Thief
RRP: $59.99 (PC) | Website: www.thiefgame.com
T
orchlight dances on the walls in
the next room, playfully darting
across the ornate wallpaper.
The alleyway below the first floor
window through which I just entered
is quiet. The curtains gently billow
behind me, a soft breeze giving them
life. I listen intently. I can hear the
sounds of a thug verbally bullying
this shop’s owner somewhere on the
ground floor. This is good. It means
I won’t be bothered. I scan the tiny
room. Just a broom closet, nothing
of interest. Silently I slip through the
sole doorway, and spot the glinting
of precious shinies.
Everything that would fetch
a price in The City goes into my
enchanted Bottomless Pants of
Thieving. Hand mirrors, scissors,
even hairbrushes, all spirited away
by my eager hands. Suddenly,
there’s a noise behind me. Someone
clearing their throat. A door leading
to the hallway outside swings open.
A burly bald oaf enters, whistling.
He announces to the air that he’s
here with the same purpose as I,
and starts scanning for valuables.
Even though I’m a master thief, able
to blend into the shadows as though
I were made of their very essence,
I’m surprised he hasn’t seen me.
He leans over a table to assess its
contents. I move into position. My
blackjack strike is swift, and hits
its purpose. He goes down without
a sound. But his friend, who just
stepped into the room, makes very
many sounds. Damn. And this was
all going so well.
The Thief reboot was never going
to live up to its legacy. Nostalgia is a
powerful thing to have to overcome,
and when the franchise you’re
attempting to reboot is credited
as having defined an entire genre
in gaming, you’re in for a rough
ride. Thief: The Dark Project and
its siblings are incredible pieces of
game design, and there’s a reason
(many reasons, actually) why so
many people view them with such
overwhelming reverence. So no,
Eidos Montreal’s Thief is not nearly
as impressive as its influential
38 The OverClocker Issue 29 | 2014