Preview: Thief Didn't Steal the Show at E3 2013
- Thread starter Greg Tito
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I saw a preview yesterday, either on Gamespot or Gametrailers, of them running through this mission with one of the presenters. He used the focus to shoot a guard in the head with an arrow at which point a little message appeared on screen...
"40XP. Headshot!"
I nearly cried. You should, if anything, be punished for killing the guards. Garret is a thief, not a murderer.
Still, he was awarded more for pick-pocketing and if there's an XP bonus for never being seen or never attacking anyone that could offset it. Slightly. Maybe. Probably not. They mentioned that the XP was more of a points system and that you wouldn't be levelling up, so that's kinda cool, I guess? I just hope you're not awarded for pre-determined actions throughout the mission, creating an "optimal" route that grants you the most points. That would completely miss the point of the genre nevermind the series!
I was disappointed in how dumb the AI looked compared to the other games, too. I still remember the first time a guard got suspicious because I'd left a door open.
It looks like a fun game and I'll probably enjoy playing it, but it doesn't look like a Thief game.
"40XP. Headshot!"
I nearly cried. You should, if anything, be punished for killing the guards. Garret is a thief, not a murderer.
Still, he was awarded more for pick-pocketing and if there's an XP bonus for never being seen or never attacking anyone that could offset it. Slightly. Maybe. Probably not. They mentioned that the XP was more of a points system and that you wouldn't be levelling up, so that's kinda cool, I guess? I just hope you're not awarded for pre-determined actions throughout the mission, creating an "optimal" route that grants you the most points. That would completely miss the point of the genre nevermind the series!
I was disappointed in how dumb the AI looked compared to the other games, too. I still remember the first time a guard got suspicious because I'd left a door open.
It looks like a fun game and I'll probably enjoy playing it, but it doesn't look like a Thief game.
I'm really not confident from what I've seen that it'll live up to it's own legacy. I just don't think Square get the appeal of the old games. Looks like they have basically made another dishonoured, not that dishonoured was bad, but Thief is supposed to be about not being overpowered and running rampant, it's supposed to be about careful consideration of your environment, patience and planning to find the optimal route and being punished for choosing to bulldoze your way through, Garret is no fighter.
I could be wrong, but these trailers and the dev answers aren't quenching my doubt.
I could be wrong, but these trailers and the dev answers aren't quenching my doubt.
Not to mention that Gametrailers preview featured a brief, clunky as sin fight between Garret and a handful of guards. And I thought Dishonored's hand-to-hand combat was a little rough for my tastes...ScrabbitRabbit said:
It's always hard to tell when a stealth game's clumsy combat is either an incentive for remaining stealthy, or just actually that bad.
The focus system sounds similar to what was done in Hitman: Absolution, another stealth game I found somewhat disappointing.
The idea of the setpiece burning bridge scene is problematic for me, not just because (as the article author said) it made no narrative sense to run that way, but also because Thief has always been about sprawling, nonlinear levels, and having action setpieces undermines the key fun part of the game. If I want a linear setpiece experience, I'll go play Half-Life 2 again. That can be a fine experience (HL2 is one of my favorite games of all time), but Thief is more about giving you a big open area and a goal, and letting you make your own fun instead of following a predefined path.
Focus is just detective mode from the Batman games. Totally misses the point of Thief. I'm glad it's optional, but saying "there is a narrative reason for it" as the developer keeps doing, doesn't make me feel any better. You can come up with a narrative reason for just about any shitty mechanic you care to dream up.
The fire escape is troubling, as are the long Uncharted-style third-person climbing sequences that no one has been reporting on. Did you happen to see any of those, Greg? Apparently they were only shown off in some of the demos.
The fire escape is troubling, as are the long Uncharted-style third-person climbing sequences that no one has been reporting on. Did you happen to see any of those, Greg? Apparently they were only shown off in some of the demos.
It occurs to me that this sort of focus mode would work better with one tweak: if you couldn't see enemies through walls. It would still highlight visible enemies and environmental quirks, but it wouldn't make you psychic. Maybe it could be something like Far Cry 3, where you could tag enemies while they're visible and keep track of them when they move out of sight.ResonanceGames said:
Giantbomb wasn't exactly impressed with Thief 4 either. In fact they went so far as to call it dishonest compared to the demo's they had been shown previously, or as one host put it "It's not good!".
So yeah, the developers took out Hammerites and Pagans, they got rid of Stephen Russell, they redesigned Garrett, made it more linear, gave Garrett super cheat powers, and what's more the gameplay apparently isn't that sharp either.
Not holding my breath for this one.
So yeah, the developers took out Hammerites and Pagans, they got rid of Stephen Russell, they redesigned Garrett, made it more linear, gave Garrett super cheat powers, and what's more the gameplay apparently isn't that sharp either.
Not holding my breath for this one.
Sounds like Hitman: Absolution, a game which failed to hold my interest.
We'll see how this fares.
We'll see how this fares.
It would seem that all these "focus modes" that we're seeing nowadays is just another product of the publishers' desire to appeal to a wider audience. I've seen so many games lately that have a similar function, a single button press and you have an overlay with all the information you could ever ask for. Whatever happened to letting us use our sense of logic and ability to reason? Ya know, those essential human traits.
Bloody taffers! This is happens when you stray from the righteous path of The Builder and into the vile trappings of the The Trickster.ScrabbitRabbit said:
Wait? poppy flowers? Is he addicted to opium? Could this be a very interesting twist at the end of the game with the protagonist just a druggy and just wants to get high.
Could game play mechanics, this focus mode, be used to tell a more interesting story? Am I giving the developers too much credit?
Could game play mechanics, this focus mode, be used to tell a more interesting story? Am I giving the developers too much credit?
You know, I am a huge fan of the originals and was outright dreading what I would see in the gameplay. But, to be honest, I actually think what was shown was very promising. I still have a few issues but, based on everything I've seen and the devs have said, especially when I learned that focus and health DO NOT auto-regen, that the UI has aspects that can be disabled, and that this does indeed seem like a stealth focused game, I'm actually quite optimistic about this game now. I don't even hate the focus aspect as much as I thought I would, though even so I will be using it sparingly, just like some of the stealth abilities in Deus Ex: HR.
Hell Garrett's new voice actor, while no Stephen Russell, is starting to grow on me.
Hell Garrett's new voice actor, while no Stephen Russell, is starting to grow on me.
I... also really don't like that, Greg. That sounds way too Uncharted-y for my tastes. It would be better if you could flee through any route.
So, it turns out despite assurances that Thief would be a worthy sequel, its actually a load of bollocks? I call this the least suprising piece of news since M$ made an ass of itself with some idiotic announcement about the Xbone for the umpteenth time.
At least it's not a cover shooter...
...yet.
Yeah. I am disappoint.
I remember the original series combat was difficult where it should have been and then doable against the fairy monkey critters. Even then, my inclination was to ambush.
I played them all on expert. I like the idea that a no-kill policy was classy and the sign of a master, and besides, I wanted the extra loot goals.
It sounds like 2013 is going to be a worse year, than 2012 for AAA gaming.
238U
...yet.
Yeah. I am disappoint.
I remember the original series combat was difficult where it should have been and then doable against the fairy monkey critters. Even then, my inclination was to ambush.
I played them all on expert. I like the idea that a no-kill policy was classy and the sign of a master, and besides, I wanted the extra loot goals.
It sounds like 2013 is going to be a worse year, than 2012 for AAA gaming.
238U