Dark Project: Deadly Shadows

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.

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.

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: Deadly Shadows had to be the most fun I've had sneaking around. Fun-wise, I rank it side-by-side with anything from the Splinter Cell series. The graphics are beautiful in some areas, positively stunning in others, and the game play mechanics are extremely solid and very responsive. Even though I've played it on Xbox, I would be hard pressed to decipher this version from the PC. It's that good.

Although with this good, there has to be bad, right?

Loading time - Roughly about 1 minute, give or take a few seconds. 1 minute may not sound like too big of a deal, but when playing, it sure is an immersion killer.

AI? - Sitting back and watching some city folk walk around is like watching an old zombie movie: stiff and clumsy. Sometimes they walk into walls, and continue to walk, regardless of whatever is in their way, even though they're being physically blocked from going any further. Don't get me wrong, because for the most part, the NPC's in the game can be a bit challenging and (at times) insanely aware. I find most of the AI "stupidity" in places you wouldn't normally have objective-based missions.

Sound glitches - I may be the only person to ever experience this, but I'm letting everyone know just in case. One very annoying thing that happens (to me) is sometimes the sound will completely cut out during intense moments. For instance; once an enemy discovers me and draws their weapon to face off, it's like the game can't push all the sound action going on at the time. Given all the right circumstances, it's like somebody pushed the mute button. And sound is definitely a requirement as part of the game play. I have to re-load the entire game for the sound to return.

Visual irregularities - Light has a projected path that does not include seeping through solid walls. In certain areas, while hiding in some nook that's completely void of light, you'll still be able to see illumination on Garrett's body. That is, from the light source that's hanging in the opposing room, across the hallway, that you're not even in. Sounds ridiculous, but oddly enough, the light gem still maintains that you're completely hidden (as it should be). And if you play games a lot, then you're familiar with the term "Blue Hell". The place where graphics go to die. Well, the game gives you the opportunity to explore areas no human has any place being in the first place. Given that, you would think they would put extra effort into those neat quirks to avoid angle-based blue hell while rotating the camera at various degrees. While in one of these areas, the entire environment will simply disappear, and re-appear only when the camera angle is brought back to a certain point. Creepy....

If I like the game so much, why point out and stress the negatives? I point them out because other than those listed above, I can honestly recommend this game with a very high regard. It is, in fact, a system-seller for me. I wasn't generally interested in any game for the Xbox, aside from this one. And I'm glad I took a chance with it.

Understand that this is a STEALTH BASED game, not a shooter. Garrett has no business being involved in combat, unless it's absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt, necessary as a last resort. He is indeed weak, but I wouldn't think that any thief would be a brawler-type. After all, thieves like to be neither seen nor heard, and if they are, then they're in the wrong line of work.

I've started a lot of video games, generally after sitting and watching my husband play them first.. They always look so fun, but once I start playing them, I just get bored.

My husband was playing Thief1 & 2 when they first rolled out.. I started both, but never finished. By the time I got to the 2nd chapter, boredom set in, and I just never got immersed in it. I did however, get immersed into some of the wonderful player made modules made for this wonderfully open sourced game.. there is a whole cultish following out there still making wonderful missions for this game.. but I digress.

Thief 3 was given to my husband for his birthday by a gleeful daughter and myself. He never picked it up.. Never had time to, between blogging and Doom 3, which was a family event at the time. So, about 4 months ago, I decided to give it a go..

By the second location, I was hooked. Completely immersed in the character as FPS. The sounds were fantastic.. The loading times were long but they were also in the first two. I mean, look at the scope of each section.. might take a minute for your computer to get a handle on it. I did the whole faction thing too. That has to be the coolest addition to the game. And I was seriously creeped out by the cradle.. I wound up killing most everyone in the game.. didn't get all the loot, but had a heck of a good time. Ask my husband, who had to endure listening to cut scenes over and over while I reloaded and tried it a different way..

Hehehe.. it is so good, that this girl with the attention span of a ferret, is giving it another go... with the intention of not killing a single person. *sigh* it's already taking longer, but hey.. as a master thief, I should never be seen until I'm at my fence.. as the guard would say as he's re sheathing the sword "must have been the wind"..