Thief 4 Promo Video Sneaks Out

[Andy Chalk]

Thief 4 Promo Video Sneaks Out

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A brief snippet of a Thief 4 cinematic has snuck out, but the game itself might be struggling.

There are few games that can get me charged up like Thief. I recently reinstalled the original Deus Ex: Human Revolution [http://www.amazon.com/Thief-The-Dark-Project-Pc/dp/B00001YVIB/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1339688538&sr=8-3&keywords=Thief%3A+The+Dark+Project].

Not really sure what to make of this brief clip, however. It looks the part in a general sense, but the details feel "off" somehow: the mechanical bow, Garrett's more ninja-like countenance, the relatively conventional-looking late Victorian setting. Then again, this is a promo trailer, where liberties are sometimes taken, and it's also about 20 seconds long, which admittedly isn't much to go on.

The video originally appeared as part of a demo reel put together by Eric Wong, an employee (or perhaps former employee) of Goldtooth Creative [http://goldtoothcreative.com/], the studio that did all those brilliant Deus Ex trailers. The original was quickly pulled once the Thief footage came to light but, this being the internet, it was too late at that point and the clip is now happily multiplying on YouTube and elsewhere.

Less happy, however, are the reports of trouble with the development of the game, which made no appearance at E3 despite being in the works for four years. It turns out that the Paul Weir, audio director and composer on the game, left Eidos Montreal in March, while lead level designer Adam Alim departed a month earlier. And according to the resume of another Goldtooth editor, the trailer was intended for release in December 2011, but Square Enix has sat on it for reasons unknown.

Turnover on any major project is normal, but concerns about the situation on Thief 4 are amplified by the fact that the game has made absolutely no visible progress since its announcement more than Twitter page [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/91613-Thief-4-Its-Official]. It's way too early for the wailing and gnashing of teeth, yes, but a nagging concern at the back of your mind? That, I think, is perfectly reasonable.

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5918203/thief-4-is-that-you]


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[Jamane]

Is it bad that I am more excited about this to see yahtzee's response to it than the actual game??

 

[UnderGlass]

Please change the name. Thi4f is not a word, not even in l33tsp34k. Your logo designer is just a nitwit.

 

[00Jack00]

I've been a fan of Thief since before the release of the first game. I checked the project updates on Looking Glass' site weekly in anticipation of the game -- so yes, I'm an old-time Thief fan. The first two games were brilliant. That said, I'm OK with this trailer... even the mechanical bow. It's kinda cool and explains a little of how Garret can be somewhat spry and still lug around a short bow. I believe at one point Looking Glass was kicking around the idea of giving Garrett a one-handed crossbow to make his load a wee bit more believable (aside from him hauling around books and candlesticks and still managing to be stealthy). So, the collapsible bow is an entirely understandable addition.

I think it's likely Square Enix is trying their best to make Garrett into something super-cool and super-slick, like Assassin's Creed without the killing stuff. The "suits" most likely are trying to imagine what the kids want on their consoles. The beauty of the original Thief presented itself like any good art: take it as it is. It was created to take gaming in a new direction, not a retread of what was hot last year. Corporate bean counters rarely understand that making something that pushes people's game-playing skills in new directions can be very profitable in the long run. EA isn't selling a lot of copies of Thief, Thief 2, or Deadly Shadows -- but they still are selling, I'm sure. Great games make lasting franchises -- and great games aren't clones of whatever was hot the year before.

 

[eniac0]

I think the following one-word sentence will resume pretty well Thief 4, its future, its success if any along with the amount of interest you should devote waiting for it:

fuggedaboutit

Seriously...

if eidos ever gets close to releasing it, dontwowwyaboutit, they'll get the marketing machine steaming again (steam - valve....get it?)!!

 

[Odjin]

I can't agree with the OP. Seeing on what they did to Deus-Ex with DX:HR (urks) I'm not so looking forward to what they might do to the Thief series. They broke my Deus-Ex heart already... please don't break now also my Thief heart #.#

 

[JediMB]

Please change the name. Thi4f is not a word, not even in l33tsp34k. Your logo designer is just a nitwit.

What, haven't you ever heard of a Thiaf? >_>

(But, seriously, they missed their chance with the third game. Thi4f just looks dumb.)

 

[3quency]

I choose optimism. I love the shit out of Thief so I know I'll end up playing it. Eidos, don't fuck this up. And y'know, actually release it at some point.

 

[Vkmies]

PLEASE make the game and PLEASE make it not suck!

I have been crossing my fingers about this for like 6 years! I am getting tiiiired!

 

[Hawk of Battle]

I really need to finish the 2nd game. And then play the 1st and 3rd. I'm really behind on my Thiefing, probably because I try and ghost all the time and it gets really hard. Can't really comment on this trailer, since there's not much of it. I do hope they don't start making Garret all super ninja-y though, that was the good thing about Garret, in that he's a fairly low key, non-super human badass normal. The greatest thief in gaming doesn't need flashy moves and super cool bows to be cool. In fact the way I play him he doesn't even need his bow half the time.

 

[Bors Mistral]

Judging by how many walls were stripped down at the Eidos Montreal open house, I'd say work on Thief 4 is/was well underway.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I enjoyed that trailer far too much. I think the mechanical bow is a natural progression (Garrett already has a mechanical eye FFS). Not sure what purpose the ninja mask has other than mask the exposed parts of his face that the cowl doesn't shade.

 

[Tanis]

Will Thief 4 become the NEW DNF?

The world may never know...

 

[Woodsey]

Kinda difficult to get to grips with the setting. It looks like the inside of any number of houses in Thief. Dark and Victorian-y at first glance. As for the bow, The City should evolve in terms of technology and appearance, so stuff like that is perfectly acceptable.

It was a tad AssCreed-y, but then it was also pitch-black and gave lock-picking a decent showing. If the character design's representative of the in-game look, I'd say they're going to agile him up a bit - and, if they roll with the idea of opening larger parts of The City up to us, that'll help make things a little more interesting navigation-wise. Hopefully they won't go insane with it if they do, he doesn't need to be super-human; but he was just a tad clumsy to control in the previous games. (Played Thief 2 again recently - I cannot get through open windows. At all. It requires a strafe-crouch-jump beyond my mind's comprehension.)

Still, the departure of the lead level designer is troubling.

 

[octafish]

Thief 4 might be vapourware? You just shot a water arrow at my flickering flame of hope.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

Another thought on the ninja mask; when Garrett springs the lock on the safe a mist comes pouring out and this could be one of two things. One, it may just indicate the dust of time that's settled inside the pressurised safe being stirred. Two, it could indicate that someone may have booby-trapped the safe to vomit out poison gas if it were tampered with, in which case some kind of filtration system / mask would be very beneficial to Garrett.

 

[Hungry Donner]

If they screw this up they don't have to worry about hardcore fans causing any permanent damage, we're conditioned to not kill anyone. However their valuables may be less safe.