'Thief 4' Adds Sequel to Iconic PC Game Series

Eidos Montreal has announced the fourth title in the "Thief" series, allowing gamers to slip into Garrett's shoes once again as the scourge of The City.

"Eidos-Montréal is excited to unveil, our previously secret second title in development at the studio, as Thief 4, the next installment in the legendary series!" Stephane D'Astous, the game's general manager, announced on the Eidos site.

"Were in the early development stages for Thief 4, but this is an incredibly ambitious project and a very exciting one," D'Astous wrote. "It's too early for us to offer any specific game details, right now we are focused on recruiting the very best talent to join the core team at the studio and help us make, what we believe will be one of the most exciting games on the market."The "Thief" series commands a special place in the heart of PC gamers. Released just a few months after id's "Quake 2," "Thief: The Dark Project" launched an alternative mindset in the minds of first-person shooters: that obstacles could be stealthily approached, ambushed, and even avoided. "Thief" was the first "first-person sneaker," actively encouraging players to incapacitate, rather than kill, enemies. That, combined with an engaging story and its own mythos, drew players in.

"Thief" was also designed by Looking Glass Studios, which commands the same reverence that a company like Apple does, with one difference: Apple is still around, and Looking Glass went out of business in 2000, giving any subsequent games the tinge of nostalgia. The intellectual property, however, has been passed around between develop Ion Storm and Eidos, and has now gone "in house".

Eidos is also developing "Deus Ex 3," another former Looking Glass property, that was one of the first to introduce RPG elements into a first-person action title, and also to present alternative methods of overcoming obstacles and enemies.

The problem with both the evolution of the "Deus Ex" and "Thief" series, to some, has been the simultaneous devleopment of "Deus Ex 2" and "Thief 3" for the Xbox console as well as the PC. That had notable effects on gameplay, including small levels that were broken up by load screens, which broke the illusion of seamless gameplay.