The Fullbright Company’s Gone Home is a game with a very specific legacy. Beyond simply the referential filing cabinet code, this is a game that strongly evokes the storytelling techniques and style of Looking Glass Studios. Nearly twenty years ago System Shock was released, allowing players to explore and uncover the fate of Citadel Station and its […]
Tag: Thief: The Dark Project
“Greetings, Garrett! Thou art expected, though not precisely… welcome.” Conclusion: Coming two thirds of the way through The Metal Age the infiltration of Angelwatch in Life Of The Party would make a fitting location for the finale. Unlike the actual final level the Mechanist tower of Angelwatch was foreshadowed as far back as the second level, […]
“These are strange times indeed when the builder’s chosen must cater to the folly of the unworthy.” Annotated Walkthrough, 7: After avoiding any wandering guests on the stairs the sixth floor landing offers some shadows in which to wait before you enter the ballroom. The door is unlocked and the light illuminating the area immediately […]
In any simulated system there are boundaries, points at which the model being used breaks down, where player behaviour is no longer accounted for. The most obvious of these are the physical boundaries of the game space, the chasm too wide to cross or the wall too high to climb. To a large extent the methods for […]
“Take some time to appreciate our gallery…” Annotated Walkthrough, 5: Mounting the stairs of Angelwatch is an ascent into light. Climbing out of the basement like claustrophobia of the second floor the gas lamps are replaced with electric lights, the bare brickwork hidden behind paint and paper while small balconies, extending into the incongruously well […]
“Hey, the City looks almost bearable from up here.” Annotated Walkthrough, 1: From the moment it starts Life Of The Party feels different from the rest of Thief II. Everything is brighter, the surrounding walls no longer tower above you, even the sky seems closer. Some familiar elements remain, the constant industrial drone that pervades […]
“Angelwatch? Is this how our arrangement is gonna work, you coming up with ways for me to get myself killed?” “Is this really Garrett the Master Thief I hear talking? If danger is going to be a problem for you, then…” “Just– give me the details.” The third instalment of Groping The Map will be […]
“Everything was clear an hour ago. Then, BOOM!” Annotated Walkthrough, 2: Stepping up the ramp from the South Dock, the first sight to meet you is likely the dead body of a UNATCO Trooper, lying on the path ignored by the patrolling NSF. Directly ahead there is a stone pillar of some sort, despite not […]
“The bots have them bottled up, sir. We’d go right in, if it weren’t for the hold-back order.” The second instalment of Groping The Map will be presented in multiple parts running over the next several weeks. Introduction. Annotated Walkthrough, 1: South Dock. Annotated Walkthrough, 2: Island exterior and UNATCO HQ. Annotated Walkthrough, 3: Island […]
“‘Survival of the fittest’ that’s the rule in the Drop, the only rule.” Combat in The Drop: One of the themes at the heart of BioShock 2 is that of regaining your place in the world. You are Subject Delta, the first successfully pair bonded Big Daddy. You were once an important figure in the […]