I have played many games in my day, and I have to say that unfortunately many of them lack a certain feel, or overall style for me to really appreciate, and reccomend to friends, but Thief: deadly shadows is without a doubt one of the best games that I've played this past 2004. Thief 3 has impressive graphics; the bump-mapping used in the environments is definately put to a very good use, seeing as this game specializes in lighting. The character models are done very well. Even after having played Doom 3, I was really impressed at how detailed, and nicely shaded all the charaters are (especially Garrett), and how well, and different the characters look in all sorts of other lights. I should mention that I think that the game offers a unique style for it's environment, which I find dark, and yet colorful, and full of personality, and really very charming in its own way. I particulary enjoy the action in the game in the way that one has the option to creep around and be a "sneaksie thievsie". Garrett can either go from behind and knock out or kill the enemy, he can use all sorts of different items to distract angry guards such as the noisemaker arrow, and the flashbomb. I feel like there is nothing that can't be done in this game sometimes; you can put out fires, and torches which can give away your position, you can take out enemies who are far away with your bow,climb up walls to reach hidden places, and even make grass grow on the ground with your moss arrows so that you won't make any noises while running across certain surfaces. These things really may not sound very impressive, but they will be once you see how many ways you can change your situation, and test your creative crime skills at the same time using some of Thief's nice little goodies. You can find so many different ways to get past enemies, steal valuable items, and even re-play old missions with more challenging modes, that I never really got sick of any part of the game (even the really annoying parts). Sometimes I find myself playing, and I feel that the action never ends, but unfortunately it felt like the game ended a little too soon, even though the whole thing really must have lasted me about 25 hours. In the end I felt like the game did not truly amount to it's full potential, even though things got pretty crazy since thedays that Garrett was killing a few scattered guards, and stealing nice shiny, valuble goodies from the corrupt for quick cash. Thief deadly shadows in addition to being a genius with lighting, it can do good thing for sound effects. Even though there is rarely any real music per say, there are alway creepy, or suspenseful sounds playing in the backround like a kind of white noise, which to my surprise, really do enhance the Thief 3 experience. Without giving anything away, there is one mission in the game which is made creepy, and pretty tense much because of those little sounds. Thief deadly shadows has good voice acting and an impressive style in its cut-scenes; sometimes cut-scenes are done in a lowsy, kind of grainy kind of CG movie graphics, which actually look worse than the in-game graphics, but really don't get in the way of enjoying the scene. Other cut-scenes are done in a very cool, memorable way which is really hard to describe, but looks a little like something out of an old children's fairytale book that can move and is darker, more detailed, and all grown up. There are two societies which later in the game can either become allies or bitter enemies; they are: A: the hammerites (Guys that look like normal guards wearing red, and carry HUGE hammers with them. They speak in old english, and worship the builder god. Imagine a work-aholic weldor mixed with a 1800's puritan, and a soldier. B: The Pagans: These are cave/forest dwelling tattooed people who use black magic to grow plants, and cast spells on people. They look and talk just like Golem, and affectinately call Garrett such names as "Manfool," "Stupid City-head," and my favorite, "Sneaksie Thievsie". Both of these groups will ask favors of you to improve your factions with them so that they will give you access to their bases in the city, and so that they will stop attacking you every time they see you. At first, this game didn't really appeal to me, but I was bored, so I decided to try the demo... I got hooked. I think that games like this only come around once every few years; the lighting, the addictive gameplay, and the cool atmosphere are some of the things that come together to really make this game a unique, fun, and memorable experience! So if you're a gamer, and heve ever played Sly Cooper, Metal Gear Solid, or even Soul Reaver, or maybe just if the game appeals to you somehow, try it out. This game really has the power to grow on you.
The stealth genre wasn't much before Looking Glass came along and redefined it with it's seminal game Thief: The Dark Project, a game that is considered among the best ever made. Its sequel, The Metal Age brought a bit m... Read Full Review
Thief III represents stealth, cunning, action and a great story in a surreal medieval world. The actual goal of the game is not to run around like a headless chicken, but to be a slithering shadow against the wall. And t... Read Full Review
