God of Thunder and Rock'n'Roll (archmage) wrote,
God of Thunder and Rock'n'Roll
archmage

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Thief 3 - Deadly Shadows

Finished! Damn, that was impressive, and excellently done...easily one of the best games I've played in a long time. The first was good, the second, better, but this...this blows them all away. Everything about it was just superb; really, I can't say enough good things about it, and can't think of anything I'd say against it...except one thing: the title.

(This is very game/gamer related, so skip if it's not your bag) The game was released as simply "Thief: Deadly Shadows", not "Thief 3". This seemed a little odd, as Thief 2 was clearly marked as such, until it became clear that, since this one was coming out for the XBox as well as PC, Ion Storm realized that the XBox players would have no knowledge of the first two games, and thus would be less likely to buy a title marked as the third in a series. OK, probably a good marketing decision there. However, this has led to forums and message boards getting shitloads of comments form these kids, babbling about how the game is good, but "it's such a rip-off of Splinter Cell". Do your homework, kids: the 'sneaky espionage stealth-takedown' genre that Splinter Cell is in? Thief started that. The light meter to tell you how easily you'd be seen? Thief introduced that. Lockpicking, shadow-crawling, knock-the-guy-out-and-hide-his-body...all Thief, baby. And no quick-zooming, pinpoint accuracy sniper rifles either, you gotta know what you're doing with a bow-and-arrow. Long before Splinter Cell was in diapers, Thief was rocking the house. All because that tell-tale "3" isn't on the package, and nowhere does it mention that it's actually the third installment in a long-running series, with story tie-ins throughout.

Deus Ex did that, too. The new DX was "Deus Ex: Invisible War", instead of "Deus Ex 2"...for the same reasons. How about Hitman? Is the new game "Hitman 3" (logically following "Hitman 2: Silent Assassin")? Nope. Just plain ol' "Hitman: Contracts"...and what's more, half of Hitman 3 is missions from the FIRST Hitman, slightly changed...talk about a rip-off. Those of us that have been with the series for years, and have anxiously awaited the newest installment...the ones that MADE it a best-selling game, WE get cheated.

So I understand why they are doing this Name Game. It's all about sales targets, and getting that disposable cash out of those 13-25 year-olds. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Don't sell me short.
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