While I’m certainly a big fan of all sorts of games, the stealth action genre is one of my favorites. Maybe it’s the slow, methodical pace, or the exhilerating satisfaction of sneaking up on unsuspecting prey, but I just loves me a silent infiltration adventure. Don’t get me wrong- there’s plenty of fun to be had from run-and-gun action, but there’s nary an experience in gaming I find more fulfilling that silently stalking my prey until the last pivotal moment when I put them down. Liste below are my 5 favorites from through the years.
1. Manhunt
Ah yes, the stealth action game for violent psychotics and sado-massochists. Rockstar released Manhunt in 2003 for the Xbox and Playstation 2. The action follows James Earl Cash, a death-row inmate who after receiving lethal injection awakes to find an earpiece and a sadistic figure known only as The Director coercing you through a variety of dastardly scenarios where hunters are out to kill you for an intricate snuff film. I fondly remember living in my old apartment throughout the winter in my first year of college and mercilessly slaughtering my prey with bats, broken bottles, and plastic bags. The Director urging James on was voiced by the excellent Brian Cox and you could tell he had a blast playing such a mysogonistic bastard. Manhunt culminated in an eventual confrontation with The Director, but not before you have to face off against the morbidly terrifying, Piggsy, a gimpish character outfitted in a pig’s head who chases you down with a chainsaw while you desperately try to hide from the monstrosity.