Ion Storm announces Thief III for PS2

[08.10.00] » Nobody heard this one coming!

   Fans of intelligent PC games were dealt a blow when Looking Glass studios disbanded several weeks ago. The creators of such innovative titles as System Shock, the Ultima Underworld series, and the Thief series was no more, and the future of their signature franchises seemed grim. Eidos has pleasantly surprised the world, however, with the announcement of Thief III for the PC and PlayStation 2.

   But with Looking Glass gone, who will be creating the title? None other than Warren Spector and his team and Ion Storm Austin. Spector was one of the original founders of Looking Glass and was involved with the development of the Thief franchise. His most recent game, Deus Ex, was released to critical and popular acclaim. Deus Ex features many of the same elements that gamers loved in Looking Glass titles, so the series should be in good hands.

   Spector said regarding the Thief III project, "With Thief, Looking Glass Studios created an entirely new kind of game and, in so doing, changed the face of gaming forever. We here in the Austin office are thrilled, proud and a bit humbled at the prospect of continuing and building on the work of the talented men and women who made Thief and Thief 2. Several of us cut our teeth working with those folks, our design philosophies were developed in collaboration with them and, plain and simple, we're fans ourselves. To all the other fans out there, we say: Rest easy. We respect the Thief tradition and we'll do everything in our power not only to live up to everyone's justifiably high expectations but to surpass them." Several unannounced members of the former Thief team have joined with Ion Storm Austin to make the project a reality.

   The Thief series was described by Looking Glass as a "first-person sneaker." While the game took place from a first-person perspective, an emphasis on sneaking through shadows, outwitting enemy AI, and avoiding conflict by stealth made it different from nearly any PC game on the market.