With Xmas & New Year out of the way (which I miss already) I am playing catch-up now on some of the games in my collection and one of these is 'Thief' which is currently available on the Xbox One Games with Gold program (until the 15th of Jan - ed ).
It’s another title that I was toying with getting hold of upon its original release date but I have to admit at the time I was put off by some of the negative reviews circulating through the press.
In some ways I was not sure why I would like this game anyway because it pretty much involves stealth and this is not my cup of tea as I am more of an Arnie style gamer where I rush in all guns blazing and put the stealth element to the back burner.
However for free I was willing to give it a go. What I did note at the start of the prologue is that as Garrett you are encouraged to scavenge the environment (which given the games nature is set in a dark environment for the most part) for minor objects that you can steal to build up your gold count.
At first this seems petty considering your character is supposed to be a Master Thief, but it makes more sense as you continue through the game as the currency can be used to buy items (from less respectable fellows) that can enhance the stealth element, such as buying a Wrench to unlock grates or a Wire cutter to defuse traps.
Things also change for the better as you get into the story and you uncover new abilities, such as the swoop style ability for dashing between cover or the water arrows that can help you stay undiscovered in the dark; as you can shoot the arrows at torches to put them out, thus covering an area in darkness once more, which is your ultimate friend.
The story (which has a supernatural feel for the main campaign) is set so even if you have not played the previous games you are pretty much able to work out your role.
Graphically I think on the Xbox One side it looks good for the most part, mainly in terms of the use of lighting effects. The only noticeable drawback is with the cut-scenes, which have dodgy character animations and other bugs - one of which you can see in the gallery below. However my only other qualm with Thief on a graphical front is that most of the locations feel samey and the dark environment is sometimes a little too dark....
In fact the Focus ability you gain later on (which primarily is used to highlight key objects in blue) was more useful for helping me see in the dark, rather than anything else.
Freedom of movement?
For me the control system also feels clunky in places and is hampered by the ability to scale over objects where the game sees fit, yet at other times boxes - seemingly accessible – can’t be climbed over. The same rule applies to walking off the edges of buildings; sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t. However for the most part it’s something you can adapt to and the stealth element - that is front and center - with this title works well if you give it chance.
Stealth Choices
A lot of objectives present you with multiple choices in terms of how to approach a given task, for example trying to steal a mask from the jewellery store gives you a set number of guards with standard walking patterns. Do you try to take one out with an arrow first and then hide the body before the other guards see you or do you split the remaining two guards with a bottle; thus luring one into a more secluded path from which you can take him out.
The AI is not the best in the world for each of the guards. However I forgot to mention at the start that you can set the difficulty level to suit your play style (sadly once the difficulty level is set you can’t change it mid game) which does make the AI more responsive and less forgiving - to any gaffs you make - the higher up the difficulty bar is set.
Side Quests & Replay Value
While the Story has that paranormal mode that I was talking about earlier, there is a break from the norm by taking on various side quests. Here you get further choices of how you approach a given building, so for example do you use the vent (as long as you purchased a wrench first) and crawl through tunnels to reach your objective, go through the roof or sneak in at the front door (silently peering through the keyhole before picking the lock) and go head on!
The problem with the latter method is that if you get spotted by a guard (there is a bar above their head to indicate their awareness) melee attacks are not your greatest skill, so you can get an ass whipping! Come to think of it your arrow supplies are limited to. So the stealth approach is pretty much the main choice when tackling objectives as you can creep up on guards and knock them out with one blow; if you boost your Focus power first with upgrades - ed.
For each primary mission you are also graded on how well you perform i.e. if you were spotted, how many kills and that sort of thing, so there is a touch of replay value when approaching the game (as you can try to beat your previous best).
Summary
For me Thief is still worth downloading if you have not done so already, granted the game is not perfect in terms of its cut-scene graphics, control system and the main story can get a bit bog downed to. However the side quests do add more re-play value and if you missed the game the first time around the stealth elements are still worth exploring; if you have the patience that is!