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Great AI, great game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: June 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Looking for a challenging game that tests your mind and your reflexes? Thief 3 rewards stealth and strategic thinking with glory and loot!

If you somehow missed the first 2 episodes in the Thief saga, you are ... a thief. You live in a medieval world full of murky inns, cobblestone streets and questionable denizens of the night. You get told of interesting items to steal by your fences, and do your best to acquire them.

In many ways, this compares favorably to splinter cell, albeit of a different era. Your task is to stay hidden in the shadows. You have to pay careful attention to the level of darkness where you stand, and the type of surfaces you walk over, to not draw attention to yourself. You have interesting tools at your disposal - noisemaking arrows to distract, water arrows to put out candles.

The graphics aren't *quite* up to the level of Splinter Cell, but then again, not much is. You still get gorgeous shadows, dust motes twinkling in light streams, textures on floors and walls. The human figures are a bit clunky, but only a bit.

That being said, the cinemtics are exceptional, both graphic and sound-wise. You really get drawn along with the story.

The sounds are nicely done. This isn't a game of jamming rock music - it's a game of stealth. There are ambient noises that warn you of approaching guards, of a dog in the next room, of conversations of nearby people. The soft music, when it comes in, helps to add to the spookiness and tension.

The AI really deserves special praise. The people around you don't just walk a beat that you watch 10 times in a row and then use. They react to situations with intelligence, keep an eye on things they should be guarding, and take proper caution when tracking down a problem. If they catch sight of you, they don't just go for you and give up. Now that they know there's a strange person in the area, they actively hunt for you.

Sure, you can blackjack people if you have to. But the game isn't about violence. It's about avoiding being seen, avoiding being caught.

Highly recommended!

A Masterpiece among many stealth clones

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Most people, I have noted, who have not played this game ALL the way through, usually give this game bad marks. The story here is far superior to anything on the market (yes, Percy, that includes Splinter Cell and Syphon Filter... BOTH of which were released way after the first game in the Thief franchise.
Garrett is easily the most endearing character in this game, and voice actor Stephen Russel absolutely shines as our aloof, embittered mercenary.
The sound is absolutely phenomenal, and one reason ANYONE should play this is because this game contains one of the top three levels EVER MADE in a video game, unfortunately, this level (The Shalebridge Cradle) is near the end, and the impatient and Attention-Defecite Afflicted (Again, like Percy) may be too frustrated by not seeing blood and flying heads to continue that long. This level is a masterpiece, as is the game as a whole. It is the most realistic simulation of what true medieval thievery would be like... but don't expect a huge body count... after all, you're a thief, not Rambo.

All in all, an absolute epic that you will be tempted to play at least twice.

Stealth gaming at it's best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Being a long time Thief fan and having waited four years for this game to be released my expectations were high. The PC requirements for the game were a little too steep for my system so I decided to go with the Xbox version. The initial reviews of the game were positive but critical on many levels. Even though nothing was going to keep me from purchasing the sequel to my favorite game of all time I was very apprehensive. It didn't take long for the game to put my doubts to rest. It is the same exact Thief I remember and love with much improved graphics and gameplay. I really don't miss the mouse/keyboard controls at all as the analog control scheme of the Xbox controller works very well. The free roaming city is by no means massive, but adds a welcome new depth to the Thief universe (not to mention the fun to be had breaking into random houses throughout the city). The story maintains the same original and imaginative feel of previous games, there's really nothing else out there functioning on the level of interesting storytelling this game has going on. If you enjoyed Splinter Cell you'll definetly welcome the stealthy fun of Thief, it's every bit as thrilling, slightly more forgiving, and way more immersive. It's no run and gun slaughterfest, but gamers who enjoy fantastic stories and immersive, strategic gameplay will find much to enjoy.

Don't believe ANY negative reviews of this game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: June 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The thief series is my favorite game series of all time. I played all previous versions and was leary about buying this on a video game format because I thought (mistakenly) it would lose a lot of the quality of both the graphics and the game play. I couldn't have been more wrong. I also made the mistake of checking out the reviews before I bought it and was discouraged by some of them. This game is the BEST thief yet. For those of you who follow the series, it is great that they used all the same sound effects, are still following the plotline (pagans versus hammerites, the keepers responsible for thwarting the advent of the coming dark age), and even Garrett's voice is exactly the same. The stealth gameplay is exactly the same with some added features, including dynamic shadows, smarter guards, and some extra moves. The graphics are just as detailed, if not better! Also, you are able to move more freely and quickly with the video game format than you can on pc. One negative review mentioned frequent segments that require some load time (for example, if you are in one part of a house and attempt to enter another part of the same house, you may need to wait a few seconds while it loads). I wasn't bothered by this AT ALL as it only took a few seconds. It didn't take away from the momentum in the least. I'm not sure if the pc version takes longer to load than the video game. I really can't say enough, and I am thrilled with this game and feel it was well worth the wait. The ONLY thing that bothered me is I wanted to play the pc version too but didn't realize until after I bought it the box says "NOT SUPPORTED ON LAPTOPS" and I have a brand new laptop that exceeded by FAR the system requirements, but it still didn't work. I'll just have to play that one on my pc at home.
BUY THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's the BOMB!!!!

thief is way tight

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I think that eidos truly created a masterpeice when they made this game. It is all I could have hoped for and more as a sequel to my two favorite games. The graphics and lighting and texture effects are cutting edge, truley.
The only thing I didn't like were the character models which didn't seem very real. I thought that this caused the deaths to seem fake. Though the NPC AI makes up for this as does the fact that killing is discouraged in this game and almost allways results in negative outcome. The objective is to get in and out without being caught or killing anyone.
I killed some one once in this game and found my character being hunted round every corner.
I sure hope this review has helped someone, a game this wonderfull can not be ignored.

Great first experience with this series.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Title: Thief 3: Deadly Shadows

Description: The popular PC title goes to a console port for the first time. This series is argued by many to be the first "stealth based" game title as we are seeing it in the marketplace today with titles like Splintercell and elements of Manhunter. You play as Garret a gifted Thief that runs through a city pick pocketing, mugging, and burglarizing buildings and getting deeply involved in a sinister plot with an unseen foe.

Platform: PC and XBOX (reviewed)

Learning Curve: 6- For those of you new to the series like myself it'll take some time getting the feel for this type of game. You have to sneak and be quiet and simple tasks may take time, as you need to always evaluate your situation and environment. Aggression is discouraged. Garret is a gifted thief, but a relatively unskilled fighter. Enemies can kill you easily so they have to be sneak past or knocked out for you to advance in the game.

Replay Value: 5- It's fun to revisit missions on more difficult settings to really test your skill. There are also alternate means to perform tasks on select missions and you can retry them differently to make things interesting. Overall the replay is about average.

Difficulty: 7- There are certain parts of the game that are very difficult to do stealthfully. Expect to mess up and get killed on occasion, but this is natural. It is difficult, but manages to keep from being frustrating.

Guide: There is a guide available from Prima. I have mixed feelings on how much it helped me because the information seemed jumbled. I'd almost say skip buying it, but some of the visuals help to identify parts of your missions. Those who don't choose this route will find some nice text guides online.

Pros: Nice lighting and environment, nice voice acting, great story, "different" kind of gameplay, gameplay pretty much non-linear, and addictive quality gaming.

Cons: You can't swim and I got tired of drowning, Game bugs that can sometimes interfere with gameplay and at worse corrupt your save file and wipe out your information forcing you to start over (remember to keep multiple save files,) and the climbing gloves are a bit sloppy to use and you find yourself tumbling over walls rather than climbing down them.

Time Expected to Invest: One month for a nice run through. I sunk over 40 hours into my game at least. This time should be adjusted to different types of players, but I feel the game is pretty lengthy by today's standard and shouldn't disappoint many.

Retail Value: $49.99

Suggested Purchase Price: If you can find this title in the mid-30 dollar range than bravo. If not the retail price is a bit pressing to some, but this title is nice and I'd purchase it before I'd buy 3 poor quality 15 dollar titles.

Overall: 9- This is a pretty solid game in the fun factor category and will be unique to new gamers to the series like myself. I recommend this title and if you're just curious rent it and see if it meets your tastes. I think open-minded gamers will enjoy it.

Best Thief Game Of The Series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: November 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Garrett has returned and with full force. Being designed by Eidos. Graphics are awesome the lighting and designed of every character is top notch. Weapon play is very, very good. It think that it is great that you can make alliances with the Hammers and the Pagans. Trust me, you'll want to do good deeds for them to get on their good side. AI in the game is excellent. They will hunt you till the end of their life. When you would go into another section of the map they will still be there waiting on you when you return. Trust me, I know this for a fact. The peasents are back as well, they are more eager the get the City Watch when you are near. So, basically avoid the peasents. Awesome game if you enjoyed the other titles from the Thief Series. I loved it when it was made by Looking Glass Studios. You can still buy the First and Second Thief by Looking Glass. It would help to understand this installment from the Thief Series.

Absolutely addicting!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: August 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Now, I'm not a "gamer" by any standards. but I must say that besides the Splinter Cell series and the old school Zelda games for Nintendo....Thief is one of the only games that has kept my interest after an hour of play. The missions require stealth and strategy similar to Splinter Cell, which I find much more challenging than "shooter" games where you just run around blowing people away. Instead, you are forced to be sneaky and silent, creating your own shadows in which to hide, while also attempting to conserve your items. Think of Thief as Splinter Cell from the middle ages. You still have the guards you must either dispose of or sneak past, plus two polar factions with whom you can either ally or not...your choices affect subsequent dealings with both. All in all, I must say that I am so addicted to this game that I have nearly completed the final quest and am already wishing there was a follow-up to this incredible adventure--which is exactly what led me to amazon this morning and how I ended up posting this review!! In short, if you enjoy games that require a little more finesse and challenge than bang bang shoot em up....you would be thrilled to take on the quest of Garrett.....

As Good as the Original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I LOVED the original Thief Games and was very disappointed when the original disigners went under. I had been looking forward to this game ever since I heard rumors of a third game. The game has outstanding graphics with its use of shadows and faces. The game play is very familar, and I like the fact that you can now purchase items and save them for later missions instead of having to use everything in each mission. If you are ready to be a thief and use stealth instead of brute force then this is your game.

Fun Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Exciting and intense game. Just wished there was more to it such as different kinds of weapons or something else unique from the previous games and sometimes the sound goes off but very rarelly. Other than that I'm happy about the purchase, its nice to find a game that delivers without much advertising unlike a lot of these games coming out lately that do the exact opposite.

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