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

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?

[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 :)

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.

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.

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/