I would say that there certainly are games out there that have a "stealth" element (Splinter Cell: Conviction) or have the option of being stealthy (Fallout, Alpha Protocol), but I can pretty safely say that "strictly stealth" titles are gone/on the way out.
Why? I'd say it's a combination of gamers not willing to tolerate the fact that triggering one alarm meant certain death or failing the mission objective, which would set you back a ways. In return, designers gave the character more competent guns, or had triggering the alarm mean fighting an extra guy or two, instead of restarting that segment of the level.
Personally, I like my stealth when it functions as an aspect of a title (Beyond Good and Evil) instead of making up the entirety of it, or when the title is willing to give you a little leeway if you get spotted/trip an alarm, but punishes you if you abandon the stealth mentality outright (a la Batman: Arkham Asylum).
Arkham Asylum made you utilize stealth AND still made you the predator instead of the prey, thus making stealth an EMPOWERING trait, which I think is why it appealed (consciously or subconsciously) for many people. Probably the first game that made me feel like I was a ninja (which is ironic, considering they myriad of titles with "Ninja" in their name that can't even deliver on this core trait of Ninja-dom).
Why? I'd say it's a combination of gamers not willing to tolerate the fact that triggering one alarm meant certain death or failing the mission objective, which would set you back a ways. In return, designers gave the character more competent guns, or had triggering the alarm mean fighting an extra guy or two, instead of restarting that segment of the level.
Personally, I like my stealth when it functions as an aspect of a title (Beyond Good and Evil) instead of making up the entirety of it, or when the title is willing to give you a little leeway if you get spotted/trip an alarm, but punishes you if you abandon the stealth mentality outright (a la Batman: Arkham Asylum).
Arkham Asylum made you utilize stealth AND still made you the predator instead of the prey, thus making stealth an EMPOWERING trait, which I think is why it appealed (consciously or subconsciously) for many people. Probably the first game that made me feel like I was a ninja (which is ironic, considering they myriad of titles with "Ninja" in their name that can't even deliver on this core trait of Ninja-dom).
