5 Great (And 5 Not So Great) Stealth Video Games

10. Velvet Assassin

Starting this list on a bum note, we have a game that many were looking forward to: a third person stealth adventure set in World War 2.

The concept was great: much like Hitman: Contracts, the story and narrative is played out through a series of flashbacks. Loosely based on the life of Allied agent/saboteur Violette Szabo, the game sees you playing as Violette Summer as she lies comatose in a French hospital.

The execution, however, was a bit of a clunky mess, marred with too many stealth tropes that confused players and gave rise to incredibly sharp AI detection. Trying to utilise both Hitman and Splinter Cell mechanics, with uniforms and light/shadows respectively, it added too much complication in what should have been a straightforward stealth adventure.

It did have one unique mechanic, though. As long as you had a morphine syringe about your person, being spotted granted you a 'Last Stand'-style chance to eliminate that enemy. In theory, it was a get out of jail free card, but slightly redundant if there was more than one enemy.

The inclusion of a clunky experience/levelling system didn't improve much, which ultimately saw Velvet Assassin release to little critical acclaim.