Genre

In this blog post I will be writing about a type of gaming genre and then linking a game that fits with it and then explaining why it fits into that category.

The type of genre that I have chosen is the stealth genre. Stealth games reward player who use stealth tactics to avoid being detected and overcome the various antagonists throughout the game. Usually games in this category allow the player to hide and remain undetected; they could use disguises and could avoid making noise which would alert antagonists in the game. Some games offer the player to decide between using a stealth approach or to go in and attack the antagonist directly, but would probably reward the player better if they took the stealthy approach. The stealth genre has employed espionage rouge and counter-terrorism themes, with your character the protagonist being identified as being either ninjas, spies, thieves, assassins or even a special forces operative. Some current games have combined the stealth genre element with other gaming genre’s such as first person shooters (FPS) and even plat-forming games.

Some early games that started the genre of stealth are 005, Castle Wolfenstein in 1981, Metal Gear in 1987, and Metal Gear Solid: Solid Snake in 1990. The stealth genre became most popular in 1998, with the success in Metal Gear Solid, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins and Theif: The Dark Project. Tenchu was the first 3D game in the stealth category, where Metal Gear Solid was released some months later, which transformed the relatively obscure Metal Gear series into a highly well known name, profitable franchise which had a number of sequels , whereas Theif pioneered some 3D stealth games onto PC. Other stealth series followed this, example could be Splinter Cell and Hitman and later games allowed players the opportunity to choose between or a combined approach using stealth tactics or direct confrontation.

The main antagonists within this genre are group antagonists who are multiple enemies that you must face, an example of this in a stealth game could be the hundreds of guards that would will inevitably come across whilst trying to sneak past, also stealth games could contain boss battles, an example of this could be in the Metal Gear series, one of those could be Revolver Ocelot or Vulcan Raven. The type of character that you might come across playing as could have some interesting characteristics, they could have a military trained background, and this would explain why your character is selected to be on the missions in the game. The story of a stealth game can be delivered in a number of ways; two of those could be either through cut scenes or radio transmissions like in the Metal Gear franchise. Typically the audience that stealth games are normally aimed at are roughly 16/18 plus, depending on how violent the game could get.

In this next part I will be choosing a game that fits into this genre, that game is the latest release in the series of Splinter Cell, which is Splinter Cell: Blacklist, this game fits perfectly into the stealth genre, not because it’s mentioned in the previous paragraphs, but because the game-play experience matches what the stealth genre is about. Sneaking past enemies does reward you with better unlockables, in this game sneaking past enemies undetected rewards you with more stealth points which then gives you more money once you complete the level, with that money you can upgrade the facility you’re in to unlock better weapons and gear. As well as if you preferred not to be entirely stealthy and want to take the enemy head on then the game does still reward you with points, so either way you play this you’re still unlocking rewards so you don’t lose out on the aspects of the game.