Thief 2014

[eliasfrost]

I feel like they do have respect to the Thief franchise, when some early videos came out and got a ton of criticism, Eidos changed everything that made people angry and introduced a lot of options so the game is customizable to what you like.

That's not really want I meant with respect for the franchise. Like I said, the game might have the mechanics intact and it might be fun to play on its own, but they have disregarded everything that Thief is artistically, for a good comparison, Thief 2014 is to the Thief franchise pretty much what Heroes 5 and Dark Messiah was to the Might and Magic series, the only thing intact is the name and a few characters making a cameo.

It has nothing to do with mechanics or difficulty, it's the core of what the game is, the aesthetics, the feeling and history of the franchise. Just like the new Hitman devs completely disregards what Hitman is on a fundamental level, Eidos completely disregards what Thief is on a fundamental level. They extracted what Thief is on a superficial level and left the soul of the Thief series to rot.

And it also doesn't help that trying to take a niche series and re-shape it to fit the majority is bound to having to resort to leaving out what was so niche and special about it in the first place. There's a reason why this game is getting such low scores and incredible heavy criticism, it's because it's (rightfully so for once) is compared to it's predecessors, it is a Thief game, it's marketed as a Thief game. So Square Enix (or anyone else) shouldn't have the audacity to try to wave it off and say something like "don't compare it to the OLD ones, these are new times". It doesn't work like that, especially with old, beloved and iconic franchises.


Sorry if I come across as a bit eager and edgy, I've just have had a deep despise for Square Enix lately. It gets me all worked up to talk about it, because I love the specific series they've ruined and it's extremely saddening.

Here's a good video about the original Thief, a very good analysis of the game. The main point of the video and something I agree with is that player control methods makes a huge different.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIhEtXPGz...ecKUc4zRhQ

[Damascus Rose]

That was a really good video but there's still something I don't understand, which is why people say it's a game that still stands up today. My experience was thief was that I tried to do everything I could to embrace mechanics, play stealthily like how it was meant to be played but it was too convoluted and shitty to make any sense of. Like I'd sneak around and be seen randomly or has some random skeleton chasing me and I die, so I ended up just running around through the levels with a bunch of guys chasing me and actually beating them that way, and the levels were too huge so I'd always get lost. I just didn't understand the appeal at all, it confused the hell out of me. Which is why I don't get why people hated deadly shadows so much, it actually worked as a stealth game for me, SO I don't really get it.

[Kreekakon]

7 hours in, and I think I'm almost done with the story. Here's a very quick run down of pros, and cons I found with the game. I'll likely have to finish this run first, and then another run to be able to write a full thoughts article on the game:

NOTE: This is coming from the perspective of someone who did not play the originals.

Pros:

-Core structure of stealth is great. The light/dark system for which Thief is famous for is very enjoyable to employ, and use.

-Extremely atmospheric tone in the game.

-Completely customizable difficulty settings, and rewards to match.

-Levels when more open, and free can feel extremely enjoyable.


Cons:

-Characters for the most part are flat, and uninteresting. They are very under-developed

-Interface with world is clunky. You cannot just "fall" off most platforms, you have to jump. Also you have to interact with corners to be able to enter "leaning" mode, and lean, which is very frustrating.

-Map could use lots more feedback to better fulfill its role as a map. Locations are not marked on the map making it hard to find locations I desire to visit. Particularly nasty when I want to find a merchant to buy things from.

-Level, and map design in levels has a tendency to feel streamlined for the player to follow a predetermined path very often. It is not blatantly obvious, but you can tell that the level was designed with a particular path in mind the devs intended for the player to follow.

-Stealth system could be deeper to allow for a wider array of tactical approaches to obstacles (Guards in your way, etc) without feeling too samey.

[Romulator]

I agree to Kreek's statement above, but another con I'll add is the limitation of weapons for use. I'm a few chapters in and I haven't managed to get much further than a bow and about $3000G, but I've seen some pop ups about using fire and oil together.

Hopefully they will come up sooner rather than later, as even though basics to build up is the basis of the start of a game, I feel that such would have been employed by now.

[kartanonperuna]

I've played it for a while now,and I gotta say....As a thief fan...its very disappointing.Only good thing are the graphics.The game is way too easy.The music sucks compared to other Thief's.I miss the old voices of guards and Garret.Man...Well,This was no surprise but still...


The atmosphere was so good in original ones....The notes and conversations...So good.This reboot just feels like dishonored except a lamer version.I know people say that a lot but its true.


And people said Deadly shadows was bad...I loved it.

Awesome music of Deadly shadows:







Now compare it to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mPwWwroWBE



Bleh....I mean its fine but it doesnt sound like thief at all...sounds like a hollywood movie...


I do not recommend.

[Kreekakon]

Okay so I’ve beaten Thief for quite a while now, and I’ll give you my full impressions on it based off of this one playthrough, because contrary to what I thought I don’t think I have too much desire to play through the game a second time.

(This probably will just seem like a more detailed version of my checklist above, but that's mostly because except for the main story I didn't particularly get too much other thoughts beyond that post upon completing the game)

Stealth System

I’ve never really gotten into the previous Thief games except for a very brief amount of playtime in Thief 1, and the Dark Project. When I started out with Thief I thought the core stealth mechanics were extremely interesting. The idea of hiding in the darkness, and having light as an additional “enemy” is the main carry for the game’s stealth. Though it was a satisfactory effort, I wish they put in more ways to interact with light as a whole beyond using switches, and water arrows to put them out to give the system more depth.

Speaking of more depth, here is likely one of the main issues I have with the game: The stealth system along with the tools at your disposal can feel very same-y as the game goes on. There are multiple arrow types, but I think the game could have done a better job balancing out the game to make options all equally appealing to employ. I often found myself resorting to the same few tricks because the others would not yield results as desirable.

Another very important KEY ISSUE I have with the game is that the entire interacting gameplay wise with the world is extremely clunky. You cannot just "fall" off most platforms, you have to jump. Also you have to interact with corners to be able to enter "leaning" mode, and lean, which is very frustrating.

I do have to say I really enjoyed the enemy AI in the game as well as the aspect of sound. The AI will never do anything that you do not expect them to do. They successfully tread the fine line between being too realistic that they see you right away, and being completely blind to their surroundings.

Even though this sounds rather negative on my side, I am actually leaning more towards positive for the core foundation of the game’s stealth system. I just wished it could’ve been overall more versatile.

Levels and Setting

The game takes place in “The City” during which there appears to be an extreme depression going about, and everyone is suffering greatly from it.

The games levels, and map design reflect this greatly. The atmosphere is great, and you can really get the feeling of dread, and corruption coming from the city’s streets. There is also a level in an Asylum in which I thought the atmosphere was superb.
However another major issue I have with the game is the linearity I feel from the levels. Many of them have a tendency to feel streamlined for the player to follow a predetermined path very often. It is not blatantly obvious, but you can tell that the level was designed with a particular path in mind the devs intended for the player to follow. This is an extremely major issue because I felt it detracted from my feeling of being truly free to approach situations from multiple angles.

Not all levels are like this however. In some levels like the brothel, the map felt much more open, and free. It was extremely enjoyable to play these levels, and I only wished more of the game could’ve had that sort of feel.

Also an issue is the map in the game’s menu. It is extremely hard to navigate, and know where it is you have to go, and what is what on the map.

Story, and Characters

This is definitely an extremely weak point of the game. Mostly because the overall arching plot seems to stumble quite a bit, and really has no true focused feeling of heading in a direction. It gets particularly bad at the game’s ending where it just baffles, and confuses me. It is extremely hard to get invested into.

Often times the plot will present the story requiring Garret to go do something only for him to disregard that thing in favor of going to do something entirely different on the fly. It can get extremely jarring at times.

The characters also feel particularly flat. They almost have no depth to their characteristics. They are never developed, and their character traits are all just sort of there without any fleshing out. I don't think there are any characters in this game at all I feel didn't suffer from this at all.

One of my most disliked examples in the Thief Taker General who to me seems as stereotypical as one can get with the cruel law enforcer. I never saw anything at all in his character other than a cruel person being cruel just for the sake of being cruel. It didn’t really help that they tried to build a rivalry between him, and Garret by simply having him appear at every place Garret was infiltrating at the time. It is an extremely boring, and paper-thin way of attempting to develop a rivalry in the plotline.

Verdict

At the end of the day while the core of the stealth mechanics are extremely enjoyable with you being able to play with light, and dark, I can’t recommend Thief as it has many other issues that hold it down from being an exceptional experience.

[DavidS]

Just finished a Master difficulty run with all side missions and stuff. Found it very enjoyable, but missed the Hammerites, Keepers and Pagans. The constant references to them felt like playing a weird paralell universe rather than a reboot of the franchise (as in: I would have liked it better with either less references to the original games or keeping it totally inside the old world). Kinda got my hopes up that the old world will take over at some point, especially in certain subterranian places.