The multiplayer level on display at E3 asked players to infiltrate a building without being spotted. We could take cover behind vehicles and other obstacles, and had a variety of gadgets at our disposal, such as radar vision and devices that can be used for reconnaissance or to distract enemies with noise. The environment provided obstacles for cover, and we could move amongst nearby cover locations with the press of a button to hide from snipers and other enemies. We could also climb on ledges to avoid land mines on the ground.

We could move a cursor with the right control stick and select up to three enemies or landmines to mark. These marks served not only as reminders of the imminent death ahead of us, but also revealed who the boss was with different icons and alerted your ally to the dangers as well. These markers could easily be erased with a touch of a button.

The co-op level, one of 14 total that can all be played both online and with local split-screen, contained multiple routes to each of three objectives. In playing through the mission several times, we never did it the same way twice. Ubisoft said that these "Fourth Echelon" missions can even be played solo, though certain paths will be inaccessible. Some missions, like the one we played, have zero tolerance for being detected. Others are simply about survival, or ask you to kill every enemy.

Splinter Cell Blacklist also has a full single-player campaign and the return of the famed "Spies vs Mercs" competitive online mode. Ubi promised us that the Wii U version will contain all these modes, plus GamePad-exclusive features, such as controlling a tri-rotor RC helicopter with the gyro sensors.