How to do Stealth right?

[Alarien]

I think MGS is a pretty good example of how not to do stealth. In MGS4 there was absolutely no reason to do it, despite the fact that, of that series, it worked the best, since it was easier to just kill everything and there is no real reward or reason to not do just that other than to get a questionable title-thingy. In MGS1, the stealth was a lot more necessary, but the game felt like one big boring version of Pac-Man. You moved from location to location while the "ghosts" followed very pre-determined paths.

For modern games, I think Arkham Asylum has gotten it the closest to feeling "right." Since being seen results in you being shot to death in a lot of situations and you can approach most situations from any number of stealthy perspectives. You really need to balance freedom and speed of movement with stealth and action. There's nothing more lame that crawling for 10 minutes to move 20 feet.

 

[almostgold]

Splinter cell chaos theory did it perfectly I think. I disagree with your point about having an assault rifle because in a few bullets you're dead, and usually if you get caught you'll be up against over 3 guys anyways. I also disagree with "enemies should stay in the light" because that would make the game waaaaay too hard. Plus tricking enemies into the shadows and then slitting their throat before they know what's going on is not only super satisfying, but the best strategy for stealth games.

I'm holding out for the next Splinter cELL. As cliche as the plot looks, the gameplay looks to be incredible. I hope it doesnt dissapoint.

My point about enemies stayimg in the light is that it is my belief that that way, kills have to be perfectly timed. I like being able to lure enemies in the shadows (aka the whistle), but I dislike it when enemies walk into areas on their own where I can be right in front of them and they dont see me. Also, I find ranged distractions (noisemaker arrows) are overpowered. The whistle was perfect

 

[Axolotl]

The End and The Fury from MGS 3 are pretty much perfect examples of how stealth should work in my mind.

Other than that the Theif series had brilliant stealth that more games should follow (imagine if Morrowind or Oblivion had that level of stealth).