They Stole a Million is a strategy computer game released by Ariolasoft in 1986. The objective of the game is to plan robberies and execute the crime. The player first purchases blueprints of the house where the soon-to-be-stolen object is kept. Then several specialists can be hired which disable alarms, open locks or drive the getaway car.

They Stole a Million
Developer(s)Tigress Marketing
Publisher(s)39 Steps
Composer(s)Ben Daglish
Platform(s)Amstrad CPC
Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum
Release
Genre(s)Strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

The planning stage allows the player to set waypoints, actions, and the times at which the actions should take place. For example, the alarm specialist needs two minutes to disable the alarm for a certain display. After two minutes, the lock picking master opens the display and takes the loot.

Gameplay

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Development

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Reception

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They Stole a Million received generally positive reception from video game critics. It received a Your Sinclair Megagame award.[4]

Legacy

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A remake based on the IP was created under the name Der Clou!(The Clue!),[5] followed by a sequel, The Sting!, from the developer's house that was known at the time as Neo Software.[citation needed] They would go on to be assimilated into the Rockstar Games umbrella of developers. [citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Action Test". Amstrad Action. No. 16. January 1987. pp. 86–87.
  2. ^ Gillbert, John (January 1987). "Arcade Review". Sinclair User. No. 58. p. 59.
  3. ^ "Zzap! Test". Zzap!64. February 1987. pp. 116–117.
  4. ^ Your Sinclair magazine, Reviews section, issue 13, page 80
  5. ^ "Clou! Open Source Project". 26 November 2019.
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