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Rebooting a franchise is sure to make anyone some enemies, and Eidos Montreal has learned that the hard way with Thief. But as important as next-gen stealth and traversal will be for a man as elusive as Garrett, the titular thief, one can't overlook the importance of story.
With that in mind, the team has unveiled a new cinematic trailer giving a much clearer look at the characters, motivations, and story that will be propelling players through the surrounding revolution, in pursuit of a supernatural mystery.
Many have already pointed out just how much of an uphill battle Eidos Montreal has faced with their reboot of the treasured Thief series, and how much they've had to address fan concerns already. Once word first spread that the Thief reboot might be in trouble, even the smallest issues were quickly cited by devoted fans as cause for concern - whether justified or not.
For their part, Eidos Montreal was listening: getting rid of QTEs, an entire XP system, and promising fans that by making the melee combat systems deliberately troublesome, they were encouraging the stealth approach to gameplay that had defined the series in the past.
Yet throughout it all, the developers maintained the belief that they would win over fans in the end, so perhaps this trailer offers a brief look at the reason for their confidence. Namely, an intriguing plot and some promising cinematics. There's more to a Thief game than just looks, but the game's writers clearly have a story they're looking to tell. And from what's been shown of the game in action, it's not going to disappoint gamers looking for a next-gen stealth experience.
Could this tease of a supernatural enemy, or the personal loss that will transform Garrett entirely bring skeptical fans around? Only time will tell, but be sure to share your own thoughts on the trailer and reboot in the comments.
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More: Watch All The Trailers From The Spike VGX
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Thief is expected to release in 2014 for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @andrew_dyce.