Thief: Deadly Shadows

Get your hands on this hands-on about a game where the goal is to get your hands on other people?s stuff. Got it? Good.

When it comes to FPS gaming I generally prefer to run at full speed, mowing down chumps with an automatic, high-powered gun of some sort. But this stealth newbie had some fun playing an early version of Thief: Deadly Shadows, and if things stay the course for the final product, you?ll have fun too.

Ssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh?
Admittedly, I am not truly great at, nor fond of the stealth-style of game play, but it?s growing on me. An interactive tutorial introduces the stealth control style in a way that is easy to understand. It was simple, fun and got me ready rock with no frustration.

While using a fairly standard keyboard control configuration, managing the movement of the lead crook, Garret, is comfortable. Special controls allow for thievery action -- super quiet-sneaky movement, tight wall hugging, and lock picking.

The advanced graphics engine supports a dynamic environment that is fully responsive to these movements as well as to lighting changes. You can pick up objects, move rag-doll bodies and adjust lighting to help you on your way -? but beware, dropping or accidentally knocking over objects also affect the enemy?s response and may bring trouble if you are not careful.

Loot, not Frags
Killing may be fun, but here it isn?t practical. The bottom line is this: you?re a thief. You steal things. You?re better off going unnoticed rather than overtly slaying everyone in sight. Each mission offers a number of tasks, with every goal having a number of alternative solutions. Steal this, sell that, look out for her, etc.

You may choose the direct approach or slither off in the shadow, but either way you?ve got to check off the tasks on your list to move on. I tried different approaches and found the quiet way best -- although, piling up bodies in a dark corner is always fun. Each approach draws a fairly different reaction from the opponents? AI. While not completely unimpressive, the enemy?s responses will be a bit anticipated.

When trying the "bully" approach, the realization became clear that this game is NOT meant for fighting. In most cases the player will lose. Sneaking up and using the blackjack seems most prudent.

Weapons and Pictures
While other stealth-based games feature super sci-fi weaponry and gadgets, Thief: Deadly Shadows sticks to medieval and mystical tools to get the job done. You have the silent but deadly black jack and dagger, though I found myself partial to the bow.

Your quiver is loaded with a number of different arrows including broad bladed arrows, water arrows and noise-makers. The water arrows are absolutely essential, as they are used constantly to douse torches that illuminate your patch. The noise-maker arrows easily distract enemy?s attention, so you can approach a guarded area.

The bow felt quite accurate during play and a scope sight is available if you hold down the fire button for a few seconds. A nice assist when you are trying to make those distance shots count.

Visually, Thief: Deadly Shadows is looking fantastic. Using a Dell XPS, 3 GHZ, 512 RAM machine with a 128 ATI Radeon 9800 all ran fairly smooth. The textures and lighting effects so far are most impressive ?- especially when you get to alter the situation by dousing a torch and watching the change in scenery. I especially was intrigued when wandering the old stone mansions. The shadow lighting against the walls is super nice, almost makes you not want to distinguish the torches to pull off your job.

All in all, this title is look pretty sharp. While the development studio is claiming to have addressed many fixes (see our feature preview) from the title?s legacy of builds, both veteran players and newbies to this franchise should be pleased.

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