Thief: Deadly Shadows first impressions.
May. 27th, 2004 10:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solipsistnationI was filled with trepidation last night as I installed the game. Would it be strange and alien? Would it be a mockery of the Thief legacy? Or worse, would it be close but somehow off, like Deus Ex: Invisible War, which was very pretty but disappointing? So far, I'm impressed. It's Thief.
The tutorial is much less free-form than the original Thief tutorial. You MUST follow the set path and perform various tasks along the way in order to succeed. Luckily, the tutorial isn't very long (although it does play one nasty trick on you, making a guard appear in an otherwise empty room so you can try out flash bombs). It also, through an overheard conversation, ties directly into the first mission. The tutorial makes absolutely sure you learn the basic skills of thievery-- hiding in shadows, walking silently, picking locks, mantling, clubbing guards, the use of water and noisemaker arrows (which now sound more like fireworks than strange clockwork things), and flashbombing. It makes you try each skill until you get it right, so by the time you're done with the tutorial, you've got a pretty good handle on the whole thief thing. It's not a bad way to start off, and is short enough that it doesn't become tedious. Making the conversations and loot from the tutorial relevant to the first mission was also a nice touch, and makes it seem less like a time-filler and more like the beginning of the game.
The first mission is a pretty standard infiltration and theft level. A local minor noble has something valuable, and Garrett decides to go steal it. Guards (who mostly have distinctive personalities-- a nice touch) patrol the castle as the noble roams around berating them for being inattentive. Servants speak with one another, there are lots of scrolls and books and letters lying around to be read, plenty of random loot to pick up along the way, and some lovely architecture. Once again, the building feels like an actual building, with kitchens, garderobes, bedrooms, guard quarters (including a fellow having some pretty unpleasant-sounding nightmares) and a basement vault with the big treasure in it. While not terribly challenging, it's a good introduction to the way thieving works. Each goal has a couple of different paths by which it can be reached (including the actual entrance of the house-- there are at least two ways to get inside, and probably at least one more I didn't find from the outside), and there are plenty of routes through the house.
Once the first mission is finished, Garrett returns to his apartment and goes to roam around the city, selling off his loot and buying new supplies. This is a major change from the first two games, where each mission existed in a vacuum, unconnected from any other game locations. The city is full of wandering people and has plenty of buildings to climb and explore and loot. There are objectives to fulfill, but no particular time frame in which to fulfill them, and there are distractions galore along the way. It's an effective way of tying the missions together and making the city seem more like a place. There are citizens to pickpocket, guards to avoid, and some strange secret things to find that appear to hint at future missions or places to explore.
I'm trying to think of things I don't like, and there isn't much. Lockpicking starts off very strange, at least until you figure it out, and then it becomes very very easy. It's more of a minigame than the original lockpicking was, which is kind of neat, but I'm neither super-enthused nor irritated by it. I suspect it would be more interesting on the Xbox, where they use the controller vibration to provide tactile feedback. With the mouse, it's just sort of flaily while watching little rings on the screen move.
I've been playing on Expert, and it still doesn't seem terribly difficult. That might be because I'm still in the first level. It's still pretty tense at times, although I can be sure that Garrett can outrun any of the guards out there.
There are lots of nice touches and details. Guards can't chase you forever-- they get tired and stop to catch their breath. Candles can be pinched out. Guards and servants notice that things are missing-- steal all the silverware off the table, and the serving girl will remark on it and start looking around more carefully. Put out torches, and guards will comment on it and become a little more alert. It's things like that that really begin to make the world seem a lot more alive than the first two games.
The sound is as lovely as it ever was. The low roar and hum of the city, the gentle tinkling of chimes, the sound of a guard singing two rooms over, it all serves to wrap the player in the environment of the city.
The graphics are, for once for a Thief game, modern and very good. Textures, lighting, dynamic shadows(!), and lots of really lovely effects. It stands right up there with Far Cry or DX2 or any other DirectX 9 game.
Overall, I'm really happy with it so far. I've got another two missions to take on this evening, borrowing a couple of artifacts from some Pagans and a Hammerite cathedral. I'm already looking forward to it.
The tutorial is much less free-form than the original Thief tutorial. You MUST follow the set path and perform various tasks along the way in order to succeed. Luckily, the tutorial isn't very long (although it does play one nasty trick on you, making a guard appear in an otherwise empty room so you can try out flash bombs). It also, through an overheard conversation, ties directly into the first mission. The tutorial makes absolutely sure you learn the basic skills of thievery-- hiding in shadows, walking silently, picking locks, mantling, clubbing guards, the use of water and noisemaker arrows (which now sound more like fireworks than strange clockwork things), and flashbombing. It makes you try each skill until you get it right, so by the time you're done with the tutorial, you've got a pretty good handle on the whole thief thing. It's not a bad way to start off, and is short enough that it doesn't become tedious. Making the conversations and loot from the tutorial relevant to the first mission was also a nice touch, and makes it seem less like a time-filler and more like the beginning of the game.
The first mission is a pretty standard infiltration and theft level. A local minor noble has something valuable, and Garrett decides to go steal it. Guards (who mostly have distinctive personalities-- a nice touch) patrol the castle as the noble roams around berating them for being inattentive. Servants speak with one another, there are lots of scrolls and books and letters lying around to be read, plenty of random loot to pick up along the way, and some lovely architecture. Once again, the building feels like an actual building, with kitchens, garderobes, bedrooms, guard quarters (including a fellow having some pretty unpleasant-sounding nightmares) and a basement vault with the big treasure in it. While not terribly challenging, it's a good introduction to the way thieving works. Each goal has a couple of different paths by which it can be reached (including the actual entrance of the house-- there are at least two ways to get inside, and probably at least one more I didn't find from the outside), and there are plenty of routes through the house.
Once the first mission is finished, Garrett returns to his apartment and goes to roam around the city, selling off his loot and buying new supplies. This is a major change from the first two games, where each mission existed in a vacuum, unconnected from any other game locations. The city is full of wandering people and has plenty of buildings to climb and explore and loot. There are objectives to fulfill, but no particular time frame in which to fulfill them, and there are distractions galore along the way. It's an effective way of tying the missions together and making the city seem more like a place. There are citizens to pickpocket, guards to avoid, and some strange secret things to find that appear to hint at future missions or places to explore.
I'm trying to think of things I don't like, and there isn't much. Lockpicking starts off very strange, at least until you figure it out, and then it becomes very very easy. It's more of a minigame than the original lockpicking was, which is kind of neat, but I'm neither super-enthused nor irritated by it. I suspect it would be more interesting on the Xbox, where they use the controller vibration to provide tactile feedback. With the mouse, it's just sort of flaily while watching little rings on the screen move.
I've been playing on Expert, and it still doesn't seem terribly difficult. That might be because I'm still in the first level. It's still pretty tense at times, although I can be sure that Garrett can outrun any of the guards out there.
There are lots of nice touches and details. Guards can't chase you forever-- they get tired and stop to catch their breath. Candles can be pinched out. Guards and servants notice that things are missing-- steal all the silverware off the table, and the serving girl will remark on it and start looking around more carefully. Put out torches, and guards will comment on it and become a little more alert. It's things like that that really begin to make the world seem a lot more alive than the first two games.
The sound is as lovely as it ever was. The low roar and hum of the city, the gentle tinkling of chimes, the sound of a guard singing two rooms over, it all serves to wrap the player in the environment of the city.
The graphics are, for once for a Thief game, modern and very good. Textures, lighting, dynamic shadows(!), and lots of really lovely effects. It stands right up there with Far Cry or DX2 or any other DirectX 9 game.
Overall, I'm really happy with it so far. I've got another two missions to take on this evening, borrowing a couple of artifacts from some Pagans and a Hammerite cathedral. I'm already looking forward to it.
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Must get!
Date: 2004-05-27 09:13 am (UTC)"I have heard.....something." *whirr* *click* *whirr* *click*
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-27 09:30 am (UTC)Looking forward to seeing how the next missions play out. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-27 10:33 am (UTC)