Thief

I have never played the original Thief game myself . But I have heard of its praises everytime in various Gaming pages. It was the first Genre which brought Stealth in a First person perspective . So Like all games which paved a way for future games Thief became a legend in the gaming world for its impressive idea , but most of all ,  it was the first game to implement the new and Unique concept . Now 16 years after the Original Game made its debut , Thief comes back as a reboot , thanks to Eidos Montreal and Square Enix . 

Story :: 

Once again story revolves around the main protagonist of the game , Garrett the Master Thief . Who is extremely good at making off with Loots and your valuables that the entire " Fantasy " world is in awe and in deep Fear of this Dark Ghost that looms in the shadows. Erin , Garrett's apprentice and him move along to complete a Job for Basso ( the guy who gives us the odd jobs here and there to keep his own pockets filled ). The Simple mission takes a un-expectable twist when Garrett comes upon the Baron and his friends cooking up a weird Ritual that may provide them with the ultimate power . But something goes weirdly wrong and Erin and Garrett gets caught up amidst of the entire procedure . Garrett wakes up after one year to find the entire City suffering from a unknown disease known as the Gloom . Now its upto Garrett to team up with Basso and Orion to find out the cause of this Gloom and to find way to reverse it . 

Gameplay :: 

Whoa !! Deja Vu  , Nah .. Not likely since i had never played the previous game :P . But still the game reminds me so much of Dishonored . ( Now that was one hell of a game ). Game feels like exactly as it felt in Dishonored but here there is no Blink , instead we have swoop , no Close Kills but Take downs . One thing that is cool is the ability to climb above the walls and higher areas with the help of the Claw . Just when you feel trapped in a corner with a guard approaching you ,  at the last moment , just glace up and move out of his range of vision. 'Phew that was close' moments were a lot in this game . 

And the ability to Extinguish the flame with a Water Arrow or to Reach higher areas with the help of Rope Arrow , the game sure does supplement the player with a lot of choices . But the poor thing is that they are so limited that they never can be used in a full on head to head combat. Maybe you could take one guy head on but more than one , Tuck your tails and run like Crazy . Oh yeah ! Don't forget to throw a smoke bomb to confuse the guys or else there is no use in running. These guys are so bent on catching you that they will follow you wherever you run . You may believe that you had lost them , when Wola ! they appear in front of you and Bam you are dead . And what is up with the heart stopping Sound that pops up " You are Dead" whenever you die. I mean , I agree that I am dead but sheesh ! is that amount of volume really necessary . I mean there was one time I was playing with the headset on ,that the sound just scared the C**P out of me .

Especially that level where you had to roam around a Crazy Asylum . No Sireee !! no headsets for that :P  

Asylum

Graphics :: 

The game is so demanding that 5 minutes into the game with all the eye candy enabled can make any PC to sweat . But at the same time it does not tax your PC to its core . Since there are no colorful imagery associated with the tone of the game , the developers only had to worry about the light and Dark areas . The difference between a dark spot and a medium spot to a extremely bright spot is shown remarkably . Black and Various shades of Grey forms most of the Color Palette with a few dips of yellow for the flames from the Lamp and Mast heads and Green for the Arrow with Gas . But still even as you play it , you can see that the game is beautiful in its weird and Gloomy sort of Way . Although the game can instill a sense of depression when you play it for a long period of time :P 

Weapons and Mods :: 

What is a Thief without his tools of profession. I am not just talking about the Lock picks and wrench tools . Garrett comes fully loaded with Water Arrows ,  Flame Arrows , Blunt Arrows ( for turning on switches and using them as distraction) , Gas Arrows , Rope Arrows , Pointed Arrows , Smoke Bombs and the a Poppy Flower that stimulates him enough to give him a extra sensory perception of his surroundings . And finally some med Kit in the form of food . Its good to see a game that is employing the old school method of using Med kit to refill your Life bar instead of the Auto fill bars of the recent games . Say hello again to our long forgotten Friends " Quick Save " and " Quick Load " :) God I missed you guys so much .

The only way to upgrade your abilities is to 1. Donate gold to the Queen of Beggars and purchase Focus upgrades, or 2. Deal with the shady merchant near the Crippled Burrick tavern purchase new Tools and Trinkets.Damn this can be irritating . I mean who in the right mind is going to go back again and again to the same place to upgrade . Why couldn't they just blend it and and makes those guys appear whenever there is a break in the main story line . I just met the Queen only once and Shady guy thrice throughout the entire game .Who needs a upgrade when you are good as me :P But seriously not even a map to guide us back to those guys . Come on . Wat is up with that.

Queen Of Beggars - Scary isn't she ;)

The way the Bow unlocks and expands in Garrett's hands is just too cool .

Pro's :: 

1. Once again step into a Game that takes First Person Stealth to all new level.
2. Gameplay mechanics though old , do make you glued to the game all the time.
3. The surprising change between FP and third person camera was exciting at some places .
4. Some levels really need a lot of strategic thinking if you are planning on going in un detected .

Cons :: 

1. Game reminds me too much of Dishonored .
2. Gloomy Setting and Environment that may depress you if you play for long . Definitely a Eye sore if you play for more than 5 hrs at a stretch.
3. Story feels boring and the gameplay never ever mixes it perfectly . Its just there for namesake .
4. No Good BGM .
5. Fighting Mechanics feels poor and repetitive .

Verdict :: A game that will be Enjoyed only by those who Love Stealth in First person perspective .

Rating  :: 7.2 / 10

Regards
Ram