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Thief: Deadly Shadows Preview
Chris Leyton
04/06/2004
Starting off our Thief Week comes a sneaky look at the title ahead of its release next week...
Whilst many see Solid Snakeās arrival on the PSOne back in 1998 as the defining moment in the stealth genre, PC fans would certainly have testament to claim that a title released in the same year starring a rogue thief known as Garrett was in fact the true moment of that genre.
Despite becoming a hit and spawning an equally impressive sequel in Thief 2: the Metal Age, the developer behind the series, Looking Glass Studios, fell upon tough times and the subsequent closure of the studio left fans reeling at the concept of an unfinished trilogy.
At the time Randy Smith, a lead designer on the first two titles, was quoted as saying that the chances of seeing a Thief 3 were extremely slim; however thankfully the union of Smith at Warren Spectorās Ion Storm Studios and the belief in the franchise from Eidos gave the project the go-ahead ā“ and thus we have the final instalment in the franchise.
Scheduled for a European release next week on both Xbox and PC, TVG has teamed up with Eidos to bring you the āThief Weekā next week in which weāll bring you articles from the developers themselves and the chance to blag yourself a free copy.
Thief: Deadly Shadows marks the return of Garrett and from what weāve seen thus far, fans will have a lot to shout about, whilst newcomers to the series will likely revel in quite possibly a landmark moment in the stealth genre.
Whilst games such as the legendary Metal Gear Solid series from Konami and more recently Splinter Cell from Ubisoft lay claim to being stealth titles, the truth is that none of these can hold a candle to the delights of Thief. Thief: Deadly Shadows places paramount importance on being sneaky, youāll rarely have the chance to whip out your most powerful weapon when itās all gone wrong; instead itās all about lurking in the shadows, creating diversion tactics and just being as sneaky as possible. Garrett is a man who prides himself on stealing from the wealthy to give to himself, making his living in the dark and foreboding city.
Thief: Deadly Shadows tells the story of an impending Dark Age, and in his efforts to prevent this, Garrett inadvertently rouses an ancient evil; without allies, Garrett finds himself standing alone between the city and the forces that would crush it.
Revolving around a wide range of mission objectives Thief: Deadly Shadows sees you embarking on such quests as breaking and entering into heavily guarded locations, stealing, sabotage, espionage, assassinations and setting up ambushes, to give you a brief taste of what to expect.
The third title introduces a new third-person viewpoint to the traditional first-person, and from what weāve seen thus far it has to represent one of the most impressive weāve yet to see. The combination of camera and player control is swift, responsive and rarely throws any problems into the gaming experience; you can effortlessly turn on the spot, and have complete control without any frustrations ā“ essential for the precise movements needed to be a thief in the same vein as Garrett. Switching between both first and third perspectives grants the game a level of strategy, whilst itās nice to actually be able to see your entire body from the first-person view and make use of Garrettās mechanical eye ā“ granting basic but essential nightvision and telescopic abilities.
Naturally Garrett has a number of tools at his disposal to aid his quest, although you wonāt find any radars or sub machine guns here. Instead Garrett must make use of his trusty bow, granting such techniques as Water Arrows to knock out the flames, Moss Arrows to cover up your footsteps and the popular NoiseMaker Arrows to create a diversion. In addition Garret can make use of a blackjack and dagger when the situation requires an immediate result, whilst FlashBombs and Oil Slicks allow you to completely baffle the opponent ā“ watching an enemy guard slip over a balcony after dancing on the oil is just a sight to see, whilst youāre also free to set it alight to create a barrier for yourself.
Ion Storm have gone to great lengths to create a believable world for you to explore, so much comes from the enemy AI and the 100+ hours of voices that have been recorded. Guards patrol with a great sensation of vision and awareness for sound, whilst when theyāre suspicion is aroused youāll witness them tracking evidence, searching for you and evoking the help of their fellow guards to track you down. Quite simply the cat-and-mouse dynamic at work is the best weāve seen in a game so far, properly realised and creating an experience that really hasnāt been offered in the genre beforehand. The voicework not only adds a layer of polish to the overall experience, but becomes a crucial component to the gameplay as you listen out for key information.
Using a customised version of the Unreal engine that also powered Ion Stormās Deus Ex: Invisible War, it has to be said that Thief: Deadly Shadows looks even more impressive. Once again itās the lighting and shadows that create a highly believable world, however the level of detail featured in both the environment and characters is impressive, particularly the fact that all characters are fully animated right down to authentic lip-synching.
