I was wondering, what you guys thought is the best game(s) based on stealth? There are quite a few notables - Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, Tenchu, Hitman, Thief and probably many more - but what game or indeed games implement stealth the best in your opinion?
I’ve played Splinter, Metal, and Tenchu, and demos of Hitman and Thief.
I think Splinter cell will be hard to beat. I particularly like it’s use of darkness as a stealth element. And the not having to kill anyone to complete most levels.
I’d say the best game in the stealth genre is anything that is not in the stealth genre. If you want to simulate the stealth genre, play a racing game, and press pause. Wait for 40 seconds, unpause, and play for 2 seconds. Press pause again for 40 seconds. Repeat.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - Easily the single most engaging and well-executed stealth games to date. Doesn’t actually HAVE to be stealth, if you play on the easier difficulty settings, but normal and above pretty much forces you to be pretty discreet everywhere. The review describes it much better than I can, so go read it.
Thief and Thief 2. They pretty much defined the genre, and are still hard to beat for good ol’ stealthy action. Their main draw of the Splinter Cells and Metal Gears of the world is that it doesn’t feel like you’re hamstrung by being stealthy; although possible if you’re really good your character is really incapable of going toe to toe with any of the guards/monsters in the game so you never get the feeling of “I COULD just shoot everyone if not for that bloody counter in the corner telling me not to.”
Plus the levels are still massivly open ended for the most part. Multiple points of entry, huge floorplans… it seems most stealth games have concentrated on graphics at the expense of freedom in a level. Even Thief 3 had relatively tiny levels, but nothing on the level of Splinter Cell which, at least in the first 2 never had more than 1 or 2 ways of going about things.
I agree with the Splinter Cell series. Personally, I find the stealth genre to be far more engaging than first person shooters. I’ve never played a first person shooter – execept maybe for Halo 2 – that has held my interest for more than 30 minutes. I suppose it’s a difference in personalities and playing style, as SlyFrog doesn’t seem too fond of the genre. To me, there’s just more challenge and interest in sneaking around, picking off guys with sniper rifles (my favorite!) and generally using cunning tricks to subdue your enemy than running blindly through a level with a mini-gun and rocket launcher firing willy-nilly and blowing up everything in sight.
Silentgoldfish, pulykamell, have either of you tried Deus Ex? It has multiple points of entry, huge floorplans, and (upgradeable!) sniper rifles. There’s also a mod that gives you a light gem like the one in the Thief games.
Played it, beat it, hated the sequel ;).
First time I played it I didn’t work out how to use the stun baton so I got every single knockout using the regular baton (basically a club). I was so teed off when I discovered how easy it was just to tazor people.
To be honest, I might enjoy it more as well. Unfortunately, the ones that I have played appear to be 1 minute of action followed by 10 minutes of cut-scenes (Metal Gear), or lots of creeping around, only to be spotted by things that somehow see you through walls (Thief).
My joke aside, if you like that type of game, I know a lot of people did rave about the Thief series (as previously mentioned).
NOLF 2, and to a lesser extent, NOLF 1 did a fairly good job, I felt, with the stealth compontent, while also making it an option to just pull out the AK-47 and start shooting the guards.
I’m frankly amazed that anyone can seriously nominate a game other than Thief 1/2 for this title.
Well, obviously, but those go without saying. I figured that since those had already been covered, might as well mention other games.
I can also mention the worst:
Soldier of Fortune 2. Blech. I hated the Train station level.
Going back a bit, the Siphon Filter games on the PS1: there was a fantastic mission where you had to infiltrate a Russian base, silently cap the guards, and plant explosives - lots of stealthy sneaking in the snow, taking out guards with a silenced 9mm shot to the head, plinking searchlights: the best Bond game ever that wasn’t actually Bond.
Then you got to the rooftop, and that damned Hind helicopter took to strafing you and dropping commandos: took me a whole weekend to beat that bastard.
It mixed it up nicely with full-on action: in one level you had to infiltrate the Smithsonian: some great sneaking and capping early on, and then you got to really get it on in the dinosaur and aerospace exhibits: I have fond memories of fragging enemy agents on a mock-up of the lunar surface, complete with Eagle module.
It might not fully qualify, but the stealthy parts in Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher’s Bay for the X Box are fun-- tricky, too, because when the lights come on, you have to quickly turn off your night vision or become a blinded sitting duck.