"War. War never changes," is the classic introduction used at the beginning of Fallouts 1, 2, and 3. That speech is typically narrated by actor Ron Perlman, although this page seems to suggest that the player-character will read the monologue this time around."


Uuuugh. I want this game, but c'mon, Bethesda. Stick with…

I find it kind of funny that the sponsored ad I got before that video started was a commercial for Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Actually, I stand corrected: Eidos Montreal only worked on the multiplayer part of Tomb Raider, whereas Crystal Dynamics developed the single player. My mistake. So on that count, you're correct.

Eidos Montreal did still do Deus Ex, however.

Still, there's nothing wrong with being skeptical. I'm just kind of puzzled by…

Tomb Raider and Deus Ex were both done by Eidos Montreal, the same ones handling Thief.

What constitutes it being well-received?

I'd say a combination of critical reaction and sales. Sales-wise, it did better than pretty much any previous entry. Critically, it was extremely well-reviewed.

I mean, it's not perfect, but it does a better job of humanizing Lara than pretty much any of the previous games. This…

Well, you're certainly welcome to be skeptical.

Personally, I've already seen this song and dance with both Deus Ex AND Tomb Raider (both from the same studio), and both of those turned out fine, so I won't be leaping to conclusions.

Huh. I thought the new Hitman and Max Payne games were fine, and I'd played all previous games in the series.

Yes, some of the sneaking-only missions in Hitman could get a little tiresome, but the open "kill these targets" missions are some of the best in the entire series.

Likewise, while I was initially skeptical of…

Except it does kind of seem to be a sequel, too. It appears to pick up where 3 left off (with Garrett taking an apprentice, etc.)

I dunno, I guess we'll see. It just seems to be less of a clear-cut "reboot" than Tomb Raider, which was pretty unambiguously pressing the reset button.

(I should clarify that I don't think…

Eh, it's exactly the same thing that happened with Deus Ex and Tomb Raider.

When it was revealed that Deus Ex had a cover system and third-person camera, people freaked out. They said the game was obviously just a cynical cash-in, the franchise was dead, etc. Then the game came out, and they all looked silly.

With Tomb…

Which may well be the case here too. We have very limited information to go on.

All from the same source, which means its possible that -that particular critic- just doesn't like it.

Why? I'm not seeing it.

But we haven't seen the larger context of where that fits in the story. It's just the usual "out of context lines cut together in a trailer" thing.

There are appropriate motivations for him other than financial gain, like "revenge" or "self-preservation".

Did you play the other Thief games? I'm just curious, because...well, if you didn't have any interest in those, then your lack of interest in this one would be understandable.

Right, but I don't see any reason to assume that this game would be any different in that respect.

Garrett is basically a fantasy-noir antihero. "Gets dragged into events larger than himself and finds himself inadvertently playing the reluctant hero" is pretty much embedded in the premise.

Given Square-Enix's track record so far when it comes to reviving flagging/dormant PC franchises, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Both Deus Ex and Tomb Raider were far better than they had any right to be.

Besides, the stories of internal turnover aren't, as the article points out, substantially…

"Looks like it'll be a very meh game."

Based on what, if you don't mind me asking? I mean, it looks a lot like the previous Thief games to me, only updated with some more modern stuff.

Have you played the other Thief games?

Because even though he's a cynical, self-interested jerk, Garrett ends up essentially saving the city on more than one occasion.

"Did anyone actually play it?"

Seriously. Calling this a "slow year for games" is...bizarre. I can't think of too many other years recently where there were so many strong contenders for "game of the year".