Sam Fisher and Solid Snake. Two names synonymous with stealth action, and two stars that are set to make an awesome return in their respective new franchises – Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes.

The latest Splinter Cell was demonstrated at E3 earlier this year and featured some amazing action and gunplay. The action from the previous game (Conviction) seemed to have returned, but it had been tweaked to feature more focus on weapons usage and taking out multiple combatants in a single fight. The latest trailer to surface demonstrates a more stealthy approach, and Ubisoft appear to be leading us to believe the game will walk the fine line between the games origins, and its more recent iterations. See below for more info on this gameplay style, and its comparison to the E3 playthrough.

All talk of recent Metal Gear Solid games seems to be focused around Rising, featuring the character Raiden and a lot of footage that seems a long way from the stealthy roots of the series. Footage has now emerged from Konami of Ground Zeroes and will feature a more traditional Metal Gear Solid style of gameplay, and continues the story of an older Snake. The graphics look slick, and the gameplay keeps the iconic style of movement and hiding from foes that we have all come to love from the series. See the lengthy trailer below for more details.

If things keep shaping up like this, 2013 could be the year for the stealth action heroes to make a resurgence. I, for one, could not be more excited.