What do you like in a Stealth Game, and which one does it best?

[Thespian]

Stealth is definitely one of my favorite genres, up there with RPGs. I tend to get the most worth out of those sort of games.
That said, very few Stealth games really get it right. I might even go so far as to say that no Stealth game has ever perfectly nailed the Stealth aspect.

I'm wondering what you guys like in a Stealth Game, and what Game is your favourite?

For me, I always prefer the kind of game that doesn't insist you kill/defeat everyone you encounter, but encourages your moving past them silently. Hence I wouldn't consider Splinter Cell to be my favorite stealth series. To be honest, I'm not crazy about Stealth Shooters in general.

I love games that encourage a mix of Stealth and Exploration, which I actually feel Assassin's Creed did pretty well, if only it hadn't armed you to take on any army of soldiers you had to if you were spotted.

I'm really, REALLY excited for Deus Ex: Human Revolution because it looks like it will nail that Stealth/Exploration mix.

Anywho, discuss!

 

[Cenequus]

I actually really liked Stealth in Oblivion(proper stealth without chameleon items/spell),specially while I was roleplaying a rouge that wasn't doing any killing at all. It was actually both fun and challenging.

 

[Akytalusia]

if you haven't played/heard of the tenchu series, give them a try. they're older, and perhaps there's better stuff nowadays i've never heard of, but i personaly think they're great stealth games. from your critera they're right up your alley.

 

[Kashif Omer]

I like batman style stealth, where your hunting the enemy, not hiding. much more satisfying and it encourages more risks

 

[Gaiseric]

I like the Metal Gear series for stealth. You don't have to kill anyone if you don't want to. Multiple routes and ways to deal with enemies(sneak past, trick, tranq, melee kill, range kill, loud).

 

[thenamelessloser]

I would like a combination of Batman Arkham Asylum, Deus Ex, and Tenchu/Assasin's creed. Like somene else said I like to be the hunter not the hider, and the fast pace of Batman Arkham City. Deux Ex is great because there are multiple paths and solutions to the ways you can sneak around. I like Tenchu and Assasin's creed for their rooftops and being out of sight from the enemies while you look from above.

I also do like being able to turn invisible and able to take out many dumb AI opponents at once in games like Alpha Protocol and Deus Ex Invisible War as well. But that is a guilty pleasure. =)

BTW, topic poster, you should really play the Deus Ex and the Thief games. They seem to be what you want.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Assassin's Creed 2 I really like, because the stealth mechanic (blending into crowds) is innovative and Bourne-esque.

 

[Mumonk]

Going through a whole level and not killing one person, OR, going through a whole level without one person not even knowing you were ever there.

Not that I am against sticking a knife in someone's neck in the shadows. I love that feeling of accomplishment that you get in expert modes of things like the Thief games where you slip in, slip out, and no one was the wiser.

Splinter Cell games are fun too. But Thief had a sorta...."beauty" to it I guess.

 

[Thespian]

BTW, topic poster, you should really play the Deus Ex and the Thief games. They seem to be what you want.

I've dabbled in both. Not nearly enough as I'd like to though.

if you haven't played/heard of the tenchu series, give them a try. they're older, and perhaps there's better stuff nowadays i've never heard of, but i personaly think they're great stealth games. from your critera they're right up your alley.

Thanks for the suggestion! Tenchu Z seems to be the only one on Xbox 360, as well as an XBLA spinoff. Can you confirm if Z is any good?

 

[Austin Howe]

A) Stealth games should more or less be puzzle games
B) With multiple solutions.

MGS4

 

[Akytalusia]

Can you confirm if Z is any good?

unfortunately i can't. i've only played the ones for the psx/ps2, and don't have a 360. i read about it, and it sounds pretty cool on paper. but the reviews don't seem to be very positive. so, who knows about that one.

 

[The Madman]

I love the old Thief series, it's one of the few examples of 'stealth' in a game that actually felt like stealth. Carefully observing the pattern of the guard patrols from a distance, timing your movements to stay unseen, lurking in the shadows and waiting for just that right moment when everyones back is turned to run through that small unavoidable patch of revealing light. It's an incredibly intense series with by far the best example of sneaking gameplay in gaming.

What also helped were the massive open environments. Not open as in open world, each level was indeed a self-contained level, but they were so massive and so labyrith that honestly they still put most games to absolute shame. Early in Thief 2 there's a single level, and this is important, a single level where you're leaping from rooftop to rooftop across the city, dodging through windows where sleeping couples lie in bed only meters away, and slowly making your way towards the massive steampunk skyscraper where a ball is being hosted by the city sheriff. You break into the tower, sneak past the high security, and use the ongoing ball as a way to explore the sheriff and his staffs personal office and room-space. And this is a big tower, it's even got a small museum where you, as a thief obviously, are free to nick and grab anything worth carrying if you're up to the challenge of trying to avoid the more advanced security. Then, beyond all that, you've still gotta get back out.

And that's just one level! There's another in Thief 2 where you follow a trail of blood through a haunted forest, another where you break into a high-security steampunk bank, and in the first game you've got the Haunted Catheral which is one of the most spooky levels in gaming history. Not to completely dismiss Thief 3, which had the Shalebridge Cradle, a brilliantly done level alone worth the price of the game just to experience.

Large non-linear levels. Extremely tight and fluid gameplay design where shadows are your friends and tile floors your worst enemies. Interesting gadgets and tools to help you out. And so much ambience that frankly the number of games that can compete are counted on a single hand.

Brilliant series. Absolutely brilliant. I'm not the only one that thinks so either.

Eidos better not balls up Thief 4, that's all I gotta say. If it turns out to be some Assassins Creed/Splinter Cell ripoff I'll... well I'll be really sad.

 

[Savber]

Hitman: Blood Money.

You want to sneak in or charge in with a Spas-12? You can choose.

You want to poison the cake, snipe from a tower, rig the chandelier to drop onto an unsuspecting target? You can do it.

The best stealth game is the one that allows you to choose how you do it like Hitman or Thief II.

Linear crap like Splinter Cell are fun once in a while but quickly loses steam afterwards. On the other hand, I'm still discovering new and interesting ways to kill my targets in Hitman: BM.

 

[Pearwood]

I'm going to be predictable and say Thief, I don't play many FPS games and whenever stealth is an option in an RPG I tend to only use it as an escape thing or to set up an attack.

 

[chukrum47]

Being able to go through an entire level undetected, while simultaneously killing/ko-ing/disabling ever enemy I find. I don't know why I find so satisfying to sneak around a level, silently killing everyone in my way unbeknownst to their comrades.

And this works in basically all stealth/action games, but I can't seem to think of any one that does it the best at the moment.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Splintercell chaos theory was the ultimate stealth game. Multiple routes and strategies, and the level design was glorious.

 

[TheLoveableMuffin]

Hmm...I think my personal preference for stealth games is being able to see the reactions of the guards when you successfully stealth kill them one by one. Arkham Asylum for example. Gradually turning the bad guys into trembling fools, before you swoop down on the last guy and cracking his skull in with my Bat-Fists has an odd sense of satisfaction.

 

[FalloutJack]

Jack likes to stealth in his Fallout games. Hundreds of dead monsters hit from the maximum sniper range as they are tiny specks on my screen.

 

[triggrhappy94]

I like it when it feels like you're sneaking, and there's some challenge to it, but its not unforgivingly hard to remain undettected.

 

[Weslebear]

Hitman: Blood Money.

Just the amazing variety of ways to pull off each hit, some stealthy, some not so much.

Have yet to find another stealth game with as much replay-ability, not many games in other genres have this either.