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Splinter Cell: Blacklist torture scene removed

Player-controlled scene where Sam Fisher wrenches a knife through enemy to get information cut from upcoming game.

A player-controlled torture scene from Splinter Cell: Blacklist has been removed following a negative reaction to its brutality, Eurogamer reports today. The scene in question (below) is from an August demo, in which Sam Fisher wrenches a knife into an enemy's clavicle, with a button prompt emerging tasking players to twist the knife to obtain intelligence. At the end of the scene, players choose whether the enemy lives or dies.

"Definitely we are not going to see when the game's coming out that there are torture scenes in it. That scene is not there anymore," producer Andrew Wilson said. "I've not really heard anyone say they loved it…"

Wilson added that the scene, which occurs in the first minutes of the demo, is not necessarily indicative of the game's overall tone. He said the scene was possibly missing context and "in an unabridged snapshot, it seemed like pretty tough material."

"We've scaled a lot of that back, and as we've gone through the process of development there are always things that you feel are not working as well. Every game does this, and cuts certain things," he said.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is due out for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC August 20. Development on the game is being led by Ubisoft Toronto, with Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Shanghai assisting. For more, check out GameSpot's just-published preview of Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.

385 comments
billnye69
billnye69

Why not do what CoD does. Give the player the option of having the graphic content available or not when the game is first played. Simple.



Devils-DIVISION
Devils-DIVISION

I wouldn't say I'd love the scene in there, but I wouldn't mind it either.

chainsawisfamly
chainsawisfamly

O come on!!! Hes Sam Fisher! Of course hes gonna do some dirty work to get the job done! Now I wanna play the old Punisher game and feed some bad guys to the sharks.. or a drill press!

botsio
botsio

it happened to hitman absolution now this!i think taking it out spoils the game in its entirety!plus the scene has been shown in the demo why now!

JazzFromHell
JazzFromHell

goddamn hypocrites, whats going on with the "first world" minds? they should have a lot more of criteria.

camverge
camverge

Ya know, I've heard a lot of lame reasons why to not purchase this game. So I guess I just got mine, because I will not support someone who's going to kneel before this pressure. Actions like this are the same as saying "yeah, you're right, games are responsible for violence." Be proud of your work and the work of the rest of the team that put this together. Further more stand up for those who are paying to get the full experience from your product.

Vodoo
Vodoo

The guy is a super-spy. That's how things work in their world, or at least that's how they work in Sam Fishers' world!!! It's an M rated game, just the same as an R rated movie. So what if politicians got sand in their vaginas all of a sudden. 

Gamespot was bitching about "artistic integrity" when the Mass Effect 3 ending was redone. I hope they still feel the same that game devs are changing their content because some ignorant politicians are trying to pin the blame on something other then mental deficiency for kids going on killing sprees. 

Vodoo
Vodoo like.author.displayName 1 Like

I know the PERFECT targets of the next Hitman game... 

Armyboy5
Armyboy5

Goddamn politicians, don't they have more important things to worry about? crazy stupid baldheads.. I WANT MY POT LEGALIZED, AND MY VIDEO GAMES BLOODY DAMNIT!!

They are making me want to go on a politicians killing spree -.-

Adapttttttt
Adapttttttt

*looks back at various torture scenes in other video games, then glances at this debacle*

What ?

OneSamTwoCups
OneSamTwoCups

Seriously? Removing a torture scene from a MILITARY-based stealth game? So stupid. I remember Conviction let me cook a dude's face on a stove and then I dropped him so my buddy could slam his face between a freezer door. We are mature gamers; don't treat us like we are 12.

kazumashadow
kazumashadow like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Goddamit, i loved the interrogations in Conviction but always thought they could be more immersive and this seems pretty awesome. Sorry to say but if you can't handle this then you shouldn't be playing Splinter Cell or any other violent game. Damn moralists.

laser00
laser00 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 6 Like

This is all because of those stupid politicians....

The_New_Blueguy
The_New_Blueguy like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

I don't see the big deal with this.  I mean interrogations were in Conviction too.  You're basically telling Mature adults (the core audience of the game) that you can bash a guy's face off of a scuzzy urinal, you can slit throats and stab guys all you want but twisting the knife to get information to save  lives, now that's crossing the line.

kazumashadow
kazumashadow like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

@The_New_Blueguy you said it all, and also, why stuff like these, or often much worse, is okay in a movie but unnaceptable in games??

ggregd
ggregd

You can't compare this to movies like Saw.  Taking control of the torture (is it even an option?) and passively sitting watching it are different activities.

I am NOT saying that this influences someone to actually try these things in real life, but that gaming industry has a somewhat deserved poor image, and it's good to see them removing gratuitous brutality.  

The designers have choices, they can make the protagonist get information out of a bad guy any way they want.  Having it done by means of torture is a bad idea.

UrbanTracker
UrbanTracker like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 6 Like

They should have just built an option to skip it or watch it like MW2 did with the airport scene..

d_kell411
d_kell411

Well, the torture scene is probably unnecessary, but regardless...video games are a form of digital art, and our "Freedom of Speech" defends that. I just hope they didn't cut it for political reasons. Believe it or not, with most gamers playing rated M games at some point in time or another, I believe most of us turn out alright. The crazy ones would have likely done crazy things anyways.

Cryptic_Shadow
Cryptic_Shadow

whatever.  I am sure the game will still be relevant without the lone torture scene.

TheSkyrimStatue
TheSkyrimStatue like.author.displayName 1 Like

The snake eater torture scene was one of the best cutscenes in gaming history. wouldn't like to be the guy doing the torturing though 

PaulJanson
PaulJanson like.author.displayName 1 Like

Oh thank God they took that awful scene out, I don't need any ideas influencing me when I'm holding a knife to cut apple......*goes to watch "Saw"* -_-

DBZ19
DBZ19

I can see this torture scene coming out as DLC?

Cryptic_Shadow
Cryptic_Shadow

@DBZ19 not likely.  i can see this being a youtube video or something though.

IllegallyAwesum
IllegallyAwesum

They should have merely added the option to include or not include the scene, honestly. And not that shit with a screen at the beginning of the game, but a simple enough choice in the heat of the moment, even as part of the quicktime-driven cinematic. I could actually see that turning into an interesting statistic, were user choices recorded (seeing as ubi's games maintain a constant connection, do they not?)

Konuvis
Konuvis like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 5 Like

Take a fucking stand dammit!! Why is it that Zero Dark Thirty (great movie!) has possibly 1 hour of torture and gets tons of Oscar nominations but every game that has a some disturbing scenes has to be censored and edited???

God I miss Sanitarium and Loaded.

Lowri001
Lowri001

I've had to write essays on this shit for university, and from what I could see in studies there is absolutely no link between violence and games... apart from anger from the occasional ragequit. Ridiculous. 

foxrock66
foxrock66 like.author.displayName 1 Like

*headdesk*

This is getting tiresome. 

NTM23
NTM23 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

Like I said below, I don't see why they would take it out, but I don't think anyone should be mad or disappointed that it's being taken out; it's not as if any of us really knew what that would do in the big scope of things anyways. This is a kind of thing that's more like "Ummmm, OK, so be it..." rather than "What? What the fuck! Dude, Ubisoft's messing up big time! We need the torture scene to make it the best it can be!" That'd be excessive.

OneSamTwoCups
OneSamTwoCups

@NTM23 We aren't mad because we aren't getting a torture scene. We're mad because all those politicians who are pointing fingers at video games for violence are having their way.

This comment has been deleted

ioshilee
ioshilee

There are THOUSANDS of shitty movies like The Saw and other horrors, where people are tortured and murdered in insanely sick ways! WHY THE HELL are you citisizing video games? I can tell you why - d-bag politicians associate the word "game" with little kids. Open your eyes, goddamnit!!! These "games" are not for kids! There are rating systems out there - just prohibit retailers to sell these titles to kids, and make violent scenes optional for other softies, don't just cut them off!

INF1DEL
INF1DEL like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Normally I'm adamantly against removing content from games. There has been a big deal about games glorifying violence recently, any it hasn't changed my mind. At least not directly. Despite a great deal of stupidity, it has provoked some interesting conversations about the difference between using violent scenes to make a statement and using them to create controversy to get free advertising, or appealing to teens who think it's cool. I think it's good that they cut this. I sincerely doubt it qualifies as the former. 

I remember playing CoD:BO and having to beat up a guy to interrogate him. The game made it an interactive scene (press button to beat restrained prisoner) and if I didn't press the button I couldn't continue the game. This made me genuinely uncomfortable which doesn't happen very often in these kinds of situations. I also remember slaughtering civilians in an airport in MW2. Why do these scenes exist? They're totally unnecessary, and they are what make d-bag politicians target us with their crusades.

That being said, I wonder why they specifically target games when shit like the "Saw" movies have been around for years. I don't hear any of them talking about that.

MatrixGamer78
MatrixGamer78

@INF1DEL  U r fish and COD is water as fish cant live without water u cant live without COD so getout of COD Ocean and stay in muddy  pool of HL. 

GabrielOnuris
GabrielOnuris like.author.displayName 1 Like

Hey! Don't transform this game in a kid's toy. KEEP the violence.

staranise
staranise like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

DO NOT REMOVE IT! I want to torture a video game imaginary person! otherwise ubisoft is going on my chicken sh!t list.........

mr_azim
mr_azim like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Why not just make it "optional" like it has been on COD games?  You always were able to bypass the "offensive level".  Don't be a softy, Ubisoft.

Jedi4ce28
Jedi4ce28 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

@mr_azim 


 I agree, make it OPTIONAL. We can endure like 18 different Saw movies but games are still being chopped and cut for content? Unnghh, here's hoping for a director's cut down the line.

TheAgingGamer
TheAgingGamer like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

OMG stop with all the complaining. Studios remove content and re-design certain aspects all the time. They just decided not to take the game in this direction, it's as simple as that. The only thing they did wrong was let it become public knowledge because nowadays the video game forums explode with complaints no matter what a studio does.

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