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Thief: Deadly Shadows

Like a late schoolboy, Sam's review creeps from the shadows...

I don't know why they bother sometimes these PR people. I mean, what's the point of sending out a copy of a game for review a good three months after it has hit the shelves (or was it sat under your desk? Ahem - Ed). Just about everyone who was going to buy the game already has, except for a few stragglers. I suppose this review may come in handy for those folk, but otherwise it's a case of horses, stable doors and bolting. But I shouldn't really complain, as I get a free game to waste some time with. Even better when it turns out to be rather good, as Thief: Deadly Shadows has done.

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  • Publisher:

    Eidos

    Developer:

    Ion Storm

    Release Date:

    11 June 2004

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Anyone with a knowledge of games will know that this is really Thief 3, but as it has been developed for the Xbox and its supposedly ignorant user base the marketing people have decided that this instalment needs a new naming convention. They did the same with Deus Ex, another sequel to a well-loved game that lost its rightful number in favour of a convoluted subtitle, complete with the now obligatory colon. The developers of both titles, Ion Storm Austin, came under a lot of flack for the concessions made to make Dues Ex: Invisible War work on the console. These criticisms seem to have both stung the team while having a positive effect. For the changes made to the Thief template are minor in comparison to the deep perversions that made the sequel to Deus Ex barely recognisable as the progeny of the original.

The joint PC/Xbox development process is still readily apparent in T:DS. For example, the menu screens are ugly in their simplicity, and the size of text in these screens and throughout the game belies the need for large writing for the television screen. The control system manages to translate very well to the PC keyboard/mouse set-up, far better then the fudge that was DE:IW. It's almost as if the controls were initially designed for a PC. Navigating through your weapons is done in the normal way; it's in using your inventory items that the console rears its head. You have to select the item using its correct hotkey, and then press the 'i' key to use that item. While this is a cumbersome way of doing things, especially when you desperately need to take a quick hit from a health potion, it doesn't aggravate too badly. I also noticed that the engine seems to have a built-in inability to register tiny movements. This is only noticeable when you try to make a small adjustment to your view, as the camera will lurch in the desired direction rather than smoothly track. Initially I found this very off-putting as it really jerks the player out of the sense of immersion that, as I played more of the game, I discovered was one of T:DS's greatest assets.

For this third instalment of the series you reprise your role as Garret, master thief and stealthy adventurer extraordinaire. Starting off with a simple yet informative and well-structured tutorial mission the story of T:DS is gradually introduced. It seems that Garret is mentioned in the prophecy of a shadowy, secret organisation. Not only mentioned but apparently he is the chosen one. So in between the usual thieving missions Garret is called upon by this group to carry out more specialised, risky assignments. The plot is exposed in a variety of ways, from appealingly stylised cut-scenes to scraps of conversation overheard by the master thief while out on a mission of acquisition. I found myself becoming engaged in the story, and even managed to recall the names of a few of the protagonists, an unusual thing to happen in a game where the hardest part can often be trying to keep the players and locations of the story in some semblance of order within your brain.

Graphically T:DS is quite the eye-pleaser. Considering it is using the ageing Unreal engine the rendering of Garret's world is impressive. Obviously the lighting is the most important factor and generally speaking it is very good. I did encounter the occasional ugly texture and in too many environments the shadows were broken, replacing consistent dark zones with flickering black polygons. The textures are also very low res, which is understandable for the Xbox but the lack of upgrading for the PC release smacks of laziness. The dynamic light-sourcing is atmospheric and an integral part of the gameplay. Candles can be snuffed out with a pinch of the right mouse button, burning torches extinguished with a properly aimed water-arrow. Take out a light source and Garret has an extended zone of dark comfort from which to sneak his way to success. The gameworld is full of character, with lots of objects to pick up and throw, as well as plenty of valuable objects that Garret can appropriate for himself. This loot is often indicated with a pulsing glow, although there are plenty of less obvious objects in each level that Garret will have to nick to get a 100% loot rating.

The character models are very good, displaying lots of individuality and a high level of detail. And while the animations themselves are good, the models do have an unfortunate tendency to skate over the ground. Getting garret to clamber up walls and over obstacles is often a very fiddly affair unless you drop out into the new third person perspective. However, even when given the chance to view Garret from behind getting around some of the more gymnastically demanding levels of the game can be a right pain. Clipping, however, is not a problem with this game, so dumping the lifeless body of an ex-guard into an alcove will not insult the player with any limbs poking through solid granite. Of course, there is the issue of everything being in the same dark hues and tones but that is going to be pretty hard to change in a game based on sneaking around in the dark. And after playing Doom 3, I don't think that the dark bits in the scenery, the shadows and gloom, are dark enough. Even when the light meter is registering zero you can still make everything out around you. Which makes the inability of a guard to detect your presence even though he is mere inches away from you unbelievable, to the point of spoiling the immersion.

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