Stealth games have always been a favourite of mine since playing games like Tenchu and Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation many years ago. Since the arrival of next generation consoles the games in this genre have simply got better and better, incorporating more features than ever and really thrusting you into the role. With games like Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell what was intriguing about these titles is the way in which they offered players a choice in how they approached the game. With the core game-play being stealth orientated they also allowed players to go a little wild with weapons and the like so as to appeal to a greater audience.

With games like Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and Metal Gear Solid 3 pushing the boundaries in the stealth genre it must be hard for developers to come up with original ideas. When you think of games like Rogue Ops which basically copied (very badly I might add) features from the more successful stealth games but adding their own twists as well you have to ask yourself, developers need something to make their title stand out.

Well cue Stolen the latest stealth game that is set to appear on Xbox and PS2. In Stolen players assume the role of athletic and sexy babe Anya Romanov as she sneaks into the darkened world of the thief. Initially stealing items to order for a mysterious source soon leads our heroine on a trail of corruption and deceit as she uncovers a plot that could topple the city.

Gameplay:

The first thing to take note when playing the introduction level of Stolen is the fact that your training comprises of a lot of acrobatic moves such as swinging on pipes, shimmying across narrow ledges, climbing up walls and doing some insane jumps that could perhaps give those who suffer from vertigo a heart attack. Whilst this approach is somewhat different to the antics of Sam Fisher or Solid Snake I couldn’t help but feel reminded of Tomb Raider. However you may ask yourself, why all the comparisons? Well to be honest it seems that Stolen has borrowed a few ideas from quite a number of games. That said, Stolen does have a few ideas of its own tucked up its sleeve and perhaps these ideas will be loved or loathed by players.

The first thing that Stolen attempts to do differently compared to some of its peers is to offer a non lethal approach to the game. This means no silenced weapons or lethal neck breaks to make going from one area to another easy (when you have hidden the dead body somewhere). What Stolen does is require the player to use pure stealth to get past guards or in fact creep up on them and choke them. You might cry out “hey that’s in Metal Gear Solid” which you would be correct; however in stolen the effect of choking guards is a lot less effective. You see in Stolen, guards will remain unconscious for a very limited time and if you haven’t done navigating the room or searching lockers and the like before the guard wakes up then you’re going to get poor Anya in trouble. This generally means that other guards might be called to the area to sweep and look for you whilst you patiently hide in the shadows until they give up and return to their original patrol. In this respect the idea is quite a good one, however it is plagued with irregularities. For starters the guard AI is pretty stupid at times and perhaps a little unpredictable, which is what you would want right? Surely that’s realistic? Well yes it might be but at the end of the day this is a game and when things start to get frustrating due to inconsistencies then the fun factor is dragged right out of the game. Another inconsistency is the fact that Anya can get into some hand to hand combat when things get a little too hot, and whilst this kind of action goes against the stealth nature of the game- especially when guards are armed with guns, means that at times its too easy to get busted and then slap your way out of trouble against multiple armed opponents.

Anya also has some nifty gadgets to help her complete the numerous primary and secondary objectives on offer. Things like trackers which highlight guards on the map and their field of view, to tripwires which can help stun guards that decide to creep up on you whilst you are engaged in other activities. Then there are clever devices like the sonar which detects sound from behind closed doors and allows Anya to effectively see what’s beyond a door before opening it.

So does Stolen have any good points? Well yes it does depending on what kind of gamer you are. You see Stolen boasts a number of puzzles incorporated in what could easily have been left as a simple button press. You have things like lock picking, steel cutting with a laser and safe breaking to name a few. These are quite fun and add a little bit of pressure if you are about to get busted by a guard whilst furiously trying to complete a puzzle.

Other puzzle elements as mentioned earlier are of the Tomb Raider kind and generally involve getting from A to B using the context sensitive commands. Some of you and me included might feel that these actions are a little overstated in a stealth game and often detract from the stealth nature. That said they do offer some variety to the game play which surely can only be a good thing, right? Well at times you might start feeling the frustration levels rising up within you at some point in the game as the combination of puzzling, flawed AI and such become too much for those who lack patience.

Grahpics:

Stolen looks reasonable for a game released 3 years ago but is no way as good looking as it should be on Xbox. The whole game reeks of multiplatform minimal effort all the way. The environments whilst well designed simply lack the kind of details that gamers expect in this day and age. To be frank the game simply looks dated in every way possible. The developers have tried to offer realistic looking shadows and the like but even these simply don’t match up to what gamers of today expect.

Sound:

Sound effects are very lacklustre and with some reasonable vocal performances on offer tries to be thrilling but ends up being decidedly average. The music is non intrusive except during scenes where there is high action and the sound of Anya’s death is one of the worst I’ve heard for a long time as she sounds like a strangled cat. The banter via the earpiece is good and perhaps some of the chatter from guards, just don’t expect Oscar winning performances here.

Longevity:

Stolen is a reasonable length game as it requires a lot of patience to a) get through it and b) play the game properly. At any time during the mission players can check their stats and ratings to see how well they are doing and obviously try again to improve. There are also primary and secondary objectives to aim for as well as loot which can be found from lockers and patrolling guards. To get everything and remain undetected will take mad skills and perhaps will only appeal to die hard fans of the game. For anyone else who doesn’t quite get into the game might just return it to the store prior to completion.

Overall:

I can’t quite put my finger on why I found Stolen to be more a pain than anything else. Maybe because I didn’t feel the fun factor that games should have with this title. I am sure that there will be a number of gamers out there that will purchase and like the game but when you compare this to games like Splinter Cell Chaos Theory then they truly are worlds apart and makes you wonder why the developers bothered in the first place. If you are a gamer with loads of patience then I’m sure you’ll have fun with the game as in this respect there is some enjoyment to be had. Anyone else might consider renting first as this game might leave you unfulfilled and perhaps glad that you didn’t go the whole hog and buy it. Below average and somewhat unpolished when compared to other games in the genre.