert. This way you can have the new guy with the young and hip team, while having the Ironsides voice directing you on missions and still being able to make connections to the previous games because Sam is still involved. Plus this way you could occasionally pull Sam out for a mission If the 4th Echelon HQ gets attacked.

So what do you guys think?

That would've actually been a good opportunity to change protagonists as I found it hard to believe that this new Sam Fisher was responsible for anything in the past games and to still look and sound as young as he does. Also I found it even harder to believe that he has a daughter in her 20s and those conversations on the phone with the forced melodramatic music just made it worse.

I think you are right and that would have been a great idea. Also, this is mandatory

Turns out you're a better writer than the people who wrote this. There were so many ways they could have justified making him look younger, like Sam Fisher being just a codename or something.

Edit: And this quote says a lot about games in general really.

"Our lead writer on Blacklist is Richard Dansky," Béland said. "When I called him, I said, 'Hey Richard, we're making Splinter Cell six, do you want to write it for us?

"And his first question was, 'Do I need to come up with a story that's gonna require Sam to take out 800 guys?' And I paused for a second and I said... 'This is sad, Richard, but I think so.

"We can talk about it, but I think at the end of the day... we want it to be more and more "ghost," [to have non-lethal options], but yeah, at the end of the day, it's just Sam Fisher and bad guys and maps, right?'"

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/games/9097333/Review-Splinter-Cell-Blacklist

JuggertrainUK: I know what you're thinking "it's video games"

You're right, I am thinking exactly that. To me, video games don't have to make sense at all, they're made up stories, hell if I wanted shit to make sense in video games I wouldn't be playing them, could you imagine me trying to think up a sensible story for Ninja Gaiden 2? Edit: I dunno why I cannot get gifs to work on this site, is there a secret to this?

That would've been great.

It took me a while to figure it out, but all you have to do is open up the gif separately and drag it into the text box.

@themanwithnoplan:

Ah, thank you very much.

I think the nerve gas part would have been the perfect place for him to die and Briggs take over as the protagonist.

Oh yes, Briggs totally proved he could replace Sam and stop the blacklist attacks while disarming that bomb in that one mission. If what the post above this one happened I would put the Splinter Cell series in the same briefcase I put the Ninja Gaiden series in and throw it into the pacific ocean.

He is canonically 50 and why they couldn't just dub the mocap for the sake of Ironside badass-ness is beyond me. But if it was a must, then I'd buy into your idea of changing protagonists. Other than that, this will be the first Splinter Cell that I have not looked forward to and will probably never buy. The gameplay changes for Conviction matched the circumstances of the story well. But now that Sam is back in the saddle I honestly expected Ubisoft to at least try and preserve one of their last remaining un-fucked Clancy series. Nope. Splinter Cell has gone the way of Rainbow Six: Lockdown. Hopefully a Vegas will come along at some point.

Your idea involves 100% more Michael Ironside and thus I am all for it.

I believe Michael Ironside came out and said that he didn't agree with the direction they were taking things and so on. Obviously, we can't really know how much that has to do with him not being in the game as it very easily could have been some producer or some such saying that he's too old and they could potentially appeal to more people and sell more copies if Sam is younger.