Of Guards And Thieves (spotted by burningyesterday) is an excellent multi-player top-down stealth/action game with fast paced arcade gameplay, where you can either play as stealthy Thieves or powerful Guards.

Guards have to guard 6 objects scattered across the map, with only one being the real target for the thieves.  The guards don’t know which one the real target is though, so either have to guard all 6, or try and figure out which one the thieves are after.  Guards win if they protect the object for the duration of the match and the thieves win if they escape with it.

Guards cannot see in the Dark, so must use their flashlight and other artificial light sources (which can be turned on and off) to see.  On the other hand Thieves have night-vision goggles, so can use the darkness to their advantage, sneaking through the shadows, they can’t match the guards in a straight-up fight though, so must be careful not to get spotted.  It’s like a big game of hide-and seek, but with knives and assault rifles.

Although Of Guards and Thieves is in Beta, it’s already a highly polished, balanced, fully functioning game, there are always plenty of games to choose from on the servers, and there’s even a perks and upgrades system, with unlocks gained through XP.

Of Guards and Thieves is a fantastic use of asymmetric multiplayer mechanics, both sides are great fun to play.  Playing as a thief proves that stealth is much more satisfying when playing against real people instead of AI, while playing as a guard makes you feel some empathy for all those guards you killed in Metal Gear Solid, it’s a hard job!

Play the Beta, Free