7. Splinter Cell
Sam Fisher's first venture into Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell world wasn't the first time video game stealth tactics had been available; Thief for example came out four years prior and offered similar shadow-hiding takedowns and sneaky play. But with Splinter Cell you really had so many options and tools at your disposal it truly offered variety in executing your mission. Neither SC or Thief was the first though - Saboteur was an 8-bit game released in 1985 for various formats of the time and the fundamental storyline was that you played a stealthy ninja and you had to sneak into various areas to achieve the main goal of stealing a floppy disk containing a list of enemy names. Our black-clothed assassin would find himself cornered in tunnels, warehouses and command centres and the controls consisted of running, crouching, using weaponry and objects found in crates as well as throwing stars and other objects. He could also perform hand-to-hand combat when necessary although that should be circumnavigated where possible. You see, in Saboteur you could limit the noise your ninja made and thus avoid guards rather than confront them. Of course you also needed to ensure you didn't get in their line of sight too. Saboteur had a storyline not a million miles from Splinter Cell and similar - albeit 8-bit - 2D graphics 'engine'. It was a game ahead of its time with its embryonic stealth elements and the need to improvise depending on the situation - one definitely worthy of note.