Ok, you may want a cup of tea before you start reading this one; it’s going to be long, but I think this title deserves an in-depth analysis.
Thief is… well I don’t know exactly. I know what it thinks it is; a stealth game about thievery and intrigue, but I’m not entirely convinced. It’s most certainly not a bad game, but it is one that struggles with its own (self inflicted) problems that do their damnedest to spoil the experience.
A dark night, a random phone call, and trousers that allow you to jump like a genetically enhanced grasshopper with its feet on fire – Gunpoint certainly starts with a bang. It follows up with a few more bangs and suddenly you are being hired for all sorts of stealth/jumping/trenchcoat tomfoolery, most of which involves falling out of windows and pestering guards with electrified light switches. Oh, and it’s a bit good.
With Deus Ex Human Revolution out of the door and the team behind it presumably enjoying a little rest in between lighter DLC work, all eyes should rightly be on Eidos Montreal’s second team and their big project: Thief 4. Doing the rounds in the last couple of days have been 12 storyboard illustrations apparently from the game, posted on the portfolio of Vancouver-based artist Marlon Deane.