Feedback from a 16 year old casual gamer

[oldfartkeywester]

Here is an excerpt from the wiki entry for Deadly Shadows, the last, and, I believe, the best of the Thief series. It was a true break through for its time, one of the first true stealth games.

You play as Garrett, a master thief whose particular skills involve sneaking, climbing, lock picking and stealing. You get caught up in a truly involved and well written plot involving a machinist faction called Hammerites, a faction called Pagans and a mysterious order known only as Keepers.

You can get it very cheaply thru steam, or if you trust torrent sites (I do not and do not recommend them) you may be able to get it free. If your system has a modern OS such as W7 or Vista you may need to fiddle around a bit with the settings to get it to work properly, the last system I can remember it working perfectly with was XP SP3. But in my view it is well worth the effort for those whose forte is thinking through a problem and not just rushing in with guns ablaze or sword swinging.

"Thief: Deadly Shadows is a stealth video game in which the player takes the role of Garrett, a master thief. It is set in a fantasy/steampunk world resembling a cross between the Late Middle Ages and the Victorian era, with more advanced technologies interspersed. It is the third entry in the Thief series of video games.

One of the game's major new features was the ability to explore the City. While previous games sent Garrett straight from mission to mission, Thief: Deadly Shadows allows him to walk the City streets between missions where he can steal from passersby, spy on the townspeople's daily lives, and search for side quests in addition to major story missions. The game also introduced an ability to switch between first and third person views, and to flatten against walls.

It was released for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox in 2004, on May 25 in North America, and on June 11 in Europe. Development for both platforms started simultaneously. Like its predecessors, Thief: Deadly Shadows has received almost globally positive reviews, winning IGN's "Editor's Choice" award and "Game of the Month" award for May 2004. A follow-up to this game, Thief 4, is confirmed to be in development by Eidos Montreal Studio. "

"The game begins when Garrett steals a rare opal from a nobleman's castle. After fencing it, he is contacted by Keeper Artemus to steal two Artifacts; The Builder's Chalice and the Jacknall's Paw from their respective peoples, in exchange for access to the Keeper Prophecies. After hearing about a coming Dark Age, Garrett reads about a lost book, the Compendium of Reproach, which supposedly offers information about it. Garrett manages to steal it, the "Glyph" Key required to open it and the third Artifact, the Kurshok Crown. The Keepers read the Compendium's prophecy, including: "When the progress of time ceases, the evil one will be pointed out for all to see".

I urge anyone slightly intrigued by this game to look up Thief: Deadly Shadows in wikipedia, the article is quite long and detailed. It is an award-winning game that was in some ways ahead of its time, and a refreshing change from shoot em up or hack n' slash.

It also features what is almost universally acknowledged as one of the creepiest, most frightening levels in any recent game, the Shalebridge Cradle! Kids who played the game have literally had nightmares about that level!