From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has multiple issues: It does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by citing reliable sources. Tagged since December 2007. It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. Tagged since December 2007. It may need copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. Tagged since December 2007. It may require general cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.Tagged since December 2007. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page.

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

Stealth games are video games that, unlike traditional action games, revolve around patience, lurking, and avoiding detection (or getting rid of an enemy silently and quickly without calling attention) in order to complete missions. The genre of stealth games is fairly old, but there are still few games that fall strictly within the genre. However, since the popularization of the Metal Gear series with Metal Gear Solid in 1998, many recent action games have borrowed elements from stealth games.

The earliest game to feature stealth elements was Castle Wolfenstein (not to be confused with the loosely related Wolfenstein 3D), released in 1981 by Muse Software. 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 (although the Nintendo Entertainment System installment in the series had a much less heavy emphasis on stealth elements). The game became a success, particularly in North America, after selling over a million units.

Metal Gear was followed by two independently-produced sequels that were both released in 1990: Snake's Revenge (the non-canonical sequel produced without Hideo Kojima's involvement) in North America and Europe for the NES and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (the official canonical sequel produced by Hideo Kojima) in Japan for the MSX2. While Snake's Revenge offered only minor improvements to the concept, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake expanded the genre significantly, including a greatly improved enemy AI, placing an even greater emphasis on stealth. While the early Metal Gear games were moderately successful, the concept did not develop beyond those few games for almost a decade.

During the development of Wolfenstein 3D, developer id Software experimented with several stealth features, such as sneaking behind the guards or dressing in enemy uniform, but none of these features made it into the final game. 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 and a prequel Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, along with many more games in this genre, most notably the Splinter Cell, Manhunt and Hitman series. Other games incorporated a stealth approach as an option to players, notably Deus Ex, 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, as well as platform games such as Sly Cooper.

In recent times, stealth games have grown even further in popularity, so much so that some mainstream first-person shooters, such as No One Lives Forever and Goldeneye's spiritual successors Perfect Dark and Perfect Dark Zero, have included stealth and spying elements in their gameplay. Closely related to the intermingling of first-person shooters and stealth games is the first-person shooter subgenre tactical shooters, such as Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. Far Cry expanded on this genre by having a lush outdoor environment (the player may hide behind boulders and trees or in shrubs).

The dynamics of stealth games are quite different from first-person shooters or other action games. 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, whereas other action games revolve more around quick reflexes. In stealth games, a player cannot simply walk into multiple enemies pathways, unlike most action games. Stealth based games require that the player eliminates targets silently and without detection.

Whereas the excitement in most action games is the adrenaline rush of combat, 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 unenjoyable due to the lack of frantic action and occasional frustration at the high finesse that is often required.

• The Unseen History of the Stealth Game