Thief
For: PS4, Xbox One, Ps3, X360, PC
From: Eidos/Square Enix
Two and a half stars (out of five)
Thief (or Thi4f as it was originally titled) is the fourth game in the series, although it comes well after the previously released titles.
The originals pioneered the stealth genre, encouraging players to avoid combat and use their wits and the shadows to manoeuvre around enemies and steal the various items.
This Thief remains true to its roots in this regard: you can choose to use the shadows and sneak around trying to make as little noise as possible, or you can choose to sneak up behind guards and knock them out.
Either way works, but there is a sense of satisfaction in entering an area, stealing all the valuables (sometimes from an unaware guards), and then sneaking out without anyone ever knowing you were there.
You play as Garrett, a master thief, returning to a city (named ''The City'') that is suffering from a mysterious plague known as ''The Gloom'', looking to find out what's happened to him and on the way hunt for valuables to pilfer from the unsuspecting residents and the wealthy alike.
After an event near the start of the game, you gain the ability to focus, which allows Garrett various aids in both combat and exploration.
Using focus highlights points of interest (valuables scattered throughout the city streets, guard positions, alternative paths to take to avoid the guards etc).
If there's one thing that Thief does really well, it's that it punishes you for not being stealthy.
Series' such as Splinter Cell, and particularly the latest entry Blacklist, pride themselves on being stealth games but in some ways encourage you to go in guns blazing.
There's no punishment for doing so, nor any reward for being patient.
If you're spotted in Thief, you're pretty much a goner, on the harder difficulties anyway.
However, there's a feeling of deja vu that sets in while you play Thief.
Victorian setting, stealth-based gameplay (with the option of playing pure stealth or slightly more aggressive), first-person perspective, city affected by mysterious plague, supernatural elements ... I've just described Dishonored, a game from 2012.
Dishonored used a unique, almost caricatured art style that gave it character, something that Thief is unfortunately lacking.
Whether it's the sub-par graphics, or the lifeless voice acting, Thief just does nothing to stand out.
Add in some technical issues (frame rate is occasionally average at best, the lip syncing in the cutscenes is either well out of time or their faces just don't move at all, guards AI is iffy), and it becomes more and more difficult to recommend.
That's not to say it's a terrible game by any means, but it's just inferior in many ways to its competitors.
PS4 games such as Battlefield 4, Assassins Creed Black Flag and Tomb Raider Definitive Edition are heads-and-shoulders above their PS3 equivalents and really show off the power of the new consoles.
Thief, however, just looks and plays like it was (or should have been) released two to three years ago.
-Simon Bishop
