Splinter Cell: Blacklist was revealed today during the Microsoft conference, and although I know of no one who really wants to talk to their TV, Ubisoft thinks it’s probably a good idea to let you finally yell at Grim.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuhfD48VRGE&w=620]
It’s rather hard to tell if this is the new (old) Sam who looks really young or the old (younger) Sam that looks really old. They mention that Sam is now the leader of 4th Echelon, so it would appear to be former. Regardless, the setting of this video seems to be somewhere in the Middle East, and Sam is searching for a target when all hell breaks loose in the most unstealthy way. Luckily, with the aid of Kinect, Sam calls in an airstrike to blow up some dudes that need to be blown up. The player also uses his voice through Kinect to attract a nearby soldier. It’s too bad none of us have the gravel in our throats like Michael Ironside.

You might notice some nice contextual motions from Sam as he is running from gunfire: he stumbles a bit and puts his hand on the ground to steady himself. He also has a crossbow that shoots bolts that shock guys, so that’s new, too.

Word on the street says this game will hit shelves in the Spring of 2013.

Update: An official press release for the game has since been…released. Let’s take a look at some of the bits:

As the first production project from Ubisoft Toronto, with support from Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Shanghai, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist delivers a gripping modern-day special-ops storyline with a new level of technical innovation and quality. The game includes voice recognition features on Kinect™ for Xbox 360®, an arsenal of new gadgets and reinvented classic weapons and a new “Killing-in-Motion” fighting style, which allows players to strike with lethal precision by marking and executing multiple enemies in one fluid motion.

In the game, a group of rogue nations have had enough of the United States’ military presence in their countries. In an effort to force the withdrawal of the U.S. forces, they mastermind “The Blacklist,” a countdown of escalating terrorist attacks on U.S. assets. Given a presidential mandate and the power to act above the law, players take on the role of lethal operative Sam Fisher. Outfitted with Sam’s infamous tactical suit and goggles, players will infiltrate terrorist cells while using ruthless interrogation methods to extract crucial information to prevent the next Blacklist attack.

Why don’t other countries like the U.S. being in their backyard all the time? I guess we’ll never know.