By: Phire
Thief is a stealth and tactics first person style game. The
console companies have already jumped on these types of
games and it's time for the PC to start. First person games
these days are boring because such a huge number of games
are already using the first person view and most of them
consist only of mindless killing. Some people may find this fun
but most seem to be getting fed up with the same old trend.
Unlike any other PC game, Thief involves stealth action and
adventure. Stealing/Theft is also involved which you probably
already figured by the name of the game. Your name is Garrett
and you are set in a medieval, but magical world. As a master
thief you must use your skills and complete missions with your
stealth ability. If you are caught then in most cases it will be
very difficult to complete the mission.
When one is a good Thief certain types of individuals
take notice of the skills shown. The premise of the game is
that a certain someone has hired you to steal a massive gem.
As a reward you will get more than enough money to retire.
You have the moonlit night to conceal you and your
professional skills to rely upon, but the task is not as easy as
anticipated. Just to name two basic problems, there are lights
and guards around, which can reveal you not to mention
what's awaiting you later on. You will get the opportunity to
travel in a plethora of different places such as moon-lit city
streets, guarded mansions, secure prisons, blazing factories,
haunted cathedrals, abandoned ruins, grim catacombs and
subterranean lost cities.
Thief is not about being a notorious cutthroat
madman who steals; it's about completing your mission without
anyone noticing you. The only method to achieve this goal
consists of perfect use of your professional thief skills, namely
your stealth tactics. On metal platforms or stone floors your
shoes make distinct noises, which can bring the guards to your
position. In order to avoid this you must chose the appropriate
surfaces that will not create noise and give you away. Even if
you only slightly walk into just a small section of light there is a
large chance that you will be spotted. Even though it is best to
complete your mission with the use of stealth that doesn't
mean you can't kill anyone. So you can still kill people but it
may get you caught, it's quite a risk.
There are a lot of great weapons you can use in this game. You
can use your "Blackjack" weapon to knock out guards with
ease, but you must do it with stealth. I really liked how using
your blackjack is so much easier than a sword fight. Noise
arrows can throw guards off your trail and cause them to go
look somewhere else, which gives you another opportunity.
Moss bombs allow you to walk with stealth over stone ground
and other noisy floors. As a last resort if you have to kill, you
can use your Fire Arrow or Sword. Thief really has great
Artificial Intelligence; the guards fight very well and hear
everything. The programming for the lighting effects is efficient
and realistic: moonlit levels are beautiful. The models in Thief
are designed very well they look and move fluidly and
realistically. The sound is also realistic, environments are
designed very well and inside environments look great. It's
also funny how guards talk on their own and sometimes sound
drunk.
The textures in Thief are extremely well detailed
and the inside of buildings looks very realistic and outside
lights and particle effects of water sprouts (such as fountains)
look excellent. Blood is not exaggerated in Thief, but it's very
visible. From what I have seen so far, it is not possible to cut off
limbs in Thief. When you're in combat with your sword it's an
experience that you will remember for a while. You are able to
shield yourself from attacks with your sword just as in a real
sword fight and if you draw your sword near a guard he will
immediately react by unsheathing his. Sometimes he will not
attempt to fight unless you are hostile and attack someone. If a
guard sees you aim your arrow then he will attack you. You
also have to be attentive of who sees you as guards can inform
more guards and they can team up on you. When you're
outnumbered you can make a run for it and try to lose them
using your stealth ability. A sword icon at the bottom of the
screen indicates stealth; when it is not visible it means that you
can't be seen. The icon also changes color, yellow meaning
you can be heard and red meaning you've been spotted.
The sounds used in Thief are engrossing and help create a
very immersive game environment. The sheathing and
clashing sound of swords are quite accurate. There are also
numerous footstep sounds, which are accurate as well.
Basically all the sounds are as accurate as real life. If you're
near a bar or someone's house and there is a window nearby
you can actually here them conversing and laughing. Not only
can guards hear your footsteps but you can also hear theirs.
There is also 3D sound support for this game so it will sound
excellent if you have that type of hardware.
Control is quite easy to this game once you get used
to it and configure your own settings. If you use a Mouse and
Keyboard combo it might be a good idea to change the
sensitivity settings so it is more responsive. There are 3
difficulty settings for Thief, the first one being "Normal
Difficulty", which I find hard already, I can't imagine how
gameplay would be on the hardest.
Thief also has a very good training option for you to
get started. Additionally, when you're in a mission and haven't
done anything bad yet you are just greeted by the guards and
also if you steal with stealth the guards will suspect nothing
and still greet you. You must steal at the right time though: it
must be dark and the guard must not see you at all. Thief: The
Dark Project is really great and innovative with great graphics,
sound and gameplay. I'm definitely hooked and I will be
playing it for weeks, (which for me is a LONG time).
Graphics: 23 / 25
Sound: 14 / 15
Gameplay: 23 / 25
Fun Factor: 17 / 20
Replay Factor: 4 / 5
Overall Impression: 7 / 10
Overall Rating: 88 / 100
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