Thief: Deadly Shadows
Description official descriptions
Master Thief Garrett is contacted by the Keeper Artemus, who wants him to steal two valuable artifacts. Meanwhile, Garrett learns that the coming of a Dark Age had been prophesied long ago. Gaining access to the Keeper Prophecies, Garrett learns that an ancient book known as the Compendium of Reproach contains more information about the prophecy. As Garrett is trying to solve the mystery, it becomes more and more clear to him that there is a traitor in the order of the Keepers.
Thief: Deadly Shadows is the third installment in the Thief series. The game follows the same design philosophy and gameplay structure that distinguished its predecessors. As before, stealth is the key to successful completion of missions. Avoiding confrontation with the guards, Garrett has to make his way through the levels towards the objective. Shadows and sounds play a large role, as guards will react to suspicious noises, and studying their patrolling routines is essential.
A few gameplay elements have been slightly altered. Garrett can no longer swim, but is able to use climbing gloves that attach him to the walls. He can also flatten himself against walls while standing; if in shadow, he remains completely unnoticeable that way. The player can see Garrett's limbs even if he is viewed from first-person perspective, allowing more precise movements. Switching to third-person view is also possible.
The most significant gameplay change is the non-linear exploration of the City, which has been added to the largely linear missions. In order to access the next mission, Garrett has to explore the City. On his way, he can overhear conversations, steal valuables, avoid or knock out the guards, and even accept secondary missions, which will influence his reputation with some of its factions.
Spellings
- Thief 3. Đ˘ĐľĐ˝Ń ŃПоŃŃи - Russian spelling
- çĽĺˇďźćťäşĄé´ĺ˝ą - Simplified Chinese spelling
Groups +
- 3D Engine: Unreal Engine 2
- Console Generation Exclusives: Xbox
- Eidos Premier Collection releases
- Gameplay feature: Body dragging
- Gameplay feature: Lock picking
- Gameplay feature: Pickpocketing
- Games with downloadable official map/level editors
- Middleware: Bink Video
- Middleware: FaceFX
- Physics Engine: Havok
- Setting: Church / Monastery
- Software Pyramide releases
- Theme: Mental facility / Asylum
- Thief series
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Credits (Windows version)
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[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 83% (based on 44 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 105 ratings with 7 reviews)
All good things must come to an end
The Good
Admittedly my expectations were quite low, what with Ion Stormâs much touted bungling of âInvisible Warâ...I almost made the 3 hour journey to Austin to scream at Warren. Luckily âThief: Deadly Shadowsâ has in no way suffered the same fate. The list of good and bad aspects is a long one, so here we go:
The most prominent improvement is, of course, the update to the Unreal II engine. More than capable of rendering real-time lighting and shadows, it also gives a boost in the AI department. Because of this, I had to be more mindful of my actions this time around, because guards and others would often become alerted or suspicious if a torch was doused, if valuables were not in their proper place, or even if a guard was not present at his scheduled patrol station. Speaking of which, NPCs will often randomly stop to talk to one another and react to each otherâs actions, and even start fights!
Graphics and AI upgrades aside, the nucleus of the Thief atmosphere is one thing that has not changed at all. In fact, âDeadly Shadowsâ feels much more like a Thief game to me than the mechanical environment of âThe Metal Ageâ (even though such an environment was vital to the story, but stillâŚ). One thing I loved about the first game was its dark, gritty appearance, and that it really did give me the creeps. Thankfully, this atmosphere has made a return, and is in fact much more sinister and frightening at times than even âThe Dark Projectâ. Also, a lot of familiar entities, friend or foe, have made a comeback as well, including a couple of âold friendsâ from the first game.
Perhaps the most outstanding difference between âDeadly Shadowsâ and the previous two games is, rather than employ the traditional complete-a-level-and-then-transport-to-the-next-one, most of the time youâre required to journey to the next mission yourself throughout the various quadrants of the City. Along the way, youâre allowed to break into establishments, pickpocket unsuspecting citizens, and sell your loot to buy supplies at fence shops. Excellent!
The Bad
I only have a couple of major grievances, and theyâre artistic ones.
First of all, I was highly disappointed at the disappearance of the between mission cut scenes that the first two games had. Gone are the tantalizing quotes and slide-show movies; now we simply have Garrett reading text that sits against a smoky background. Second, the interface was changed. Iâm not exactly sure why; it canât be because of co-development with XBOX, because the Thief games already had a very simple control scheme. This most likely wonât bother most, but it did irk me, so if you want a more traditional Thief UI Iâd suggest going to TTLG.com and downloading the âtweakerâ, because it does wonders. Also, there is a known bug with the enemy AI, but the 414KB patch can be downloaded from Ion Stormâs homepage or TTLG.
Many have complained about the âload zonesâ throughout the game (to accommodate the memory limitations of the XBOX), but I didnât find them to be a huge distraction. Many of my favorite FPS games such as âDeus Exâ, âSystem Shock 2â, and âUndyingâ have load zones, so I donât see it as anything to gripe about.
The Bottom Line
Itâs well known by many how much of a devoted Thief fanatic I am, so people like myself are 99% more likely to be extremely critical of this game. I can say with confidence that âDeadly Shadowsâ is most definitely a Thief game in almost every sense of the word, and surpassed my expectations across the board. I confess that it doesnât surpass âThe Dark Projectâ, a magical game than can never be duplicated. In my opinion however it does offer a much more satisfying and thief-like experience than the heavy sci-fi overtones of âThe Metal Ageâ. Old-timers like myself will be happy with the conclusion, and newbies will want to know more about this bizarre world that is the City.
So long GarrettâŚthanks for six years worth gaming righteousness.
And Mr. Spector, thanks for restoring my faith in you.
Windows · by HandofShadow (49) · 2006
The Good
- It's closer to Dark Project in terms of atmosphere and overall direction, but also features TMA-style "breaking in" mundane missions. There are zero to none placeholder or just "badly designed to the point it's unplayable" missions.
- You get to explore the City between missions to find more stuff or complete side quests for different factions, find new stores to sell different kinds of loot and buy different kinds of equipment.
- AI is greatly improved.
- Thick atmosphere, elevated by the excellent sound design and voice acting.
The Bad
- Story is kinda "meh". Some parts of it are heavily underdeveloped, some feels like recycled bits from the Dark Project. The game also doesn't seem to acknowledge TMA events which is weird.
- After some time City exploration becomes pointless.
- Weird choice of engine which resulted in a very clumsy player model, not very responsive controls and some annoying save/load bugs.
The Bottom Line
Requires some modding in order to be playable.
Windows · by SanfordMorgan · 2023
The Good
The third and perhaps final(oh no!) entry of the Thief series. Ah yes the series that more or less invented stealth gameplay arrived on the PC and Xbox. In this review I intend to answer these questions: Is it good? And Does it live up to the series? Is it the best one?
The Graphics in Deadly Shadows are excellent. The unreal engine gets put to work and in the end looks itâs best with incredible lighting effects that have to be seen to be believed. The physics are a sight thanks to the Havok engine. The new third person camera view is interesting, but Thief veterans know you have to play it in first person. Also new in Thief III, is the ability to see Garrettâs body in first person, which makes things seem a little more real. The cut scenes are still pure Thief, very sweet indeed.
The Sound/ Music play an important role in this one as in all the Thief titles. Being quite helps you go unnoticed, and eavesdropping on enemies give you crucial clues about an area or a mission. The sounds are all clear and sharp, and incredibly cool in 5.1 Surround Sound. Music is scarce as with most Thief games as well. And like most games the tunes always fit the moment, like an eerie tune that plays in a dark mansion, or a rock track in the games thrilling opening scenes.
The Gameplay is very much like it was in Thief I and II. And for good reason, I mean why stray from something that works. There are still a few surprises however. For one during missions Garrett can obtain up to three âspecial lootâ items. These items are harder to find, but are worth more money and, in the games higher difficulty modes they are required to finish the mission. Speaking of loot, another difference in this one is that you have to sell loot you acquired after the missions, then buy new items in shops around the city. This brings me to another new addition. Instead of jumping from mission to mission, Garrett now must walk to each local. And can partake on side missions in between the main missions.
The Storyline in Thief III is perhaps itâs weakest part. Donât get me wrong it is good. It is just that past Thief games had a better plotâs that all. Basically in Thief III, Garrett must work with various factions to once again save the city, that he seems to despise so much. The part with the faction is cool and works well, it is very similar to the factions seen in Deus Ex: Invisible War. And yes this game is much better than that was.
The Bad
The Bad, well there are a few nagging issues. For one the A.I. while generally good is occasionally retarded. You can kill a guard and his buddy wonât even notice. Other times Garrett is attacked for something he did not actually do. I also found the blue highlighting of items to be annoying. As well as the blindingly bright blue of the load and save screens.
The Bottom Line
I would recommend this game to Thief fans as well as stealth enthusiasts. So is it good? Yes. Does it live up to the Thief name? Yes. Is it the best one? No, I give that nod to Thief II: The Metal Age. But it is still worth playing.
Xbox · by MasterMegid (723) · 2006
Trivia
Difficulty bug
Both the Xbox and PC versions shipped with a bug that affected the AI. The difficulty setting of the AI would default to Normal from all other levels (Easy, Hard, Expert) upon reloading a save game or re-entering a load zone. The game would still indicate that the setting was unchanged, so the only noticeable effect was that the awareness of the guards was easier and they dealt less damage. Ion Storm released a small patch (415 kb) for the PC version that fixes this problem.
Engine
Ion Storm developed Thief: Deadly Shadows with a heavily modified Unreal engine. Its the same engine that was used for Deus Ex: Invisible War.
Graphics
Originally the game did not work properly on ATI Radeon cards. Textures popped in and out, causing walls and floors to turn black and making it appear like there were shadows where there aren't supposed to be any shadows. This was fixed with the Catalyst 4.8 drivers.
Mods
Even though Ion Storm was shut down by its publisher-owner Eidos in early 2005, mod software tools for their final game Thief: Deadly Shadows have been released shortly after.
The mod tools could be found at a number of web file download sites like FileShack and 3DGamers. The 323 MB download will allow players to modify or build new maps for the game along with scripts, conversations and more. It also includes a number of tutorial maps.
[Source: Computer Games Magazine (Feb. 2005)]
References
The various painted portraits gracing walls throughout the game actually depict members of the development team. They were drawn by comic-book artist Frank Teran, who supplied much of the concept art for the game.
Awards
- GameSpy
- 2004 â Best Sound of the Year (PC)
Information also contributed by Alan Chan, EndlessDespair, Jack Lightbeard and Jeanne
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by PhoenixFire.
Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Sciere, Scott Monster, Xoleras, UV, Havoc Crow, Klaster_1, Patrick Bregger, ZeTomes.
Game added May 26, 2004. Last modified March 17, 2024.