Poll: How do you like your stealth?

[Dogstile]

Honestly, it depends on the game. Conviction is a fucking brilliant game because it's stealth action. The co-op deniable ops is really fun to go through without being spotted, even if the idea is to kill all the guards. Crank it up to realistic and you basically have to stealth it.

At the same time, deus ex gave me the ability to ghost level's which I honestly thought was awesome. Although I could never resist giving guards a little tap on the back of the head. Actually, with Jensen its more like a punch to the nose but psh.

 

[Epic Fail 1977]

also did any one else play Dishonored like Batman, using blink off rooftops, stabbing a fool, and blinking back up.

Blink II + Street Lamp Posts = Win :-D

Also I must say the climbing/mantling in Dishonored is probably the best I've ever seen in a first person game.

 

[thejackyl]

In between Pro and Semi-Pro

I have to say stealth games, I hate getting a game over screen due to a small error. I prefer the ones where if you do manage to fuck up, you still have the option to run away and hide elsewhere.

I have to say when I did my Foxiest of the Hounds playthrough of Deus Ex: HR, It was easier to let the enemies go about 90% of the time. I think I only killed/knocked out about 5 people the whole game.

That and my Low Chaos playthrough of Dishonored was great fun too.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

MGS was my favourite... hiding and avoiding! Realistic stealth!
I also like escaping, hiding deceiving and evading in FPS's too!

 

[2fish]

I like it if the game can be beaten in complete ghost mode. However it depends on the game.

I tend to find that some games or level call me to do things other than ghosting.

Thief II
STEAL ALL THINGS! Don?t get caught, but if you do be sure that you clean up your mess. AKA knock them out before they can warn others. Garret is not a killer so I hate killing in the game. I have done it when I fucked up royally though.

Hitman Blood Money
Kill everyone silently one by one and make sure the bodies will not be found until after you leave.
OR
Only kill the target.
Both follow the do not be caught rules of Thief II only killing is allowed if hostile catches you.

Mark of the Ninja
Ghost is fun but terror is better. Terrorize as many enemies as possible, get them to kill their own people.

Dishonored
Shadow runs (ghost but allows killing) as killing is too damn fun not to do. Never see you they just wake up dead. I would also allow knocking out when needed because that is fun too.

Death to spies moment of truth
Oh dear god one of these days I will find the time for you. Stay out of sight, you can kill but avoid guns unless you don?t need the clothes. I tend to go in choke/drug the person with the clothes I need. Get the mission objectives done and avoid using my guns at all costs.

So overall I do enjoy a good ghost run but I prefer to be death from the shadows. I guess in the eyes of the stealth community that makes me a lesser being.

 

[freaper]

Mark of the Ninja and Dishonored did it right for me, most recently. I found the stealth in Deus Ex:HR a tad boring though.

OP: Fix you grammar in the poll options. I have no idea what you mean with any of those answers.

 

[MortisLegio]

I like my stealth Arkham style where I need to be sneaky to succeed but if I fuck it up it's not an insta-fail.

 

[Jedamethis]

I like to stalk and carefully kill everything in my way without anybody noticing. What does that count as?

So, more offensive stealth if that makes sense.

 

[AT God]

I am not too talented at stealth games, so I only prefer the hardcore ones when I can spam quicksave. I beat Chaos Theory first try without killing anyone but it required a lot of saving.

 

[Absimilliard]

I'm gonna answer the question a slightly different way, and say I like my stealth optional.

That is to say, I hate forced stealth in a game.

I concur, I prefer the more organic gameplay-style were you can get out of trouble by another way than loading your last save. For me, a good play-through of a stealth game is when no alarms have been raised, but I like the options you get in e.g. Assassin's Creed (most of the time) or MGS (except possibly MGS4)...

 

[Souplex]

The only good way to handle stealth is to allow the player to run up to the enemy screaming, and rip out their sensory organs.
All other forms of stealth are asking that the player actively avoid fun.

 

[Phuctifyno]

my favourite stealth franchise is the Hitman series. You can either be so sneaky you are never seen or you can simply go in guns blazing. You're given a choice and a rating based on how you did. I love it.

Word.


The best part is that even the stealth isn't limited to sneaking around in the shadows, like most. There are a lot of places you can walk around freely, only raising suspicion by doing suspicious things. Then add on top of that the disguises... awesome. I don't think there are any other stealth franchises that do that (my biggest disappointment with Skyrim was that they didn't incorporate it into their stealth, seeing as there are already tons of different things to wear). If I'm mistaken, please let me know.

 

[Bestival]

I'm sensing some bias in these options...
Anyway, I picked Boring. I like my stealth to be 'a way' not 'the way'.

 

[McMarbles]

I like my stealth as far away from any game I'm currently playing as it can get.

Sorry, I just don't like sneaking around.

 

[mgirl]

Wonderfully biased options in the poll there.

As others have said, I like stealth to be optional. Getting spotted should not be an instant game over, you should be able to at least run and hide, and combat should be viable to at least some degree. Makes me think of amnesia too much if you have absolutely no defence against enemies at all.

 

[Dfskelleton]

I usually prefer stealth when I can silently pick enemies off one by one without the others noticing, hiding the bodies and picking a new target. That's how I played Dishonored, and it was awesome (despite the fact that the game kept calling me an asshole for doing so)

There are always exceptions, such as Thief. In Thief, the nonlethal options are more interesting, and the game clearly states that you are a thief, not a killer. Not only that, but the guards are all so colorful and fun (personality wise) that you don't want to kill them.
I guess I don't personally prefer lethal options over nonlethal options; just whatever will make the game the most fun.

 

[Swyftstar]

I guess I'll pick the average option. I don't know why you call it average though. I like stealth games where I have to be stealthy to get the kill. I don't do it because it's easier or harder, I do it because everything must dead!

Off topic: Screw you and your goddamn "dish fall sales event"

 

[sam13lfc]

I LOVE stealth games. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but something inside me likes the thrill of executing a perfectly silent and undetectable infiltration. The key thing with games like that, something which developers get wrong constantly, is the AI; the AI have to behave as a human would for stealth games to be at their best. I think Assassins Creed and MGS have good stealth mechanics but both need improvements.

As for the poll I voted Average; I like freedom of choice so killing should be an option as well as stunning etc.

 

[AgentLampshade]

I like "hunting" stealth. I like being in power and mocking my prey. I can take them out in a dozen ways and I've had many opportunities to do so, but I'm looking for that kill, you know, the perfect one. The one where I have to lure him out somehow and do something completely unconventional to him. Then when his allies find him lying in a pool of his own blood with no clear cause of death, then I feel their digital heartbeats race.

The Arkham games really made me feel like that (aside the "killing" part of course.)

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Semi-pro. You CAN break cover and engage the enemy straight-up but most of the time fights are so risky and costly that you won't WANT to unless you've just saved in which case you can go nuts and just have some fun seeing how far you can get going rambo-style gun ablazing. On the other side, I like being able to mess with the guards' minds and being able to see a more general reaction on the enemy command level (the commander's radio voiceover in Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 when you're spotted). Being the hardest option of such a game, being able to complete a level with zero body count should always be rewarded.