Retrospective: Thief The Dark Project Comments by John Walker

The zombies were fine, stop moaning. They just required you do develop new tactics. It's funny how some people complain about the undead, but that they feature heavily in what most people consider to be the best Thief levels (Return to the Cathedral and The Cradle) - tend's to suggest they're not that bad...

The zombies were not, in any way, what made Return to the Cathedral and Shalebridge Cradle great.

"Thief 1+2, System Shock, Half-Life 1, Stalker, from the top of my head."

I'd add Ultima Underworld, Ultima VII, System Shock 2 and Dungeon Master to the list of games that were totally immersive in the same way as Thief.

Thief Gold is one of my top 3 games of all time... an absolute masterpiece. I liked the graphics engine updates and less fighting in Thief 2 but preferred many of the levels and the storyline of Thief 1.

What the game did to the reviewer's mind with carpet, it did to mine with darkness. By the time I was halfway through Thief 1 for the first time, shadows felt safe and comfortable in some deeper part of my mind, and light threatening. What an amazing effect.

If I were a billionaire I would stop at nothing to reform Looking Glass. They have not yet been equalled.

Zombies are integral to the Thief series, I cannot understand why people dislike their inclusion so much.

i disagree, and here's why i dislike that aspect of the game so much: up until the zombie's introduction, it was a credible medieval environment, with realistic rules of light and sound; and then it all goes out of the window and zombies come into play - it just doesn't make any sense whatsoever

I could never survive an encounter with a Haunt. Thief had some very crude but creepy NPCs.

Anyone remember that child servant from Thief 2?

Up until the zombies' introduction? So Cragscleft Prison, then. The second mission!

And you didn't think the weird pseudo-electric lighting and arcing eldritch sputters of gas and all that machinery detracted from the 'credible medieval atmosphere' either? Thief's world is well-developed and the zombies and haunts and ghosts are no more out of place than, well, the moss arrows.

"The zombies were not, in any way, what made Return to the Cathedral and Shalebridge Cradle great. "


cant agree with that, the cradle doesn't exist without her spooky former "residents", learning what experiments they got through while you try to avoid them adds to their scariness, and their pattern is also very different from the other enemies, they may lie on the floor , you cannot use the same tactics etc.

i think in Thief 3 at least they are greatly integrated into the magic,somber, mystical atmosphere.

i still remember their heavy, ill breathing..

Thief is about whatever looking glass decided, it is not just about stealing from mansions, as some would like it. The thief series is renowned for its scariness, some people would like to remove that entirely, which in my view would kill it. The sense of terror and dread leading up to returning to the cathedral was immense, no other game has filled me with such terror.

In thief 3 I was really looking forward to the cradle, to the extent that I got up at 3am to play it in darkness, while wearing some Sennheiser earphones! It was like being a kid again, so immersed in a game.

Someone else mentioned that removing all the zombies and lizards from the first game would of improved it? That is utter balls, there has to be some variation in the gameplay. I know that a lot of thief fans have been voting for a "down the bonehoard" type level in thief 4 in droves, so it would seem popular.

Well, poor me.

I scoured around for Thief on a digital download service. Eventually found it for $20 - more expensive than I thought, but oh well, got hold of it.

Installed, tried to play, didn't work. So I follow the lovely Walker's tips, checking each time to see if it works. Get to the last one, about the NVidia drivers... check it out... yes, that looks like the problem. Bingo. Download the patch, but... oh, crap, of course! You need the CD in the drive! Only, I don't have a CD, because I got it off a digital download service!

*SCREAMS*

sigh...i do so miss taffin' around

great article about the best computer game trilogy ever made

I always found it interesting that people would complain loudly about the zombies, but not about the haunts.

So Zombies are unrealistic, but ghosts are OK?

This is one of those games I want to see on the PS3, I've heard such incredible things about it. Most recently Butcher Bay turned up on Dark Athena, so I need to get that one. Others I want to see come to PS3 are S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. The game that has been the most immersive to me on the PS3 (that I've had a chance to play, of course) has been Far Cry 2. I got lost in that Africa, lost and desolate. I also have to say Shadow of the Colossus left me with wonderful memories of that magical land; and The Darkness from Starbreeze was really good, I agree with those who find the game positively unique and enveloping. I hope the coming soon Heavy Rain wiil deliver its promise of a new level of immersion and interactivity.

I noticed no one mentioned MGS4. Do these two famous sneaking games not favorably compare or what?

Bit of a late comment here but Thief is still my favorite game of all time.

Zombies rule BTW.

Thanks to this article i've now ordered the Thief collection of Amazon, definitely looking forward to playing it now and it will be a good change to get away from bald space marines and start sneaking around

I had a difficult first meeting with Thief 1 too. At that time I only knew games like Doom, simple FPSs, I just got my first PC and my cousin told me to try the game. All I saw was an ugly, dark and boring game that I didn't know how to play.
About a year later I saw Thief 2's demo on a CD that came with my fave gaming magazine, so I though I'd give it a try. Man, I was so impressed, I couldn't believe I thought the first one was no good... I just loved everything about that game, they are in the article, I don't want to repeat all of them. But I have to mention the huge levels, designed by the masters of the profession, so many really amazing maps; the art in the game and in the cutscenes and in the briefings; the music, the voice acting, the story...
But back to my story, I must say that as soon as T2 was released I got my hands on it and only Deus Ex, my #1 favourite game could make me stop playing with it. And the full level (can't remember the name now, the one where you have to travel across the rooftops) is the best Thief mission, IMHO. I just love it. Not much later I've played through Thief Gold too and loved that one as well of course.
Then Thief 3 came out a few years later and I loved that one just as much as the first two. Yes, it had some minor flaws but the others had some too. And it offered some new things that I liked. The Cradle is still one of the scariest levels I've ever seen in a game, not many others can compare.

If I had to choose which one is the best, I'd say Thief 2, then T1 and T3 sharing second place. :) And now I'm hoping Eidos Montreal will do a good job and make a great Thief game for us.