User blog:TheBlueRogue/Guided Tour: Stealth Games

Guided Tour CSS With over 72 million monthly visitors across over 320,000 wikis (and counting!), Wikia is a hotbed of passionate expertise on an incredibly diverse range of topics. With such a plethora of information to sift through, breaking into a new franchise or genre can seem a tad overwhelming. To help break the ice, we're going to be asking experts from various communities to tell us what it is about their area of expertise they find so captivating -- and the steps they recommend beginners take to set themselves on the path to geekery.

We're calling the series "Guided Tour'. This month, we're sticking to the shadows to learn about Stealth Games.

A stealth game is a type of video game that focuses on the player using stealth to avoid or overcome antagonists. Games in the genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, using disguises, and/or avoiding noise. Some stealth games feature branching paths, allowing players to choose between a stealthy approach or direct confrontation. The genre centers super-skilled spies, thieves, assassins and ninjas. Some games have combined these elements with those of other genres, including first-person shooters and even platform games.

The genre's roots begin in 1981 when Sega released the arcade game 005. The primary mission for the player was to take a briefcase of secret documents to a helicopter while avoiding enemies. 005 holds the Guinness World Record for being the first stealth game. Castle Wolfenstein, also released in 1981, focused on players stealing secret plans and escaping. In 1987 Hideo Kojima created Metal Gear, which utilized stealth elements within an action-adventure framework. The game was the first mainstream stealth game to be released for home consoles. Metal Gear placed a greater emphasis on stealth than other games of the time. The main character Snake begins with game without weapons which forces him to avoid confrontation. Although stealth gameplay had appeared in a several games in the 1980s and 1990s, 1998 is seen as a turning point in for the genre's history. Groundbreaking titles such as Metal Gear Solid, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, and Thief: The Dark Project were released. The ninja-themed game Tenchu: Stealth Assassins was the first ever 3D stealth based-game. Thief: The Dark Project featured the first-person perspective. One of Thief's most noteworthy contributions to the genre was the heavy use of audio cues and ambiance to determine the player's level of stealth and establish a crippling atmosphere.

In the present day, stealth games are represented in a wide variety of successful franchises.

My name is Shrev, and I’ve been an admin at the Sly Cooper Wiki since July 2010. I was introduced to the Sly Cooper series rather late, in 2005, but instantly loved playing the games, not only because of the funny characters, planned heists, but also because of the element of being able to watch your enemies without them knowing. In other words, stealth. My main reason for the appreciation of stealth in general is, as opposed to the fast-paced shoot ‘em up and “think-on-your-feet” gameplay, stealth allows you to sit back and think through what you’re about to do.

Stealth games are like analytic puzzles; they allow you to really plan ahead and figure out what you want to do with the situation; do you want to kill that enemy in front of you, or would you be able to manage to sneak past him while still being unseen? Are there any barriers or distractions you could use? If you do take out that guy, would you be able to do it silently? All these questions arise when you’re playing a stealth game, and while the planning may take a couple of tries, the feeling of the plan working is a very satisfying one.

Stealth games also allow a lot of freedom with your options. If you choose to kill someone, you have the choice of moving their body someplace. If you want to create a distraction, maybe there’s something near the middle that’ll attract all the guards, or maybe something in the corner that’ll bring in just the target. And with any stealth game, view is key, and is something that should always be taken advantage of. Whether it’s using your binocucom in Sly Cooper, or snooping through cameras in Watch_Dogs, whatever you can use to get that extra vantage point can really help make your plan all the more concrete. Stealth games occur quite often in an open-world environment because the game wants you to think about how your actions will affect the world at hand, not just the situation your character is in. Watch_Dogs especially takes advantage of this; by creating a harmful distraction, you may have inadvertently caused a passing pedestrian to call the cops, so not only do you have to deal with your enemies, but you’ve also got the cops on you too.

If you’re one for planning ahead and taking it step-by-step, stealth may be just the genre for you.

Want to put your stealth skills to the test? Check out some of these awesome stealth game wikis on our network. These wikis can provide a large amount of information about these great games. Looking for a difficult stealth game, or perhaps an action/stealth game hybrid? Take a look at these great game series, you might find your next favorite game!


 * http://splintercell.wikia.com
 * http://thief.wikia.com
 * http://metalgear.wikia.com
 * http://assassinscreed.wikia.com
 * http://deusex.wikia.com
 * http://perfectdark.wikia.com
 * http://slycooper.wikia.com
 * http://tenchu.wikia.com
 * http://syphonfilter.wikia.com
 * http://hitman.wikia.com

Got a favorite stealth game that isn't listed here? Want to join in on the conversation? Leave a comment below!