Splinter Cell Blacklist Spies vs. Mercs has two versions

Splinter Cell Blacklist, the latest Tom Clancy game from Ubisoft, is bringing back the popular competitive multiplayer mode Spies vs. Mercs from Splinter Cell: Conviction. There's a catch, though. In a post to PlayStation Blog, Zach Cooper, community developer for Splinter Cell, wrote that there are two modes for Spies vs. Mercs — Classic and Blacklist.

The post reads, "Two VERY different games, played in VERY different way. 'Classic' is a mode that was designed specifically for our fans. Gunther Galipot was the creator of the original concept of Spies vs. Mercs from Pandora Tomorrow. He's returned for Blacklist as a Game Director, and he's bringing his baby back just like it was in PT and Chaos Theory."

Classic is pretty much unchanged from its original form. It's a two-vs-two mode, where two players are spies and two are mercs. Communication is necessary, and you need to outsmart your opponents. Spies have no lethal weapons and must stick to the shadows to be successful. The Mercs, on the other hand, have heavy weaponry, a flashlight, armor and tools, but also need to play smart. The maps in Classic are also lit differently to further the emphasis on light and shadow.

Spies vs. Mercs Blacklist supports eight players (four versus four). While the core principals are the same, customization comes into play. You create loadouts with different weapons, gadgets, vision modes, armor, and both active and passive abilities. Unlike Classic, Spies have lethal weapons and gadgets. There's still an emphasis on light and shadow, but awareness plays a bigger part — you need to always be aware of where your enemies are.

Splinter Cell Blacklist releases on August 20 for Wii U, PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 with both co-op and Spies vs. Mercs.

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com