STOLEN, put away that silencer, sheath that sword ...
I'm a stealth freak, so I simply get into the spirit of a game, I enjoy it for what it is, rather than the standard response of 'this game is the same old same old'.
I think with a Stealth game like Stolen, gameplay is paramount, above sound, even graphics and storyline, which I find don't have to be amazingly original ... but this game for me was smoothly done ... something I found other stealth titles like Rogue Agent, Hitman and Red Ninja had failed to achieve - there had been no sensitive use of controls, the camera would skip or flinch, the character wouldn't respond fast enough to the environement, and enemy AI would be predictable - and if a game environement at times is plain childish - clumsily big pick ups, flashing icons, and simple weapons, it's easy to ditch a game after a few hours of persevering, thinking it will get better ... but it doesn't.
Stolen I found didn't fall into those traps. In the first mission, it all seems very simple, with instructions on how to do the obvious - like distract guards, hide in the shadows, use weapon (yes, there is a weapon, it's a tranquilizer dart!), but then the game really gets going ... the use of graphics (the shading, layout of environments, even sound effects) was often reminiscent of Metal Gear, but it had a feel of it's own.
On the page, this game seems very tired and used, unimaginative ... rooms, corridors, locked doors, avoid the guards, shoot out the lights etc, but this game is different, it's more a use of agility, athletics, to be invisible, which this game succeeds at, whereas in other games, killing is always an option. I've read recently that the controls on this game were awkward and difficult, maybe it's personal opinion, but I found I got a grasp on the controls quickly, and found them smooth and easy.
The arch enemy theif in the game is the only aspect I found didn't work aswell, it seemed too easy and inapropriate against how the game had been moving along, it's gameplay being slow, thinking and intelligent, to a simple arcade theme of shoot the enemy!
My personal advice for this title is, it's for the Metal Gear Solids players, or the Splinter Cell fans, who simply love well executed stealth games, sneaking around and solving puzzles, yes, this game isn't creating a new genre of gameplay, but what it does, it does well ...