Thief™ Gold

The first FPS in which you are expected to be stealthy, and not aggressive: Avoid guards, make no sound, keep to the shadows, draw a barely comprehensible map with your hand, release the prisoners and get the GOLD! Non-linear levels are made in explorer's heaven, every room can be finished in several ways, timing is everything and best of all, there are paranormal activities involved!

You play a lone thief in a city full of internal strife, powerful forces that tear it apart and greedy man with influence and wealth that try to slice a big chunk for them self. And because of this, there are all sorts of men and creatures that are there to protect their master's interests. And if there is one unifying factor with them, is that they all hate thieves. and especially one named Garrett. At a time of it's inception, gaming was evolving at an increased rate, and nothing proves this more than this game. It was a game that did the opposite of most other games: it challenged you to do what you had to do without being seen, ideally without killing anyone. For this, you weren't well armed either - a blackjack and a sword for close encounters, a bow that had limited arrows that were mostly useful only when you were concealed, and a pair of lock-picks. That was basically all you needed, too, for the shadows were your one true weapon. Hide in it's embrace and they will protect you better than any armor or weapon. Hopping from shadow to shadow, you must slowly reach your objectives. On your way, you can swipe any loot you find, for you are a thief after all. But I hear you say: "I don't want to play as a criminal, I want to play as a valiant knight." Well, in a city like this, a thief is about the most honest man you can find. In short, this game is a classic, go own it you taffer!

In a world full of shooters and rpgs there is really only one First Person Sneaker franchise to choose from. And its a shame because they blew the roof off that genre (and while roof blowing is quite good, it left no other contenders to offer a shot at this playstyle) Thief Gold sets you in a Medieval timepiece where laws of logic apply to everyone in the game. Sound travels. Light illuminates. And, a thief living on the streets can't win a fight against 3 trained guards. So to get far in this game you must understand the logic behind its design. Walking slowly on carpet can help you remain quiet, while running fast on tile floor will awaken the entire house. Crouching in a dark corner can help you remain completely unnoticed by those around you, while standing next to a torch will certainly get you some attention. In this game you abandon the rocket launcher and mini gun and pick up a bow and sword instead. However, the most effective weopon in your arsenal is a blackjack. When using stealth, you can silently take down enemies. But they aren't dumb. They will notice bodies, blood, or loud noises and often work together when things aren't right. As a thief you can maneuver your way in the front door, or you can mantle your way up to the roof and come in through the chimney. You can bypass all the guards and leave without anyone knowing you were there... or you can draw your sword and make a mess of things. The choice is yours. Planning your next move from the shadows is a really nice twist from games that throw non-stop action at you. In Thief you get to truly experience every footstep, every comment, every conversation in the level. While carrying out your mission objectives you also get to search high an low for loot. Little is more satisfying that the sound of new coin going into your pocket. Before you find that priceless vase in the safe on the top floor, take a look at the servant quarters and find some extra coin. Then head up to the kitchen and snag a golden goblet. Pass through the bedrooms and find a note that may help you understand a secret hiding an emerald dagger. A single level can last several hours if you enjoy the ambiance, and this game comes with 16 levels of ambiance, thrills, and chills. But once you are finished, visit the mods page, as there are a few hundred fan mods that you can play as well. Some of them containing quality and polish that surpass the original game levels. The path is set out. How you choose to reach the destination is really up to you. Run through the lit corridor when the coast is clear, put out some torches to provider the cover of shadow, or take down the guards and walk through like you own the place. You can even throw some objects or use some special tools to create a diversion away from yourself... choice is supreme. Over a decade after release and still, every single stormy night you can find me playing Thief by candlelight. At least until you try Thief for yourself... then you will be too busy playing for yourself to bother searching ;)

Back when it was released, there were games like Half life promising innovative gameplay and Thief: The Dark Project delivering it. I'm a gamer since my early ages, spanning all generations of videogame consoles and the PC, and when Thief came out videogames were practically out of my life! Nothing new or interesting. Then I've played Thief's demo, featuring the famous first level: Lord Bafford's Manor. Every Thief fan will describe this moment with a sparkle in the eye, let me share here my own experience: Started the demo. "A First person game. How original." After a short walk through unimpressive streets with unimpressive graphics I found what appeared to be the entrance to the manor, guarded by very few guards. I draw my sword and rush into combat. I died and tried again, now with the bow. Yeah, that'll do the trick. Died again. My lack of faith in the game industry's originality made me reluctant to see the obvious: This was not an action game! The rest of the mission (I was calling it 'mission' already) was filled with moments of tension, where I had to navigate through a place assisted by a poorly hand made map with no obvious path, and I was always rewarded for my patience and planning. Then I found the main objective, a scepter in a throne room, and took it. So I was already stretching my arms, expecting a "success" screen, when another magic moment happened with a choir of angels and tears. Nothing happened. Nothing happened because I was supposed to LEAVE with the scepter! By the builder's hand! This seemingly trivial detail wasn't trivial back then. It's not the first stealth game but it did took the genre to a whole new level. The level design is completely non linear, the missions are usually complex buildings where you have to navigate, complete your objectives and leave. Audio plays an important role, besides the obvious stealth reasons, which is somewhat novel in games. Because of the first person perspective the player couldn't see through doors or around corners, so he needs to rely on his hearing often in order to know if there are guards patrolling nearby. (includes a nice feature where you can lean on doors to listen to what's on the other side) This adds a lot of tension to the gameplay, fact even more obvious in the more horror oriented levels. Needless to say, a lot of people were fascinated by this game. Me included. This community is very much alive today, a prowess aided by the inclusion of a level editor in the game, which kept taffers all around the world busy for years to come, making and playing fan made levels. When you buy this game you're not only getting the several hours campaign of a masterpiece of the stealth genre, you're also getting as a bonus access to about seven hundred (and still counting) fan made missions.