My lack of my new PS3 games has led me to scour my old
collection of PS2 games as a source of entertainment and mild nostalgia. In
doing so I've been playing through some of my old stealth games. Mainly a game
called Stolen, in which you play a Lara Croft like cat burglar as she goes
through museums and high-tech facilities while being in denial of her obvious
unexplained and unmentioned kleptomania. Her suppression of this plot hole has
an adverse effect on that manifests in her behaviour, taking the form of cringe
worthy one-liners and need to leave as much DNA at crime scenes as possible.
The story involves a conspiracy surround an upcoming an election in which
"Good Guy McMayor's" sole policy involves bring new treasures and
artwork to the city's galleries and museums and "Bad Guy Joe's"
policies involve clamping down on the city's extremely high crime rates. Rose
tinted glasses much?
Game-play-wise, Stolen is very similar to Metal Gear
Solid (cardboard box excluded) in its stealth mechanics, guard tactics and use
guns to stun guards and take out security cameras. The stealth mechanics of
Stolen are the only really notable point about the game. The game manages to
maintain a balance between characters ability and threat of being found that
most games fail to meet. Although the protagonist, Anya, has an arsenal of
high-tech gadgets and some acrobatic skills, being discovered generally means
that retreat and re-strategizing is a better option as confrontation with
guards is the fastest way to a game over. In doing so puts an emphasis on the
need for stealth and cunning makes for very engaging game-play.
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| Though we all know the correct way to sneak into facility is tip-toeing to Minnie the Moocher. |
This balance is one I find that too many stealth based
games seem to miss the mark on. The Assassins Creed series being a long time
suffer from this. Personally, I thought the first Assassins Creed has used
stealth mechanics best in the franchise as guards were very quick to mark you
as an assassin and chases could have you go all the way from one side of the
map to the other in an attempt to flee your pursuers. Sneaking into compounds,
taking out all of the archers silently and pouncing upon your unsuspecting
target was the best tactic as you weren't likely to succeed in a head-on or mad
dash approach due to vast amounts of guards surrounding you long enough for
your target escape in the struggle. My main issue was that there was no real
threat from any opponents. Altair could defeat any number of enemies in open combat
if the player was willing to stand still and spam counter until every adversary
is defeated one by one (similar to me standing around awkwardly at a New Year's
Eve party high 5-ing relatives drunker than I am until they let me leave or at
least play guitar hero in the corner).
However, all of the additional mechanics added in the
sequels only served to undermine the stealth elements further. The notoriety
meter resulted in guards being thoroughly disinterested in Ezio's activities to
the point he can run full speed past them, climb a building and jump off it on
to the minstrel that had the audacity to ask you for spare change without
batting a city guard's eyelid. Even at full notoriety guards weren't as
suspicious as in AC1 and at most you'd only have two or three run after you on
roof tops. The gun mechanic meant that even high priority targets could be
killed from a far without challenge and Ezio could still somehow teleport and
have a chat with them before they die. By the time of Revelations, Ezio is the
walking arsenal of Italy and in possession more pointy objects stuck to him
than on a hedgehog being treated with acupuncture. To top it all off, the
addition of large pouches of medicine, our favourite Italian assassin is also
gifted with instantly regenerating health. Why would this guy ever need to hide
from anyone?
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| Assassin's Hidden Blade™. Now with hook blade, spatula knife and web shooter attachments. |
In fairness that missions and guard strengths have
been changed in Revelations; and to an extent Brotherhood, but neither problem
is fully resolved. Missions will force you to go undetected while stalking a
target, but it feels rather unnatural like most forced stealth sections in
action games do with sections that have you follow a guy and jump in to cover
every time he turns around for a second thinking forgot his keys. The guards
have been altered to be more aggressive in later games to stop the
"counter spamming" but it's still not compensated for the fact you
have a gun, crossbow and now an array of explosives to fight people armed with
swords. The developers seem to be turning the assassins into acrobatic
mercenaries/soldiers rather than skilled infiltrators. By the looks of the
trailer, Assassin's Creed 3 seems to put you in the middle of a full sized
battle. If you're an assassin and you’re having to hide behind cover from an
army of soldiers that can clearly see you, you're doing it wrong. You should be
disguised as the targets horse in a pantomime configuration or at least hiding
in a nearby bin.
I feel that the perfect balance comes in stealth when
the player feels that they have enough abilities to get around the situation,
but barely any power to protect them if they are discovered. The looming threat
of discovery countered by the feeling of skill and cunning when you satisfyingly
duck and weave past enemies is perhaps a metaphor of brains vs. brawn that
stealth fans find so appealing. With Assassin's Creed 3 on the horizon, I hope
that Ubisoft can put back some of the challenge to being a skilled infiltrator
and assassin while continuing a stand-out triple A series.
