A stealth-based game, or first person sneaker is a subgenre of the first person shooter type of game. Where a first person shooter (or FPS) is all about killing your enemies in a 3D rendered world, the goal of a sneaker is to largely avoid combat and use stealth and cunning to complete your objectives.
Players of stealth-based games can die very quickly if they approach it in the same way as a traditional FPS game. Stealth games generally emphasise accuracy, planning, keen observation, and puzzle-solving skills, where other FPS games revolve more around quick reflexes.
The first game in this genre, and until recently the only one to become a real success, is the Thief series. However, many FPS games now have some elements of stealth-based gameplay -- for instance, Monolith's No One Lives Forever series.
Konami's Metal Gear: Solid and Ubi-soft's Splinter Cell are also stealth-based, and thus qualify as stealth-based games, but are primarily played from a third-person perspective.
