sunjammer on 22/5/2008 at 19:01
Hi guys. Thanks for still being around. I recently reinstalled Thief and Thief 2 on my new lame Asus gamer laptop kajigger, and i was stunned to see that i had no problems whatsoever getting either up and running perfectly. Even the videos run admirably. For 2 weeks of replaying now i've had only one crash when moving to and from the map screen. It's been so long since i had a good solid chance to replay these beauties, and my god.
I've been playing a lot of Splinter cell during my absence, and returning to Thief makes me realize how fantastic it is to be consistently given second chances and lots of hiding space. There's next to no frustration, and the game remains challenging and intriguing. Thief 1 has far, far tougher levels in this regard, and doesn't invite as broadly to explore as T2 did, and naturally, since i love spending hours on end in sprawling atmospheric maps, T2 is my absolute favorite of the series. Receiving.. is the essence of it. You can nail it relatively quickly if you don't meander, but meandering is what makes the level. I know they half-promised Grand Thief Auto with T3, but to me T2 comes far closer than they did with their city hub. It feels open, and your tactics within it become improvised and natural as a result.
I love that you're free to knock out every guard and civilian and pile them all together in a big pile and laugh at the absurdity of it all, and still not be punished for it, and still feel edgy at every corner no matter what.
I love that breaking glass feels brutish and uncouth in the midst of all the mayhem. You COULD break the glass and go through. Or you can find another way. The other way always feels better.
Thief 2 is still next generation. There's nothing truly like it, and i'm extremely happy theres' still a community that gets it, or i'd feel mighty alone.
Dread Pirate Roberts on 22/5/2008 at 19:45
1) First person perspective, which puts it ahead of Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid, which were designed at least to be played from 3rd person. (I can't remember if either of those allowed you to switch to first person, but they were definitely designed to played from the 3rd person)
2) Mysteriousness of the setting. I never got "scared" in Splinter Cell b/c all the stuff is familiar. Ditto for Deus Ex, although it takes place in the future, and MGS (though I haven't played it much). I guess the only thing that really '"scares" people is the supernatural(e.g. spirits or aliens), so that pretty much rules out those games anyway.
3) Music, sound effects, and voice acting. Very underrated aspects.
Quote:
I love that you're free to knock out every guard and civilian and pile them all together in a big pile and laugh at the absurdity of it all, and still not be punished for it, and still feel edgy at every corner no matter what.
Well yeah you could do that, but alot of us impose rules upon ourselves like "ghosting"(no blackjacks, unless there's no other way) and no-reloading, that raise the tension level. Its not too terrible difficult to blackjack the majority of the guards, but a "real" thief wouldn't do that.
DarkElf_Mairead on 22/5/2008 at 20:04
I love breaking glass, it has a really satisfying sound. I don't like breaking glass irl, but I do in game. And crates have a great sound too!
SubJeff on 22/5/2008 at 21:19
hay guys is garet cool or wat?
Awesome! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
Yandros on 23/5/2008 at 02:33
Quote Posted by Dread Pirate Roberts
alot of us impose rules upon ourselves like "ghosting"(no blackjacks, unless there's no other way)
There's a lot more to ghosting (by the "official" rules, anyhow) than just no blackjack...
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
hay guys is garet cool or wat?
Awesome! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
dood!1!! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
Tintin on 23/5/2008 at 08:01
What makes Thief so awesome? There are many things but for me the intelligent, quality gameplay is amazing and the Thief lore is well thought out and very interesting. Garrett as a character is very compelling and sarcastic and the world is filled with strange wonders.
There's also a lot of good humour.
Frikkinjerk on 23/5/2008 at 08:17
I am drawn in by the mythology and atmosphere, and I love the metaphysical archetypes. If Diogenes were alive he'd be playing Thief. The symbolism it conveys gives it soul, so to speak, which cannot be said of Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell, or Assassin's Creed which is a shit Prince of Persia in Thief dressing.
theBlackman on 23/5/2008 at 08:36
All of the above. I have some 300 games, at last count, but the ones I keep returning to are the THIEF games, even, I hate to admit, TDS the weakest of them all.
And the FMs are getting better all the time. With the number of current and soon to be added material, THIEF will be my mainstay for many years to come. And Dromed is getting to be a stronger lure as time goes by.
The performances by Lady Rowena, Christine, Bukary, Sterlino and countless others are to be applauded, and set the bar for producing FMs with character, plot line and design.
The most single aspect of THIEF that I appreciate most is that I improve as a player only on my own merits, not by virtue of a "magic" upgrade because I killed a bad guy.
THIEF rocked when it hit the scene, rocks now and still has an appeal that, in my mind, none, repeat none of the newer games have come close to.
AerisNoir on 23/5/2008 at 09:28
I can point down the singular most clear reason why thief is the greatest game (for me then)....
I want to live in that world. I would like that game to be my world, and overall speaking, I really have no problems with the place I currently live in, yet, oh how I would trade! Middle age healthcare and worries altogether couldn't chase me away ;)
Save for Morrowind, there are no games I have that feeling, that bond, with.
Everything about the thief series, they draw, connect, hypnotise.
Burgundy on 23/5/2008 at 09:49
I love the tension of hiding in shadows, thinking "will I get caught?", wanting the guard or zombie to get out of the way faster so I can move, being uncertain as to what's round the corner, getting surprised when I see what is around the corner... having to think of a backup plan if things go horribly wrong :idea:
Sneaking up on people is fun as well, with the smug feeling that only you know that you are there, and that's the skill that Thief awards :) As well as there not necessarily being a linear way through the mission.
