Game reviews

Thief III: Deadly Shadows

First off, I should point out that I’ve never played any of the other Thief games. But I have read about them. The “thief” in the game is one Garrett, a mysterious fellow adept with a lock pick, bow, or blackjack. Garrett’s place is in the shadows: the Thief games are first person sneakers, which basically means that you are better off skulking past trouble rather than running into it head on.

So, with the stage set, how was the game? Graphically, Thief III is top notch. Lighting and shadow are, not surprisingly, very important in this game, and are rendered well. The moonlight shining through a window produces diffuse beams of light with motes of dust…its actually quite pretty. Sound is also very important: much of the time, Garrett is hiding in a corner and risking a peek at the nearby guards could be deadly. But hearing the footsteps as the guards complete their rounds is nearly as good as seeing the guard.

The hard part with a sneaking game like Thief is the AI…