Sony is a company with a checkered history of controller innovation. Sure they hit a sweet spot with the basic original PS1 controller which just felt right in your hands, but the biggest tech additions to that model (analog sticks and vibration) were lifted from the successful innovations of the N64. Even then they were so unsure regarding the whole “Analog” thing, that the original model of that controller had a button that allowed you to disable it, and the first game to require the sticks didn’t come to the PS1 until 1999.

Also, as the SixAxis proved, when it comes to home brewed innovations the folks at Sony lag behind. It would seem they are really vested in changing that image with the PS4 controller, which may maintain the timeless structure of the Dual Shock model, but introduces a miniature touch area, a share button of somewhat ambiguous specific functionality, and LED lights on top similar to those on the PS Move.

While the true test of these features won’t really be applicable until developers have had a year or so to play around with it and explore their full benefits, the folks behind “Thief 4” have provided a small preview of what we can expect from this new controller, specifically as it relates to the LED bar which in the case of “Thief” will remain dark when your character is hidden, and light gradually as you become more and more exposed. They’ve also noted that the touchpad will be used for enhanced menu navigation, and the more accurate motion sensors allow them to incorporate bow aiming mechanics into it, as well as a motion controlled dash option.

They also spoke of incorporating a mechanic that would allow you to blow onto a controller to blow out candles, but that it might be removed if it is “too gimmicky.”

Granted this isn’t game changing stuff, but it does remind me of the first time I played “Tiger Woods” on the PS2, and noticed how the enhanced graphics actually allowed me to better read the course at a glance, thus improving the gameplay through a cosmetic upgrade. It’s a little touch to be sure, but its an interesting first step towards what appears to be a new day for Sony controller integration and innovation.

As much fun as I had with “Dishonored,” the whole time I was playing it I found myself craving the classic stealth series “Thief.” Far from a knock, it’s a credit to “Dishonored” that it borrowed from a franchise that not enough have, as the “Thief” games, and their open approach to the stealth genre all set in a well fleshed out, and stylistically diverse world, are some of the most satisfyingly creative in all of video games.

Unfortunately since the release of 2004’s “Thief: Deadly Shadows,” the series has gone quiet, and except for a vague announcement around 2009 of a sequel, only rumblings of “Thief 4” have existed, as news of a new “Thief” installment has been somewhat appropriately elusive.

Now though, updates to the Linkedin profiles of a game developer and artist reveal recent work on an “Unannounced” and “really cool” project at Eidos Montreal. Outside of some work on the upcoming “Tomb Raider,” there are very few possible titles Eidos Montreal could be working on, and though “Thief 4” has had loose reveals before, and may not technically be classified as unannounced, considering that the logo for the game has been even floating on the Eidos Montreal website for some time without updates, the odds are still strongly in “Thief’s” favor that this pertains to real work finally being done on the dormant series.

This may just be a reach formed from desperate hope for a new “Thief” game causing people to see things that aren’t there, but gaming can always use another great stealth title, and if the revival of the “Thief” franchise can be handled with the same care seen in “Deus Ex: Human Revolution,” and make full use of the advancements since “Deadly Shadows,” then maybe the wait will have been worth it.