14 DAY TRIAL // Thief, the reboot created by Eidos Montreal and published by Square Enix, has managed to get to the top of the United Kingdom video game sales chart during its first week on store shelves, the first big release of a rather busy month of March.
The title is designed to put gamers once more in the quiet boots of main character Garrett as he explores a new version of the City, battling nobility, capable guards, and a plague in order to avenge someone close to him.
The game can be played on the PC, the PlayStation 4 from Sony, the Xbox One from Microsoft, and current-gen consoles.
The title has received a rather mixed welcome, with some long-term fans of the original praising the way the core ideas have been adapted to suit modern games, while another segment says that both the stealth and the story are limited and do not manage to do justice to the setting.
It will be interesting to see whether Thief is able to stay at the top of the United Kingdom chart for two weeks or if its success will be short-lived.
Second place is occupied by The LEGO Movie Video game, from TT Games and Warner Bros. Interactive, a title that was forced to relinquish its hold on the top position, which was largely based on the good performance of the film with which it is associated.
The last position on the podium belongs to FIFA 14, the football simulation title from EA Sports, which has also dropped a position but continues to sell well, according to data from UKIE.
The Ultimate Team mode for the title was recently affected by a number of connectivity issues and by problems linked to the transfer lists and targets, which the development team is trying to eliminate.
Another new entry, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, is in fourth place, allowing gamers to engage in team-based multiplayer action that many see as a worthy successor to the mode that BioWare created for the final entry in the Mass Effect series.
Call of Duty: Ghosts, the shooter from Infinity Ward and Activsion, is in fifth place for the week that ended on March 1, losing two places when compared to the previously tracked period.
It is followed by its big rival, Battlefield 4, from DICE and Electronic Arts.
Seventh place belongs to LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, another title published by Warner Bros., which in itself is followed by Minecraft on the Xbox 360, the biggest indie hit for the platform.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is in ninth place and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, the final new entry of the week, closes down the United Kingdom top ten.