Tom Clancy's Best Contributions to the World of Video Games

RIP and thanks for all of the explosions.

October 2, 2013

Image via Complex Original

Celebrated author Tom Clancy has passed away this morning.

“We are saddened to learn of Tom Clancy’s passing and our condolences go out to his family. Tom Clancy was an extraordinary author with a gift for creating detailed, engrossing fictional stories that captivated audiences around the world. The teams at Ubisoft, especially at the Red Storm studio, are incredibly grateful to have collaborated with and learned from him, and we are humbled by the opportunity to carry on part of his legacy through our properties that bear his name.” - Ubisoft

Leaving behind a vast body of work which includes novels, film adaptations, and a giant footprint in the world of video games. The Hunt for Red October stlll rules and we've seen everyone from Harrison Ford to Alec Baldwin be featured in Clacy's films.

But Clancy's impact on video games goes back to 1987 with the release of an SNES version of The Hunt for Red October up through 2013's Splinter Cell: Blacklist. The man co-founded the development studio Redstorm Entertainment which was later acquired by Ubisoft. Ubisoft has continued to publish titles with Clancy's name ever since. The author gave us Jack Ryan and your dad's summer readin is gone, but here are some of the lasting impacts Clancy has made in the realm of video games. Yes, we know we didn't include EndWar and H.A.W.X. Fun as they may have been, they felt more like one-offs than a real franchise anchor.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

Release date: 2002-2013

Many accuse the Splinter Cell series of being a Metal Gear Solid clone, and that may have been the case. Initially. If not an outirght clone, then 'heavily influenced' may be more fitting. As the years went on the series quickly defined itself as something that could co-exist independently with the MGS series. Sam Fisher may have embodied much of the 'enhanced interrogation'/Kiefer Sutherland in 24 patriotic 'at all costs' mentality that came to define the Bush administration, but we were black-ops all the way. Michael Ironside was instrumental in forming Fisher's identitiy through his unapproachable voice work. Bummer he's no longer the man behind the character.

With seven titles in the franchise, it's almost a given that Ubisoft will drop another entry in the series.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six

Release date: 1998-2013

Yeah, 15 years for any franchise to consistently release games is impressive, but for most of those games to also be, for the most part, well done is historic. 15 years and 18 titles have produced some amazing Rainbow SIx titles. Vegas was a tactical shooter through and through and still gets playtime.

There were also some forgettable entries. Lockdown was pretty fucking awful. The quantity of Rainbow Six titles has never let up, even if the quality occasionally did.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon

Release date: 2001-2012

Ghost Recon introduced Clancy fans to a far more sprawling, outdoor combat environment. The Ghost Recon series swapped the claustrophobic tactical confines of urban combat with larger maps and level design loyal to Clancy's vision of future warfare. Again, 13 titles have given fans of the series both peaks and valleys to navigate, but taken as a mean value the series has been boon for Ubisoft. The original Ghost Recon was fairly unforgiving, players usually cashed out after taking only a few shots.

Tom Clancy's The Division

Release date: Late 2014

After its fleeting, sub-ten minute game demo at Ubisoft's press event at this year's E3 event, The Division has made a strong case for the purchase of a next-gen console. The MMO/tactical shooter takes place in an America ravaged by disease and we find ourselves in a post-centralized government New York. All of the footage stresses teamwork and tactics and it seems a fitting legacy for fans of Clancy's work to be left with. Here's to 'late' 2014.