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> Results: Thief III: Deadly Shadows
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Instead of run-and-gun action titles, the ﾓThiefﾔ series focuses on stealth and cunning -- consider them ﾓ3-D sneakersﾔ instead of ﾓ3-D shooters.ﾔGarrett is back as a medieval master thief who must slip into castles, dungeons and cathedrals and to steal riches ﾖ the trick is to remain undetected by skulking in the shadows and keeping quiet at all costs. The moment the player is seen or heard, guards will take notice and begin to charge the player. Similar to past ﾓThiefﾔ games, ﾓDeadly Shadowsﾔ takes place during the Dark Ages, but the game makers weave in supernatural elements such as bizarre creatures and futuristic weapons such as wall-climbing gloves and fancy flash bombs.  The most noticeable new feature is the ability to toggle between a first-person view and a third-person view as one of the two may be more conducive to the situation. For example, seeing the game out of Garrettﾒs ﾓeyesﾔ is fine for creeping into a hallway and shooting arrows at an enemy, but seeing him on the screen may be a better choice for when he needs to better analyze his surroundings, such as when ambushing a guard or picking a lock. ﾓThief III: Deadly Shadowsﾔ should please fans of the series, while roping in new players for its silent but deadly approach to action gaming. Kid Factor Thief 3 encourages the player to avoid violence in favor of stealth, and "blackjacking" opponents (knocking them out with a club) is the preferred method of incapacitating an enemy. However it is often much easier to simply kill a guard or bystander than it is to sneak past them. When playing at higher difficulty levels the mission conditions often specify that no non-combatants may be killed, but that is not the case at lower difficulties. The violence in the game is not particularly realistic and there isn't much gore, but deaths often leave a pool of blood. Due to extremely poor rag-doll "physics," a bunch of dead or unconscious bodies looks like some kind of bizarre contortionist dog pile. Of course almost every mission involves stealing something. The consequences of theft can involve being chased by guards while your victim screams "Thief! Thief!" but liberating people of their possessions is definitely glamorized. There are a number of creepy zombies and other monsters in the game, and the atmosphere can be pretty scary at times. The game is certainly not kid friendly, although older teens might be able to handle the themes with guidance. The content is not any worse than a lot of PG-13 movies. Kid Factor by Keith Clemens Reviewer's Recommended Ages: 13+ ESRB: M for Mature Genre: Stealth Publisher: Eidos Developer: Ion Storm Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Thief III: Deadly Shadows |
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