Built a high end gaming computer, put nearly 30 hours into a 10 year old game. I'm an idiot. 10/10

I bought this from a Gamestop back in 2004 as it is one of my Top 5 Games ever!

Storyline: 10/10
Graphics: 09/10 (it's an older game now)
Voice Acting: 10/10
Stealth gameplay: 10/10
Combat gameplay: 8/10 (ie. it's a stealth game)

Overall: 9.4/10

Definitely recommended.

I had gotten this game when it came out in 2004 when i was a kid. And i got the other Thief games like 1 and 2 years earlier. Me and my sis played it everyday no joke. Everyday. She beat it at least 25 times litterally. It was the scariest game i had ever played and still is. I bought it on steam just to play it again and relive my childhood! One of my most favorite games ever!

I write this on the basis of not having played previous Thief games in the series. However, Thief: Deadly Shadows proved itself a firm favourite and true classic on my list (I owned the game on disc when it was first released but had to re-purchase on Steam so it was compatible with my current PC). It's true that the graphics are now very obsolete compared to more modern titles - but it has been around for over ten years! - and I still have fond memories of exploring, stealing, sneaking, and eavesdropping.

Garrett is perhaps one of the most memorable game characters and superbly voice-acted by Stephen Russell. Garrett's real strength lies, not in combat, but stealth, utilizing the shadows, and on occasion render troublesome guards unconscious with the blackjack. He's also in possession of dagger, although players favouring more a killing nature doesn't really have much bearing on the gamelay as it did in, say, Dishonored.

The levels themeselves are extensive and credible; compulsive explorer players may desire to linger and search these sandbox-style maps to the full in order to collect 100% treasure. Such ill-gotten valuables are then sold to a fence and money can purchase useful tools and items to help Garrett in his adventures: flashbombs can be deployed in sticky situations, water arrows extinguish torches, oil flasks can cause guards to slip, noise arrows distract and misdirect guards....and many others handy for certain tight situations. The City itself is divided into several districts and offers a few (but not many) distractions from the main story; regarding side-quests, Deadly Shadows isn't on par with Deus Ex: Invisible War (even though they shared the same engine) and Garrett can only break and enter into about a dozen buildings, only a couple of which contain prized treasures. One particular level stands out as a ground-breaking piece of atmospheric story-telling: the chilling Shalebridge Cradle was regarded as a tidemark by Thief fans and became famous within gaming circles. The hairs on my neck stood on end thoughout the entire level!

But there are a couple of ♥♥♥♥les: one of which that Garrett can't swim despite it being possible for him to fall into water proved a frustrating possibility. With later games catering to more aquatic-capable characters, such as Deus Ex, Assassin's Creed II onwards, GTA San Andreas, Dishonored, even the recent Thief title,(sometimes swimming was actually an option or requisite to a particular mission in these games), here Deadly Shadows stumbles on the credible side. Alternatively, I would have preferred an 'invisible forcefield' keeping Garrett safe on the pier. Admittedly, not entirely plausible for world immersion, but less frustrating. Another annoying gameplay issue would be broadhead arrows: these things should be lethal - yet, once alerted, sometimes it took about four of them to kill a guard. I can understand one wound enraging an enemy, but surely a second would cause them to have second thoughts and retreat hastily from the scene? It would have been more fun and plausible having a bloodied guard stumbling about alerting colleagues, forcing Garrett into hiding once more.

The main story itself concerns an imminent period of darkness about to engulf the City. It's up to Garrett to explore locations in a bid to uncover clues and fulfil counter-measures in order to prevent this from happening. Cutscenes are excellent affairs explaining the plot as it thickens and motives behind each mission. Garrett himself (Stephen Russell) regales the player with a determination, as if talking to himself but steadying the nerves.

Although an old game, it's one that has aged well for veteran gamers with fond memories, and guaranteed to return now and again to sample such a fine brew.

Killed someone by dropping a basket on their head. 10/10

After only 42 hours of gameplay I have conquered the final chapter of the Thief trilogy.(I'm not counting the fourht one because Looking Glass wasn't involved) I have explored every nook and cranny, knocked out or murdered everione in the city,(or in most cases both) stolen everything that fit inside of my magical, Mary Poppins pockets,(aside from the bag of coins the crazy old widow needed to live, I mean, I may be a thief, scoundrel, rapscallion, and quite probably a serial killer, but I'm not a bad guy...) and smashed, burned, blown up or sunk to the bottom of the ocean everything that didn't. I have fought and vanquished the best and brightest of the local law enforcement, defeated fanatic cultists from two opposing sides of one very dysfunctional religion, purged the city of its infestation of undead creatures, crushed hulking golems of stone into nothing more than dust, to be carried away with the wind and forgotten forever, listened in on every private conversation, and crawled all over every inch of every brick or stone wall in the city like an insane, murderous spiderman with sticky fingers.(pun not intended, but enjoyed nevertheless) I feel a sense of accomplishment having completed the series, but also a sadness and longing because I know that Looking Glass is no more and Sony now owns Garrett the Master Thief's soul, and copyright. I only hope that Sony will one day let him die with dignity, and then toss his lifeless body into a cuddle puddle in a dark corner just like he did with so manyguards who had the poor fortune to be working when he was stealing everything they were supposed to protect. I will miss the Master Thief, even now I find myself dragging out this review, because once I hit "post" I know he'll be gone forever,(or at least until I upgrade to a pc that can actually run Thief 4) but I must sleep now, for it is 4:30 am and I have to be up around... let's say 1 pm... you know, for lunch. So I give this game 42/10 one point for every hour of murderous, theiving, spidermanly joy.

Thief 4 ain't got anything on this ♥♥♥♥ right here.

Awesome game... I suggest anyone planning to play the new Thief, to play this one first. Every time you sneak, creep, steal, kill, etc... It's always a heart racing moment. If you love suspense and stealth games, GET_ THIS_ GAME.

Still better than the new Thief game.

Out of all the Thief games (even the new one), this one has to be the best Thief game out there.

Was alittle confusing to start out but now getting the hang of it pretty well. Love the story lines and graphics are amazing.

A hardcore Splinter Cell fan, such as myself, will
love this. Reminding alot from it, but set in a
Medieval or Victorian-like age with both electricity,
magic and beasts.


Gameplay:

It's mission based but also played in open world.
You are playing in a city divided into areas where
you can freely walk in between them as you progress
the main story. You will find sidequests by doing
your own exploring. All parts of town have their
stores where you can either buy equipment or sell
your loot.


Music:

The music blends in with where you are and what
you're doing, well enough that you don't think
about it that much, just the way it should be
made for a stealth game to not steal your focus.


Sound and Voices:

There are really funny voices and conversations held
between people. This works excellent to fill the
time you sometimes have to wait, before making your
move. The monsters voices are equally as good but
instead made frightening. Some monsters have
very heavy footsteps along with it, to make them
even more scary, while you are standing close pushed
up in a dark corner.


Graphic:

Alot of shadows, since it's always night time.
The monsters appearance are better than in most horror
games out there.


Movement:

If you come from the Splinter Cell franchise, you will
adapt to these controls in no time, it uses quite the
same basic moves with both more and less from it.
The game gives you the option of switching between
first and third person viewing perspective, which is
a really useful feature in certain situations to make
things easier.


Story:

The game starts off slowly, with you doing some regaular
thefts, before escelating into a much darker tale.
Set for you to collecting necessary artifacts, in order
to rid the evil. Along the road you will constantly have
to deal with various groups of people, some are more or
less friendly, depending on how you treat them.


Bug and drawback listing:

*Movement suffers alot from bugs and will be the main
factor in the game ruining your stealth.
The most problematic one being where you in mid air
will freeze in a hovering position, after having jumped
against an object to climb. The way to fix this is done
by drawing an arrow quickly, by just tapping it, so you
don't have to shoot it.
*You can easily get stuck if jumping and landing down
on narrow areas.
*Climbing up and walking on ledges is very clunky. You
will keep falling off, as you for unknown reason is
pushed out and prevented to pass by invisible barriers.
As soon as you start slipping from a ledge, you can't
save yourself, you are guaranteed to fall down.
*Crouch toggling has a bad registering.
*Candles may sometimes keep illuminating after being put
out and in rare cases even be unquenchable.
*The crosshair of the bow is not depicting the correct
x axis trajectory of it's arrow, you will have to aim
to the side of it instead.
*Objects and bodies on the ground can spasm out at random
if coming into contact with another object, this will
of course alert any nearby enemy and ruin your stealth.
*Certain none special loot on mission levels don't shine.
This makes a 100% loot run a living hell, forcing you
to check every single small object on the map to make
sure it's either loot or junk. Keep lifting and putting
down unneeded objects will ruin stealth.
*Some of the loot are unecessary hidden on top of book-
shelves high above your field of view, unless you jump.
Again, this is something that will ruin your stealth.
*Noise-maker arrows are not working that well.
The enemies are programmed to prioritize where the sound
emerged from, the source, so they will often instead run
where you sit rather than to where you shot the arrow.
This is because the noise starts as soon as the arrow
leaves your bow instead of triggering on impact.


Conclusion:

Despite having its heavy movement bugs, I highly recommend
it as long as you're not too much of a perfectionist.
You will have to endure some frustration with it now
and then, but I think it's worth it to experience what
this game offers in fun and creepy level.

Perfect for classic Stealth fans who are looking forward to have some challenges,

First Thief game i have played, and i just started it before writing this.

When i loaded up the game i went straight to the settings to change the resolution, but sadly it didnt make a difference what it was set on, and had no 16:9 resolution options. "Oh well" ran through my head, and i started up a new game.

Entering my first Thief level was like visiting an alien planet. I was confused about controls, things seemed wonky, guards pathfinding was a joke to me, hiding in a sliver of a shadow (in plain sight) wasnt right to me, and then... well...

I went sneaking like a snake through Lord Ember's castle, knowing only of his family dispute and a valuable gem that was kept in the basement. When i first got there, i hid behind a cart for 20 minutes wondering if i could ever move and if i did, what friggin button threw a flashbang. After mashing my entire keyboard and deducting that it was the 'I' button, i moved on in wonder and awe of the Amnesia-esque enviroment that surrounded me. Slowly learning the ropes, i died to a guard carrying a torch, when i thought i could distract him with a loaf of bread to the face, lesson learned.

Every guard was a puzzle to solve, and every treasure was a wonderful reward. Sneaking around in this game has been the most fun and soul-searching experience i've ever had, and i've only completed the first level. I havent even touched on the "open" world yet.

While the graphics are outdated and there are some issues with the settings, it still made me enjoy myself.

Minor bugs, yes.
Too many loading screens, yes.
I've heard tale of a mod that fixes those things, but i havent tried it yet.

My conclusion: Definitely worth every penny.
I look forward to beating the ♥♥♥♥ out of this game.

ONE OF THE BEST GAMES

I have not completed this game yet but so far I am having a blast. Playing this game makes me sad because stealth games just aren't this good anymore. The game is both challenging and feels rewarding when you complete a job. Each mission is like a small open world and it is up to you to explore each level and figure out the best ways around the guards. The game shows little to no mercy when telling you where the item you need to steal is. This is up to you to figure out and it can get frustrating sometimes but it is just so rewarding to finially weave your way through the level and finially claiming what you must steal. The only complaint I have about this game so far is the dialouge for the common guard is a bit cheesy and stupid. Also, the guards are absolute morons. they have no peripheral vision and they do not react if you shoot an arrow and miss. However sometimes the guards can be smart especially if you accidentally move into a lighted spot and one happens to spot you a mile away. This game has about 30 hours of gameplay, and that is not filled with cutscenes and trial and error moments. It is actual gameplay. Overall it is a great game and I find myself addicted. One of the best stealth games I've ever played.

In my opnion

Easily the best Thief game

Sooooo many memories :)

At the time being it is the almost perfect game to who likes combination of action and stealth in approximation of reality. The intresting story is the nice addition to the very atmospheric game.

much better than Thief 2014. this game has better graphics than thief gold and thief ii but still retains the feel of the original thief. the dark humor. the freedom to complete missions in different ways. this is the best thief in my opinion. beat the game multiple times with the retail CD version. got the game on steam sale to immortlize this masterpiece in my collection

Great third addition to the Thief series. Instead of simply going on to the next mission after completing one, you go back to the city. Here you can do everything from purchasing arrows and equipment, to stealing from the citizens, to picking on the guards.

Plus, the story is a bit more open. Not sure if this is a spoiler or not, but at one point you can choose whether to become friendly toward the Hammerites, or the Pagans, which affects the rest of the game after that.

Instead of a sword, you have a dagger. Makes backstabbing much easier.

No rope arrows, but you can eventually purchase climbing gloves. These are AWESOME, if you can figure out how to use them. :D

Oil vials. Can be ignited to make a temporary, impassible wall of flame, or can be used to make guards slip, slide, and fall down elevator shafts, if you know what you're doing. Awesome.

The ability to go 3rd Person in the game is interesting -- at first it detracted from what I was used to in the Thief series, but I quickly got over it.

Lockpicking is a little more immersive and realistic, as well.

Still, 9/10. WAY better than the new "THIEF" (aka Dishonored 2).