Random Video Game Series Review - Thief

 

So quite a few years ago now, I previously tackled the 2014 video game known as Thief. Since then, I have had a chance to play through the other games that came before it (because well Steam love their sales) and so its time I review them. That is of course unless someone decides to steal this review in the process. So we have three games to get through so let's get to it while keeping an eye on our personal belongings:

 

The Dark Project

Yep this was an Eidos game for a while and who got the rights to the franchise you may ask when they went bust. Well Square Enix who also gained the rights to Tomb Raider and even Hitman (though the latter would later go independent). Set in a universe that looks like a cross between Middle Ages, the Industrial Revolution and dark fantasy, we play as the character Garrett (voiced by Stephen Russell in all the games except for the 2014 one), once known as a pick pocketer but would later join an order of thieves and later go solo all before getting caught in the middle of a complex plot to bring chaos to the world. In other words, this is almost in every way like Assassin's Creed but with more focus on the actual stealing of things instead of killing high priority targets. Most of the games follow the same gameplay style of being played from a first-person perspective and using all kinds of moves to navigate each mission. Each level is largely unscripted and has its own challenges for players to overcome as well as objectives to complete and plenty of collectibles to find along the way. Like most games like it, there is a huge empathsis on stealth which of course makes sense given that the game is about stealing things. Plus weapons are around to help as well. For someone who has played many games like this already, it's OK as a game. But I guess people who played this game when it first came out would have never heard of games like this and nowadays it's not the only game of its kind. But yeah a good experience worth playing. 9/10

 

II: The Metal Age

Garrett returns in the sequel as he uncovers a conspiracy related to a new religious scent. The game overall is pretty much the same as before, but with new challenges to overcome and a bit more freedom as to how to complete objectives and so forth. Some new additions include blackmail, frame ups and combat in which Garrett dies instantly. Once again like its predecessor, this is a game that continues to give us more things that helped shape games like this that came many years after. A good game with another good story and plenty of things for the player to take on. 9/10

Deadly Shadows

So after the last game, the original developers went bust which meant that the future of the franchise was left uncertain. But fortunately Eidos found a developer known as Ion Storm were able to step in and make the third game. Even more fortunate is that most of the development team came from the original developers anyway which is even more reassuring. So in the third game, Garrett continues to do contracts to steal items, but winds up in a murder in which people point to him as the one who done it (but in reality, he discovered the body). What follows is some timey winy nonsense all for the sake of learning about two powerful artefacts and dealing with powerful Glyph magic. Unlike the last two games where it was going from mission to mission, players can now explore the City between missions and even perform tasks in the City. This in a way answers a lot of questions that have been lingering since the first game and gives gamers a more relaxed experience without the need to go into each mission after one is done. Also, new is the ability to switch from first to third person to give gamers a more tailored experience than what came before. Like in the second game, all missions and things in the City are open-ended with multiple ways to tackle everything. With each objective complete, the story is further told through the means of cutscenes. Although a much bigger game because of the ability to explore the City, the game is another great entry but has one big flaw. The flaw being that it doesn't auto save and while there is a reason for that generally, most players would expect a feature in pretty much any game they played. I mean many of the JRPGs I play still need me to get to a "save point" instead of auto saving which is a bit inconvenient. But going back to the game, it's a good ending to the original series even if the story is not up to scratch which seems to be a reoccurring factor in the series. 8/10

And that ends the original series and my reviews of the overall franchise until the next game comes along. With the stories not being great, the games make up for in the gameplay experience. These games helped shape games like Assassin's Creed, Hitman and so many others, and we should be forever grateful to the Thief games. I hope we get more the future, but for now enjoy them for what they are. 8/10