Ghost Recon Breakpoint has filled a niche for many people when it comes to stealth FPS gaming. Many of us, however, would love to see a new Spinter Cell. Unfortunately, there appears to be no sign that Sam Fisher will make his way into 2020 outside of the numerous cameos and an anime.
Still, with at least the cameo in Breakpoint and the Echelon class, we can somewhat approximate playing Splinter Cell in Breakpoint. This series will cover that experience. Here’s how I decided to play it:
First, I set a rule: Only using 1 rifle and a pistol. Initially I also tried to stick to just the DLC weapons from the Splinter Cell Universe, but I couldn’t stand using the Paladin 9 sniper rifle (which is practically the worst sniper rifle in the game). Instead, I stuck with my usual Recon A1 for most of the game, occasionally making use of the Echelon SMG or the SC40K.
For at least part of the series I played without NPC markers, but I later decided to add them in, as they’ve been in Splinter Cell, too. I also disabled AI teammates; Sam prefers to work alone.
Finally, I wanted to spend as much time as I could up close and personal, subduing foes much like our friend Sam would.
The first step in my goal, however, was to actually max out the Echelon class.
Stabbing the night away..
The challenges when maxing a class are always related to the primary skills of the class. In the case of the Echelon class, you’ll be spending a lot of time stabbing, and stabbing, and stabbing.. I got really good at hunting patrols like these for an easy way to get the required number of stabs.
I wish I had the foresight to record every one, because you’re required to stab a LOT of people in order to max out the Echelon class. I mean.. I felt a little more psychopathic than what Sam Fisher would approve of.
The rest of the journey was actually fairly anti-climactic; take out X number of enemies without being discovered, take out X in so many seconds, take out X with a pistol or SMG. All fairly standard for Breakpoint class development. Sync shot drones made this fairly easy overall.
With the Echelon class maxed, now we can really explore what it’s like to play as if Breakpoint were just a big, open-world Splinter Cell. How does it fare? You’ll have to read part 2 of the series to find out!