Thief: Deadly Shadows Hands-On

First off, these impressions are based on the training level and the first level of the game. The past Thief games were best enjoyed when you had few outside distractions and a good bit of time to figure out the best way to complete each mission. I would wait until 9 or 10 pm each night until everyone had gone to bed, turn off all the lights, put on my headphones and then lead Garrett through his missions of stealing from the rich (or anyone else who was stupid enough to leave loot laying around).

I shall scale the walls like Spider-man himself!

I can do this, just gimme a couple of minutes...

While these games include the ability to engage in combat, the use of stealth is really the best way to accomplish your goals. After all, the main character is a Thief. Slinking through darkened passageways, picking locks and helping yourself to anything that is not nailed down is a pleasant departure from the avalanche of balls-to-wall, run-and-gun first person shooters. The first two games from Looking Glass Studios hold a special place in my gaming history.

Most people are worried about the changes that Ion Storm is making to the game. To be blunt, many are afraid that Thief Deadly Shadows is going to be made too simple like the Deus Ex sequel was. To make matters even trickier, about a month ago, Randy Smith, a key member of the Thief and Thief 2 and project lead on Thief: Deadly Shadows left Ion Storm, sparking even more controversy and leaving gamers to wonder if the rest of the gang at Ion Storm was up to the challenge. Well, I guess there was only one way for me to find that out and that was to sit down and play the game.

So far, the graphics look very good. The lighting and shadows really add to the whole experience of creeping around. Beams of moonlight filter through windows and fires cause shadows from people or furniture to flicker and move around the room. The textures and character models have gotten a much needed graphical update, although the guards seem a little stiff as they patrol about. They seem to move more fluidly while running but walking looks a little stilted. Hopefully this will be cleaned up before the game ships. Also the game features a 3rd person mode, which is actually the default viewing mode this time around. You can switch back and forth between first and 3rd person settings if you like, but the 3rd person makes it almost too easy to see when a guard around the corner has turned his back and moved on. I almost wish that 3rd person is not available as nothing can rival the tension that was created when you couldn't see him and had to listen for the clues that he has moved on. The sound is on par with the original games, nice ambiance, good verbal cues from the patrolling guards and nice back music to set the mood.

Another new addition is lock-picking. When you find a locked door, you get down on one knee and begin working with picks to open it up. A visual representation of the lock and the position of your pick comes up and you move the pick around. As you find the correct location, the tumblers begin to move, find the 'sweet spot' and the tumbler falls into place. Do this for each tumbler and the lock pops open. I was confused how to make this process work the first time I encountered it. Also, it seems to be very noisy work. I was afraid that I was going to get caught as I was in first person mode and I worked the lock. After a few minutes, I got the first tumbler open and had a better idea of what the game expected me to do. However, just because I now knew what to do, did not mean I was enjoying it. I can understand the concept here, but the jury is still out on how it is going to be regarded: either as a new dimension to the Thief game world or a cheap, console mini game gimmick.

Finally, I chance to warm my mitts.

Nothing to pinch here but cockroaches.

The AI in some spots were a bit questionable. To be fair though, I may be expecting more since being exposed to the super-aware mercs in Far Cry. In the second mission, I entered through the front door of a mansion to find a guard, on watch in the foyer, no more than 10 paces from me. However, the light was low so he did not see me. I would have expected some reaction from him with the door opening but he remained staring at the wall straight across from him. I pulled out my black jack, approaching him from his left side and knocked him out. After he went down, I dumped him in a darkened corner and made my way into the hall beyond the foyer. The hall was well lit and there was a single guard patrolling its length. I waited for him to pass and then slipped by in the opposite direction. After reaching the end of the hallway, I turned to see if the guard's suspicions were raised by my passing. As I watched him on his trip back up the hallway, I held my breath as he passed the doorway to the entry foyer. He raised his hand in greeting to the guard who was supposed to be in the foyer (the one who was now unconscious thanks to me). But instead of noticing that his fellow guard was not at post, he kept walking on down the hall! I stayed and watched as he turned around and headed back down the hallway and when he passed the foyer doorway, he kept his head facing forward and pointed his finger towards the fallen guard's post in another sign of acknowledgement and kept going. OK, so the guards are a bit oblivious. I moved on to another room that held a chest and guard who had his back to me as he looked out a window. I moved up on him, black jack in hand, and swung too early, thereby alerting him to my presence. He drew his sword and began hacking at me. I quickly brought out my dagger and began dodging and weaving between his blows as best I could. After getting tagged a few times, I was finally able to put him down. But evidently our combat was enough to bring in another guard from a side room whose door was closed. I am hoping I just need to learn the stealth system a bit better because I hope this is not a sign of quirky AI or worse, scripted reactions.

One other thing that bugs me is that in the other games, when using the black jack I could 'load' my attack. Meaning I could hold the mouse button and keep my arm cocked above my head until I got close enough to whack my victim by letting the mouse button go. In this new version, when you click the mouse button, Garrett's arm cycles the attack. You cannot hold his attack until you are ready to let it go. I got caught figuring this out the first time.

I am looking forward to playing this build to the end and seeing what other surprises remain in store for me. Hopefully, the final product will bring everything I had hoped it would and Thief: Deadly Shadows will also hold a special place in my gaming history, next to the other Thief games.