Thief: Deadly Shadows steals away to stores

As expected, Eidos announced today that Thief: Deadly Shadows has shipped out to stores. The Ion Storm-developed title is rated "M" for mature and retails for $39.99 for the PC version. Priced at $49.99, the Xbox version marks the first time any Thief title has been released on a console.

Thief: Deadly Shadows is the third installment in the genre-founding stealth-action series, which began back in 1998 with Thief: The Dark Project. Garrett, the titular burglar and antihero, makes his return in Deadly Shadows, in which he must again ply his felonious trade to stave off a sinister conspiracy.

As in earlier Thief titles, Deadly Shadows' gameplay will center on using Garrett's stealthy abilities to avoid detection. Players will have an array of options ranging from straight-up sneaking by guards to incapacitating them with an arsenal of weapons.

Even though it will employ an optional third-person perspective--a first for the series--Thief: Deadly Shadows will use a reworked version of the Havok-enhanced engine from Deus Ex: Invisible War, another Ion Storm title. It will also feature Invisible War's state-of-the-art lighting and graphics effects, as well as a souped-up sound propagation system.

For more on Thief: Deadly Shadows, sneak a peek at GameSpot's full review.