Thief: Deadly Shadows

Our Garrett(Russell, snarky and out for his own neck) is "recruited" by the Keepers, who in addition to being the focus for this, the final entry in the trilogy(which was always the idea), come off planless, powerless and not guides, so, the exact reverse of before. They have him steal(which is almost always your objective in this, where it used to include eavesdropping, following, etc.) a few MacGuffins, he gets to listen in on a prophecy, and for some reason, he, and we, keep at it, even when what he hears, and the plot itself, remains vague. When something more substantial eventually happens, it's far too little, and much too late.

This takes away a lot of the mystery, because we see too much and everyone talks constantly. Literally, the only ones in this who do not are the Undead(!). The bland and/or derivatively designed creatures included. Everyone walks, runs, and more or less master English, if some have bad grammar and such. A lot of variety and flavor is lost this way. Too humanoid, and usually just people, not other beings. Armed with a bow, a sword or a wand, and all moving like, well, like we do. It looks natural, but, well, in some cases it really shouldn't – there are fantastical life-forms at play, why are they so similar to us?

The graphics, technical aspects in general, are solid. They even hold up fine for their age. Certainly, there are things this does just right. The stealth remains you working with light and sound to remain hidden, to distract, and to detect others. Now shadows are dynamic and everything casts them. Open/close a door, a stone-oven, a window, etc. and it will change how much is lit and how, not to mention that it will be discovered if you leave it in its altered state. The physics system allows you to pick up and throw any object you would expect to be able to, and loot items will now glint, at least at a distance, so you don't mistake one for the other, well, as much. Carpet, wood and rock transmit at different volumes from you walking, running or even jumping. You move from one safe space to another, always careful to time it just right and watch your surroundings.

You get equipment… healing potions, flashbombs, explosive mines, etc. Now you don't have to scroll past anything not useful in the immediate situation to get to them. Most of the other things are in the menu, out of sight unless you need to recheck. Backstabbing and Blackjacking(knocking out) are granted a visual cue so you never miss, albeit they also can't happen if the improved AI is suspicious. You can outrun them, and there are things you can throw their way. Oil and holy water causes puddles, the latter specifically for zombies and their ilk. Lure foes into them, and voila! Heck, the former can be set ablaze. Special arrows are useful. Moss to form a small area that is silent to move across, or choke(!) someone, Water to douse flame and wash away blood, and Gas and Fire are self-explanatory.

Time to tackle the elephant in the room. With Looking Glass(R.I.P.) having gone under, Ion Storm took over developing this. They clearly had the best of intentions. The thing is, they were making Deus Ex(before and during this), and that isn't Thief, nor vice versa. This doesn't fully pursue either of those franchises, and ends up in the middle between them… a bland, unmemorable, if not poorly made, affair. A lot is brought to this that belongs to that but not this. Open-world exploration of The City, conversations that exposit and spells things out, and the fact that you can now ally yourself with both, either, or neither of the other major Factions, the nature-like Pagans and the technology-worshipping Hammerites. Not that those traits play into their presence here. They will let you into their bases and fight for you, provided you do a few things for them, and, well, don't hurt or rob them.

The bleak atmosphere is less present, and no one level(now 1/4 of the size they were. Still open, though the small areas are connected by mist that also doesn't carry over conflict, limiting the amount of routes. Also, one of these is a detour to Silent Hill - well done, absolutely, but really doesn't fit) is as captivating as some of the ones of the first two. Locations aren't bad… a church, caves, the gears of a clocktower, etc. Missions have you infiltrate, accomplish, and get safely back out. You don't feel like you're getting anywhere in the story, that what you're doing is important, or that where you are really makes a difference. The four difficulty settings determine the following requirements: The percentage of total loot, the number of unique loot items(0-3) and sometimes conditions, such as no killing non-combatants. It also sets AI perception, damage player takes, amount of enemy units and their combat ability. Challenge for newcomers and veterans alike.

Cutscenes are now in-engine and, again, mainstream. Silhouettes remain, but angles… they're constantly showing faces! A lot of the twisted, surreal, Gothic elements are just about gone. You can still sit down and immediately start playing, but getting skillful at it will take time. FPS controls and the earlier-described organic hiding are all you need to know. Lockpicking is now a prototype for that of Splinter Cell… move around the mouse to look for a "sweet spot", when you've found one, move on to the next. They will automatically be brought out or put away when you start/stop working on a lock.

There is some disturbing, violent, bloody content in this. I recommend it to any fan of sneaking games, provided the change in quality is surmountable to you. Remember: with how incredible the ones before this were, even with this being much less impressive, it can still be quite good. 7/10

Thief III, baby. It's good, fun. But no where near as awesome as the first two Thief games. There are some very well done and spooky parts, like The Cradle abandoned orphanage level. You'd be hard pressed to find a Hollywood horror film out these days that matches the frights of that level.

But in this game you play Garrett the badass thief and join him in his adventures in a place simply known as The City. Overall the game is pretty good, but the ending is weak with a capital EEK! Talk about a lackluster ending, haven't these game makers ever heard of A BIG FINISH? A grand finale? Hanh? Nutballs.

And where the heck is Garrett's sword? Garrett is such a wuss in this game!

I want the dang sword back he had in previous versions of this game!

A mixed bag all in all, worth playing, save for the fact your character is a weakling at times, much like the character in the game Far Cry. It's no fun getting killed so easily. Ciao now, brown cow.

Another one of the best games ever made. The story is deep but not as deep as the previous two games but it is still engaging and exciting. This time it lets you play in third person. It is more fun in first person and it is how the game should be played. This game is mostly involved with the keepers. As the previous games were involved with the pagans and the mechanists. Still as dark as the previous games. This has the second best level in all of the Thief games with is Robbing the Cradle. This also has a great plot twist. This time they introduce free roaming. It is broken up into sections which can get a little annoying. It is a great game.

I started my Thiefing back in the day, with a demo of "Thief: The Dark Project". I tried it a dozen times, I never 'liked' it. In fact it infuriated me. But then, I actually started to pay attention, and once through the training mission I fell in love with Baffords Mansion and the intrigue. Since then I've never looked back. It only slows you down when you're fleeing from guards screaming "Taffer!" in your direction.

Thief3 is, therefore, something of a leap. Thief1+2 were both firmly entrenched in FPSville, and the limitations (and advances) of the game engine. Thief3 goes more towards console gameplay and Splinter Cell. Unfortunately it neither truly achieves a satisfying result despite its good intentions.

You'll get more out of the game if you play it as an FPS (rather than 3rd Person). As an FPS you feel more immersed, rather than simply watching your 'character' move around. It also makes you consider your positioning with regards to shadows, walls, and doorways, you'll find yourself craning your neck to look around corners, utilising the lean buttons and similar. In 3rd Person this immersion is lost as you already have a somewhat superior angle of view (and with the 360 rotation you can achieve the impossible of walking in one direction whilst looking in another with the 'camera'). I made the mistake of playing the game as an FPS and not 'liking' it (the head wobble, the slowness of movement etc) after having played Splinter Cell. So I tried playing it in the 3rdP. I managed 2 chapters and lost interest.

2 years later, in FPS, I'm back into the game, back into the mood and enjoying every second. No it isn't as rounded or fun as the originals, and I don't think you have the same bunny hopping, object stacking, frobbing, and box jamming, freedom as you find in the truly fantastic Thief+Thief2 - but it makes up for it in other ways.

I just miss the mechanical edge of Thief2, and water....oo oo and Taffers! And Bear Pits! Yeah, yeah, I'm going to the Bear Pits tomorrow! And upside down mansions! If you wonder what I mean by the above, get your hands on Thief1 and Thief2.

I really wish those Thief 1 and 2 games would be re-released based on the Thief 3 engine. The light and shadow effects and the really good textures take their toll on the machine's hardware but just think of "Down in the Bonehoard" (3rd mission of Thief 1) with all that graphics galore of Thief 3.

Overall I liked Thief 3 (aka. Deadly Shadows) very much. More of the good old sneaking around, banging a club on opponents' heads from behind and using all that nice little gadgetry that makes a thief's life so much easier when striking from the shadows (water-, moss-, fire-, gas- and broadhead-arrows, gas- and normal mines and -last not least- climbing gloves). There are even levels where flash bombs become REALLY useful for a change.

But there are also some let-downs, especially compared to Thief 1 and 2. The most irritating one is the way the game just reactivated guards and other inhabitants of the town. You clear your path in true thief style just to find the guards on patrol again a few minutes later. Very irritating but well, it keeps the difficulty level up somehow. Also I do not think that the levels are really big. I remember the levels of Thief 1 and 2 being positively vast at times, so vast that I got lost several times in an attempt to find a path to the next section of a level. This feeling of space is something I hardly ever had while playing Thief 3, the only exception being the excellent Shalebridge Cradle level. This level is also by far the creepiest and most difficult level in Thief 3. The cradle experience alone makes Thief 3 a must-play not only for fans of the Thief series. Sadly, all levels save Shalebridge Cradle are in my humble opinion as a Thief veteran just too easy. The annoying exception to this impression are the loot requirements when playing at expert level. You always need 3 out of 3 so-called "special loot items". What a joy it is to have stolen 98% of all loot and still missing one single (damn) special loot item to finally leave the level... Happy searching!

But I also think that the lower level of difficulty will appeal to new Thief players. And after all there is so much eye-candy plus some decent puzzles to solve that I do not think anyone who plays Thief 3 is going to be bored or disappointed. The game really grows on you but unlike the first two Thief games -if you save resources and keep buying equipment- you will soon find yourself armed to the teeth. At least I had to restrain myself sometimes from just creating a bloodbath with the maximum of all types of arrows and mines at my disposal. So if you like what you see in Thief 3 and you want to try the first Thief games, too, be warned - you will encounter strict limitations of resources there. In fact, I would recommend Thief 3 as an entry to the world of stealthy stealing. The real test for master thieves are Thief 1 (The Dark Project), Thief 2 (The Metal Age) and T2X (Shadows of the Metal Age - a fan project of very high quality, a freely available add-on to Thief 2).