Back in 1998, Thief: The Dark Project debuted and strongly resonated with gamers who were burned out from the typical first person shooters at the time. What Dark Project brought was something that was never seen before; a first-person-sneaker. Instead of the usual buck 'em down-fest, players had to avoid conflict. The revolutionary move spawned Thief II: The Metal Age in 2000 and Thief: Deadly Shadows in 2004. Thief 2014 revists the first title with a trip back into the world of heist master Garrett and his adventures through the City.
It's not just about stealth or running in like Rambo, arrows blazing. There aren't any penalties for killing nor bonuses.
With a bow and assortment of arrows, Garrett is able to injure, kill or change the conditions of the environment around him. During a demo at PlayStation's press event, a developer from Eidos used a water-based arrow to extinguish a guard's lantern. When the guard turned around to investigate, Garrett snuck-up behind him and snatched his fanny pack bag looking thingy-which was loaded with money of course. In a different mission, Garrett snuck into the basement of a rich man and was discovered. The poor bastard took an arrow to the throat leaving a clear coast for G to ransack the place and come up on a piece of super rare treasure. None of the methods were mandatory and that's what the hook of Thief is. It's not just about stealth or running in like Rambo, arrows blazing. There aren't any penalties for killing nor bonuses. What happens is that you get a report on your gameplay broken up into three categories dealing with stealth, theft and combat. Depending on which ever you do more of determines a percentage on a pie chart.
Visually, Thief looks a lot like a mix between Dishonored and Skyrim. The tone is dark and dismal but that's based only from a preview of one level. Given, the rest could be bright enough to cause temporary blindness but a great deal of the look and feel is all stuff seen in other RPGs for the exception of performing a stealthy dash in between objects. So far, stealing doesn't offer much satisfaction other than being able to sell items for a hefty amount or displaying it at Garrett's hideout. Maybe—as the game gets closer to launch—Garrett's skills will get tested in more creative ways but for now Thief needs more than pickpocket action and watery arrows to compete with the rest of the blockbusters out there. There's no need to give up faith just yet, Thief isn't out until February 2014 so there's still time to work in a few surprises.
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