The Concept

The original Thief was probably the most revolutionary first person game in the past few years, and, along with Homeworld, the most successful game that is clearly different. Looking Glass has a definite hit idea on their hands, and now that the acceptance for the idea is there, it's time to go full force with it.

View of the City

That's a loooong way down

First Person Sneaker

Since not everyone has had the opportunity to experience the difference that is the Thief experience, we've decided to give it a bit of a run down. The entire premise behind the Thief games is that you are a *gasp* thief. You play the game from a first-person perspective and that's about where the similarity to any other first-person game ends.

Unlike Quake, you won't find yourself toting a huge arsenal of weapons, running around a level as your best impersonation of a god of chaos and destruction. Thief is different from even Rainbow Six. While both games expect you to sneak around, Rainbow Six has you sneaking around only to give yourself the advantage in combat. In Thief, you sneak around to completely avoid combat. If at all possible, you never want to engage the enemy. A perfect night is when you've managed to gather the goods and no one will know about it until it's far too late.

Walk the plank you scurvy dog

Sniper zoom!

How Am I Supposed to Go Around Unnoticed?

It's quite simple, actually. Garrett, being a thief, has several natural skills that will help you along in your way. First and foremost, he's quiet. When travelling at a good, cautious pace, he should be able to sneak by a guard who is as little as a foot away. Though Garrett sounds quite loud when walking, that is more an audible clue for you, and an effect to keep the game tense.

His second natural skill is the ability to hide in dark, shadowy areas. Whether he's just behind a column that has a torch on the other side or if he's in a completely dark room, Garrett is, for all intents and purposes, invisible to his foes. The only time they could possibly spot him is if they are actively searching the dark - and this only occurs when he's already alerted them to his presence and then let them spot him.