Sneakin' around on the PS3
December 26, 2012 8:39 AM Subscribe
What PS3 games would you recommend for sneakin' around and quietly killing bad guys? Loved Batman: Arkham Asylum.
I recently loved the hell out of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City and I'm looking for more PS3 games that have a similar feel. Here's what I'm looking for:
1. SNEAKING AROUND. I love the "silent takedown" element where you creep around and try to get the bad guys without being noticed.
2. NOT TOO HARD. I'm not a hardcore gamer and I don't want something that will frustrate me too much. I want to be able to get shot a few times without dying.
3. NOT TOO SCARY. I don't want something with lots of scary stuff jumping out from the darkness. An Arkham level of scariness is fine.
I recently got Assassin's Creed 2 and it's pretty good, but it's not sneaky enough. You just walk up to the bad guys and try to kill them real quick. I remember some Hitman games for PC from ~10 years ago that were good for sneaking, are there good ones from that series for the PS3?
I recently loved the hell out of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City and I'm looking for more PS3 games that have a similar feel. Here's what I'm looking for:
1. SNEAKING AROUND. I love the "silent takedown" element where you creep around and try to get the bad guys without being noticed.
2. NOT TOO HARD. I'm not a hardcore gamer and I don't want something that will frustrate me too much. I want to be able to get shot a few times without dying.
3. NOT TOO SCARY. I don't want something with lots of scary stuff jumping out from the darkness. An Arkham level of scariness is fine.
I recently got Assassin's Creed 2 and it's pretty good, but it's not sneaky enough. You just walk up to the bad guys and try to kill them real quick. I remember some Hitman games for PC from ~10 years ago that were good for sneaking, are there good ones from that series for the PS3?
Metal Gear Solid!
The entire series is exactly what you're looking for.
posted by jozxyqk at 8:55 AM on December 26, 2012 [5 favorites]
The entire series is exactly what you're looking for.
posted by jozxyqk at 8:55 AM on December 26, 2012 [5 favorites]
Not full-time what you're looking for, but the Uncharted games (particularly 2 & 3) have a decent number of fun stealth sections. You can start shooting anytime, but the more guys you can creep up on and take out quietly, the better the fight's going to go. And the rest of the time they're great fun anyway.
posted by McCoy Pauley at 8:56 AM on December 26, 2012
posted by McCoy Pauley at 8:56 AM on December 26, 2012
Absolutely without reservation the answer is Dishonored. Superb fun. Can be played in sneaky mode or the old ultraviolent mode (with rewards for sneaky) and happens to be by Bethesda, who made Arkham, so it feels very similar. You won't be sorry.
posted by The Bellman at 8:59 AM on December 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by The Bellman at 8:59 AM on December 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
Pedantry: Dishonoured was developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda. Arkham Asylum was developed by Rocksteady and published by WB.
Both games used the Unreal Engine, though!
posted by selfnoise at 9:04 AM on December 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
Both games used the Unreal Engine, though!
posted by selfnoise at 9:04 AM on December 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
And I missed the edit window while I was editing. Bethesda didn't make Arkham, they made Skyrim. Still Dishonored feels very, very much like the Batman games, particularly in the importance of finding and using high places.
posted by The Bellman at 9:05 AM on December 26, 2012
posted by The Bellman at 9:05 AM on December 26, 2012
Dishonoured is the right answer.
posted by Sternmeyer at 9:06 AM on December 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Sternmeyer at 9:06 AM on December 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
The Uncharted series have this gameplay element. While you can go around shooting everything in sight (most of the time), the games are designed such that you can complete much of them with sneaking and fistfighting. On the harder difficulty levels you pretty much have to sneak much of the time or you'll get massacred.
Also, as was mentioned before, MGS is all about being sneaky.
posted by wierdo at 9:20 AM on December 26, 2012
Also, as was mentioned before, MGS is all about being sneaky.
posted by wierdo at 9:20 AM on December 26, 2012
Be warned that MGS contains much campiness and very long-winded dialogue. If it interests you; start with Snake Eater or the PS1 original. Besides being the better bits of the series IMHO, they also won't expect you to know the convoluted MGS plotline inside and out (Snake Eater being a prequel).
Skyrim does let you get rather stealthy; but you've also got plenty of options to fall back on and stealth isn't always the most accessible route through a situation. It's an excellent game in it's own right, but don't come in expecting something as tight as the Arkham games.
And nthing Dishono(u)red.
posted by ConstantineXVI at 9:22 AM on December 26, 2012
Skyrim does let you get rather stealthy; but you've also got plenty of options to fall back on and stealth isn't always the most accessible route through a situation. It's an excellent game in it's own right, but don't come in expecting something as tight as the Arkham games.
And nthing Dishono(u)red.
posted by ConstantineXVI at 9:22 AM on December 26, 2012
Emphatic seconding of the recommendations for Deus Ex: Human Revolution (sneaky sci-fi in the vein of something like Blade Runner, with a really strong story - it's possible to build your character for all-out combat instead, but it's very very clear the game's intended to be played stealthily) and Dishonored (similar sort of thing, set in a fairly original steampunk-ish world and with an emphasis on zipping around behind people's backs using a bunch of mystical powers and gadgets).
I love love love the Metal Gear Solid series, and I desperately want to recommend them as they're these wonderful pure stealth games at their core, but there are a couple of things to mention - the pre-MGS4 games' controls and stealth mechanics will probably feel weird and clumsy at first as they're a lot less streamlined than more recent stuff, albeit fine with a little getting used to. Also you have to love cutscenes and utterly batshit, grandiose, almost operatic storytelling. MGS4 especially is probably at least as much movie as game, but it's such a mad, weird, imaginative interactive-entertainment-thing that you just could not find a comparable experience almost anywhere. And the actual stealth gameplay is pretty much unmatched, even by the games I've recommended above. MGS3 (part of the MGS HD collection available for the PS3) is probably the best place to start if you're curious - its gameplay to cutscene ratio is heavier on the gameplay side, it's relatively easy to pick up as a prequel, and ties nicely into the excellent Peace Walker (its sequel-but-still-a-prequel-to-the-rest-of-the-series), which is in the same collection.
posted by emmtee at 9:26 AM on December 26, 2012
I love love love the Metal Gear Solid series, and I desperately want to recommend them as they're these wonderful pure stealth games at their core, but there are a couple of things to mention - the pre-MGS4 games' controls and stealth mechanics will probably feel weird and clumsy at first as they're a lot less streamlined than more recent stuff, albeit fine with a little getting used to. Also you have to love cutscenes and utterly batshit, grandiose, almost operatic storytelling. MGS4 especially is probably at least as much movie as game, but it's such a mad, weird, imaginative interactive-entertainment-thing that you just could not find a comparable experience almost anywhere. And the actual stealth gameplay is pretty much unmatched, even by the games I've recommended above. MGS3 (part of the MGS HD collection available for the PS3) is probably the best place to start if you're curious - its gameplay to cutscene ratio is heavier on the gameplay side, it's relatively easy to pick up as a prequel, and ties nicely into the excellent Peace Walker (its sequel-but-still-a-prequel-to-the-rest-of-the-series), which is in the same collection.
posted by emmtee at 9:26 AM on December 26, 2012
keep an eye out for mark of the ninja, if it ever comes to PSN (their other games are on PSN), really great use of stealth
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 12:07 PM on December 26, 2012
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 12:07 PM on December 26, 2012
As yeahyeah already said, "Mark of the Ninja" (currently on Xbox 360) would be right up your alley. As would "Shadow Complex" (also on Xbox).
So my answer would be - buy an Xbox if it is practical at all.
posted by tacodave at 3:13 PM on December 26, 2012
So my answer would be - buy an Xbox if it is practical at all.
posted by tacodave at 3:13 PM on December 26, 2012
Thirding Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
posted by strangecargo at 5:19 PM on December 26, 2012
posted by strangecargo at 5:19 PM on December 26, 2012
Playing as a sneaky-type character in Skyrim is loads of fun, I find. You need to develop and level the skills most useful for this during the game, but the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood story arcs are exactly what you're looking for.
posted by jquinby at 5:28 PM on December 26, 2012
posted by jquinby at 5:28 PM on December 26, 2012
The Sly Cooper games meet all of your criteria, though they were originally released for PS2, not PS3. You play a master thief who also happens to be a raccoon. They are cartoony and really meant for kids, I guess, but nonetheless they're my favorite games ever.
posted by Carmelita Spats at 10:18 PM on December 26, 2012
posted by Carmelita Spats at 10:18 PM on December 26, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks to everyone for your suggestions! I watched video reviews for some of these and they look like lots of fun.
Secondary question: Can I leap into the series with the latest Metal Gear Solid? I've never cared that much about story in video games as long as I know what I'm supposed to do. I just don't want to play a bunch of older games with clunky controls after being spoiled by these Batman games, unless it's really worth it.
posted by wolfnote at 10:51 AM on December 27, 2012
Secondary question: Can I leap into the series with the latest Metal Gear Solid? I've never cared that much about story in video games as long as I know what I'm supposed to do. I just don't want to play a bunch of older games with clunky controls after being spoiled by these Batman games, unless it's really worth it.
posted by wolfnote at 10:51 AM on December 27, 2012
Best answer: While I did buy the MGS box set, I've only ever played through MGS4 and it was a fun experience. What others have said about the cut scenes (better described as scenes of the movie that is MGS4) is correct, though. There are a lot of them and some of them are nearly an hour long IIRC.
It was a fun experience despite not really knowing the story. Probably partly because the cutscenes are so long, a lot of the back story gets told as you go along.
I'll reiterate my earlier recommendation for the Uncharted games, though. They do not suffer from poor controls.
posted by wierdo at 12:08 PM on December 27, 2012
It was a fun experience despite not really knowing the story. Probably partly because the cutscenes are so long, a lot of the back story gets told as you go along.
I'll reiterate my earlier recommendation for the Uncharted games, though. They do not suffer from poor controls.
posted by wierdo at 12:08 PM on December 27, 2012
I never actually finished MGS4. A combination of tough boring-because-they're-not-stealthy boss fights, and 90 minute cut scene movies, I kind of gave up.
My personal favorite is actually MGS2 because it's really 2 short games. And while the cutscenes are silly and preachy, they're tolerable.
I went back and played through #2 many many times picking up Dog Tags, in the pre-"Achievement" days, just because it was fun.
posted by jozxyqk at 1:54 PM on December 27, 2012
My personal favorite is actually MGS2 because it's really 2 short games. And while the cutscenes are silly and preachy, they're tolerable.
I went back and played through #2 many many times picking up Dog Tags, in the pre-"Achievement" days, just because it was fun.
posted by jozxyqk at 1:54 PM on December 27, 2012
Response by poster: Belated update: I'm playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution right now and having a blast. So much fun and exactly what I was looking for. I'm planning on getting Dishonored when it gets older and cheaper. You guys are great.
posted by wolfnote at 8:56 AM on March 18, 2013
posted by wolfnote at 8:56 AM on March 18, 2013
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A lot of people really like Dishonoured and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Both games can be approached from a stealth perspective, or from more of a toe-to-toe combat perspective. Both have award trophies for a "clean" stealth playthrough.
Skyrim is really fun, also, to play through as a stealth character.
I know what you mean about AC2, that game is a hot mess.
posted by selfnoise at 8:50 AM on December 26, 2012