Thief: Deadly Shadows

By tundraSheperd

The Thief series dates back to the very origins of the stealth genre. While Metal Gear Solid and Tenchu also have roots in 1998, Thief stood apart for a variety of reasons. The stealth action in ‘Thief: The Dark Project’ was more authentic than its counterparts and as the title suggests was much darker and menacing. Moreover, elements of a somewhat realistic medieval realm and the supernatural were entwined as artfully and diligently as the symbiosis between the game play and the plot twists therein. Roughly seven years' later, ‘Deadly Shadows’ marks Thief’s first appearance on the Xbox, and brings to the table all the constituent elements that made ‘The Dark Project’ an outstanding and at times frustrating game.

The story of ‘Deadly Shadows’ is pieced together through overheard conversations, cut scenes, and Garrett’s own monologue prior to missions but primarily, insight is achieved through reading numerous memos, notes, and pages of diaries, ledgers etc. as the game progresses. Contrary to my original expectations, the plot of ‘Deadly Shadows’ is self-contained; that is to say, no previous knowledge of Thief is required to find the themes of ‘Deadly Shadows’ thoroughly immersing and entertaining- although it certainly helps.

Blurring the boundaries between good, bad, and indifferent there are three distinct factions within ‘Deadly Shadows’. The Keepers, a mysterious group of sorcerer-scholars; the Hammerites, religious zealots devoted to industry and order; and the savage Pagans. Sequences of events foretold in prophecy have come to fruition; the world is once again precariously balanced between total chaos and order. Garrett is the fulcrum; his choices and abilities will ultimately decide which way the pendulum will swing.

The Hammerites and Pagans vie for Garrett’s allegiance or rather subservience, and in return offer assistance that is as radically different as the opposing ideologies and prophetic interpretations both factions uphold. Throughout the game Garrett can choose to ally with none, one or both of these parties. The Keepers trained Garrett; resultantly he has a very loose unspoken bond with them. Garrett is however, very wary of dissension and sedition within the Keepers ranks and rightfully keeps all factions at arms length. The political tension and its resulting escalation as Garrett seeks enlightenment regarding the "Brethren and betrayer", "One true keeper", the secret of the glyphs and other riddles in prophecy is a welcomed and well-executed addition.

Garrett’s arsenal remains largely unchanged. The most noticeable differences being his sword is replaced by dagger and rope arrows become redundant with the introduction of climbing gloves. Moss arrows allow you to move quietly across metallic surfaces and choke human guards. Fire arrows can create a small to medium distraction and are effective against the undead. Gas arrows and gas bombs are good for incapacitating most living obstacles. Water arrows allow you to extinguish torches creating shadowed passages for various reasons, and for washing away pools of blood. Flash bombs temporarily blind human bystanders, and gives the undead rapid and severe sunburn. Oil flasks debut - very useful in tripping guards, or for effectively creating a fiery barrier.

Garrett’s primary offensive weapons are the dagger, and standard arrows. Neither is very effective in combat with two or more guards. Garrett’s low tolerance for being stabbed, shot, crushed and bludgeoned to name a few, his dismal combat skills, and an arsenal geared toward inflicting disorientation as opposed to death are all good indicators that stealth is the path to success. Subterfuge, ingenuity, and alertness are required as you help Garrett restore order through a unique blend of swayed justice and rapaciousness.

The majority of the game is mission based, each mission having multiple objectives that must be met. Often these will change based on overheard conversations, opportunist moments, or impassable obstruction met within a mission. Moreover, many objectives tie intricately into the plot often bridging missions together without need for further explanation - although this is always provided via cut scene or monologue. The variability of objectives is higher than any other game to date. Cleverly, this aids in developing Garrett’s paradoxical character as an unpredictable egocentric thief, an unfeeling mercenary, and an unlikely savior.

The mission content also displays unparalleled range. I found it highly enjoyable and comical stripping The City’s "Thief proof" museum. One hi-tech security system debunked, and a handful of concussed guards later, a happy thief emerges leaving the museum of fine art without so much as a single painting left hanging on the walls. At the other end of the scale Garrett must search an abandoned orphanage turned asylum. Unusually thick shadow and claustrophobic maze-like corridors combine with Thief’s trademark sound effects and caliginous atmospherics to send the chill factor through the roof. Where angels and demons fear to tread, the ghosts of the past are now at unrest; what ensues is tense, unearthly, and at times totally terrifying. Those with some familiarity of Project Zero are adequately primed for what is truly a disturbing experience.

Another new element that has been added is simply known as The City. To and from missions this is where Garrett will find himself. For the first time, it is up to Garrett to pillage and sell an assortment of trinkets, as well as hunt down markets that offer the desired items. Elemental arrows (water, moss and fire) can be found around the city and are free for the taking. Often Garrett must bolster supplies, but each elemental arrow type is sold at a different store. Likewise rare items such as climbing gloves can be bought at specialized markets accessible only when the appropriate area of The City has been unlocked.

While in The City Garret must be careful to avoid the City Watch (local law enforcement) and depending on where allegiances lie, hostile factions and other adversaries that try to hinder progress. Garret can increase favor with a particular faction by performing various errands around The City. The citizens, their homes and possessions are obviously there for the plundering at any time that suits. A good deal of Garrett’s spending money can be accumulated in this fashion.

The City and missions for that matter are quite vast and open ended, but both suffer from substantial loading screens and associated loading times. While there is no doubt that The City does give ‘Deadly Shadows’ a very comprehensive feel, and is the very reason other innovative ideas can be implemented, there are three big drawbacks.

Firstly, it is very one dimensional in that Garret is very much limited to street level unless inside a building. No climbing on rooftops or balconies as the glossy game packaging suggests, scaling walls, or many other thief-like fundamentals. Secondly, for an element that promotes open ended gaming, having to unlock areas of The City seems counter intuitive. Finally, the loading times mentioned here again to emphasize their notable impact on game play - especially in The City, to make matters worse this becomes more and more frequent as the game progresses.

Disappointingly, Garrett has had no personal upgrades making him far less agile than Sam Fisher or other stealth icons. Even the greatest Thief fan cannot attribute Garrett’s sluggishness and at times clumsy movements to his mechanical eye or perhaps indulging in one bottle of stolen fine wine too many. Was the motivation for this to keep ‘Deadly Shadows’ true to the earlier titles in the series? Paraphrased; was this a carefully researched decision based on player preference, or pure and simple laziness? Either way, in writing this review I am being forced to ask this question regarding many aspects of the games’ design.

In large, the artificial intelligence is excellent. Guards investigate all noises within earshot, notice missing objects, spilled blood, opened or closed doors, and extinguished torches. Often they will gather in small groups to investigate larger threats such as a concussed Conrad, or a glimpse of a sloppy thief. The dialogue associated with these actions, while sometimes repetitive is very diverse and always good for a chuckle. All this being said, the guards have a very limited attention span, and return to a relaxed state quickly. Unbelievably, they also run slower than Garrett does, and tire easily. However, how a guard can notice a missing ring obscured by other objects from the opposite end of a room, and not see a thief pressed up to a wall literally centimeters away from him, face to face nonetheless is beyond me.

All items and objects in ‘Deadly Shadows’ have lifelike texture, and in most cases physics. Garrett can bump into barrels and boxes, causing them to tumble down and raising a realistic racket that is usually investigated by nearby guards. Cups, bowls and other objects can be dropped with a satisfying ‘thud’, a technique that transfers to dropping heavy objects such as boulders on guards with an even more pleasurable outcome. On the other side of the coin, rag-doll implementation sometimes sees blackjacked or stabbed characters contort into very unnatural positions, often suspending on nearby objects. At times Garrett’s kinematics are in a word terrible, climbing walls for instance is as example of an action not feeling, looking or behaving naturally.

Garrett’s monologues are of crystal clarity, as are the sound effects and ambiance during game play. The same attention to detail is not carried over to all characters, for instance, the citizens in The City. Many sound effects are actually carried over from earlier titles in the series.

The good
Innovations such as factions, and The City make ‘Deadly Shadows’ the most engaging title in the series to date.

Easily comparable to other leading stealth titles with perhaps greater variety in terms of adversaries to be faced, objectives to be met, piecewise plot reconstruction and general free range / non linearity gaming.

Fairly lengthy, undoubtedly you’ll need to play this one through a couple of times before finding all available loot.

Ambient sound effects dynamic lighting and outstanding graphics fuse together to form a truly dark and foreboding gaming atmosphere as only Thief can. ‘Deadly Shadows’ has moments where this reaches a new plateau and must simply be experienced first hand.

The bad
All aspects of the game exhibit Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde characteristics, raising us to our feet with brilliance one moment, only to beat us down with mediocrity the next; no ovation this time. ‘Deadly Shadows’ drops the bar nanometers short of perfection. While this would usually be a complimentary statement, so often is this the case with ‘Deadly Shadows’, it is frustrating to the point of being detrimental to the game.

The ugly
Frequent and lengthy load screens.

Games saved at the Expert level of difficulty revert to normal when loaded - oops.

Eidos laid off most of the ‘Deadly Shadows’ development team; this coupled with lack of popularity suggest that Garrett’s days are numbered. Hardware limitations undoubtedly led to compromise - it would be great to see Thief achieve its potential on the Xbox 360 however, this seems fairly unlikely at present.

As a gaming purist, there are numerous issues worthy of cynical dismemberment, which eclipse the redeeming and innovative features ‘Deadly Shadows’ has to offer. For those with a more accommodating pallet, the game will add some exotic flavor to your stealth collection, but there are admittedly too many inconsistencies that ultimately prevent ‘Deadly Shadows’ from truly swindling top marks.