Thief 3 Impressions
Having played Thief 3 (screw that Deadly Shadows crap, it's Thief 3 to me) for about an hour and a half last night, I thought I'd give some initial impressions. First of all, I should mention that the original Thief is my favorite game of all time. There are other games I've played that have done certain things better, or looked prettier or been longer, but there's just something about Thief's total package that puts it in a special place in my gaming heart. I should also mention that I didn't find nearly as much at fault with Deus Ex 2 as the rest of the gaming world seemed to. I thought it was a lot of fun and had a good deal of variety. Maybe it's because I thought the first one was just OK (good gamemplay but horrible confusing and convoluted story) that the "problems" with the second one didn't bother me so much. Anyway, I mention this, because some people seem to automatically hate Thief 3 because they hated Deus Ex 2. Whatever. On with the impressions.
These impressions are for the Xbox, natch.
First of all, there was no opening movie, which I found odd. I've scene a cutscene inbetween the tutorial and first "real" mission, which was in the usual amazing Thief style, but no opening movie. I didn't think I hit any buttons to get through the company logos, but perhaps I was wrong. Individual results may vary.
The menus look awful. Really, really bad, with a horrible shade of light purple as a background for some text messages. Not only does it make the text hard to read, but it makes my TV look like it threw up an easter party. Selection choices are highlighted with a strange blue box. I'm sure it all looks fantastic on the PC, but somewhere the porting went amiss.
The game itself looks pretty damn good. Lighting is spectacular, and textures and character models look similarly good. Some of the reviews have spoken about the lack of lip-synching, which I can't comment on. I haven't taken a good look at their faces, preferring to creep behind them and smack them harder than I smack Phyxie's big, bald head in a Halo match. I believe the same review mentioned that the characters seemed to float above the surface which I did notice. Truth be told, I've noticed it in other games too, but it may be a lot more noticeable here because you spend so much time watching guards and their patterns. A minor flaw, and one that doesn't detract anything. I wouldn't have even noticed it had it not been pointed out to me.
Speaking of blackjacking, it works incredibly well. Sneak up on some poor fool, wait for the blackjack to rise and blammo, lights out Sparky. Bodies crumple in a most pleasing manner and weapons clatter to the ground. Unfortunately, the weapon clattering doesn't alert other guards (at least on Hard mode). I wish it did, as it would make some knockouts I performed last night, especially tricky. The physics system for the body crumpling is pretty cool. Last night I knocked out a guard standing in a very well lit guard post and then ducked into the shadows as his portly companion continued his rounds. Unfortunately, Sleeping Beauty fell so that his chin was resting on the guard post window, thereby alerting his pal that there was violence afoot. Curses! As in Deus Ex 2, the physics system makes for very entertaining matches of "Throw the Body". The lack of strength bio-mods takes away from the experience, but I'm sure you could get in a spirited match of Corpse Bowling should you take the time to set the barrels up ahead of time.
Other weapons work as expected. Not sure what the big deal about arrow trails is, as they don't make it any easier to make shots. In fact, I didn't even notice them. I'm a one shot kind of guy anyway, so much is the bow my friend. I did read in the manual, that you can get insta-kills with broadheads by hitting an unsuspecting guard in the head or chest, a change from the headshot only model of the previous games. I tend to not kill, as I'm a thief, not a murderer, but in principle, I don't like this change. The guards are all wearing armor, so most likely, you wouldn't actually kill them with one chest shot, and you surely wouldn't kill them before they could call for help. A broadhead in the eye is a completely different story. In fact, the trickiness of the headshot helps to deter folks from this ghastly business in the first place. Alas, the game does advertise that you can complete missions as an assassin, so I guess they had to make it easier for people to get their kill on. Not this taffer.
Loot is now nicely glinty making it easier for you to pick up the necessary items and not some worthless candlestick. It's a welcome change from the last ones where you could track your progress through the mansion from the piles of cast off tableware littering the rooms. You can still pick up pretty much anything, but if it ain't loot, you gotta either drop it or throw it. One unfortunate removal is that you can't eat food anymore. I remember my friend Dennis, after swapping the mechanical eye for the real eye against the Trickster in the first game, had Garrett hide in the shadows and munch on an apple as the whole thing went down. It seemed like a very Garrett thing to do. Alas, he must be on a diet in this version as there's no between meal snacking.
The frame rate can be a little chuggy, especially when running through well lit areas. Seeing how I only run when all the guards have been knocked out (running is loud) it won't happen very often, but it does happen. There's an overall lack of smoothness that I'm sure won't happen on the PC version (provided your PC is beefy enough) but you quickly get sucked into the game to the point where you don't notice it,
I haven't used 3rd person mode except to see what Garrett looks like when flattened against a wall or when holding a body and refuse to use it for gameplay. Thief is all about using your eyes and ears, not using the 3rd person camera. I can see why they put it in, because Splinter Cell is third person, but for this taffer, first person is the only way to go. BTW, Garrett looks like every pimped out, D&D, thief wet-dream there's ever been. Dude is bad-ass.
I don't understand some reviewers' complaints that the levels seems small and cramped. It took me about an hour to throroughly explore and steal from only the outer portion of the castle I'm casing. And this included me finding an alternate way in because I'm an idiot who doesn't follow directions. Yes, there are loading zones between levels for our friend Xboxy, but the levels seem plenty large to me.
Voice acting is superb. with Stephen Russell reprising his role as Garrett. Stephen Russell is Garrett, and had they gotten someone else to do it, I'd seriously have to consider whether the purchase was worth it. It was so good to hear his cynical yet opportunistic tones from my speakers. Other voice acting seems similarly well done, although I have yet to come across the drunk, vaguely British sounding guard from the first two games, but I'm sure he's around somewhere, probably chasing rats. The irritated mutterings of the guards is amusing. I've already heard one complaining about how he should be Captain of the guard, one complaining that he pulled another week of night shifts again, and another telling his friend to bugger off in response to his friend's request for a status update. Seeing how this game is based so much on sound, everything is done really well, with torches crackling, and footsteps making the right noises based on the flooring medium.
So far I'm really enjoying the game and have found myself saving with the intention of quitting and then going on to explore just one more hallway. The small problems I've pointed out in the game quickly vanish when you walk into a huge stairwell and start finding places to hide from the guards. The only thing I've noticed is that the tension doesn't seem to be there as in the first ones. I think part of it is that it's only the first mission, part of it is that I've recently played Splinter Cell 2, so I'm already in stealth mode, but most of it is environmental. See, I played the first two games hunched over my mouse and keyboard, nose inches from my 17 inch monitor as I strained to see all of the guards, and listen for footsteps. This kind of position makes for some very tense moments, as you're already tense from the contortions you've put your body into. Now, I play Thief lounging on my couch, feet away from my 50 inch screen, on which I can make out many the detail. DOn't get me wrong, I love my setup, and this is the first time I've ever felt it inferior to a PC, but there's something about crowding over a monitor in a dark room, every muscle tense as you wait for the guard to walk by that just can't be replicated here.
Based on the little I've played, I think that any Thief fan would be well served to pick up this game, as well as people who like to get their stealth on. I'll be sure to post a full review once I'm finished with it, but don't expect that for sometime. This is Thief, after all, and it wouldn't be Thief without playing for 2 hours just to move 20 feet.
As Garett once said, "The time is ripe for a bit of burlgary."
These impressions are for the Xbox, natch.
First of all, there was no opening movie, which I found odd. I've scene a cutscene inbetween the tutorial and first "real" mission, which was in the usual amazing Thief style, but no opening movie. I didn't think I hit any buttons to get through the company logos, but perhaps I was wrong. Individual results may vary.
The menus look awful. Really, really bad, with a horrible shade of light purple as a background for some text messages. Not only does it make the text hard to read, but it makes my TV look like it threw up an easter party. Selection choices are highlighted with a strange blue box. I'm sure it all looks fantastic on the PC, but somewhere the porting went amiss.
The game itself looks pretty damn good. Lighting is spectacular, and textures and character models look similarly good. Some of the reviews have spoken about the lack of lip-synching, which I can't comment on. I haven't taken a good look at their faces, preferring to creep behind them and smack them harder than I smack Phyxie's big, bald head in a Halo match. I believe the same review mentioned that the characters seemed to float above the surface which I did notice. Truth be told, I've noticed it in other games too, but it may be a lot more noticeable here because you spend so much time watching guards and their patterns. A minor flaw, and one that doesn't detract anything. I wouldn't have even noticed it had it not been pointed out to me.
Speaking of blackjacking, it works incredibly well. Sneak up on some poor fool, wait for the blackjack to rise and blammo, lights out Sparky. Bodies crumple in a most pleasing manner and weapons clatter to the ground. Unfortunately, the weapon clattering doesn't alert other guards (at least on Hard mode). I wish it did, as it would make some knockouts I performed last night, especially tricky. The physics system for the body crumpling is pretty cool. Last night I knocked out a guard standing in a very well lit guard post and then ducked into the shadows as his portly companion continued his rounds. Unfortunately, Sleeping Beauty fell so that his chin was resting on the guard post window, thereby alerting his pal that there was violence afoot. Curses! As in Deus Ex 2, the physics system makes for very entertaining matches of "Throw the Body". The lack of strength bio-mods takes away from the experience, but I'm sure you could get in a spirited match of Corpse Bowling should you take the time to set the barrels up ahead of time.
Other weapons work as expected. Not sure what the big deal about arrow trails is, as they don't make it any easier to make shots. In fact, I didn't even notice them. I'm a one shot kind of guy anyway, so much is the bow my friend. I did read in the manual, that you can get insta-kills with broadheads by hitting an unsuspecting guard in the head or chest, a change from the headshot only model of the previous games. I tend to not kill, as I'm a thief, not a murderer, but in principle, I don't like this change. The guards are all wearing armor, so most likely, you wouldn't actually kill them with one chest shot, and you surely wouldn't kill them before they could call for help. A broadhead in the eye is a completely different story. In fact, the trickiness of the headshot helps to deter folks from this ghastly business in the first place. Alas, the game does advertise that you can complete missions as an assassin, so I guess they had to make it easier for people to get their kill on. Not this taffer.
Loot is now nicely glinty making it easier for you to pick up the necessary items and not some worthless candlestick. It's a welcome change from the last ones where you could track your progress through the mansion from the piles of cast off tableware littering the rooms. You can still pick up pretty much anything, but if it ain't loot, you gotta either drop it or throw it. One unfortunate removal is that you can't eat food anymore. I remember my friend Dennis, after swapping the mechanical eye for the real eye against the Trickster in the first game, had Garrett hide in the shadows and munch on an apple as the whole thing went down. It seemed like a very Garrett thing to do. Alas, he must be on a diet in this version as there's no between meal snacking.
The frame rate can be a little chuggy, especially when running through well lit areas. Seeing how I only run when all the guards have been knocked out (running is loud) it won't happen very often, but it does happen. There's an overall lack of smoothness that I'm sure won't happen on the PC version (provided your PC is beefy enough) but you quickly get sucked into the game to the point where you don't notice it,
I haven't used 3rd person mode except to see what Garrett looks like when flattened against a wall or when holding a body and refuse to use it for gameplay. Thief is all about using your eyes and ears, not using the 3rd person camera. I can see why they put it in, because Splinter Cell is third person, but for this taffer, first person is the only way to go. BTW, Garrett looks like every pimped out, D&D, thief wet-dream there's ever been. Dude is bad-ass.
I don't understand some reviewers' complaints that the levels seems small and cramped. It took me about an hour to throroughly explore and steal from only the outer portion of the castle I'm casing. And this included me finding an alternate way in because I'm an idiot who doesn't follow directions. Yes, there are loading zones between levels for our friend Xboxy, but the levels seem plenty large to me.
Voice acting is superb. with Stephen Russell reprising his role as Garrett. Stephen Russell is Garrett, and had they gotten someone else to do it, I'd seriously have to consider whether the purchase was worth it. It was so good to hear his cynical yet opportunistic tones from my speakers. Other voice acting seems similarly well done, although I have yet to come across the drunk, vaguely British sounding guard from the first two games, but I'm sure he's around somewhere, probably chasing rats. The irritated mutterings of the guards is amusing. I've already heard one complaining about how he should be Captain of the guard, one complaining that he pulled another week of night shifts again, and another telling his friend to bugger off in response to his friend's request for a status update. Seeing how this game is based so much on sound, everything is done really well, with torches crackling, and footsteps making the right noises based on the flooring medium.
So far I'm really enjoying the game and have found myself saving with the intention of quitting and then going on to explore just one more hallway. The small problems I've pointed out in the game quickly vanish when you walk into a huge stairwell and start finding places to hide from the guards. The only thing I've noticed is that the tension doesn't seem to be there as in the first ones. I think part of it is that it's only the first mission, part of it is that I've recently played Splinter Cell 2, so I'm already in stealth mode, but most of it is environmental. See, I played the first two games hunched over my mouse and keyboard, nose inches from my 17 inch monitor as I strained to see all of the guards, and listen for footsteps. This kind of position makes for some very tense moments, as you're already tense from the contortions you've put your body into. Now, I play Thief lounging on my couch, feet away from my 50 inch screen, on which I can make out many the detail. DOn't get me wrong, I love my setup, and this is the first time I've ever felt it inferior to a PC, but there's something about crowding over a monitor in a dark room, every muscle tense as you wait for the guard to walk by that just can't be replicated here.
Based on the little I've played, I think that any Thief fan would be well served to pick up this game, as well as people who like to get their stealth on. I'll be sure to post a full review once I'm finished with it, but don't expect that for sometime. This is Thief, after all, and it wouldn't be Thief without playing for 2 hours just to move 20 feet.
As Garett once said, "The time is ripe for a bit of burlgary."
posted by Brandon at
10:32 AM
