cks you designed to be ~exotic~ or whatever, and those rabid jerks at Disney can only grit their teeth now!
Small Thief 2014 review · 1:40pm Nov 7th, 2014
Wrote a steam review of Thief 2014, so I thought I'd share it here as well.
(For disclosure, I have not yet finished the game story-wise, but as of writing I've put 31 hours into it, and think that qualifies me to my opinion. Oh, and this review is for the PC version, using mouse and keyboard.)
This is a flawed gem of a game, but in my own opinion one with more positives than negatives.
Tight controls, detailed environments, and atmosphere you could cut with a knife, sadly held back by a rather weak story.
It also sadly but understandably, buckles a bit under the shear weight of the legacy it is trying to uphold, but as a fan of the old series I enjoyed this one.
Ones experience aside with the old Thief series, this is one of those real 'love it, or hate it' type deals, and although I recommend this game for any fans of stealth, I would still argue you to if possible, try the game first before investing in your own copy.
I personally found it interesting and neat in a way that reinforces that Garath (the main character) is actually a physical presence in the world... but for the record I’ve heard a lot of people that find the frequent, if short, animations were he opens and picks up things, to be utterly infuriating. Just to name one example on the ‘love, hate’ thing.
In short, I would recommend this for stealth fans, and fans of the Thief series; the later if with the caveat and warning of the game being quite different from the rest of the series.
For all others:
For good or ill, this really feels like a larceny simulator with a fantasy twist. If that sounds interesting to you, you might enjoy it, but Gareth is very, very weak, and even a single guard may kill you if you are unprepared
.
Unlike this studious previous outing, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, combat is usually not an equal option unless you are really good at it, or spend a lot of money, time and upgrades on making it so; something that will eat up resources that could have been much better spent elsewhere.So if you have some patience this can be a very rewarding game you will lose dozen if not hundreds of hours to... but gamers aimed more at the action side of things need not apply.
Know this is quite a while after launch, but hopefully this will aid at least one or two of you, come Christmas time.
Oh, and two things I forgot: This is a really, really pretty game, if with a bleak aesthetic.
It is also one of the most 'scale able' games I've seen in recent memory. Not only is there a lot of different graphics options and such, but the difficulty and even gameplay can be tweaked in a lot of different ways, and I think Eidos Monthreal deserves some credit for that.
So, on the whole, I'd heartily recommend Thief for stealth fiends...
But if you're new to the genera, and want to just try a 'stealth-game with strange powers' game, I'd recommend Dishonored or Eidos Montreal's own, previous outing, Deus Ex: Human Revolution instead.
Those games not only have the stealth aspects, but —for lack of a better word, 'better' combat as well, and might be a wiser investment if you aren't certain skulking around in the shadows is your thing, but still wish to try it.
I've heard some of the stories with the new thief, and yet, well, its hard to hold a candle to nostalgia and the power it has with legacy. So its really more, taken with many grains of salt.
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Perhaps my nostalgia glasses are just broken, but I'd honestly rank the series at about:
Gameplay: 2, 4, 1, 3
Story: 3, 2, 1, 4.
Lore/World-building: Whole freaking series is just marvelous at that, so shared first place.
Overall: 2, 4, 3, 1.
I won't deny that it is very different, and 1 & 2 are still almost scary in how much they did on a technical level for how old they are...
But honestly? If I had to point at just one game in the series, it would be #2 as my all-time favorite, but #4 is currently sitting rather comfortably at a rather close second place.
With the caveat that #3 had the best story and single best level of the bunch, but so many bits and bobs were sacrificed on the alter of the dread XBOX for that one, so that one has aged the worst of the whole series in my opinion.
2579384 Im a bit odd, I know, I loved the series a bit differently.
Gameplay, since ive only played the 1-3 setting 3, 2, 1
Story, i love them all equally, but 2 did a tad weak, 1 and 3 amazingly strong, but all are enjoyable.
The lore, I'd say I liked 2/3 for what they approached, the keepers especially. 1 set the stage, but had to leave some bits out that were addressed later.
I will fully agree with you on 3 and the level. I loved shalebridge sooo much! Such chills, even now. I played them on pc, so i have a different opinion of 3 i think, it aged much better on pc. The woodsy lord of 1 was just so chilling, a real eye scream. But I will have to try the 4th, and give it a fair chance.
So they don't made him unstoppable machine of death like everyone in our wondrous time? I'm mildly impressed. Dunno about 3&4, but in the original Dark Project guards were deadly. And don't even let me start about zombies and burricks...
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You've seen this article? Lots of background, and info about The Cradle.
Must admit it's been a few years for me... but that moment? When you have a small 'oh crap' at realizing that this place isn't nearly as dead and gone as it first appeared?
*Shudders.*
Honestly, everybody that cares the slightest bit about design and story telling, games or otherwise, should play if not the game, than at least that one level in my opinion.
Still, I'd gladly recommend Thief 4, especially if you can find it in a bargain bin/at a steam sale. Think a lot of the old fans thought it would be exactly like 1&2 with more polish, but as long as you respect that #4 is its own game, I think you'll enjoy it.
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And those darn hammer haunts...
Should have seen my face, that first time I managed to sneak up on one of those.
I didn't want to kill the poor creature, you see, so I went for the blackjack...
That darn laugh when you try to knock 'em out!
2579692 I went into the cradle blind, no forewarning, nothing, every thief game was pure 100% blind, late at night (11pm or later) and headphones. And I utterly loved it. Its what I compare even to this day, what is perfect and good horror. The ambiance, the music, everything, was just such a milestone to me, its what I compare every little horror experience to, and very few places compare.