[HTML1]

Plenty of games cater to a love for big, noisy destruction and mayhem, but the number of stealth games released each year is comparatively a lot smaller. As such, Eidos Montreal's upcoming Thief reboot has been eyed with interest by those with a love for sneaking in the shadows.

Thief is set for release later this month and Eidos Montreal has just announced that the game has gone gold, with producer Stéphane Roy proclaiming that, "It’s nearly time for the fans to fall in love with Thief all over again." To celebrate Thief's readiness for release and to get gamers who might be unfamiliar with the series acquainted with the world and its characters, Eidos Montreal has also released a new trailer that outlines the basics.

In terms of gameplay, there's a lot to get excited about. Thief boasts a massive number of customization options, so if you find a new ability (such as Focus) makes things too easy then there's an option to switch it off and earn extra points for the additional challenge. It's also possible to place limitations on what Garrett can do (such as restricting him to stealth takedowns only), which should prove useful for those who are interested in earning achievements.

Garrett in 'Thief' 101 trailer

The story doesn't look quite as impressive, especially since the trailers for Thief so far have presented it as being riddled with clichés. The latest trailer even explicitly calls Garrett a "Reluctant Hero," a character trope that's been so done to death in video games that it gets more groanworthy each time it crops up. Admittedly Garrett was one of the original reluctant heroes - always getting dragged into serious affairs when all he really wants is to rob people in peace - but it wouldn't hurt to have seen something new.

It's also difficult to look at any footage of Thief without Arkane Studios' Dishonored coming strongly to mind. Not only does the gameplay look very similar, it's also set in a city ridden with poverty and disease, lorded over by a tyrannical authority figure whom the hero must take down with the aid of a group of revolutionaries.

Thief is highly anticipated by many, despite some of the understandable reservations that fans might have, and we're looking forward to finding out whether or not Eidos Montreal has been able to recapture the magic of this hugely influential stealth franchise.

Thief arrives on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One on February 25, 2014.