After seeing other people's reviews, I have noticed that this game has very mixed reviews. I have noticed that people that have played the older Thief games, like this game a lot more than those that have never played any of the previous Thief games. With this forth installment to the Thief series, fans will see that they will be very happy with this game. For those that have never played a Thief game before or even heard of Thief, here is a brief history of the infamous master thief Garrett and the world of Thief.
A very happy looking guy, I must say
Some people will compare the Thief series to the games like Dishonored. Well, they really should be switching that around in the fact that Looking Glass Studios and Eidos have set the standards for all stealth games with Thief. You won't see anything from Looking Glass Studios recently since they went out of business in 2000. The first Thief game, Thief: The Dark Project was released in 1998 and that introduced the world to the Master Thief Garrett. Then came Thief 2: The Metal Age in 2000 and Thief: Deadly Shadows in 2004. The first two Thief games are for PC only, which can be the reason why some people have never heard of the game but Thief: Deadly Shadows was released for both PC and the original Xbox.
The world is set in some mixture of Victorian Era/Steam punk and based in an area known as The City. The areas can range large to small but all the buildings are very compacted which gives you the capability to wonder around on rooftops or in the streets.
Home Sweet Home
This was one of the first games that made people think differently on how to play games because the objective wasn't to go out and kill every bad guy you come across but to find ways to remain undetected. You were able to knock enemies out with a blackjack but you had to make sure to hide the body or you cover might be blown. Garrett is a very skilled thief whose skills have become very useful for others and require Garrett to obtain special items for them. You are able to explore the world using the shadows as your friend and find ways into people's houses and acquire some extra spending money. You can steal everything from money purses, pens, scissors to rare jewelry and collectible art. Let me point out that everything that is stoles like the pens and scissors and such are all gold and silver plated. These aren't just regular common items, they are actually worth something.
Better be careful not to run with these...
Now why a poor beggar would have these type of items, I dunno but just know that much at least. Moving on. An annoying thing with every Thief game is that when you go to the next area, you have to go through a loading screen. The worst of it is that the area you are going to might be massive or really small and you have to go through it to get to the place you need to go to. So if you are trying to get in some place in a hurry, too bad. The thing you must also know about Garrett is that he is more of a Lover (of stealing things) not a fighter. When it comes to 1 on 1 combat, you are able to take that guy out no problem. When there is 2 or more though, remember this motto, "It is better to run away so that you can steal another day." If you try to fight them off, your chances of dying is pretty high.
Duck and move... Duck and move...
The premise of Thief is that you have returned home after a long time away. You and a former acquaintance, Erin, are hired for a job that the only thing you really know about it is that it is really dangerous. Once there, you witness a strange ceremony taking place and start to feel uneasy about the whole ordeal. Getting in an argument with Erin about how she doesn't need to kill people in order to be a good thief, you take her weapon, The Claw, from her. It is flung to a part of the roof with a dome glass cover, as she goes to retrieve it. The building starts to fall apart and the glass begins to break. You try to save her but she slips through your hands and you soon fall as well. You awake a year later feeling guilty that Erin is dead and with no knowledge of where you have been. You also learn that a new plague has covered the city and it is up to you to find out what happened after that fateful incident.
Erin is beautiful but very deadly...
The new Thief game does have it's ups and downs for instance, people can seem to agree that the game play to Thief is amazing. Each mission is like a puzzle you must solve in order to advance. Depending on how you play the game in each mission, you will either earn the rank of Ghost (pretty much acquired by those that know how to stay unnoticed and have no need to knock anyone out) , Opportunist (you can stay hidden most of the time but knockout only those in you way), or Predator.(Screw sparing the lives of my enemies, it is easier to steal when no one is awake to stop me). You are even able customize the difficulty of the game, which is awesome for those that want a challenge but not too much of one, i.e. making the bad guys tough but not as easy to spot you. You now have an ability called Focus, which allow you to tap into Garrett's special abilities, like being able to see traps or items that can be stolen or hidden areas. And the looting... Oh the looting. I don't know what it is but I love looting in games and this game is the perfect game to fulfill my looting needs. I like to break into people's houses and steel everything I can. Even test my stealth skills by stealing items right off of people on the streets while remaining unnoticed. If you feel you messed up on a mission and wish to try it again, you are able to do so and try to get that Ghost status, or steal more loot because the more money you have, the more upgrades to Garrett you can get.
It's not easy being cheesy....
The cons to this game are few but still a bit annoying. First off, they replaced the original voice actor Stephen Russell with actor Romano Orzari. Even though he does an ok job voicing Garrett, it feels a bit lacking at times and just doesn't sound the same. The script could have been worked on a bit longer. There were a few times where there was some unnecessary pauses in speech between people. It feels that they borrowed a script writer from the Twilight movies and happened to get the guy that added all those long pointless pauses in the film. Also at times, you will notice that the lip sync is off for some of the scenes. A thing Square Enix did to the game is trying to make you sign up with Square Enix so you can see how your friends are doing in the game and all that other nonsense. If you don't do it, every time you load the game, you will get sent an email to try and sign up. Very annoying. Another thing about this game, I dunno but this game feels shorter than the older Thief games. I feel that there was so much more things to do in the older games than in this one. I dunno. There is also the annoyance that you cannot seem to be able to climb up on certain items that typically you feel you should be able to climb them, like some boxes or crates.
Be prepared to see these loading screens... A lot.
One final note about this game that actually kind of surprised me, there are some scenes of nudity in this game. Mainly when you are in the House of Blossoms, you will see topless women and even some people having sex. Just letting you parents know but it is for only that mission and the rest is fine.
All in all, I feel that the new Thief would be one to own for those that love the series but for those that have never played Thief before, you might want to rent it or at least wait for a Steam Sale, get previous games dirt cheap and become acquainted with the great thief Garrett then play this game. On a rating scale I give Thief an 8/10. A lot of fun to play but lacking a few minor details to make this game truly great.
Hello my fellow Gamers. 2013 was a pretty good year for the world of video games. There were a lot of games released this year, some good, others not so much, but which one's sold the most copies this year? Well that is what I am here to inform you all of the Top 10 Highest Selling Games of 2013! The results might surprise you, they sure did for me. Also, these are the Total Copies Sold, for every system worldwide as of Dec. 14th, 2013.
10. NBA 2K14 (2.76 Million)
FOR TWO!!!!
Basketball games have advanced so much throughout the years. The realism is the characters and the moves is just mind blowing when you watch good people play. I remember playing the games when I just had my one button to shoot and one to pass but now it is just crazy with all the moves you can do and tricks against your opponents. Very entertaining to watch. 9. Bioshock Infinite (3.06 Million)
Bioshock Infinite is a bit different when you look compare it to the first two. The first two, you are in dark, confided spaces, fighting people with some serious mental issues. This one is open spaces, sunlight and not so crazy people. I honestly have not finished this game but to be honest, I still prefer the first two to this one. 8. Madden NFL 25 (3.15 Million)
So Fricken Realistic.
When you think of Football, the Madden Series is the Gold Standard of Football games. The plays, the graphics and the moves to juke your opponent, just amazing. The watching people play this game you are just staring in amazement because of the realism and the graphics. They are so detailed and clean, the look almost real. It is a bit creepy. If you love Football, this is a game to own. 7. The Last of Us (3.84 Million)
Look at that parental bonding... Wait... That's not her dad... Awkward.....
This game makes me sad I do not own a PS3. I watched a friend play this game and I was really impressed with it and angry that Naughty Dog won't make games for the Xbox.... If you own a PS3 and don't have/ played this game, What is wrong with you???? This survival horror story has it all; excellent story, amazing gameplay and graphics and infected people with zombie-like qualities. What more could you ask for? This game has become so popular that Sony has already claimed the web domain rights for a, maybe maybe not, movie of the Last of Us. Could be promising if they don't screw it up like most movies based on video games.
6. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (5.03 Million)
Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Kickass....
I cannot tell you how much I love this game. This game has everything you love about the Assassin's Creed games and now with Pirates. Go out on your ship and plunder forts and steal enemy ships and claim them for your own. You can read what I have to say about Assassin's Creed: Black Flag by clicking on the hyperlink.
5. Battlefield 4 (5.98 Million)
What I really like about the Battlefield series compared to the Call of Duty series is the realism of the weapons. You actually have to take in account the distance of your target when firing. You can actually blow hole in walls and destroy buildings. Really awesome. The thing that really pissed me off was that damn helicopter and how you use a lot of ammo to destroy it but all the pilot has to do is fly away for a bit and it regenerates its health. No need for an engineer to repair it. That kinda sucks since you can become a beast at the helicopter and just take people out so quickly. Oh well, other than that, not a bad game.
4. Pokemon X & Y (8.31 Million)
Gotta Catch Them All! Yup all... 718??? Jeeze...
I loved Pokemon when they first came out. It was all about trying to collect all 151 of them. Now there is like 718 Pokemon. That is a crap load of Pokemon if you ask me. I stopped playing the Pokemon games after Pokemon Yellow for Gameboy, oh yeah the classics. Every year there are more Pokemon games and they are still very popular with those that loved the originals and the new generation. With Pokemon's popularity continuing to rise, I do not see this series ending any time soon. I just have to ask, how do they come up with the new Pokemon characters? Do they draw different animals and older Pokemon from a hat and try to combine them?? I dunno.
3. FIFA Soccer 14 (9.47 Million)
You can guess who is my favorite team.... It's Brazil for you non-soccer fans.
Soccer or Futbol is one of the most popular sports around the world. It came no surprise to me that this game made the Top 10 sellers but was actually surprised it made 3rd place. I know that the U.S. aren't huge fans of the sport, with only 1.3 million copies sold. Almost all of the sales came from European sales with over 6.5 million sold. I love watching the World Cup every 4 years it comes around but when it comes to playing soccer on video games, eh not so much. To me, as the game becomes more realistic, the controls become more complicated. Watching some friends play this game and I just sit there in confusion on how they do all those moves. Amazing and confusing to watch but funny to see how competitive people get playing this game.
2. Call of Duty: Ghost (15.03 Million)
Do you think those aliens didn't like my "Your Mamma" jokes???
Call of Duty: Ghost is one of those games that you don't really enjoy right off the bat but grows on you as you play. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is honestly still better than this game but Ghost still has some redeeming qualities. For instance: I have never been a Search and Destroy fan, I'm too suicidal for it. In Ghost, they added Search and Rescue. If you get killed, in order to come back, your teammate just has to pick up your dropped tags to revive you. I kinda like that. Extinction is a lot of fun when you play it. Just four people verses a never ending horde of aliens and all you have to do it make it to the end, plant the nuke, and run like hell back to the chopper without dying... Yeah... easy peasy lemon squeezy.... I am honestly hoping the DLCs redeem this game but this might be my first COD game that might be an epic fail for me.
1. Grand Theft Auto V (32.32 Million)
Oh yeah. Go Time...
Last but not least GTA V. How surprised are you that GTA V came out on top? I'm actually not that surprised. GTA has been a popular series throughout the years and with five, you have everything you love about the series. You have a great story, awesome graphics, and non-stop psychotic carnage... The multiplayer has become very popular with this game as well. You can buy homes in your friend's area, street race or even place/claim bounties on people and a lot more great features like robbing banks.
Well, 2013 has come and gone. Hopefully 2014 will have more promising and worth wild games. Until next time, Keep on Gaming.
Let me start off with answering some of the questions of this game. The time placement of the game goes; when you are in the animus, it is the prequel to Assassins Creed 3. The character you play outside the Animus, it is right after Assassins Creed 3. SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED ASSASSINS CREED 3 SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH. So no, you are not Desmond, he is still dead.
You are an employee of Abstergo Entertainment, the child company that uses the data collected in the Animus and turn the exciting stories into movies and helps fund Abstergo's larger projects. The character you play in the Animus is Edward Kenway, a pirate out to make a better life for himself and his family out in the Caribbean. You might recognize the name Kenway, yes you are playing as Haytham's father, the character from Assassins Creed 3.
This game has made a lot of nice improvements since Assassins Creed 3. For instance, this is the most smooth and crisp graphics of any of the game series yet. I was really impressed with all of the great details in the characters and the sceneries. You also get to sail in the pirate ship Jackdaw and try to loot from other ships and either claim it for your own fleet or send it to Davy Jones Locker. Some side activities you can do in some free time, while out at sea, are hunting sharks or go whaling. Everyone in a while, you will get the chance to hunt the Great White Whale.
Hint: upgrade your boat, harpoon and max the number of harpoons you carry to give yourself a better chance of capturing it.
Call me Ishmael!
When you are outside the Animus, you are out doing some errands for the computer engineer John, which involves you hacking into some of your fellow worker's computer. By doing so, you get to unlock stuff like audio from Desmond and more of what happened after he died, audio from subject zero, and just other facts on Abstergo.
Let's try the password: GUEST and see what happens....
You can also claim forts which help you uncover hidden areas on your map. As for the story, the plot line is pretty solid. I liked how they went with this game and was able to follow it pretty easily. The fighting mechanics are pretty much the same so don't expect too much from that but they did finally add free aiming to this one, so that was handy at times.
This baby will soon be mine.
As for the multiplayer, there have been a lot of improvements to that was well. As usual, there are a whole list of new characters, from an Adventurer or Buccaneer to a Night Stalker or Puppeteer. You are able to customize a lot with your characters, from clothing, faces, and other accessories. There are a few new abilities but kept a lot of the favorites. To be honest, I didn't play the Multiplayer to Assassins Creed 3 so I'm not sure if this was added to 3 or not but 4 has a Co-Op mode called Wolfpack where you are able to work with three other players and try and complete some missions. You can now also create your own game mode using the Game Lab, being able to create your own matches, goals, and restrictions. This was a nice touch they added and can't wait to give it a shot.
Oh yes indeed.
The thing I didn't really like about the game was event though some of the side quests were fun, there was just so many of them. You can collect Animus fragments but there were so many of them, I just felt a bit overwhelming, grew tired of collecting them and just skipped it all together. You are able to collect songs for your crew to sing when you are traveling on the ship but collecting them is annoying. It is just like collecting the Ben Franklin pages in Assassins Creed 3, when you get close to it, it flies away and you have to chase it down before it vanishes and you have to wait for it to re-spawn, just annoying. I did experience a glitch in the game, I was taking over a fort and had to make it to the war room, to kill the guy inside, and right before I could open the door, some guy tackles me and I get phased through the door and was trapped. I was forced to fast travel to a near by location but thankfully I didn't have to start over again. So just a heed of caution when taking over the fort, don't get tackled when near the war room.
My rating for this game is 9/10.
This game is definitely one to own if you are a fan of the series. Assassins Creed 4 is one of my favorite from the series, mainly because I really like looting from other ships. But seriously, it was so beautifully done and well worth it. I recommend though if you have not played any of these games to do them in order to get the full story of the fight between Assassins and Templars.
Since Halloween is just around the corner, I felt it would be a great tribute to the Holiday of Horror to come up with a list of scary console games. But there are so many of them out there, it wasn't really easy to figure out which ones were the scariest. I am a huge fan of anything horror, from movie to video
games. I just love playing scary games and having that rush of not knowing what
is going to happen when I open the door or turn the corner. I am one of those
players that will do what the games tell you to do before you start, turn off
the lights and turn up the volume to get into the mood.I know a lot of people have their top
scariest games but here are what I feel are the scariest to play on the
console. Note: these games are not in order because it is hard for me to pick
which one is scarier than the other, so here is my top 10.
1. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Xbox)
For any of you that ever read an H.P. Lovecraft book or know
anything about Cthulhu, you should know how creepy those stories could be. For
those of you that know nothing about Cthulhu, here is just the basic info about
him: Cthulhu is one of the “Great Old Ones” that ruled the earth long ago. Put
the world into darkness and is now resting and waiting to be awakened. This
first-person shooter will leave you on the edge of your seat with every moment
of the game. You have to look for clues on to what is going on in this strange
village, avoid being killed by the cultish townsfolk and avoid losing your sanity
by seeing some creepy stuff in the game. Note: There are multiple endings to
this game and they are based on your sanity level and it is not easy to keep
sane. Stay sharp and Agon Cthulhu!
For those that love the Resident
Evil series, there was just something that added that extra creepy factor to
Resident Evil 4 that tops the rest of them. This game puts you on high alert as
you play as Leon Kennedy, from Resident Evil 2, and have to try to save the
President’s Daughter in a Spanish town filled in not only just zombie
villagers, a crazed zombie villager with a huge chainsaw and robed cultists,
but you get to buy all your sweet gear from some sketchy guy in a huge robe and
not only seems to be just ignored by all the zombies but apparently isn’t
willing to just give you the weapons for free during a time of crisis. No, you
have to still pay him money. Resident Evil 4 added a new camera angle and 3D
environment to allow for the player to get more into the game than the previous
RE games. Not only that but the villagers will do whatever it takes to kill
you. SO find a house and board it up because it might be the only thing that
will help keep you alive in this game.
3. F.E.A.R. (Xbox 360, PS3)
I love the F.E.A.R. Trilogy but nothing compares to the very
first one. This game has everything you could want to give you the creeps: a
game that is mostly dimly lit environments, creepy sounds always off in the
distance and the scariest thing of all, this creepy little girl that will pop
out of nowhere and scare the crap out of you. It feels like she appears all the
time in the worst of places and every time she shows up, you just want to do
whatever it takes to get away from her. I don’t know about you but she was the
icing on the cake that gave this game that extra scary vide to it. The game not
only will attack your player but will psychologically attack you with constant
usage of never knowing what lurks in the shadows.
4.Bioshock (Xbox 360, PS3)
To be honest, Bioshock isn’t really a horror game but man
does it just make you want to scream like a little girl at times. Your player
wakes up with no idea where he is or how he got there. You get to move about
the city of Rapture trying to figure out what happened and who you are. A long
the way, you get to meet the lovely psychotic people of Rapture that want to do
nothing but end your life. Also, meet up with the Little Sisters and their
Guardians Big Daddy. Creepy little girls are always a great add-on to any
creepy game. You must venture through this one beautiful city with the fear
that a crazy resident could be around any corner, waiting to strike you. Not
only that but listening to the audio diaries do not add much comfort as you
learn more about what has happened to this broken down city. Do what you can to
stay alive and learn everything about who you are and why the once great city
of Rapture had become a stick hole of psychopaths and mutated freaks.
5. Dead Space (Xbox 360, PS3)
With a title like Dead Space, you should know already that
you are about to open up a can of maybe it might be best to play this one with
the lights on…. You are Isaac Clarke, an engineer that is part of a maintenance
crew, sent to repair the communications equipment on a mining ship. Upon
arrival, you find that these unknown creatures have slaughtered the entire
crew. This is a game where you can’t just make a quick head shot to kill these
creatures, you need to actually dismember them to take them down. This is one
of the scariest game series I have ever played. The necromorphs will pop out of
everywhere at any given time. Just when you think you are safe, WRONG! Bam,
necromorph pops out of the ventilation system and tries to chew your face off.
This game is just straight up scare the pants off you. Your heart will be
racing from the moment you start the game to the end of the credits.
6. Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360)
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a unique type of game that scares you unlike other scary games. In this first-person thriller, you are Agent Ethan Thomas and you are out to stop the serial-killer known as Match Maker. The atmosphere of this game makes me think of the movie Se7en, the game is gloomy, dark and the murders are just brutal. You will have enemies constantly popping out and trying to kill you. You have to use your wits and your surroundings to stay alive. I can honestly say, I have not played a game that was like this one, one that isn't scary because of monsters, ghost or demons but it scares you because its realism gets you into the game and feel apart of it. That psychological type of scare that makes you do what it takes to try and keep your sanity.
7. Fatal Frame 2 (Xbox, PS2, Wii)
Ok. I am pretty sure that most of the people have seen the movie The Grudge. I just as myself this one question: What is with all of these haunted japanese homes? I mean seriously, you would think they would have had some ghostbusters type people around there by now or something. How would you like to be trapped inside a haunted old mansion
with nothing but a camera to help fend off the evil spirits inside? No sane person would like this type of situation that your character is placed in. Fatal Frame II is just chock full of sheer, abject
terror. Steeped in very Japanese horror style, the game is eerie as hell, with
tons of disturbing imagery and enemies. This game forces you to confront
the terrors in front of you by waiting until the last possible second to snap a
spirit's photograph. Doing so will damage the ghosts, but at the same time, it
will also diminish your will power. There's only so many times you'll be
willing to stand idly by while demons come hurtling at you at top speed. After playing this game, you might want to think about maybe investing in a camera.
8. Silent Hill 2 (Xbox, PS2, or in HD for Xbox 360 and PS3)
Of all the Silent Hill games, nothing scared you more than the introduction to Pyramid Head. Nothing else can compare to the first time running into a large man with a huge Pyramid on his head and a large sword itching to just cut you in half. Once you knew he was near, you heart was racing, palms sweating and you just wanted to hide and pray he would just go away. The psychologically disturbing atmosphere and inhabitants of Silent Hill will surely make your skin crawl and make you want to sleep with one eye open.
9. The Suffering (Xbox, PS2)
In The Suffering, dropping the soap is the least of your worries in this prison. Your character is Torque and you have been sentenced to death for the murder of your family, which you can't remember because you blacked out when it happened, and sent to Abbot State Penitentiary on Carnate Island, Maryland. On the night of your arrival, an earthquake shakes the island and the demons of the damned rise up and walk the land of the living again. You might survive and escape the island. Along the way, you are haunted by the visions of your dead family and learn the horrible secrets of the island. Along your journey to escape you will encounter the demons of people killed, those by injections, beheaded, shot, etc., and they will come out of no where and want nothing more but to have your innards become your outards. The atmosphere is dark and dim and you have to use your flashlight to see down creepy corridors, not knowing what is hiding in the darkness. You will be given choices along the way to either help people or not and these choices will determine how the game ends. Fight to survive and learn to release your inner demon to fight your way off the hellish prison.
10. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (Gamecube)
Now lets be honest, when you think of Nintendo, you don't really think of them as creating scary games. With Eternal Darkness, that changed everything you once thought about Nintendo. Eternal Darkness is one of those games you either remember
fondly for messing with your brain, or you can't stand to talk about it because
of all the horrifying memories you don't want coming back to haunt you. Few
games used as many tricks and surprises to fool players into thinking they were
going crazy, and included a handy sanity meter to track just how far down the
rabbit hole they had fallen. Whether it was the creepy children screaming, the
bleeding walls, or your TV seemingly turning on and off at random, Eternal
Darkness pushed the limits of interactive horror in a way that hasn't been
replicated since.
Well there you have it. I'm sure you might feel that some games should be on the list or not on here, so let us know what your Top 10 are and from all of us at GameXCape, we hope your Halloween is a safe and frightful one.
This is my Sheppard. There are many like her, but she KICKS ASS.
Welcome to 2013's first post! And with that, let's start off with a look at my personal favorite games of 2012.
2012 was quite the interesting time for me gaming wise: I didn't nearly have the amount of free time I used to have to play, nor income to buy all the games I wanted to, but I did make sure to save my money for the ones I wanted and for the most part they didn't disappoint.
So keep in mind that it is just me and I am only going off of games I have personally played. There are a lot of games I've missed out on this year like The Walking Dead, Far Cry 3, and Mark of the Ninja that I just couldn't get around to but hopefully will at some point.
So without any further ado, let's get to the list!
It's been awhile but welcome back to New Video Game Releases, your weekly dose of what's new and happening in games this week.
The beginning of 2012 has been rather light luckily enough and I've had enough time to go and try to make a dent in my backlog. Fortunately, last week saw the big release of Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V to break this gaming lull and get us back into the new and happening
To find out all the gaming goodness that drops this week, click the link.
Every year the best of the best in the fighting game world come together in Las Vegas to find out who is the best of the World Warriors! Or is it the King of Iron Fist? The King of Fighters?
Well whatever catchphrase you happen to enjoy, this years fighting game line-up for EVO 2012 has been announced and it's full of both new and old.
