What game are you playing?

[Choop]

So this happened.

 

[The Q]

Really? I was looking forward to playing it. What's wrong with it?

Well... From where to begin with...

Understand that for me, the Thief series is one of the best games ever made. The atmosphere, the concept, the awesome performance by Stephen Russell (Garrett, Benny, Karras) and the scripts. The first three games, along with the first two Deus Ex and Planescape Torment, make my "best games ever" list. You don't need "the best" in any section (gameplay, visuals, audio, story); you just need to strike the perfect balance.

Even the third game which was the weakest of the three did manage to capture the feel and atmosphere of the first two. I rarely play games any more but I've completed each of the above 2-3 times. Did I mention I love those games?



A few years ago we got Dishonored. The game started Thief-y enough (its creators claimed there were inspired by it), before ending up like a crapfest of bad design choices and a gameplay that was far from what Thief had been. I regretted buying it ever since.


Why did I mention Dishonored? Imagine my surprise as I found out that the new thief:

1) Follows an art style extremely close to Dishonored. In fact, what was medieval-steampunk in the older games, has turned into Dishonored-steampunk. The antithesis that enriched the past games is simply not here; the City is larger but the inspiration is just not there.

2) The controls again, are Dishonor-y. Instead of having the freedom you had in the older games (jumping, climbing, rope-arrowing in every wooden surface or even climbing gloves), you are restricted to "interaction hotspots" using the context-sensitive Space button.

3) Gone are the factions of the past. Keepers, Pagans and our all-time favourite fanatics, the Hammerites (along with their cousins, the Mechanists) are long gone. They never existed. All we have now is the City watch that consists of two soldier types (and look like Nazi enforcers).

4) You have a sidekick. That's right. I'm guessing later in the game you'll probably have a romance scene as well, because hey, that's how we do it nowadays. Your sidekick is a nice piece of a.. and that's about the only positive thing I can say about here. She's the annoying typical know-it-all cocky sidekick that gets in trouble, and (of course) she is SO. FULL. OF. ANGST.

5) While thankfully so far she's present on the beginning of the game only, apparently Garrett spends the rest of the game searching for her. Yes, Garrett who was all about snarky comments, detached approach to things and absolute greed, now goes on a quest to find his lost sidekick. Also, Garrett is not voiced by Stephen Russell and trust me when I say that it makes a definitive dent in the whole atmosphere. Garrett simply doesn't sound like a Master Thief now, he sounds like a worried brat. A classy anti-hero turned into a I don't know what.

6) Can't confirm this, but almost everyone heavily criticises the whole story, claiming that the script was weak. It was amazing in the older games how Garrett wanted to stay away from all things and not only he ended up being entangled in it, but actually saving the world (the City) in the process.

7) "Noob"-mode is engaged. Yes, you can disable focus and aim-assists. It's still not like in the older games that introduced extra objectives as you increased the game's difficulty. It's unfortunate, but the game seems to be focused on new players rather than Thief aficionados, which...

8) ... While it's a sound approach from a sales perspective, the Thief moniker only appeals to people who liked the older Thief games. Why capitalise on the name of a game that won't appeal on gamers that play Call of Duty et al?

9) Driving Russell & Brosius away and making stupid in my opinion design choices, is evidence that those guys don't really know what they wanted to do with the franchise. Making significant game changes late in the development (removing XPs and quick-time events) is proof that they couldn't get into the franchise at all. They vehemently defended their choices all this time the game was in development, but the end product is lacking.

10) The sound design which was HAILED by everyone in those days, by using sound effects, source positioning (3D sound), droning music and basically relying on sound was perhaps equal or even superior to relying on visuals is not here. The dialogues sound all over the place and it won't even recognise a 5.1 sound system.


In the end, this is not necessarily a bad game, but it's not a Thief game. It feels so close to being a 'Plan B' for Dishonoured that I wonder who copied who. If you try to get into it expecting a Thief experience, you will be disappointed. If you want an OK-ish 1st person stealth game, it will do the trick. Probably. But if you're asking whether it's worth 60 bucks? No, no way. I wouldn't pay 60 bucks for it if it weren't labelled as Thief; I'd pay much less for a game that so grossly insults its past.

 

[The Spanish Inquisition]

I've been playing Borderlands 2 for a while now, it's a great game, one of the first shooters I actually like. But I only play it multiplayer.

 

[Repner]

3) Gone are the factions of the past. Keepers, Pagans and our all-time favourite fanatics, the Hammerites (along with their cousins, the Mechanists) are long gone. They never existed. All we have now is the City watch that consists of two soldier types (and look like Nazi enforcers)

Why the hell would they get rid of the Hammers, Pagans and Keepers? One of the really cool things about the Thief series was the world they created for it. Is setting not important? It's not exactly a Thief game if they made a whole different world for it. I agree with your other points as well, but this one caught my eye.

 

[The Q]

Because it's not only a reboot, it's essentially a complete re-imagining. There are no factions, because in their universe there never have been. This "quest" to create something that must have so many traits and yet be completely different at the same time shows their delusional approach towards that re-imagining.

An OK stealth game, not a great one and not a Thief one.

 

[Rosal76]

In the end, this is not necessarily a bad game, but it's not a Thief game. It feels so close to being a 'Plan B' for Dishonoured that I wonder who copied who. If you try to get into it expecting a Thief experience, you will be disappointed. If you want an OK-ish 1st person stealth game, it will do the trick. Probably. But if you're asking whether it's worth 60 bucks? No, no way. I wouldn't pay 60 bucks for it if it weren't labelled as Thief; I'd pay much less for a game that so grossly insults its past.

Awesome review.

I am/was interested in this game because I'm a huge fan of stealth games. In your opinion, do you think this game is better than Splinter Cell: Blacklist in terms of stealth gameplay?

I have not played Dishonoured so I don't have a general feel for that game.

 

[InfinityCollision]

Working my way through FF: XIV ARR, Almost completed the main story and maxed my first class, but it has taken me almost 6 weeks, as I only really get on for around 4-5 hours a week, if that. Really enjoying it, great crowd as well in all the dungeons, although I decided to give a Tank and a run (First time ever as a tank in any mmo), and haven't really enjoyed it, but once I max him, I'll probably start training up my Lancer Class and aim for a Dragoon (DPS).

Which tank are you running? PLD is boring as sh*t, WAR has a lot more to offer from ~38 onwards and especially at 50. They're pretty comparable in performance (some situations favor one or the other, mostly insignificant) and pair well together for 8-man content. DRG rotation is by far the most mechanical among the DDs, very love or hate.

2) The controls again, are Dishonor-y. Instead of having the freedom you had in the older games (jumping, climbing, rope-arrowing in every wooden surface or even climbing gloves), you are restricted to "interaction hotspots" using the context-sensitive Space button.

I agree with most everything you said about Thief, but I feel you've been unfair to Dishonored, particularly this bit here. Dishonored offers substantially more freedom of movement than the Thief reboot. Not quite old-school Thief mobility, but the game did diverge from that series in several notable ways even if it did offer the option of a Thief-ish experience as part of the package.

Basically the new Thief is a watered-down, poorly executed Dishonored clone with less magic (basically only a weak Blink, which doesn't even fully translate because you can't jump for some reason) and forced emphasis on stealth. It's only incidentally a Thief game in any way. The old Thief games were excellent, Dishonored was pretty good in my opinion, Thief: The Reboot sucks.

Did I mention you can't jump in the new game? Yes, this is 2014.

 

[TheShreddinHand]

Not gonna lie...my 4-year old daughter came home a few weeks ago talking about Mario (cause some boys at her school have DS's) and I got all nostalgic after watching tons of youtube videos on the new mario games and got myself a Wii U (after all, got my NES when I was 6 in 1987!! Haha!). So, playing through New Super Mario U right now but can't wait to get Mario 3D world and the new Donkey Kong.

As a bonus, picked up a couple new wii remotes and my daughter CAN do the tennis and bowling, score!! Hahaha!

Now just waiting for my neighbor to get Titanfall and see if it's worth getting an XBONE or not. Otherwise I'll just hang on to my PS3 till something comes along that makes me want to upgrade.

 

[caskettheclown]

League of Legends

Borderlands 2

and Loadout! Very good game if you like TF2 and old arena shooters with a sense of humor and upgradability for weapons!

 

[The Q]

Awesome review.

I am/was interested in this game because I'm a huge fan of stealth games. In your opinion, do you think this game is better than Splinter Cell: Blacklist in terms of stealth gameplay?

I have not played Dishonoured so I don't have a general feel for that game.

Rosal, I'm afraid I haven't played any of the Splinter Cell games (not sure why, it just never occurred) so I cannot offer any meaningful comparison between the two. As I said, it's not a bad game, it's not even a bad stealth game (it's far from great but it's OK), but it's not Thief; it does not live up to that name, mostly due to the creative departure from the series.
If you just want to play a stealth game, it might be worth paying the full price (considering the lack of worthwhile games out there at the moment). If you want to treat this to be a proper Thief prequel/sequel/remake that respects its root, this is not it.

I agree with most everything you said about Thief, but I feel you've been unfair to Dishonored, particularly this bit here. Dishonored offers substantially more freedom of movement than the Thief reboot. Not quite old-school Thief mobility, but the game did diverge from that series in several notable ways even if it did offer the option of a Thief-ish experience as part of the package.

InfinityCollision, you are right about freedom of movement in Dishonored, it's just that I didn't like the fact that you become a god with all the abilities you get early in the game, making the gameplay on full stealth & no kill runs rather trivial (I try to avoid murder in stealth games if I can manage it).
It did have its moments and after my initial "this-is-totally-not-thief" disappointment I admit I could get into the game a bit easier. However, I completed Dishonored and I don't feel like playing it again, ever. Disappearing bodies, I mean, come ON!

Basically the new Thief is a watered-down, poorly executed Dishonored clone with less magic (basically only a weak Blink, which doesn't even fully translate because you can't jump for some reason) and forced emphasis on stealth. It's only incidentally a Thief game in any way. The old Thief games were excellent, Dishonored was pretty good in my opinion, Thief: The Reboot sucks.

Did I mention you can't jump in the new game? Yes, this is 2014.

I tend to call it "Stuff Stealer 2014". In my mind it helps me disassociate it with the Thief series and will play it without bothering me much. Your point here is the one I made as well and indeed, it's as if they decided to clone Dishonored to a scary degree.
The lack of jump is the most profound indication of your limited agility; what would be a world ready to be explored, is now but a collection of hotspots; just press the Space bar and "do stuff".
This adds an incredible rigidity to the whole game which is one of crucial factors in the game's lack of proper Thief atmosphere (the second is the non-steampunk medieval setting and the third is the lack of Garrett's essence: Stephen Russell and a script that focuses on Garrett being a master thief by not having loose ends, such as an angsty apprentice. It's intriguing how one could claim that the existence of your apprentice is somewhat justified thanks to the end of the third Thief and I might have agreed if it was done better).

 

[Repner]

Hmm. Well it sounds like I'm not going to bother with this one, which is a shame, as it was one of the games I was really looking forward to this year. Thanks guys.

 

[The Q]

Still, if I were you I'd give it a try, but only after it drops a few quid in price.

 

[Repner]

Still, if I were you I'd give it a try, but only after it drops a few quid in price.

Yeah. If it appears on PS+ on month. Still love stealth games. Probably have to approach it the way Final Fantasy fans have to approach newer Final Fantasy games (pretend it's not a Final Fantasy title).

*Flame shield up*

 

[InfinityCollision]

InfinityCollision, you are right about freedom of movement in Dishonored, it's just that I didn't like the fact that you become a god with all the abilities you get early in the game, making the gameplay on full stealth & no kill runs rather trivial (I try to avoid murder in stealth games if I can manage it).
It did have its moments and after my initial "this-is-totally-not-thief" disappointment I admit I could get into the game a bit easier. However, I completed Dishonored and I don't feel like playing it again, ever. Disappearing bodies, I mean, come ON!

Fair point It's very, very easy to slip into god-mode given how the game practically throws runes at you. I tend to limit my use of magic as much as possible to retain some challenge, though I do enjoy abusing Blink to explore different routes. Kind of like how I spent more time in Assassin's Creed running across rooftops than actually doing missions

I tend to call it "Stuff Stealer 2014". In my mind it helps me disassociate it with the Thief series and will play it without bothering me much. Your point here is the one I made as well and indeed, it's as if they decided to clone Dishonored to a scary degree.
The lack of jump is the most profound indication of your limited agility; what would be a world ready to be explored, is now but a collection of hotspots; just press the Space bar and "do stuff".
This adds an incredible rigidity to the whole game which is one of crucial factors in the game's lack of proper Thief atmosphere (the second is the non-steampunk medieval setting and the third is the lack of Garrett's essence: Stephen Russell and a script that focuses on Garrett being a master thief by not having loose ends, such as an angsty apprentice. It's intriguing how one could claim that the existence of your apprentice is somewhat justified thanks to the end of the third Thief and I might have agreed if it was done better).

 

[ZeroS1gnol]

Ive finished Spec Ops: the Line last week and oh boy...that game is just utterly brilliant.

It's a not so original third person shooter, heavily inspired by Gears of War gameplay. The gameplay is decent, but that's not where it shines. It's a very clever game that criticizes the glorifying of violence in other contemporary shooters (COD etc). This one actually makes you feel bad about the fact you are killing people. There's also a fair share of weird psychological things going on...I will not spoil anything, but this game will f* you up. The artistic value of that is something you don't see every day in games. MUST PLAY!

 

[The Q]

Ive finished Spec Ops: the Line last week and oh boy...that game is just utterly brilliant.

It's a not so original third person shooter, heavily inspired by Gears of War gameplay. The gameplay is decent, but that's not where it shines. It's a very clever game that criticizes the glorifying of violence in other contemporary shooters (COD etc). This one actually makes you feel bad about the fact you are killing people. There's also a fair share of weird psychological things going on...I will not spoil anything, but this game will f* you up. The artistic value of that is something you don't see every day in games. MUST PLAY!

What he said. An absolutely fantastic experience that makes you think.

 

[Tang]

Inspired by the greatness of Twitch Plays Pokémon, I've started a new game of Pokémon Silver, the greatest of all times.

 

[Decreate]

Still deciding whether to get Outlast or Resident Evil 4HD...

 

[Mexi]

outlast, that game is scary as ....

 

[Fat-Elf]

Carma Free on Android. Must get the full version...