Thief Gold

I am pretty excited to spend a little time today talking about Thief Gold which is like the ultimate version of the original Thief game. It is crazy that this game is over 20 years old at this point! I remember we got our first Packard Bell PC around this time that was very powerful (for its time) and Thief was one of the games that my dad was very excited to check out to see just how good this new era of PC gaming we were about to enter was.

Like A Thief In The Night

Back in the day, I was blown away by how cinematic and story driven the game was. In going back and playing Thief Gold for this review I think that the story might not be as epic as it was back then, but I still like it. It is about a man called Garret who was part of this secret order. He leaves this order and becomes a thief where he steals for himself and anyone who will help him. Before long he ends up on an epic quest to get these talismans.

Moving In The Night

You can 100 percent fight people in Thief Gold, but it is not recommended, think of it as a last resort. While this kind of stealth play is nothing new in this day and age, back then this was massive. You have a sword that is used as a last resort if you get caught and must fight your way out of a situation. You have a black jack which was my favorite thing to do in the game, you use this to knock people out so you can sneak past them. You also have a bow and arrow that has different types of arrows. I like the way that you are encouraged to sneak around in the shadows and use your smarts rather than your fists. This is all played from the first-person and it was so immersive back then. It is a tad rough to play now, but I think it is still playable.

Where Do I Go?

One area of the game that is certainly a product of its time is the level design. To be fair, Thief Gold has a great selection of locations for you to explore. It has a very steampunk kind of vibe to it which I love and you will be exploring areas such as a fancy gothic like manor, creepy mines, an old tomb, and even hidden cities. It is fantastic and the variety the first time you play this makes each new area exciting. Now, the thing is the game has a terrible system of finding your way around. The levels are quite large and I get that exploration is a part of this, but I would wager many new players to this game will find this as a “where the hell am I supposed to go?” style of game.

That 3D Acceleration

Back when my dad and I first played this back in the late 90s, I thought that Thief was a great looking game. In going back and playing Thief Gold for the first time in many years, I think that like many 3D games of this era, it is showing its age. Things are very blocky; the character models look very strange and the game looks like a game that was made over 20 years ago. I can see some people being turned off by the graphics alone.

Thief Gold is awesome in that you get the complete experience of the first Thief game. This is a game that I have a great deal of nostalgia for, however, if you have only played the newer games then this may seem very rough around the edges and hard to get into, due to its old game design.

Pros:

• I like the story of the game
• It is a big game in terms of video game history
• You have many ways to take down an enemy
• This was one of the first big first-person stealth games

Cons:

• The level design and game design in general, feel very outdated
• It can be a major hassle to get running on a modern PC