Thief - A Game That I'm Addicted To!

Hey everyone!

Last week for my birthday, my wife and son got me the game Thief from Steam. It was almost a 20 GB download, so it took me a couple of days to get it downloaded. Then when I started playing......I just could not stop!

I've always like playing a thief in RPGs, and I've played one in games like Oblivion and Skyrim. I was not really aware of this game in it's earlier versions, such as Thief: The Dark Project, which came out in 1998 (and you can also get from Steam, however it's known as Thief: Gold there), Thief II: The Metal Age, which came out in 2000, and Thief: Deadly Shadows, which came out in 2004.

All of those earlier versions are available on Steam, and for low prices of $5 to $7 USD. I'm thinking seriously of trying them now.

Thief (2014) runs about $30 USD, but of course being on Steam, you can catch it on sale sometimes during Mid-Week Madness sales or holidays. If you have a Steam account and put it on your Wishlist, you'll get an email letting you know if it gets put on sale.

Thief was unique in that when it first came out back in 1998, it was the first of it's kind: playing a thief in a first person view, with an emphasis on sneaking around, avoiding confrontations.

What do I love about the game? The environment is steam-punk, I get to explore quite a bit (and get lost quite a bit, hehehehe), you can play several different ways (Ghost, Opportunist, Aggressive), when you finish a mission, you have the opportunity to replay it right away if you were not happy how things turned out, and it has a high replay value.

It did get a low score from Game Reviewers (metascore of like only 60 to 70), but I really don't see why too much. There are a few things that I don't like: The NPC dialog is very repetative in places (people and guards talking to themselves or others, saying the same thing over and over), but then Skyrim and Oblivion was like that. Some times the people and guards get stuck break dancing (spinning around) here and there.

I'm sort of torn also on your skill levels: in this version of Thief, you're a Master Thief, so you can already do things easily with no problems (sneaking, swooping, lock picking, and pick pocketing). You do get to upgrade some things through the use of Focus Points. But sometimes I miss having to build the character up.

However, I find the game quite addictive, and is one reason I've not put out a lot of Let's Play videos over the past 2 weeks, heh.

I'm not really planning to do a Let's Play series with this game (unless I get people asking for it), but I did make a video showing the game.

One word of warning however if you get the game: It's ESRB rating is M for Mature and with good reason. The F bomb does get dropped here and there, but in one of the missions, you rob a brothel. There is upper nudity of the women there, and adult situations. So if you have kids, make sure you're not playing the game with them around or within ear shot!

Here it is, hope you enjoy:

I have the game for ps4 but to be honest havent played past the first couple of missions due to the repetitive nature and lack of "action"

Ever since I was younger I was a huge fan of thief yet never got to play it, this version (knowing what I knew about the previous ones) is rather disappointing, nonetheless a fun game indeed!

Metascore doesn't say what is a good game and whats not anymore, those numbers are skewed by companies like activision to pump up the scores of their crap games like call of duty. Its a real issue actually. Its sad that VG companies have been taken over by business men, instead of gamers. You might like dishonored, i'd like to try theif if i can get it on sale (steam sales *drool*)

If you're a sci-fi nerd try Star Trek online, its free. I know all about game addiction haha.
Fire all phasers.

a reply to: NoNameNeeded

That's what the game reviewers were saying.

I think one reason that I'm enjoying it so much is: I didn't play or know about the earlier versions. Could be if I play the earlier versions, I'll end up not liking this one as much as I do now.

However, as for lack of action: put it on the hardest game play mode, then start getting the guards attention, heheh. Whew! They get rather ticked off with you, and you've only got so many arrows you can use, or have to depend on trying to get up behind them to take them out with the blackjack.

a reply to: eriktheawful

I gave this game a miss when it was released mainly due to the negative press it received but also because it would have killed my system at the time , I've just built a new rig which is capable of handling the game so I may give it a try at the right price.

I like a bit of stealth but also like the option to go loud when needed which I believe Thief doesn't do too well as the only offensive weapon you're given is a club , in this respect Dishonored scratches that itch for me as it gives you the choice of going in stealthy or guns and swords blazing whichever suits your mood at the time.

If you've not played Dishonored I highly recommend it

originally posted by: AzureSky
Metascore doesn't say what is a good game and whats not anymore, those numbers are skewed by companies like activision to pump up the scores of their crap games like call of duty. Its a real issue actually. Its sad that VG companies have been taken over by business men, instead of gamers. You might like dishonored, i'd like to try theif if i can get it on sale (steam sales *drool*)

If you're a sci-fi nerd try Star Trek online, its free. I know all about game addiction haha.
Fire all phasers.

Tell me about it, though I would argue its always been about money, but in the past, people still demanded value for money...

You know, the videogames industry is not usually a well paid business if you are in anyway involved in production...

Think about it, for every concept designer, there are 1000 kids dreaming of that job and another 1000 fresh art students waiting in line in case the current one misses deadlines, complains, or isnt good enough... You dont want to spend an extra 4hours a day to get this thing done? Gu-bye!

The money goes to where it belongs least. The artistic creativity, the writing, the originality, they dont get rewarded anymore, the publicity folk, the pr guys, the ones that have to sell the utter crap that got little to no budget spent on it, they get the money, as nowadays, thats whats conceived as the hard work... You try selling a polished turd when everyone is crowding up to have a sniff!

Its a shame what its come to but it was to be expected you know? Quantity over quality and it shows...

Games like Destiny make me cry, almost literally, because people are no longer "just" being lied to about geopolitics or the news, they are being scammed on every level and guess what? THEY PROTECT THE SYSTEM at each and every stop!

Ive been thinking of writing a thread just on Destiny as I find that game so disgusting, words fall short...

Ive tried talking to hardcore gamers about Destiny and how its a joke and a slap in the face of the gaming community, but they get angry! Probably out of disappointed, but cognitive dissonance works on all levels I guess..



Here you have a game that cost 200M dollars, was promised to be an MMO, huge worlds, epic story,...

Finished in 20-ish hours, maximum of THREE IN A PARTY and 12 on a server (well isnt that massive... a console that supposedly outperforms the competition..), story is bland and boring and if you want to know more? THEREs 60$ of expansions coming! And another 4 more editions of destiny, as per the contract established before they even started developing!!

In a nutshell, that last paragraph sums up the sad future of (big budget) games... Establish a marketing plan of attack and go from there... They already established how many games, how many dlc, and for how many years the series will be going, they give a crap about creating a game that is actually fun to play, and instead, count on the pr team and the eager flock of followers, to defend the garbage the devs spew out under extreme pressure.



Sorry for the long rant
TLDR I dont like where the games industry is going, at all.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: eriktheawful

I gave this game a miss when it was released mainly due to the negative press it received but also because it would have killed my system at the time , I've just built a new rig which is capable of handling the game so I may give it a try at the right price.

I like a bit of stealth but also like the option to go loud when needed which I believe Thief doesn't do too well as the only offensive weapon you're given is a club , in this respect Dishonored scratches that itch for me as it gives you the choice of going in stealthy or guns and swords blazing whichever suits your mood at the time.

If you've not played Dishonored I highly recommend it

Yep, now that is a game I LOVED! Perfect mix of sneaking and action


Also, if you like sci-fi, one of the best and most immersive games I have personally ever played, is Deus-Ex: human revolution

You'll like the conspiracy story, lots of sneaking with the option of not killing a single human the entire playthrough, and a good, deep, FPS RPG customising system

my goty when it came out, and still in my top 5 today probably!

a reply to: eriktheawful

Thief deadly shadow's was a dissapointment to all theif fans when it first came out though console owners generally liked it but theif 1 and 2 made for the PC are definitely worth playing though there graphics and FOV will seem rubbish at first due to there age, still when you are running out of holy water arrow's while in a zombie infested level and even though you can still sneak past there is nothing quite like it, I heard some good word about this latest version so thanks for the heads up.

The earlier games are really dated, thief 1 was only 16 bit graphics and I think theif 2 was as well so check online if they will run on your setup before you buy but they are still cool though if you are playing them after a reboot of high quality you may not enjoy them as much as when they were new.

a reply to: gortex

Actually you also have a bow, and you can take out baddies with it, many times with one shots, depending on the arrow type you use, and of course where you hit them (I've actually taken guards out with the water arrows).

a reply to: LABTECH767

I'll have to look, but I would not be surprised if there are mods to change things, especially the FOV.

The beauty of PC games, and why I generally don't play console games: Modding.

That's just me though.

a reply to: NoNameNeeded

The rant is okay. I actually agree with a lot of what you said.

a reply to: eriktheawful

Cool , I like bows , sniper riffle of the middle ages.
I've played Dishonored through 3 times and was looking for another game of that ilk , Thief looked to suit the bill but for the reasons I mentioned above I didn't take the plunge but now I have a new machine I will give it a go.

a reply to: gortex

Dishonoured took its cue from the original thief games and played a little like them, if you played them you would see where it got so much of it's inspiration, one of my favourity enemys was the automatons of the theif games, they were steam powered robots but a well aimed water arrow the boiler could shut them down, still dishonored is a modern classic did what they original theif games did but much better.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: eriktheawful

Cool , I like bows , sniper riffle of the middle ages.
I've played Dishonored through 3 times and was looking for another game of that ilk , Thief looked to suit the bill but for the reasons I mentioned above I didn't take the plunge but now I have a new machine I will give it a go.

You have Blunt Arrows, or hitting light switches, trigger plates, etc. Broad Arrows for killing, Sawtooth Arrows, much more powerful version of Broad Arrows, Choke Arrows which are full of gas to knock out dogs and birds which are like alarms, Fire arrows for starting fires, Water arrows for putting out torches, Rope Arrows for installing climbing ropes, Blast Arrows (think RPG...expensive but VERY effective).

You also have stun bombs that you can throw at your feet to stun people and get away.

A wrench for opening up vents, and taking golden plaques. a razor for cutting expensive paintings from their frames. Wire cutters for disabling traps, or making secret doors open, etc.

All sorts of nifty tools.

My son has Dishonored on the Xbox. He likes it.

As it's a console game and I hate the controllers, I'd most likely want it for the PC.

I honestly didnt like Thief that much. It was decent but the game didnt keep me enthralled for long. You should play Dishonored if you like that Steam-Punk environment. Excellent and underrated game.

Thief 2 is one of my all time favorite games.
It really got me hooked on gaming in general.
It has everything from sneaking up behind people
and relieving them of their worldly possessions (with
or without a knock to the head) , an intricate,
well told story line with great voice acting,
a protagonist that's so amoral you feel great being an A-hole in the game,
and Karras, how can you not love that goofy voice,
he's like a medieval Bond villain. I can't wait till the most
recent installment goes on special, i'd love to see what
they've done with the series, Thief-Deadly Shadows
was disappointing .

I completed it in a couple of days and haven't touched it since, lol.

I find that the game's stealth mechanics are very sound, but its combat and level design don't do it for me. Combat may not be the focus of the game, but it was that bad that i found it preferable to just reload the game or just stand there and die after being spotted. No use fighting. The level design was awkward and disjointed too, in my opinion.

Not a bad game by all means, but not all too great either. I would rate it a 7/10 personally.

a reply to: daaskapital

I gave combat a better try when I got to the point in the game at the Baron's Vault. You have all those guards after you, actively searching for you.

I only had Broad Arrows for combat, and only 5 of them.

I was able to take out 3 guards with those, but then had no more, and some REALLY ticked off guards after that.

So, for kicks, I started using the other arrows: water arrows, and blunt arrows.

Took a while, but I was actually able to take out a few more with those, and then sneak up on the remaining ones.

Was quite a challenge for me. I wasn't armed with some heavy caliber gun, or walking around with a huge amount of arrows with some heavy cross bow, and covered in some sort of really protective armor.

It made me have to stop, think, plan, then execute my actions. Stop attacking, hide, then come back out and catch them off guard.

I can see where for most people that like combat, this would be a real pain. But for me, it was refreshing: no longer mindlessly spraying bullets with a machine gun or blasting away with a shot gun.

But yah, I can see how it would not be everyone's cup of tea.

I am a big thief fan and have played all 4. Thief 1 and 2 were awesome and very challenging, especially the zombie levels. The third wasn't too bad the shale-bridge cradle mission is extremely creepy. Thief 4 was good I'm not sure how I feel about it though. The atmosphere was excellent and so was the gameplay, however its too similar to Deadly Shadows for me.

The biggest disappointment I had with Deadly Shadows was they took out the sword and the rope arrow is I remember correctly. There were lots of good things about Thief 4 but they took out the dagger from DS, didn't add the sword back, and it still has loading screens between sections of the city. Although the loading sections are better hidden than in DS I still can't believe they thought that was a good idea. They could have made it more like Skyrim where you just have loads between outside and inside. Anyway I thought Thief 4 was pretty good and underrated.