Stealing A Look At Thief III

It seems that Gamespot has an exclusive look at Thief III, the latest in the stealth action FPS series from Looking Glass Studios and now Ion Storm Austin. The PC and Xbox game shares an engine with the other new Ion Storm project, Deus Ex: Invisible War (also previewed on Gamespot recently), hence similarly advanced AI and use of dynamic shadows, but claims much more focused gameplay goals compared to DX2, as well as its markedly different medieval setting. Looks like this new Thief could continue the Looking Glass tradition in fine style.

Comments

Why could I see this in Older Stuff before...

[|nion|]

on the main page? Seems kinda weird. I did refresh the main page a number of times...

Re:Why could I see this in Older Stuff before...

[Pete (big-pete)]

Because it's at http://games.slashdot.org/ and not on the main page?

To see all stories on the main front page, select "Collapse Sections" from the Homepage tab of your Preferences.

-- Pete.

Soooo beautiful.....

[Dachannien]

I only have two words for this: Guards carrying torches.

Re:Soooo beautiful.....

[Sylver Dragon]

Oh ya, I saw the pic with the torch carrying guard and suddenly felt a need to go find a better shadow to hide in. This is really gonna make the game much harder. No more hiding just around a corner waiting for the guard to bliethly pass you , then blackjacking them. No more flatening against a wall in a hall as the guard strolls past just a foot or two from you.
The other thing I really would love to see added, is the guards noticing doors being left open, or opening in front of them. I don't know how many times I would use the little bit of dark shadow in a doorway to hide as the guard walked towards me and then around a corner. It was useful, but not very realistic.
Lastly, I hope they don't overdo it with the mechanical guards/cameras. I'm playing through Thief 2 right now, and the shear number of mechanical thingies is annoying. Some of the environments really just seem to be modern buildings with a medieval motif applied. I realize that this is supposed to be a somewhat steampunk genere, but there's no point in overdoing it with the technology.
Of course, I will be buying this game, but I wonder if there will be any sort of level editor/toolkit for making my own level and/or modding how things look to change the genere. I always thought that using the Thief engine/ideas would make for a relly cool game based on a ninja. Especially if it could be set up to run as a co-op multiplayer.

How captivating have the 1 and 2 been for you?

[mijok]

I remember playing Thief II and being so concentrated on the game that a few times I noticed myself trying to move the mouse or press keys quietly so that the guards wouldn't hear me... So they're pretty damn good games when they make you feel that intensively that you're in the game.

Re:How captivating have the 1 and 2 been for you?

[hymie3]

Hours and hours of entertainment for me. I could have run-and-gunned it (it works, try it), but the game, like Deus-Ex and Half Life, was a lot of fun to play "in character". I tried to complete every mission without taking someone's life (human only--the undead I slayed ruthlessly). There was one mission on Thief 2 where a guard had managed (dunno how) to sneak up on me. I just happened to turn around and about peed my pants when I saw that sword descending upon me.

Re:How captivating have the 1 and 2 been for you?

[FortKnox]

I'm in the middle of thief2 right now (replaying it in preparation of Thief3). I really enjoy the second one more than the first, because its a lot more sneaking around people and machines to get the goals. The first had too much 'burricks and zombie' missions that I really didn't care for.

Re:How captivating have the 1 and 2 been for you?

[Darthnice]

I loved them both, I got into them years after their original release. My biggest problem with Thief1 was the zombie levels, it really broke the feel of the game for me. I loved sneaking around guards and alarm systems, but killing/running from zombies just wasn't my favorite. It reminded me of the alien levels of Half-Life, just out of place with the rest of the game.

Thief2 was better in that it focused more on avoiding people, but that last mission wore me out. I knew I was at the end, and I had figured out all that I needed to do, but now there are robots instead of Zombies to deal with. I eventually just watched the last movie in a media player and didn't finish the level. It felt more like work than a game at that point.

Looking forward to Thief3, I love the idea of dynamic lighting. Every preview I read for DX2 made me say to myself, "That would be perfect for Thief!" And now it's confirmed :)

Re:How captivating have the 1 and 2 been for you?

[Sylver Dragon]

Sounds like me, I was sneaking my way through one of the levels in Thief 2, concentrating on keeping quiet (As in the above poster, I had a habit of being very quite myself when playing). When suddenly, my roommate (who was at his own computer off to my right) sneezed loudly, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Its amazing how the Thief games draw you in.

Re:How captivating have the 1 and 2 been for you?

[bluemeep]

Those zombies in #1 were the worst. Annoying as heck to dispatch and pretty darn creepy the first time you run into them.

They're especially bad in the level where you have to go through the city ruins and the buggers are everywhere...and you then you realize you have to walk to your early morning class through Ghettosylvania. Ahhh yes. You cling to that fence for dear life, skulking up the street. And just when you reach school and think you're finally in the clear...the instructor arrives behind you, asks for a light for his cigarette and you dive into the bushes screaming like a little girl.

*cough* What true story? >_>;;

Those shadows...

[Eagle7]

The idea that you see your shadow with a knife raised when sneaking up on someone... that's pretty freaking cool. The screens were awefully impressive.

As an aside, did this shot remind anyone else of Zork I?
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/pc/t hief 3/thiefpc_screen010.jpg

Mmm... more Deus Ex please

[TubeSteak]

Elited.net has got pics for both the XBOX and PC version.
A quick check of the pics makes me think the PC version is going to come out looking prettier.

The funny thing is one of my favorite levels

[BoomerSooner]

is the Thief 2 preview level where you're on the roof! What a great freaking game.

Here's where I go for Info Through the Looking Glass

Really sucks those assholes at eidos killed looking glass so Dikatana could live. morons.

Ugly Ass Colors

[Hadlock]

I think it's the color scheme of games.slashdot.org, which gave you an eplileptic seizure, causing you to forget that this is not the slashdot main page.

Fun game, good price for Thief I & II

[gadwale]

Thief I & II are also fun games with some good gameplay. Unfortunately, I can't stand games that try to animate the act of walking by having the entire view wobble up and down everytime you take a step in the game. Unreal Tournament 2003 has this, but you can turn it off and I find the game much more playable with the "walking wobble" turned off. Does anybody know if this can be turned off in Thief?

If you want to get Thief I & II, Best Buy has a great deal here. You can buy both of them as part of the Thief: Platinum Collection for $14.99 with free shipping.

Adi Gadwale.

Re:Fun game, good price for Thief I & II

[Sylver Dragon]

Don't know if you can turn it off, nor do I think I would want to. Its actually very useful if you need to move across tile or metal quietly. For example, to move across a metal grate without alerting the guards and without burning up one of your moss arrows, crouch, hold down the walk button (Shift by default), and tap the forward button. The goal is to move forward a little bit without the normal dip that happens when creeping along. When that dip happens you will make a small clank and alert the guards. With a bit of practice you can cover a large tile/metal floor without making a sound, and without using a moss arrow. Its a bit slow, but as they say paitence is a virtue, and a very important one in the Thief games.

Multiplayer Thief Exists

[Kwil]

It's called "Thievery" and is a UT (classic) total conversion mod. It's the reason I bought UT, to be honest.

You want guards carrying torches? (okay, they're flares) You've got it.

You want thieves invisible in the shadows? You've got it.

You want guards with real intelligence? Enjoy!

You want to see how pathetic your thiefing skills really are when up against serious opposition? You'll be surprised. I thought I was a decent thief in the original game.. I haven't finished it yet, but I can sneak through baffords without using my blackjack or broadhead arrows and without being chased by guards.

I walked into Thievery and got my rear end handed to me. Repeatedly. With extreme prejudice.

You can find it at http://www.thieveryut.com/