Stealth game

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Solid Snake hides behind a tank in Metal Gear Solid, a popular stealth game.

A stealth game is a video game in which the player needs to avoid detection. The genre was introduced in 1981 by the game Castle Wolfenstein, but was not popularized until 1998, with the release of Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation. The genre's best selling games are Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, each with 7 million in sales.^[1][2]

[edit] History

Castle Wolfenstein, originally available on the Apple II in 1981, is the earliest home video game to employ stealth elements and have stealth as a focus of the gameplay (not to be confused with Wolfenstein 3D, an early FPS title). Players were charged with traversing the levels of Castle Wolfenstein, avoiding or killing the guards, stealing the secret plans and escaping. While the gameplay was primitive by today's standards, players could use the environment to sneak around guards, sneak up on or avoid guards while they were facing the other way, hold a guard at gunpoint and search him for supplies (dead guards could also be searched), or acquire uniforms to disguise themselves and walk by undetected. Having your weapon drawn while disguising yourself raised the ire of the guards, as well as firing a weapon (either to kill a guard or force open a chest as opposed to picking the lock). While not strictly a stealth-element, the game also employed the concept of limited-resources and acquiring resources from the environment. A player might be able to run-and-gun his way through the game , but would have a much better chance of success employing a deliberate, stealthy mode of gameplay.

The sequel to Castle Wolfenstein, Beyond Castle Wolfenstein, released in 1984 for the Apple II, expanded on some of the stealth elements by including a dagger to silently kill guards, allowing the player to bribe guards or acquire passes so the guards would grant access to certain areas, expanding the lock-picking mechanic, and even allowed the dragging of bodies to secluded areas to avoid rousing the suspicion of the guards.

Another early game to be primarily stealth based was Sega's 005, an arcade game released in December 1981. 005 was based on the spy theme popularized by the fictional character James Bond and his secret agent code 007. The game consisted of many stages, the main one involving stealing a briefcase and exiting a warehouse while avoiding the armed guards. The main character is armed only with a gas canister, which can be used to temporarily disable guards, and must avoid the guard's flashlight beams while navigating a maze to the exit.

Stealth elements were only rarely used again until Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear, released in 1987 by Konami for the MSX2, and shortly thereafter for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Metal Gear was followed by two independently-produced sequels that were both released in 1990: Snake's Revenge in North America and Europe for the NES; and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake in Japan for the MSX2 (the latter being recognized as the canonical sequel, being produced by Kojima himself). While the early Metal Gear games were moderately successful, the concept did not develop beyond those few games for almost a decade.

The genre didn't expand much further until the release of Goldeneye 007 on the Nintendo 64 in 1997, which involved various areas where either a brute force or stealth approach could be used, with stealth often being safer. Other times stealth was essential for survival- particularly in escape situations. Next came Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (February), closely followed by Metal Gear Solid (September), both released on the PlayStation, and Thief: The Dark Project (November) on the PC, all released in 1998. System Shock 2 also encouraged the player to use stealth through use of respawning enemies, severely limited ammunition and weapons that wear down with repeated firing.

Stealth games did not gain mass popularity until the release of Metal Gear Solid. Since then, it was followed by a sequel Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, a prequel Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots along with many more games in this genre, most notably the Splinter Cell, No One Lives Forever, Manhunt and Hitman series. Other games incorporated a stealth approach as an option to players, notably Deus Ex, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and Bungie's Oni. Many action games, such as Medal of Honor and Syphon Filter, include stealth-based levels. Some survival horror games (Siren being one example) implement aspects of this genre. Fatal Frame 3 has a character (Kei Amakura) that must use stealth instead of combat, due to his limited camera capabilities. Some platform games as well such as Sly Cooper use stealth as a main component of gameplay. The Legend of Zelda series often has one or two stealth missions, most notably the first visit to the Forbidden Fortress in The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker. Also in Paper Mario, at some points you had to control Peach and had to stay hidden from guards in the castle when it was controlled by Bowser.

[edit] Gameplay

Stealth games are typically designed to stack the odds against the player in situations involving multiple hostile enemies, and players who neglect to utilize a game's stealth mechanics in such situations are usually killed very quickly. Stealth games generally emphasize accuracy, planning, keen observation, and puzzle-solving skills. In stealth games, a player cannot simply walk into multiple enemies pathways. Stealth based games require that the player eliminates targets silently and without detection.

The enjoyment in a stealth game is usually (but not always) cerebral in nature. The ability to silently stalk an opponent or be within arm's reach of a potentially dangerous enemy and yet be completely unseen appeals to many gamers. These games also tend to have more emphasis on story, as part of a stealth game's impact comes from the ambiance that the game has, emphasizing urgency and the need to remain hidden. Likewise, stealth games also tend to contain more visual and sound cues than other games, again to heighten the experience. Fans of stealth games often find great excitement in the high-risk, high-tension gameplay and cinematic experience that is typical of the genre, whereas other gamers may find stealth games not enjoyable due to the lack of frantic action and occasional frustration at the high finesse that is often required.

There are several different kinds of stealth used in this genre. For example, the Hitman series uses disguises as the main way of avoiding attention, while in the Splinter Cell and Manhunt series, hiding in shadows or behind objects is the best way to go. In the game Assassin's Creed, the player has to blend in with the civilians to remain undetected by the many guards, and, in Metal Gear Solid 3 and Metal Gear Solid 4, using camouflage and the environment is one of the best ways to hide from enemies. In the game Second Sight you can make a hologram of your character that can run around for a while without being seen and control the enemies for a while. In Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, making noise and then finding a place to hide and move past the guards who come to investigate is sometimes used, while the player can also walk along ropes and vines and use various other thieving moves while playing as Sly, and disguises are also used in the latter game.

[edit] Important games and major series

[edit] Important Games

Games that contain gameplay mechanics, game structures, or other landmark achievements that advanced the stealth genre as a whole.

• Castle Wolfenstein (1981): First stealth game. First to feature an "alarm" system, and the ability to sneak in plain sight using enemy uniforms.
• Metal Gear (1987): First mainstream stealth game and first stealth game on a console (NES).
• Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990): First stealth game to include the ability to hide in areas guards can't search, and the first to feature guards that respond to noises other than gunshots, thus introducing the ability to distract guards.
• Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998): First 3D stealth game, and the first 3D stealth game on a console.
• Metal Gear Solid (1998): First mainstream 3D stealth game.
• Thief: The Dark Project (1998): First 3D stealth game on the PC. First to rely on light and shadow to hide, instead of just line-of-sight. Also the first to use audio, such as hearing footsteps and eavesdropping on conversations, as the primary means of keeping track of unseen foes.
• Deus Ex (2000): First game to allow stealth and action to be equally viable means towards completing objectives.
• Hitman: Codename 47 (2000): First 3D stealth game to allow the player to obtain disguises from any enemy, and the first stealth game to focus on "hiding in plain sight."
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001): First 3D stealth game to feature a collective artificial intelligence for enemy guards working in squads (where they interact and communicate with each other), and the ability to prevent an enemy guard from calling for backup on his radio after the player is spotted (by knocking him out or destroying his radio).
• Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (2003): First commercial stealth game to incorporate cooperative multiplayer.
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2004): First to incorporate stealth based "hide and seek" gameplay into versus multiplayer.
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004): First stealth game to incorporate camouflage as a means of hiding (another form of "hiding in plain sight").
• Shinobido: Way of the Ninja (2006): First stealth game to offer open-ended mission selection. Missions change based on who you are allied with, how much they trust you, and how skilled you are at stealth.

[edit] Major Series

• Metal Gear series: A major pioneer of stealth gameplay, which popularized the stealth game genre in both the 2D and 3D eras and added gameplay innovations with each game in the series.
• Thief series: Pioneered 'first person sneaking' (as opposed to 'shooting').
• Deus Ex series: Open ended FPS-RPG hybrid, which provides sneaking and action based solutions to objectives.
• Splinter Cell series: Best-selling, critically acclaimed. A sneaker set in the modern day with an emphasis on gadgetry and black-ops espionage.
• Syphon Filter series: Established as a hybrid containing both sneaking and shooting based levels; in later games the player is often allowed to play the game however they please (although by sneaking through the level the player is better rewarded, and obviously eliminates the risk of dying by enemy gunfire).
• Hitman series: Open ended game where the goal of each mission is to assassinate a target or targets (with some other sub-objectives).
• Tenchu series: Ninja game incorporating stealth as the main focus of its gameplay. The overall score on each level is roughly determined by how many stealth kills the player has subtracted by how many times the player has been spotted.
• No One Lives Forever series: A stealth-oriented FPS featuring a '60s spy theme.

[edit] Other stealth-based games, or games featuring stealth elements

• Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (1998)
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
• Aliens vs. Predator (1999)
• Hidden & Dangerous (1999)
• WinBack (1999)
• Shenmue (1999)
• Second Sight (2004)
• Drakan: Order of the Flame (1999)
• Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In (2000)
• Gothic (2001)
• Aliens versus Predator 2 (2001)
• Headhunter (2001)
• Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (2001)
• Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001)
• Jet Set Radio Future (2002)
• Arx Fatalis (2002)
• Europa 1400: The Guild (2002)
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002)
• Prisoner of War (2002)
• Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix (2002)
• Sly Cooper (2002)
• Drakan: The Ancients' Gates (2002)
• True Crime: Streets of LA (2003)
• I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike (2003)
• The Great Escape (2003)
• Rogue Ops (2003)
• Siren (2003)
• Beyond Good & Evil (2003)
• Manhunt (2003)
• Aurora Watching: Gorky Zero (2004)
• The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2004)
• Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (2004)
• Spy Fiction (2004)
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (2004)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (2005)
• Cold War (2005)
• Fahrenheit (2005)
• Sniper Elite (2005)
• Stolen (2005)
• Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006)
• Forbidden Siren 2 (2006)
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)
• Call of Juarez (2006)
• Sneak King (2006)
• Assassin's Creed (2007)
• BioShock (2007)
• Call of Duty 4 (2007)
• Crysis (2007)
• Dark Sector (2007)
• Manhunt 2 (2007)
• Penumbra: Overture (2007)
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007)
• Team Fortress 2 (2007)
• Data-Fly (2008)
• Fallout 3 (2008)
• Saboteur (2009)
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
• Velvet Assassin (2009)
• Cipher Complex (TBA)
• StarCraft: Ghost (TBA

[edit] References

1. ^ "Item 4. Information on the Company". Konami Corp - KNM Annual and Transition Report (foreign private issuer) (20-F). Konami (2004-07-22). Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
2. ^ "Konami of America and Sony Computer Entertainment America Announce That Metal Gear Solid 3 Will Be Available Exclusively for PlayStation 2". Contact Music. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.

[edit] External links

• The Unseen History of the Stealth Game