I couldn't really follow this article. But looking back at Thief, it was really ahead of its time. I think games nowadays still cannot match up with its stealth gameplay implementation. I would include Deus Ex in this as well. It made a great use of light and allowed the player to affect the light as well as the sounds they made. Really great game.
Don't forget System Shock 1 and 2. It's not a stealth based game, but it's made by the same people by as Thief and even System Shock 2 even uses Thief's engine.
System Shock 2 is still one of the scariest games around.
