The sound of a heavy oak door straining old rusty hinges it rests upon echoes around a large cold room as it tentatively opens. A seemingly loud clunk which makes a final statement as the door closes can be heard followed by a relative silence. The impact of wood and metal creates a small amount of dust which floats off the top of the door and cascades to the floor below. The room is musty as stale air and moisture cling to the hardened stone walls like a gecko. A torch flickers on a nearby wall casting light across the right side of the room. Its dancing shadows weave and move across the entire room as they join the darkness in the recesses. At the far end of the room is a large window with an ornate design forming an arch.. There are chairs scattered around a large table and several archways that lead to other areas of the building on the far wall. A doorway which has a large lock embedded into it can be seen towards the far left wall illuminated by another torch mounted next to the door. A rat scurries across the floor, pauses, sniffs the air then continues its journey towards the darkness under the table perhaps hoping to find some dropped food. A hooded shadowy figure suddenly comes into view as the light from the torch casts across his back as he crouches and shuffles across the floor towards the far door with the lock. In an instant he is gone, back into the mass of darkness the room holds like a deadly cargo.

The shadowy figure then moves closer towards the door but not yet in the glare of the torch light. His hood becomes slightly visible as he raises his arms to aim what looks like a bow and arrow. As if a momentary gust of wind ploughs through the room the torch is suddenly extinguished. Water can be heard dripping to the floor. The doorway is now hidden in the shroud of darkness that covers the rest of the room. The only remaining light sources are from the dull moonlight piercing through the arched window and the torch by the doorway the figure used to enter the room.

Voices can be heard beyond one of the archways at the far end of the room getting louder as the sound reverberates off the stone walls. Their heavy footsteps getting closer yet remain slow as if the people are walking casually. The hooded man pauses and looks towards the direction of the voices and just like the rat slinks off towards the shelter of the darkest parts of the room. The voices seem to be very close as the hooded man is able to make out what is being said. However the hooded man seems to have other plans on his mind as he crouches in front of the now darkened door. Poised and ready the hooded man turns the handle yet finds that the door is locked. Not fazed he reaches into his pocket revealing a lock pick and begins to twist and poke the lock. Within seconds the door is unlocked, the man obviously being an expert. The hinges creek loudly like a wailing banshee as they have not been oiled it what seems like years. The voices take on a different tone as if alerted, the footsteps stop. The sound of weapons being unsheathed can be heard as two men appear through one of the archways leading into the room. They are dressed in full armour and have their swords drawn. One of them utters “what was that noise”? The other replies “yes I heard something too”. The light from the torch one of them holds eats away at the shadowy darkness. Their eyes peruse the room looking for any movement. With little fear in his voice and displaying a real sense of duty one of the guards announces “I’m going to check over there to be sure that there’s no taffer hiding in the shadows”.

The hooded man still covered in darkness slowly moves into the room which is much smaller than the room he entered from and almost as dark. A solitary candle sits on a table at the back of the room its light too weak to reach where the hooded man hides. The guards can be heard behind him their shadows and torchlight flicker across the floor. Their voices sound eager to find out what made the noise. The hooded man quickly moves towards the table and with hardened fingers snuffs out the candle. The waxy smell permeates the air as the smouldering smoke makes a final ascent to the high ceiling. The man then crouches in the corner of the room behind what appears to be a large chest as one of the guards looks into the room his torch light beaming across every surface. The hooded man holds his breath and remains completely still, his heart beat races, his brow becomes sweaty and his nerves remain of steel. The guard’s eyes look up and down the room then he shouts “Arrrrrgggg there’s nothing here must have been the wind” and then mumbles “ I guess I’ve been a little jumpy since that break in last week” . Finally giving up on their quest the men return through the archway and back to their conversation about a Lady Elizabeth and their captain.

Alone and again at leisure to move around the room the hooded man opens the chest which reveals a glistening ancient battle helm embedded with the finest of jewels. One can only assume that this is his prize, which he swiftly picks up and places into a black cloth sack. A broad smile forms across the mans face as he smugly says “All in a days work for a skilled thief such as myself now I’ve got to get out of here”. In a flash he is gone.

The classic PC series Thief makes its debut on Xbox. Thief Deadly Shadows being the third in the series. Players assume the role of Garret, Master Thief as he delves into the depths of warring factions and the un-dead whilst trying to make a living as an honest criminal in this fantasy medieval setting.

Gameplay:

Thief is a mixture of third person and first person stealth adventure the view point being changeable at any time by the player during the game. Combat is also advised to be kept at a minimal level as other similar games have opted for their stealth heroes to wield heavy firepower, such as assault rifles and rocket launchers. Yet Garret is armed with a bow, arrows and a measly dagger. Garrets foes are usually armed with swords and full armour which means any direct confrontation with even one guard is risky. Players therefore can’t simply run and gun through the game as Garret is a nimble thief rather than a warrior.

Garrets main objectives are to steal stuff from people whether it is passers by on the streets or lords and ladies in a manor house. The freeform nature of the game allow for varied game play styles as players can steal as much as they can or as little as they need. All loot providing cash to buy more equipment which Garret will need throughout the story. The level design is such that there are plenty of places to explore off the beaten track and multiple routes to use. Nothing feels scripted as it does in other stealth games creating an engrossing atmosphere that really does put you there.

Garrets weapons are all very handy and well suited for players who wish to remain passive and those who wish to strike out at the enemies. The bow being a pretty versatile weapon as it fires various arrow types such as water arrows for extinguishing torches or noise maker arrows that are great for causing distractions. Moss arrows are used to cover noisy surfaces or choking opponents and normal arrows for killing enemies from afar. Garret is also equipped with a blackjack for knocking out foes rather than killing them which requires the player to sneak up on an enemy and strike from behind. The dagger uses the same principle except enemies are killed rather than knocked out. The dagger also being used in any head to head confrontation. Other secondary weapons can be used such as gas bombs, flash bombs, oil for creating slippery surfaces. These are very handy if you wish to escape after being caught or great for laying traps. Garret gets to scale stone and brick walls later in the game which adds even more scope for escape or being undetected and perhaps finding hidden items as well.

The enemies themselves are all quite varied as not all of them are human. However they all follow a distinct AI pattern which is of a high standard although a little “glitchy” at times. Enemies become aware at the slightest sound or disturbance, such as a door or object being moved. They will investigate dark corners and sometimes work in a disorganised group to hunt you down. Guards also become alerted to any dead or unconscious bodies left lying around and the pools of blood from a killing. So Garret has to be careful at every step of the way. As a thief it’s probably best to avoid people anyways.

Throughout the game you will come across a few factions who then require you to do their bidding however doing work for one faction annoys another and so Garret gets to perform other tasks to raise his standing with the faction. If a faction is hostile towards Garret then any faction member that sees him will attack on sight. I f the faction is affiliated will ignore him completely making navigating the levels a little easier.

The world of thief is littered with other characters that seem to wander the streets or have their own agendas. Garret is able to pickpocket or mug these people for loot or even important items. However if Garret is caught then they will often attack or call for help which could result in death or jail the latter requiring Garret to mount an escape.

Graphics:

Graphically Thief looks excellent with some cool lighting effects to rival Splinter Cell. Although most of the levels are poorly lit darkened areas the game oozes atmosphere. Sneaking around has never been so much fun as the designers have done a great job in recreating a medieval look for the game. The characters models are a little less detailed but combined with the lighting effects look great, in fact the whole game follows the same pattern as the lighting is what creates the atmosphere rather than the textures used. As with Deus Ex: Invisible war there are some moments where the frame rate drops but rarely if at all hampers the game play seeing as your sneaking around most of the time.

Sound:

Sound is of a very high standard as a lot of well acted voice overs have been used for both Garret and the other lead characters. Although I did laugh at Backstreet Bessie who sounded more like a gangsters moll than anything. Guards have many comments to make depending on the situation they are in and some of the comments are believable yet humorous at the same time. As Garret sneaks in the shadows he will often overhear conversations which can reveal clues to aid him in his quests.

Other sound effects such as footsteps or ambient sounds are spot on and really add to the atmosphere of the game. The music is somewhat minimal but is very fitting to the nature of the game again complementing and adding to the already great atmosphere. Overall I personally think that players should shut the curtains and turn up the volume for the best experience.

Longevity:

Thief is a pretty long game to get through offering 4 modes of difficulty which can be changed at the beginning of each mission. The sheer number of side quests and story based objectives adds up to make a complete package well worth the money you paid. The freeform nature of the game offers plenty of replay value as does improving your score for the levels. This is a game you will want to keep and play regardless of how many times you’ve beaten it.

There are no multiplayer modes available and I say that that’s fine and dandy. Go play Splinter Cell for that. Thief’s single player is enough to keep most stealth fans occupied for a long time especially as you can spend up to several hours sneaking around a level.

Overall:

Thief is a breath of fresh air when it comes to stealth games. All the others with the exception of Tenchu have held your hand through a rather scripted set of scenes. Thief opens up the playing field and allows players to really step into the shoes of the stealthy criminal. Although the game does have its fair share of bugs Thief still remains one of the most highly engrossing entertaining stealth titles around. If you like stealth then I would highly recommend this game. If your more action orientated then I would say rent first as the slow pace of the game may not be to your liking. A great game and one of the best in its genre.