So, about five years ago, how many people had "Thief reboot" high on their priority list for future games to be released? Yeah, thought so. Nobody really wanted this, but when the end result is such as I will soon elaborate upon, maybe it's for the best it was released as a reboot and not Thi4f, because if you thought Deadly Shadows was a lackluster follow-up to those two original games-the very best stealth gaming has to offer—you've got another thing coming.
The first thing I think of when recollecting my experience is boredom. Sneaking has been dumbed-down to the point that you can ghost the game just fine without the audio on, which is basically the greatest crime you could commit in a Thief game. Moreover, probably at least an hour of actual freakin' playtime is spent watching repetitive canned animations of opening windows, picking up objects, and extinguishing candles... it just takes what little fun is left right out of the proceedings. Did nobody test this game for long play or what?
Despite a certain level of effort and variety, the levels are glorified hallways, and the missions simple and rote. The old games managed to convince you, somehow, that levels went on for miles beyond what you could actually traverse, and that they might still hold undiscovered secrets even after your eighth playthrough. No such luxuries here. Oh, and should you be discovered, or hell, even if you just knock someone out, the game sees fit to play super-loud Scare Chords when this happens. That's so beneath everything Thief stands for that I just have to laugh.
And don't even get me started on the "story"... it's about as dull, generic and derivative as you can get. It places importance on itself that it never manages to live up to, and just feels "dark" for the sake of it... because hey, it's 2014 and`mindless grimdark sells, right? Sure, the old games were dark, but they knew how to keep the story grounded with some dark humor and, dare I say, real human emotion. Call it Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy or whatever, I just stopped giving a shit after a few hours.
Thief is an uninspired mess that is more reminiscent of other stealth series than anything else. And they couldn't even make it fun. But, hey, at least I got some worthless trophies out of the whole affair... yippee.
Dishonored Thief: Solid Creed
So, about five years ago, how many people had "Thief reboot" high on their priority list for future games to be released? Yeah, thought so. Nobody really wanted this, but when the end result is such as I will soon elaborate upon, maybe it's for the best it was released as a reboot and not Thi4f, because if you thought Deadly Shadows was a lackluster follow-up to those two original games-the very best stealth gaming has to offer—you've got another thing coming.
The first thing I think of when recollecting my experience is boredom. Sneaking has been dumbed-down to the point that you can ghost the game just fine without the audio on, which is basically the greatest crime you could commit in a Thief game. Moreover, probably at least an hour of actual freakin' playtime is spent watching repetitive canned animations of opening windows, picking up objects, and extinguishing candles... it just takes what little fun is left right out of the proceedings. Did nobody test this game for long play or what?
Despite a certain level of effort and variety, the levels are glorified hallways, and the missions simple and rote. The old games managed to convince you, somehow, that levels went on for miles beyond what you could actually traverse, and that they might still hold undiscovered secrets even after your eighth playthrough. No such luxuries here. Oh, and should you be discovered, or hell, even if you just knock someone out, the game sees fit to play super-loud Scare Chords when this happens. That's so beneath everything Thief stands for that I just have to laugh.
And don't even get me started on the "story"... it's about as dull, generic and derivative as you can get. It places importance on itself that it never manages to live up to, and just feels "dark" for the sake of it... because hey, it's 2014 and`mindless grimdark sells, right? Sure, the old games were dark, but they knew how to keep the story grounded with some dark humor and, dare I say, real human emotion. Call it Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy or whatever, I just stopped giving a shit after a few hours.
Thief is an uninspired mess that is more reminiscent of other stealth series than anything else. And they couldn't even make it fun. But, hey, at least I got some worthless trophies out of the whole affair... yippee.