The stealth genre is one that is either loved or simply not tolerated by gamers across the globe as the tense game play can often prove too much for players with itchy trigger fingers and little patience. Whilst games such as Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid are benchmark titles that somehow manage to mix the stealth elements with intense combat to please action and stealth fans many other games have come and gone that have tried to do this, and many have simply not worked very well. It seemed for a long time that "your" game wasn't hip enough if it didn't include a stealth section, and maybe this still holds true today.

Hip Interactive and Blue 52 have teamed up to bring Stolen to Xbox, PS2 and PC. Stolen tells the tale of Anya Rominov, a professional hi-tech female Thief as she enters a world of deception, intrigue and deceit. As with any other sexy female lead, Anya is versatile enough to carry out her objectives, which basically requires her to steal stuff from high security areas. With a whole host of gadgetry and of course some flexible moves means that Anya is perfect for the task at hand.

I had the chance to see a demonstration of an early build of Stolen in action at EGN's trade show late last year and at the time the game was looking very promising indeed. Here are my thoughts from this demo and I can only assume that since then the game is even better.

Stolen was looking very slick as the core game mechanics were demonstrated. To make comparisons to any other games then think Thief 3, but set in a modern day environment. Stolen requires the player to assume the role of social misfit Anya a female thief as she infiltrates a Museum, Prison, Satellite Array and Apec Building. These areas are vast and offer a wide range of physical objects to hamper your progress whilst you search for primary and secondary objectives. Firstly you have a number of security guards which come in 3 basic levels. The first being the easiest to subdue to those being full on ex- military type security guards, who will thoroughly investigate if they get suspicious of any sounds or movement. There is a three stage alarm system which rises or falls depending on your activity. Alarm bells ringing and being chased by security should be kept to a minimum especially as guards can follow you through the whole level rather than give up at predetermined points on the map. Yet if this does happen then Anya will have to find somewhere to hide. Luckily she can creep silently and climb surfaces which help in evading the prying eyes of the guards. If there are no other alternatives then Anya can disable guards using some martial arts moves or lure them into traps.

Other security measures in place are things like cameras and locked doors which require quick thinking. It is here that the player enters a mini game under the pressure that Anya could get discovered whilst solving these problems. Mini games include Hacking, Steel Cutting, Lock picking and Trip Wires. For an example take a locked door, players can use a lock pick however this opens a pop up window where players then have to match the patterns on the lock's pins. Whilst this is fairly easy if no one is around the pressure builds if there is a nearby guard. Anya has a wide variety of tools at her disposal which will help her deal with the passive security in place; things like cameras can be disabled rather than destroyed. Anya also comes equipped with various vision modes which will enable her to see through walls and such giving her that edge any good thief needs.

Stolen boasts huge levels, which will take players a long time to finish. We are also promised no loading for these huge levels so players will get a smooth un-hampered playing experience. Gamers will also be able to replay levels to try and attain a better score as you are judged on your performance after each mission. Looking at the game in motion I was impressed indeed as the graphics were very detailed featuring real time shadows and dynamic lighting effects. As a big fan of stealth games in general, Stolen looks like a very promising title indeed. Stolen is released stateside on the 16th of March and sometime later in March for Europe.

Preview By: Robert Cram