10 Amazing Video Game Sequels That Won Back The Fans

7. Splinter Cell: Blacklist

As you might have guessed considering this is the third Ubisoft game on this list so far, the publisher was going through a phase at the start of the decade. It had always released solid games, but it reached a point where old Ubi wanted each one to be a massive, Assassin's Creed-level success, and that meant trying to open up their established franchises to wider audiences.

That new approach didn't transform any of their library as much as Splinter Cell, though. Double Agent attempted to welcome a new action focus while retaining the methodical gameplay of the first classic trilogy, but after that the developers were tasked with reinventing the brand entirely.

That led to Conviction, which started as a game where Sam Fisher would be stripped of his gadgets and forced to brawl his way through combat encounters. That version was thrown out in favour of the final product, which kept the more overt stealth elements but changed the focus to make players feel like a predator, rather than a ghost.

It was a decent enough experiment, but die-hard fans were left in the cold, not even able to do something as simple as move bodies to aid with stealth. Meshing this approach with the more classic experience, the follow up, Blacklist, acted as a great mix of styles, letting players choose action or stealth as they saw fit.