Thief: Explore the Possibilities in this New Trailer

Over the past few months, I have been skeptical about the Eidos Montreal reboot of Thief. I played the original Thief games on the computer back in the nineties and the fantasy and fun that they created for me will be hard for this reboot to follow up. If you've been keeping up though, Eidos Montreal has flooded the web with walk through videos and demonstrations showing a variety of new possibilities in the upcoming reboot. Now, a new trailer released earlier today ties them all together for one big trailer filled with plenty of thieving.

The new trailer has me anticipating Thief more than I had been but I'm still cautious. Incredible looking visuals made possible by modern technology certainly breathe new life into the series. The last Thief game, Thief: Deadly Shadows was released nearly 10 years ago in 2004 so the jump of an entire generation of game consoles is quite the face lift. Eidos Montreal seems to have done a great job with the environments which capture the pivotal dark, steampunk atmosphere. They also seem to have adopted the ever popular free running style of navigating buildings and rooftops which is appropriate for someone in Garrett's line of work. Garrett's arsenal of tools and weapons at his disposable also seems to have been expanded allowing for plenty of ways to reach your goal. 

My main concerns aren't with visuals however, the size of the city or how many tools Garrett has in his inventory. I could return to the original Thief games on the computer and enjoy it for hours. What matters to me is the story and the true feel of Thief. Many have pointed out it looks Bethesda's Dishonored when in fact, Bethesda has admitted to having been heavily inspired by the early Thief games. I don't want Eidos Montreal to feel like they have to live up to Dishonored. 

No, Eidos Montreal needs to live up to the original Thief games by crafting Garrett as the character he was originally conceived as. He's a true anti-hero; a cynical loner shrouded in mystery. He does things his way, because he wants to. His interests serve only himself. He doesn't steal because he needs to, he steals because he wants too. He craves the challenge and the excitement of stealing. He's been compared to Robin Hood but he's more like a medieval Han Solo if you think about it. I think if Eidos Montreal can pull off the creation of Garrett the game will be a success. 

I'm sure many early fans of the Thief series feel the same way and they will have very high standards for this game. What do you think, fan or not are you looking forward to Thief? The game will be available on the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 and PC February 27th. 

Where is Thief 4!?

I'm sure a lot of people reading this wondering are wondering, "What the heck is Thief 4?" Then there are those of you who are wondering the same exact thing as me. Thief 4 is the fourth entry into the Thief game series and was announced almost two years ago (May 11 is the two year anniversary). Since then there has been absolutely no news on it or any kind of mention, tease or anything anywhere. I have to admit it has kind of been driving me crazy and I'm wondering if it's even still in development.

Thief is a game series set in the medieval ages with some steam punk inspiration (steam powered technology). You play as a thief named Garrett who comes from a sacred order called the 'Keepers' where he gained the the skills and abilities that make him so adept at his profession. He's a thief with a bounty on his head who tends to get himself mixed up a supernatural situations that threaten the well-being of 'The City' he lives in. The game relied a lot on stealth and using shadows to hide while creating distractions. Garrett had an gadget arsenal that could rival James Bond's (or at least a medieval version of James Bond) complete with flash bombs, mines, specialized arrows, and other items that help you gain access into locked areas and scout for guard patrols. The game reminds me a lot of Hitman because it has plenty of quirky comedic moments in it but takes a nice spin on stealth.

I'm a big Thief fan, I remember playing the original two (Dark Project and Metal Age) on the PC back in the 90s. Yes that's right, the 90s. The third game, Thief Deadly Shadows expanded the series when it was released on PC and the original Xbox back in 2004. New technology played a role in the game's many new features, its presentation and overall capabilities making it a great entry in the series. Now that gaming technology has evolved even further, there's so much more opportunity for new developer Eidos to make Thief 4 even better than its predecessor which is what excites me most. Thing is I've been waiting eight years for this game and 2 of them have been spent waiting for a single shred of news on the game after it has already been announced.

So what happened to Thief 4? Was it Eidos' intention to keep it dark for this long the whole time or has the game fallen into limbo. I feel like Eidos should have been ready to share some of the game if they made the decision to announce it but i guess developers work in mysterious ways. Producer, Square-Enix will be present at E3 so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for some news regarding Thief 4.