Thief
Ten years. Ten long years. That’s how long I, and many others, waited for another adventure starring Garrett, master thief. After being teased since 2009, Thief finally made its grand return on current and last-gen consoles. Rather than follow the path its predecessors made, however, the reboot chose to forge its own path, with less than desirable results.
Developed by Eidos Montreal, the potential was there for Thief to be a major success. After all, the developer had previously rebooted another long-dormant franchise in Deus Ex with wonderful results. Perhaps my desire for another satisfyingly stealthy experience clouded my judgment, because I should have seen the potential for disaster. This was a title that not only spent a long time in development, but also made the usually disastrous jump from one console generation to another mid-development cycle. But still, my heart wanted me to be excited, and my head did little to reign in those feelings.
It’s frustrating, because at times, you can see how great Thief could have been. Pulling off a mission without being spotted is just as exciting and tense as it was back in the old days of the franchise. Unlike those classics, though, I never felt like I could accomplish every mission in the way I wanted to. I felt confined to a pre-determined path, with only a few differing choices separating one run from another. It also doesn’t help that the level designs are uninteresting and bland, with the main hub, The City, being arguably the worst among the bunch.
If you’re like me and played Thief on a current-gen console, you are also probably familiar with the recurring technical issues that popped up. Dark, ugly graphics, a stuttering frame rate, repetitive dialogue and awkward animations are just a few of the strikes against the title. If I’m paying $60 for a shiny, new current-gen experience, this wasn’t what I was expecting.
-Eric Hall