Streets of Hope

The new game comes out this February. I've managed to look at some footage based on Steam and YouTube and, well, while I'm not exactly disappointed, I'm getting a vague sense of déjà vu. Mainly, it's déjà vu in relation to Deus Ex: Human Revolution's gameplay. I can't say I'm surprised; Eidos Montreal handled stealth-based approaches remarkably well. Tweak the visuals so it all goes Dark Modern Steampunk, remove the more overt weapons and voilà, you've just swapped Adam Jensen for Garrett.

What worries me is the fact that Thief I and II rested heavily on the Medieval aspects of the universe. You had special arrows to use to snuff out candles from a distance, most guards packed period-appropriate gear; the whole setup had a very dark, gritty and fairly Low-Fi aesthetic going. The new one seems to go for Industrial Gothic by way of Charles Dickens, with a few anachronistic touches here and there - like cameras. It's not hard to see the entire DXHR toolset being replicated, tweaked to favor sneakiness over general firepower.

So that's not bad - I'm just worried by the inclusion of cameras into the mix. Not in terms of gameplay - I've been shutting cameras down since System Shock 2 - but in terms of tone and world-building. I'd be curious to hear Weirdlet's opinion on a vaguely more contemporary version of Garrett.

I, ah- never got past the whole thing with the zombies. I couldn't figure out how to play the game.

I can relate. It was the first true stealth game, and it's generally easier to just barrel through levels, killing things willy-nilly.

It's mostly a question of staying crouched as much as possible, and of knowing where your light and dark areas are located. Stick to the shadows, avoid open confrontation, and stage your (rare) kills as carefully as possible. Drag dead or unconscious bodies out of immediate sightlines whenever you can. If you can, snuff out lights either by hand or using arrows, and time your shots so guards notice them on an opportunistic basis. If one guy noticing one of your arrows is what it takes for him to leave a guarded area, go for that.

As for the zombies, they aren't meant to be directly confronted. Work around them.