Thief Video Game Review

Final Verdict - Give It A Shot 

Well 2014's first reboot is out and boy is it a doozy. It is a revival of the cult classic Thief series of stealth games, of which it is the fourth game. Thief was initially announced in 2009 under the working title Thief 4(also known as Thi4f or Thief), after rumors of its development. Well you came here for a game review so that's what you're going to get. Small heads up about the usual game-play with commentary videos that accompany my reviews. We were trying something different this week where we took the video from our stream that we did but the quality was very disappointing in comparison to the usual so we apologize profusely. Will return to normal for our next review but feel free to check out the hilarious commentary as always. Lets slink into the dark depths of Thief...

Thief is a stealth video game developed by Eidos Montreal and published by Square Enix. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms. Players control Garrett, a master thief, as he intends to steal from the rich. Similar to previous games in the series, players must use stealth in order to overcome challenges, while violence is left as a minimally effective last resort. Gameplay is choice-driven, with players having a number of possible paths and approaches in a given level. Players may use the environment to their advantage, as well as pickpocket characters. As Garrett attempts to steal in levels, guards and other non-player characters (if they are aware of his presence) will try to flush him out and kill him. Different NPCs may use different means to find him, and the game's artificial intelligence will be aware of the level design, and therefore, know of potential hiding spots. Players may enter a "Focus" mode, which provides several advantages. It enhances Garrett's vision, highlighting pipes that can be climbed, or candles that can be put out to make the area darker. Focus can also slow down time, so that Garrett is able to steal more effectively while pick-pocketing. Garrett can also use Focus to push enemies or perform debilitating attacks. It can be further upgraded over the course of the game.

What’s Good:

Story-line: Pretty solid story-line and interesting characters in the game. The way the story unfolds and progresses is also noteworthy as it keeps the pace of the game steady. 

Graphics: Stellar graphics all around, the textures, environments and lighting truly go above and beyond what expected. The game is visually well crafted on all platforms but it truly shines on the XBOX One and PC.

Game Mechanics: Definitely an originator of modern day stealth, the Thief franchise employs a very robust and expansive world to traverse. With multiple paths  to achieve objectives the game offers much needed  variety and liberalness to not restrict the user and confine them to a totally linear path. Also the freedom of movement that is offered to the player is interconnected with the flow and play-style of the game being heavily stealth based and is executed very well. Guard A.I. is hit or miss at times as they sometimes look right at you but seemingly have bad eyesight and cant see in the dark but other times will very skillfully hunt you down and drive you out of hiding. 

Replay value: With all the aforementioned freedom in paths and approaches to dealing with situations one could only imagine that there exists a fair amount of replay value. Couple that with all the various challenges and large number of items available for theft present in game and you have yourself hours of entertainment at the ready. Another noteworthy claim to fame for this reboot title is the custom difficulty setting, honestly cant recall seeing this in any games I have played. I was quite surprised and intrigued by this however it seems primarily directed at making the game more challenging more-so than easy.

What’s Bad:

Soundtrack: Not much of significant mention as well as the voice acting for the game seemingly fell short. This makes the character (Garrett) not as convincing and you don't feel as attached overall to him unless you were already a long standing fan of the series.

What Should Have Been Added:

I would like to have potentially seen a co-op mode especially since they game starts you off as a part of a team. The idea of running a thief tag team against unsuspecting guard could have added such depth and varied game-play tactics.

Final Thoughts:

Solid reboot of the series no doubt; long time Thief fans will appreciate the well executed nod to a long lost franchise. While new comers to the lore of Thief may find it quite the adventure to embark on. Definitely a little rough around the edges since its been out of the gaming world for a while but it made good on it return. Feel free to check out our game-play with commentary videos...

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I Hit People For A Living

Gameplay - 8/10

Storyline - 8/10

Graphics - 9/10

Game Score : 25/30

Welcome to another Friday video game review blog post, today we are going to be looking at Hitman Absolution. Before we dive into the goodness just a small public service announcement this will probably be the last video game review for 2012. Going to close off the year as always with a top ten list of games for 2012 so you can be prepared for that in the coming week. Its been a blast providing you guys with reviews and entertainment via our game-play commentary videos on our YouTube channel. So lets get into some Hitman Absolution...

Hitman: Absolution is an action-adventure stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix. It is the fifth entry in the Hitman game series, and runs on IO Interactive's proprietary Glacier 2 game engine. Before release the developers conveyed that Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise. The game was released on November 20, 2012, which is the 47th week of the year (in reference to the protagonist, Agent 47). The game takes place in the United States, and features an online option. In addition, the game features "instinct mode" which allows 47 to predict enemy patrol routes, much like the "sonar vision" that was featured in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, "eagle vision" in Assassin's Creed, "tracker mode" in Crysis 2 and "Detective mode" in Batman: Arkham Asylum.

What’s Good:

Superb graphics, game is more accessible than previous iterations, tons of in game content to work for, great versatility in how to approach missions as well as replay value. Soundtrack really fits the tone ad scene changes as you play through the game as well. The interactivity with your environment and how you can manipulate it to progress is very well done and plays well to the motif of being a Hitman that shapes your gaming experience as you see fit. Multiple game difficultly settings to appeal to everyone from the casual gamer to the purist fan of the series.

What’s Bad:

Camera controls at times are a pain, but this is somewhat acceptable as this is a common occurrence in most third person game or it may be due to my personal preference for first person viewpoint. Scoring system penalizes you for killing unnecessarily even if it is you clean up after yourself  so no one notices. This takes away from the freedom they give you in the game and detracts from that overall experience of having total control to progress how you see fit. The instinct meter decreases and replenishes haphazardly, I noticed when I needed it I had little to none there but then randomly I would accomplish things when I didn't need it that would replenish it.

What Should Have Been Added:

I think a nice addition would have been to animate more methods of assassinations or even better yet make varying cut scenes for each assassination and then give the player a choice based on the weapons he has which cut-scene to play out.

Final Thoughts:

While in and of itself a solid gaming franchise this game caters more to the fans of the series and not necessarily newcomers who might have heard good tings about the game. There is a slight learning curve involved in fully appreciating everything that this game has to offer but that shouldn't be a deterrent to any gamers out there but instead an incentive to enjoy the game to its fullest. Hope you enjoy the game-play commentary as always and as always keep on gaming...

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Lazy Dogs Sure Are Awesome

Gameplay - 7/10

Storyline - 7/10

Graphics - 10/10

Game Score : 24/30

Hey y'all, hows it hanging? We are back again today looking at another highly anticipated game. Just a small reminder we are having a giveaway at the end of September for a PC copy of Skyrim on Steam. Outside of that only other update I have is that we are almost at 300 likes on our Facebook page so do your part to help the page grow. With all that being said I present to you, Sleeping Dogs.

Sleeping Dogs is a 2012 open world action-adventure video game developed by United Front Games in conjunction with Square Enix London Studios and published by Square Enix, released on August 14, 2012, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Sleeping Dogs takes place in Hong Kong and focuses on an undercover operation to infiltrate the Triads.
The game was originally in development as an original title, but was announced in 2009 as True Crime: Hong Kong, the third installment and a reboot of the True Crime series. As a result of the game’s high development budget and delays, it was canceled by Activision in 2011. Six months later, it was announced that Square Enix had picked up the publishing rights to the game, but the game was renamed Sleeping Dogs in 2012 since Square Enix did not purchase the True Crime name rights.

Sleeping Dogs features a large cast. The player character is Detective Wei Shen, an officer sent deep undercover in a feared Triad gang. The game takes place in a fictional Hong Kong with players assuming control of Wei Shen, an officer of the San Francisco Police Department, who had been seconded to the Hong Kong Police Force. Wei has been assigned by the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau to go undercover and infiltrate the Triad society called Sun On Yee and take them down. The game starts in a Hong Kong Shipping Harbor, where undercover police officer Wei Shen is busted after a drug deal gone bad. Thrown into jail, Wei meets his old friend, Jackie Ma, who offers Wei to join his gang after they are released.

The core gameplay of Sleeping Dogs consists of giving the player an open world environment in which to move around freely. Sleeping Dogs is played as an over-the-shoulder, third-person perspective action-adventure game with role-playing elements. On foot, the player character has the ability to walk, run, jump, climb over obstacles and swim, as well as use weapons and martial arts in combat. Players also drive a variety of vehicles including automobiles, boats, and motorcycles. The combat system revolves around hand-to-hand fighting, similar to Batman: Arkham Asylum/Batman: Arkham City's "Freeflow" combat system. The cover system allows the player to move between cover, fire blindly, aim freely, and target a specific enemy. Individual body parts can also be targeted.

Overall my initial impressions of this game were impressive and I was mad hyped for another open world game to play seeing as how our last open world game we reviewed was Saints Row The Third. Sadly however I might have gotten my hopes up too high comparing it to an epic gaming experience like Saints Row The Third. Don't get me wrong now Sleeping Dogs is a pretty decent game, and employs a lot of game mechanics to set itself apart from comparison to similar games such as the GTA and Saints Row series. However with so many variant game mechanics it comes off feeling like a novelty after a while and interest wains. Thankfully there is a solid story-line present even if a bit cliched; which due to the games fast paced action keeps manages to keep you playing. Definitely worth a try and will most definitely keep you from sleeping...

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