There are stealth games and then there are STEALTH GAMES. Take a look at Dishonored; a great game in every way, but it isn't a real stealth game. When pure aggro is an option and prowling in shadows doesn't matter much, the game isn't about stealth. The same is with the latest Splinter Cell games. They play well, with smooth cover transition and overall great gameplay mechanics, but Sam and Corvo always have the option of kicking the door open and slitting the throats/shooting everybody inside. Options are great, sure, but sometimes a man just wants to be a damn ninja. And that's where Klei jumped in. Mark of the Ninja is a game about a ninja, which is pretty much everything you need to know about the game. Here our hero cannot jump kick seven guards in the throat, pick up two assault rifles and proceed to murder everything that moves in the level. No, this is about slow and methodical movement, where precision and cunning are everything you've got. The ninja doesn't even draw his blade if he isn't sure that he can score a kill (read: finishers only). Now that's how you do stealth. After the mindless mini-gun totting romp that their previous franchise (Shank) was, Mark of the Ninja has proven that Klei is truly a versatile developer capable of producing great games on both sides of the platformer spectrum. Soon after MotN, they released Don't Starve, but that's an entirely different story.
