Computer Gaming World: Thief: Deadly Shadows

Like a blackjack upside the head, we were initially knocked out by Thief: Deadly Shadows. It eased the pain that was Deus Ex: Invisible War. While Thief shares a game engine, stealth gameplay, and similar A.I. routines with Deus Ex, Ion Storm’s medieval outing stole away our attention. The only downside: This game also shares the curse of being rushed out the castle door.

Third-story man

Garrett’s the hero’s name, and thieving’s his game. With his subtle manipulation of shadows, ability to move quietly, and quiver full of magical elemental arrows, this medieval klepto could make his way through Fort Knox without breaking a sweat. His former clan, the Keepers, has discovered that Garrett lies at the center of a great unfolding prophecy. Garrett must choose his alliances carefully as he unearths the game’s increasingly treacherous plot.

The story starts out at a snail’s pace, but once it finally picks up, it’ll drive you on to the finish. It helps that this surreal medieval city is fleshed out through little injections of detail. For instance, inside various books lying about, you might find excerpts from Hammerite literature, a religion seemingly founded entirely upon hammering people to death. Hammer time!

The Hammerites are rivals of another cult, the Pagans. Deeper into the game, you can increase your standing with a cult by doing simple favors for it. With allied standing, these acolytes are more likely to give you a friendly hello than beat you dead when you venture into their territories within the central city.

A central hub city strings together all the different levels of the game. You’ll have to work your way around this rather large burg to find your next heist to pull. Annoyingly, load screens separate each of the major parts of the city, but while you wander around, you can pickpocket the random NPCs milling about.

Shadow play

Perhaps the greatest new design kick is the third-person viewpoint. Being able to see Garrett and the shadows he crawls through makes stealth easier; it also helps that the visuals are anchored by amazing lights and shadows. Details such as automatically switching to first person when you’ve drawn your bow maintain the immersion into character. Thief works so well in third-person mode that it makes you wonder why it wasn’t offered earlier. First-person mode is still there for diehards.

From either perspective, the game is thick with tension, as the faint and not-so-faint sounds of enemies can be heard every inch of the way. “What’s that?” a guard will wonder. “I heard something.” While it might sound hokey, these “shout-outs” pull you into the game. Deeper in, enemies become increasingly complex and interesting, and their audio cues follow suit. For example, zombies eerily grunt out sounds instead of speaking. Then there are enemies who just come right out and kill other enemies, adding another layer of creepy believability.

Tools of the trade

Garrett has an arsenal of varied weapons to keep himself hidden from his enemies. A water arrow can douse a torch or dissipate blood. A noisemaker arrow can distract a guard just long enough for Garrett to sneak past. But other than the arrows and enemy-stunning flashbombs, Garrett’s tools don’t seem as useful as they should be. For instance, take the climbing gloves. These gloves are poor replacements for the trick rope arrows from Thief II. The gloves won’t let you climb from rooftop to rooftop—arbitrary invisible barriers impede your progress. Too often you might overthink and try to find some meticulous route via climbing when really, the solution is just to turn left at the door.

Why didn’t Ion Storm create truly useful tools to reimagine the gameplay and level design? Are there tools that let you go back to previously burgled sections to reach some hidden area through a crazy new trick? Nope. Instead, you get practice locks to put in your apartment. Whoopee.

Early parole

This lack of innovation smacks of “not quite finished”—just like the cinematics. Most are beautifully done with a rich illustration style. And then there are some extremely out-of-place, low-detail ones. Last-minute filler? That’s what I’m betting.

Sad, yes, but not as glaring a problem as a bug that resets the difficulty level of the game after saving. Most players probably won’t even catch on to the problem, but fans who want a true challenge have to download the patch. Compared with network malfunctions and game-crashing bugs, the lack of a truly hard "difficult" setting is a lesser evil, but one that should have been hammered out before release nonetheless.

If there’s one last problem to cite, it’s how repetitive the game can be. Most of the game follows the hide-and-go-thief pattern. Despite the large arsenal, you will find yourself using just a few items. Then again, stealth is also the best part of the game. Lurking in the shadows, waiting as the enemy passes you by—it’s during these quiet moments that the game glows.

Verdict: Thou shalt steal, for it is good.

PUBLISHER: Eidos DEVELOPER: Ion Storm GENRE: Stealth-Action ESRB RATING: M REQUIRED: Pentium 4 1.5 GHz, 256MB RAM, Pixel Shader 1.1 videocard, 3GB install RECOMMENDED: Pentium 4 3GHz, 512MB RAM MULTIPLAYER: None