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A masterpiece of the genre

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: April 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Thief 3: Deadly Shadows does for the stealth-action genre what Doom did for first-person shooters. Intuitive, beautiful, immersive, and generally enjoyable, "Thief 3" is a tribute to its predecessors.

"Thief: The Dark Project" was one of the most unique games of its time. It was a first person shooter, but it differed in that the player spent most of their time avoiding frontal combat rather than just running in to a fray. You kept to the shadows, walked quietly, and ran when needed. You took out your enemies with one fell swoop so as not to attract attention. And you pillaged the crap out of everyone you met. These aspects set it apart from every other game, and now with the third installment of the series, "Thief" is back and better than ever.

The graphics are some of the most impressive I've ever seen; there's more detail and texture than 'Halo' or any of the other highlight XBox titles, and a huge deal of atmosphere to boot. Unfortunately, due to this incredible graphical detail, the framerate suffers, though the game never lags; things just seem less fluid throughout. Especially considering the demand for detailed lighting effects in a stealth-action game, graphics do not disappoint.

Gameplay couldn't be any more fun. Dozens of vast, enchanting areas to explore, including iron-age workshops, ghost-ships, shanty towns, and castles upon castles upon castles. Go anywhere, take anything that isn't nailed to the floor. The world is truly your oyster, and there is no one way to go about completing each objective.

Storyline is interesting (though not exactly gripping); you play Garret, most elusive and talented thief in the known world. Tired of saving the world from the forces of darkness, Garret just wants to hunker down and make his living off of the riches of others like every other thief in town. But alas, a thief's work is never done. Called upon by an arcane group of watchers known as 'The Keepers,' Garret is assigned to the burglary of numerous figures of high-power in the metaphysical community. Of course, during these missions, you're given liberty to take anything shiny and sellable that you find. You get to use all kinds of fun gadgets; lock-picks, wall-climbing gloves, arrows of all shapes and sizes, and of course, your trusty dagger, the thief's weapon-of-choice.

The game is fairly long. I've clocked at least 20 hours thus far, and I don't feel even half-through. This means that it is both lastingly enjoyable and, quite likely, replayable.

The only drawback that comes to mind is the lack of multiplayer capability. A co-op mode would be immensely entertaining (partners in crime), or even an 'Out-Stealing' match against an opponent or two; in Thief 2, there was no shortage of rival thieves lurking in the shadows, waiting to profit off of your work. However, in such an immersive and detailed game, the lack of multiplayer capability is very forgivable.

Great game, challenging, entertaining, immersive, and gratifying. A true masterpiece of the genre.

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