The Play Is the Thing

New Gameplay?

Unfortunately, in the demo there isn't much new gameplay wise. Still the same-old same-old fire, water, gas etc. arrows. The level design is improved a bit (is that ever saying a lot!), and Garrett gets to play in the open city for a good while. Before he can even think of going after his main objectives, he first needs to get to his enemy. That involves travel across the Thieves' Highway - the rooftops.

I'm thinking that Garrett doesn't suffer from acrophobia

Do I love to snipe or what.

Through Garrett you get quite a panoramic view of the city and all we could think of upon seeing all these houses was "So many victims, so little time". Fortunately, so that we wouldn't get sidetracked thieving from every single house, most of the windows and doors have been made inaccessible, leaving Garrett free to concentrate on his mission… for the most part. After all, he wouldn't be much of a thief if he passed on wide-open windows, would he?

When done victimizing the citizens of The City, Garrett must now get to the Mechanist's Tower - and that's quite a trip. The rooftops are hardly safe - littered as they are with guards, 10' gaps between buildings - and if you're lucky, narrow pipes to cross those gaps. There are even some occasions when Garrett has to whip out the old rope arrow so he can hook it on an opposing ledge and hope that he can catch the rope and climb up.

This feels like Renaissance Venice

Except for the archery wars

It's SO Hard

Merciless can barely begin to describe the level designers at Looking Glass. There are so many situations when Garrett needs perfect guidance, inhuman timing and godly imagination to get out of the fixes he finds himself in. The puzzles themselves are enough to give the demo level an hour or two of play. Couple this with the overabundance of guards and the restrictions placed by the mission parameters (Garrett can't be on the street), and you have yourself a good, full night of play.

The level is very large itself and the path isn't always clear, so you might feel lost a few times, though, in truth, there are only two main directions in which you can go, with several sidepaths.

Most impressive

To quote Neo - 'Whoah'

The Story

One of the most interesting things about the Thief universe is the setting. The city and world are clearly vibrant and alive. Its leaders have goals, the factions within the city have goals and, of course, Garrett has his goals. Throughout the game, you will learn more about the situation, Garrett and the workings of the City in general. Of course, most of this comes through what Garrett says, which starts at cynical and goes down from there.