The second innovation which serves to set Thief apart is its use of shadows and light. Each guard in the game has a pair of perfectly functioning eyes, and if he can't hear Garrett coming, then he'll probably see him. To offset this, Looking Glass built in a light meter into Thief. In the lower right hand corner of the screen, players will be able to note how visible they are to others by a small rectangular jewel which Garrett is carrying. As light hits Garrett, the jewel will shimmer. The brighter the jewel, the more visible Garrett is.
Players can use the shadows to their advantage. Sneaking up to a face-to-face level with a guard is possible if the area is dark enough, and the player quiet enough. Water arrows can also be used to extinguish torches, making it easier for Garret to remain undetected. Guards that are blackjacked will need to be moved to a darker area such as a stair well or closet, as others who see their bodies will run for help or sound an alarm. The same is true for spilled blood. Luckily, Garrett can mop up any mess with a handy handkerchief and can carry bodies on his shoulder, although with much more handicapped mobility.
Thief's great innovations aren't without their problems however. The game is powered by the Dark Engine, a relatively weak competitor to the Quake II, Unreal and LithTech 3D engines. The textures are very dull and bland, and the polygon count is horrendously low. We'll never berate a game because it lacks any visual splendor, however with so many solid engines easily available to developers, one would expect the visuals to be a given. And while not a product of the Dark Engine, the game's pace is very slow as well. For being a cunning thief, Garrett needs to hit the treadmill more often.
Thief's learning curve and difficulty level is also very frustrating. At the easiest setting, the game is very hard, and we found ourselves constantly dying. The only thing that boils the blood quicker than spending 5 minutes tracking the movement of a guard, holding your breath as you sneak up behind him and raising your blackjack only to have him turn around and cut you down to size with three quick slashes is doing it 3-4 times.
Players who get over these initial bumps and scrapes will love the game however. Yes, Thief would have been a better game if Looking Glass would have polished it up just a bit, but these obstacles are distracting, not detracting. After all is said and done, Thief delivers a breath of fresh air into a criminally overcrowded genre. Its use of solid sound design coupled with the environment interaction puts Thief on our short list of games worthy of buying this Christmas season.
Amer "Mossad" Ajami
Senior Editor
Developed By: Looking Glass
Published By: Eidos
3D Card Support: Yes
Multiplayer Support: No
Web Site: www.lglass.com/thief/index.html
E.T.A: Available Now