Stealth Games: Literally Out Of Our Sight
We are currently in our seventh console generation and gaming is becoming more and more popular with the general public. However the industry appears to be stuck in a rut, an awkward rut. The gaming market is saturated with First Person Shooters, Role Playing Games, Third Person Shooters and Sandbox games. While all these genres are very fun and can be enjoyable to play, I feel as if one particular gaming genre is fading further and further out of our view, as it tiptoes into the gaming mist. The genre I am talking about is of course Stealth.
Stealth games are severely lacking in this current gaming generation with only a couple dotted here and there over the recent years. There are simply too few in comparison to the increasing number of games of other genres. Stealth games are drowning under the shovelware.
Annoyingly, the Stealth Action games that have come out have been questionable in quality. The new developer of the Tenchu games have produced mediocre titles that stray from the old Playstation 2 formula in favor of a more customizable look. While creating my own ninja is rather appealing, having a loose, ass storyline with graphics that look out of place is not. The linear levels of previous generations that delivered a tense atmosphere contrasted with a beautiful feudal Japanese setting, have been lost. In its place is a soul-less, sandbox-esque game that is just a hollow shell with a lack of the old Tenchu soul. A remake for the Wii has been recently released but awkward controls do not compensate for the lack of a new game.
Metal Gear Solid 4 was released last year, but if we really look at the game there were hardly any stealth action parts in it. Sure Act 4 had sneaking sections but it was lacking compared the previous games in the series. While I love Hideo as a developer and adore the Metal Gear series, Metal Gear Solid 4 did not deliver as much as it should have done on the gameplay front. To our annoyance Metal Gear Solid 4 was a playable movie. Although the story is gripping and interesting the soul seemed to be missing.
Last but not least we arrive at the Splinter Cell series. Fortunately the Splinter Cell games have not suffered any change but there has not been a game out for a while. The last one made its appearance in 2006 but since then Sam Fisher seems to have taken a holiday, a very long holiday. A new game appears to be the horizon but a release date has not been confirmed yet, so we could be waiting for a while.
Alarmingly, there are only a couple more stealth games that are popular along with these three, so even when they were good, they were scarce. I think that this decline is a result of gaming gaining mainstream popularity. Publishers want to release sellable games that will make them lots of money, *cough*Activision*cough*. Clearly stealth games do not appeal to the mass public and the genre is now suffering for it. People will be missing out on carefully planning out a killing route and the rewarding feeling of staying as quiet as a shadow.
All is not lost however as a beacon of hope shines in the darkness. Batman: Arkham Asylum looks to be a game that is largely dependent on stealth and from what the new trailer shows, it looks pretty awesome. Dropping down from a gargoyle with a grappling hook attached to it to pick up a patrolling sentry would be incredibly fun. As does gliding across a room with your batcape before delivering a kick to a mental guy’s face. To me it looks like a nice mix of Splinter Cell and Tenchu. You can throw batterangs like shurikens but also use abilities that are noticeably more modern.
Hopefully the game’s creators actually care about the final quality of the game. With Mark Hammil voicing The Joker, things are looking good. Maybe this game will kick off the stealth series once again, who knows?
Developers need to start curbing the development of generic FPS No. 71 and start focusing on the broader spectrum of ideas. The death of Stealth is sadly going mostly unnoticed. I don’t think the age of the First Person Shooter will last forever, but if the underrated genres are forgotten about the creativity will lessen with every iteration.
So if you see a cheap, lonely copy of Tenchu:Wrath of Heaven floating around a gaming store, make sure to pick it up and remind yourself how fun it is to quietly decapitate a samurai.
Nice article! I agree too. Hopefully Arkham Asylum can bring back a bit of stealth. It’s a shame that Splinter Cell Conviction is ditching most of the stealth.
I agree with this article. My favorite Stealth game to date has been MGS3. I really wish they would go back to the roots of the stealth genre.
The new Splinter Cell, from the little I have seen, seems to be pure action. MGS4 was a pure action title while Act 4 as the laziest MGS level ever.
This mentality has spilled into other genres as well. RE5 looks like a fucking balls to the wall action game, a far cry from its original titles. The old RE games were slow deliberate atmospheric games. Same with older stealth games. I suppose developers feel that those games won’t sell in todays market.
Good read, I really hope Batman: Arkham Aslyum turns out to be stealthy not action focused with stealh elements, like MGS4. I can see stealth games going the way of survival horror and being barely recognisable from the way we all remember it made more mainstream so they sell more copies.
I don’t remember stealth games ever being a prominent genre, it was always just a handful of series like MGS, Splinter Cell, Thief and Tenchu. Sure, it’s dropped off, but it always been a niche to me, and now it’s just a nichey niche.
A lot of the reason why MGS1 was so succesful was that there was nothing like it gameplay wise, as well as in presentation and story. Splinter Cell has developed that idea and there are a few other series working on the success of MGS, but that’s it for me.
I like the trend of incorporating stealth elements into non-stealth games, that’s the future of the genre for me. Though you have to get them right if you are going to include them, mr eiji aonuma.
nice work tho.
MGS on the PS1 is still my fave so far.
MGS1 is probably still my favorite too, I think the rest of the series got a little less stealthy from there.
The thing with MGS1 was, if the guards spotted you, you where propperly fucked. In later games you most of the time had enough firepower to just shoot your way out.
@red lobster51: Wind Waker had some pretty decent stealth sections in the early part of the game. I enjoyed those parts – Hiding in the barrells and whatnot =D
Sly 2 on the PS2 still seems to me to be one of the better stealth games, in part because it was used just as much as a simple gameplay element as it was the focus of the game. Very nice blend. The combat integrated seamlessly, and some of the more complex levels created some really cool environments that you had to use to reach your destination. I suppose it isn’t technically a stealth game, but the main character is a sneaky thief, so stealth plays a big role in it. Sly 3 did a very good job following in the footsteps of 2. Possibly one of the overall best games on the PS2, because the audio is very engrossing and the visuals are intentionally comicy and extremely smooth.
Sorry but I believe you are totally missing the point when it comes to MGS4.
The whole game was stealth, you only seemed to notice the section where stealth as the best option was shoved in your face – act4.
It gives you the choice of how to play. You chose the easy way by default and ran and gunned, I did that too on my first playthrough.
Try a no-alerts run and tell me the game wasn’t geared towards stealth. All the games better gadgets are totally for the benefit of stealthy players.
Conversely, it’s possible to sneak through act4 in civilain disguise, but you needn’t.
It’s a perfectly enjoyable level to run ahead of the resistance member in your octocamo and remove all his obstacles via bullets to the face.
If anything I would say that act 5 is the only one that pigeon holes you into a style of play. And that style is stealth.
I had very similar impressions to you when I first bought the game. I was a little disappointed.
Please try it again and give it the playtime is deserves.