 Explore the City, 2004-08-18
Each time I movve through the City I find new things. Also, you can move through the levels along different paths each time that you play the game. And, you can change the order in which you play.
Thief 3 has an amazing complexity.
Fans of old will be at home. New players will be pleased., 2004-08-16
Everything I liked about the original Thief game is here again for me to love all over. Sneaking and the general feelings of control are just like the original. I could basically sum this game up by saying that it plays and feels like the original, but looks like Deus Ex: Invisible War, but I think Thief: Deadly Shadows deserves a more thorough review.
The graphics, while not he best and very dark, did several things while I played. They set the mood, first of all, and very well. Everything looked dark, and medieval. They had me gawking is awe at some of the areas because I loved the textures a lot. They were VERY important to gameplay because it is up to you to find the dark areas behind pillars or in other shadows to hide from pretty much everyone as you go about your stealthy gaming.
The sound is give and take. I say that because the surround sound is well done and they use sound as a major part in the gameplay. Guards and enemies hear you moving around or knocking into things. The voice acting was, in my opinion, pretty good. They brought some of the favorite actors back to play the guards, Garret, and others. Nice touch. The downside to the general sounds comes when you throw or drop objects. They just don't clank around like they used to and in some cases can sound almost muffled even when you are right on top of an item that you drop on the floor. In the original, I would cringe when I dropped a little pot or vase because of the ceramic "ker-CLATTER" that sounded from the object hitting the floor. This is minor and most everything like ambient sounds or voices sound quite nice and immersive. City streets can be sometimes busy and you can hear people chattering. The effect is subtle, but it draws you in. I have to say that the noisemaker arrows get the job done though!
There isn't really too much music as much as there is just a general ambience about the game. This is a good thing. Think of what Doom3 did with their music. There is none. They just have an ambience that draws you in from the absolute silence to the game without the rock soundtrack. Well done.
The general gameplay is oh-so-sweet. Without question, if you were a fan of the original, there is no possible way you will be disappointed. It just feels the same and that is exactly what I hoped for. Moving around, sneaking, the whole bit is spot on. Nothing feels wrong or "off". It's not just like the original, though. They added plenty to do. You have some nice new tools to use at your thieving disposal. You have most of the old items, plus some very cool ones. Some are mostly useless, but hilarious to use (see flasks of oil). Patrolling guards and other people that you might be wise to hide from will notice things when you open or close doors, put out torches or candles, take items from their general area, make noise, or show yourself. The reactions on these people vary and there is tons of spoken dialog that is all unique for each area so listening to the speech in the game never gets old. They will talk to or even fight each other sometimes. It adds to the fun either way.
If things get hot, the AI will retreat when fighting you and losing, run and get reinforcements, and search for you. Unfortunately (or not) they generally have short attention spans and will give up if they cant find you after a while and just go back to their routine of walking around complaining about their sore feet, or wages, or late dinner. Some enemies can wield magic and will use magic to enhance their allies in different ways or use it to blast you. I have even been healed and hastened by a friendly Hammerite priest when we where fighting some zombies. (I stole his wand later, shhhh)
I really hope they make another sequel as grand.
3 of 3 customers found the following review helpful:
 Exciting Stealth Gameplay, 2004-08-02
Thief: Deadly Shadows follows the presigious Thief storyline, as you portray an amoral thief by the name of Garrett. As for the actual storyline though - it is a cliche of many RPGs. (Don't worry - no spoiler here.) As you're playing the game, you aren't thinking about the story whatsoever. Fortunately - TDS needs no storyline to be a successful game. TDS has the most immersive stealth gameplay I've experienced. The environments are detailed and interactive, and the audio experience is breathtaking. The game has wonderful voice-acting and ambient sound is placed in the correct places. The graphics engine is a modified version of the Deus Ex 2 engine - but there is very little difference. Environments are dark and dreary - but it is appropriate due to TDS' place in time. Character models are also good, and the shadowing/lighting effects are even better than they were in Deus Ex. Although TDS has good gameplay - it can boor you. Combat rarely exceeds a simple knock to the back of the head with a blackjack, and when one does enter hand to hand, balls to the walls combat- a fight cannot be won without losing most of your health. Sometimes, missions seem to be more out of necessity than pleasure. Some missions can be more boring than fun...but I suppose being a Thief is no glory job. TDS is only for die-hard stealth fans. Just because you enjoyed Splinter Cell, doesn't mean you will like TDS. For die-hard Thief fans, this is a must buy. For those who enjoy stealth games with brief spurts of violence though...invest in Pandora Tomorrow.
6 of 6 customers found the following review helpful:
everything i had expected, 2004-07-16
recently finished this (with a months vacation during the game). normally, i wait to to see reviews before i buy a new game (deus ex 2), but i liked thief 1 & 2 so much that i rushed right out and bought this right after it came out ON TIME! and then worked at it steadily on expert until finished. my 2 year old hp had no trouble dealing with this game. there are aspects of thief 3 that are both better and worse than the prior two.the visuals are outstanding, with details, shading, shadows, etc much better than before. i suspect that this is one reason why these small levels took so long to load, but its worth the wait. the realism is remarkable. the story presented finally pulls together what had been happening in the first two, which was never clear to me, (the Balance, that is). some of the levels were remarkably atmospheric and "immersive", such as the seaside mansion, the museum, and the cradle. Most of the time between missions, one runs around town doing errands, avoiding the watch, breaking into houses and shops, and robbing people. health is still rare, so you cant take a lot of hits like in half-life and then heal up. if you get caught, youre dead, or nearly so; many reloads are required. this game is a strong sequel in the thief series a few new angles. no rope arrows. these are fun, but not really missed. the climbing gloves supplied are used rarely, once to enter a level, and a few times to get weapons or special loot (the equivalent of secrets). no swimming, but this is ok, because the only good swimming in a video game, imho, was in tombraider. buying loot from stores with stolen money is new, but i had about 50,000 dollars left over and a full arsenal. there was little to spend money on, as most items could be found. I was cheated by a merchant near the end who sold ersatz loot and a map, but the game would not let me go back and kill her. the only thing really necessary to buy is climbing gloves. faction status is new. you can improve vour status with hammers and pagans by doing them favors, which results in their leaving you alone when you enter their areas of influence (very helpful). what this implies is you cannot molest any ot their members, or you lose standing. this, in turn, means you must do missions involving these groups with no knockouts (of note, "killing time"). on the downside, there is only one truly spooky mission. there were several in thief 1, which makes that, for me, the scariest game ever. the hammer haunts in thief 3 are not as malignant as previously, and there are no spiders. the ai doesnt seem as smart as previously. the bad guys are much easier to sneak up on and knock out than before. i think they could get rid of those dead bodies that flopped for 5 minutes after you dropped them and use the computing power freed up for the ai. anyway, the slablike rigor mortis bodies of prior thiefs and deus ex may not look as good but they work well and there is no obnoxious uh-uh when you have to hide them in a hurry. all zombies in the cradle except one could be easily and repeatedly avoided, which detracted from the fear factor of that mission (which is reminiscent of "return to the cathedral"). actually, i think the gameplay of thief three was easier, too. Thief 2 had many very difficult secrets, and some of the objectives in thief 1 were much harder. did you find the serpentyle torc? the watchmans grave? or get to the heart and soul in "bonehoard"? also, i miss monster levels like "life of the party" (my favorite), "soulforge", "shipping and receiving", and "lost city". all in all, thief #3 is strong work, with great story, attractive visuals, superb atmosphere, and engaging gameplay. my "complaints" amount to modifications id like to see when i buy thief 4. (make it for mac!)
4 of 13 customers found the following review helpful:
 Awesome graphics...but boooring...get Splinter Cell instead!, 2004-07-15
I love the simplicity of skulking around in the dark during medieval times. I like having a bow to fight with. Beyond that, this game is just too repetitive.
You get new missions and all you can do is sneak, find loot by stealing it or picking locks on wooden chests, achieve the required goals, then get a new mission that has you doing the same crap all over again! I MEAN HOW MANY CHESTS CAN YOU PICK OPEN BEFORE YOU GET BORED TO TEARS??? The weapons perform poorly too! I aim perfectly for the heart, shoot a guy with 3 arrows close up and he still kicks my butt! Then I can shoot another guy in the leg and he dies instantly! LAME!!!!!The concept is fun, it just lacks something to make you want to continue playing the next repetitive levels. The voice acting is pretty lame too. I would go so far as to call it banal. I am glad the developers stepped away from aliens and nazis. I swear if I have to kill one more darn Super-Armored Alien Nazi Storm Trooper with twin machine guns for hands I will scream! I don't want to imply that you should not play this game. It does have it's moments. I would recommend you wait until this game costs around $15. If you want a true sneak and loot challenge..go for Splinter Cell. The character has many more abilities and the game is actually entertaining.
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