How do you fuck up such a simple, yet deep experience that prevailed in previous entries? Since when does a character conceived of as being weak in combat manage to pull off two headshots with a compound bow within a few seconds, at point blank range? Why is there a slow-down function that allows players to pull off easy kills on enemies by pointing the cross-hair at conspicuously placed targets? Will the game favor those who play with subtlety and cunning, or will it placate those who want to rush in for a kill just to garner another dose of half-assed "RPG hybrid" experience and skills?
It's not looking good folks.
Here's a breakdown of what is WRONG with this game so far:
- A voice actor who doesn't lend the character, whom shares my first name (I've always liked this a little, I have to admit), any credence. He was sly and interesting in all the previous entries, but now I don't care. That's a bad move. If you can't hire Stephen Russell, then at least try to replace him with someone of comparable calibre.
- The Focus mode. It highlights every context action you can take in your immediate surroundings, and opens up combat (fucking full-on combat, in my Thief?) options for the player in-case they couldn't figure it out on their own without it.
- A distinct lack of world character; the Pagans (weirdsies & doosies they bees, no longer welcomesees), the Hammerites (doth not loveth Shakespeare speak?), the Keepers, and taffers are criminally absent so far. Will people even find patrolling enemy conversations remotely interesting to listen to in the final product? At this rate, I think not.
- Combat in general. Weapons, and rather weak ones at that, were definitely present in the old games. But those were to be used as absolute last resorts or when you couldn't figure out how to clear an obtrusive enemy with stealth & subtlety. Now you can perform take downs, kill two guys in quick succession, and actually be able to handle more than one hostile. Don't forget to reward players with headshot XP bonuses!
- Too much HUD information present. Yes, there was definitely a HUD in the older games, but those HUDS provided just enough information necessary. This game will highlight enemies on alert mode, has a painfully obvious crosshair (hopefully it can be modified in the options menu of the final release), the god damn Focus mode, and XP reports using up one-tenth of your screen.
