Having played the entire saga, I can state that Thief (2014) is the BEST effort to bring the serie into the new era of gaming. Graphic wise it is amazing and the stealth experience is top notch. Not on par with the originals? Maybe, but compare it with other non stealth oriented games and you are in for a treat (just disable the mission's indicator). Plus, Garrett's arsenal still comprises the blackjack, water arrows and the iconic flash bombs. Know now that many criticisms come form people who haven't played the first games or don't remember them too well. Some oppose the railroaded sessions, in particular an escape on the rooftops, but then there is a similar sequence in “Into the maw of Chaos” from the first Thief, in which we slide trying to avoid protuding blades! Some despise the linearity, but Thief has a lot of verticality and a multiple path approach, an example being the architect's house which can be accessed in three different ways. So an emergent gameplay is still possible in the reboot. Others observe that Thief abandons the factions, but hammerites, pagans and the keepers have been thoroughly explored in the past and so the somewhat personal story of the fourth game is a welcome change. Some characters are like cardboards, but the banter is funny as ever. Another critic is that collecting valuables become tedious, after a while... like cutting down the umpteenth monster in any RPG! Detractors also say that AI is bad and tend to forget the protagonist when he disappears in the shadows... The same thing also happens in the first games. Finally, naysayers claim that Thief is too similar to Disonored, but then Dishonered draws its inspiration from the Thief saga. Yes, we have another asylum, and it is awesome, like the one in the third game. And the brothel level is gorgeous! If you have some spare bucks, buy Thief: expecially when discounted is a “steal” and we are “robbers”... after all!
