10 Video Games With Stealth Missions That Are Totally Out Of Place
Some action-adventure games are better off being just about open combat!
Stealth games give clear instructions: stick to the corners, blend in with the shadows, and by no means let yourself be seen. Sometimes action and excitement can also be invoked through subtlety without having to involve loud bangs and explosions.
The genre gained particular popularity in the late '90s and early' 00s thanks to games like Thief, Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell. After a few years hiding in the shadows, stealth games are back in vogue with dozens of games borrowing the mechanics to round off the gaming experience - whether it's action games, shooters, RPGs or tactics and strategy games.
These forced stealth intrusions are sometimes decent but more often than not marginally brought into play. Good game design isn't achieved by taking a general concept and then applying it without any further thought or consideration. That's just a catalyst for confusion and annoyance.
Yet there's hardly a game out there today that doesn't fall in this trap at some point or another. Whisper it quietly, now...
10. Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
Admittedly, the Monolith Productions version of Lord of the Rings is already quite stealthy in itself and makes us rather sneaky as a ranger Talion. As far as the game play is concerned, Monolith was clearly inspired by the stealth mechanics of Assassin's Creed and the open combat style of the Arkham games.
The former lets Talion sneak through the environment quietly, balance over ropes, hide in bushes and silently take down a number of Uruks without attracting attention. The latter extends his powers to plunge into open combat and fight with a free-flow system thus killing Orcs in seconds whilst raising his combo meter.
The only problem is that there are just too many damn Orcs everywhere, moving and spawning in unpredictable ways so that trying to be stealthy in the over world is almost impossible.
And while a few Captains have a weakness that will let you auto kill them with stealth, the vast majority don’t and at best you’ll get a bit of damage in before a full-on brawl breaks out immediately. Worst case scenario, if the Orcs turn out to be stealth immune or enraged, then you’re in the shithouse.