Rating: 
Summary: Lacking
Review: Sadly the game isn't a patch on the original Thief games! Graphics are awful. If you own Deus Ex 2 you'll know what I mean. Eidos really screwed up and I refuse to purchase another product from them again. The game runs poorly, much like Deus Ex 2 which is known for technical problems. Even a friend with a AMD 3200+ couldn't get the damn thing to run higher than a rate of 20fps :( The game crashes on my system all the time, I have XP Pro and more than enough RAM (1GB) to run this game. Considering Far Cry ran like a dream on this system and it looks much better than this tells you enough. The gameplay is slow and boring, and the LOADING TIMES completely ruin the game. A third of the way through the level, a loading time ruins the immersion and makes you feel like you're in another mission. I hope a patch will fix this, but Deus Ex 2 was also ruined in this way and had no fixes to rectify this problem. Thief 3 gets the thumbs down from me.
Rating: 
Summary: OMG
Review: This game is amazing - just got done playing it at E3. I was worried about the PC version, but now I see there was nothing to worry about. The hires textures were AMAZING and it is one of the most beautiful games I have ever seen. Ion Storm learned their lesson with Invisible War, and only a blithering idiot would think this is has been dumbed down for Xbox fans. The game is great too- almost forgot about that! The AIs seem super smart - scary-super smart. I've never felt so much tension just hiding against a wall while an NPC goes by - wonderful game!
Rating:
Summary: Aye, it stole me' heart...
Review: I see that most game sites are giving Deadly Shadows bad or average ratings. Many gamer reviews have had ill to say as well. I read what all these nay-saying reviewers wrote before I played the game and then I went back and re-read their reviews after I finished the game yesterday morning. In reflection: They were all WAY OFF. Thief Deadly Shadows is an amazing addition to the Thief franchise and a great stealth/action stand-out. I noticed that all of the reviewers who gave the game poor marks did so because it had a few bugs in it. And because the game is only playable on XP and 2000. - Those were their two major gripes. -- About the bugs I shall say this: The game is indeed buggy and crashed on me more than once. It was nothing serious though. It didn't make me NOT want to boot it back up and find a way around the bug. Deadly Shadows is extremely fun and it will have you coming back for more. I think that's a point that a lot of these die-hard gamer geeks are forgetting: DEADLY SHADOWS IS A FUN GAME. Some gamers can be technical and stringent to the point where they don't allow themselves to have fun while playing a game. The reviews those people post are the worst reviews for you to read when deciding whether or not you want to buy a particular release. Deadly Shadows, despite a few minor bugs that will be fixed in an upcoming patch, is a very fun game to play. It is addictive and carries with it a story that is well-written, suspenseful, and fun to take part in. That being said I must mention the two greatest features of Deadly Shadows.// First and foremost: The dynamic shadows. The shadow-play in this game is extremely well done. The way that shadows and light exist together in the different environments looks absolutely great. Walking around a dimly lit room from candlelight to moonlight is awesome to behold in DS. Very realistic looking; it draws you deeper into the Thief world. *Great shadows and lighting.* I cannot stress that point enough. The second thing I must mention: Shalebridge Cradle... It is a level you're going to play when you're about halfway through the game. It is AWESOME. Genius, genius, genius. Without a doubt one of the most memorable levels in any game to date. The environment itself, the concept behind it, and the way it is played out - all genius. High marks for Ion Storm on that one. Go and see Shalebridge Cradle. As for the technical stuff? - I played the game on a Pentium 4. 2.8 ghz with 512mb of ram. I used a Geforce fx card with 128mb onboard. The game ran fine for the most part on 1024 resolution but there were a few lighting-intense rooms that were just too much and it killed my frame rate. Other than those few occurrences of intense multi-lighting the game ran great. The graphics and artwork are decent. - Always made better by the gorgeous aforementioned lighting/shadow aspect. In summary: Buy this game. Play this game.
If you're a fan of the series: Enjoy an excellent return to the Thief saga. If you're a newcomer: Welcome, and be prepared to have a lot of fun with Deadly Shadows. All around, this is a great action/stealth game.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun and addictive
Review: Thief: Deadly Shadows is an excellent addition to the Thief series. The opening chapter also serves as a tutorial, which should suffice for those new to the Thief series games (of course, Thief 1 and 2 are still worth the investment). The gameplay differs slightly from Thief 2. The stealth is the same, but it adds the ability to wander through the city at your leisure, sell your loot and buy gear whenever you want from "fences," and a few new toys (holy water to kill undead and oil flasks to make people slip - oh the laughs). Additionally, there are places where you interact more with other characters in a friendly way, immersing you into Garrett's world as as a thief. Why not 5 stars? My computer exceeds the recommended requirements, but I still cannot use the full video enchancements without major choppiness. This is a disappointment for me. In addition, the game has crashed on me a few times. Be sure to save frequently to avoid hassles with this (Quicksave F10 works well for this). Hopefully Eidos will release a patch to fix these problems. Overall, this is an excellect game that may keep you up late at night. The storyline is excellent and the stealth unmatched by any other game. If you meet the recommended system requirements and enjoy sneaking around, this game is for you.
Rating:
Summary: worthy of the Thief name
Review: Thief 3 successfully moves forward technologically while keeping true to the story and mood of the series. This is a next generation engine with dynamic lighting that requires a beefy video card. I recommend a GeForce FX or a Radeon 9800. I have Windows 2000 with a GeForce TI 4200 and it's playable at 800x600 with low details. The game has the same voice actors from the first two, which was a big plus for me. It has an OPTION to go 3rd person, but the default for the PC is 1st person which IMHO is much better for this game. Huge advances have been made in the game engine, including graphics, ragdoll physics, and a few AI improvements. The mood is dark and scary and the story is well done, with tons of exploring and gameplay time. There's no underwater exploring in this one, but frankly the game was so good I didn't even miss it. Lockpicking is also more challenging but with a little practice you'll get fast. If you are a fan of the first couple games, Thief 3 will seem stange for about the first 5 minutes and then you'll love it again. If you're new to Thief, this game isn't like regular 3D shooters. In this game YOU get to be that dangerous-looking guy in the shadows. The guards and other characters can see AND hear you, and the objective is to move without getting caught by those who would harm you. Sounds simple, but it takes practice and it's quite a rush! (Don't worry, you still have weapons, but the combat is a lot more realistic - you will get killed if you barge into a fully lighted room with 4 armed guards.) There's not only huge missions, there's a central city area with shops and secrets. You even have your own apartment! All in all this game is like living another life inside your computer and it's amazing!
Rating:
Summary: everything i had expected
Review: recently finished this (with a months vacation during the game). normally, i wait to to see reviews before i buy a new game (deus ex 2), but i liked thief 1 & 2 so much that i rushed right out and bought this right after it came out ON TIME! and then worked at it steadily on expert until finished. my 2 year old hp had no trouble dealing with this game. there are aspects of thief 3 that are both better and worse than the prior two. the visuals are outstanding, with details, shading, shadows, etc much better than before. i suspect that this is one reason why these small levels took so long to load, but its worth the wait. the realism is remarkable. the story presented finally pulls together what had been happening in the first two, which was never clear to me, (the Balance, that is). some of the levels were remarkably atmospheric and "immersive", such as the seaside mansion, the museum, and the cradle. Most of the time between missions, one runs around town doing errands, avoiding the watch, breaking into houses and shops, and robbing people. health is still rare, so you cant take a lot of hits like in half-life and then heal up. if you get caught, youre dead, or nearly so; many reloads are required. this game is a strong sequel in the thief series a few new angles. no rope arrows. these are fun, but not really missed. the climbing gloves supplied are used rarely, once to enter a level, and a few times to get weapons or special loot (the equivalent of secrets). no swimming, but this is ok, because the only good swimming in a video game, imho, was in tombraider. buying loot from stores with stolen money is new, but i had about 50,000 dollars left over and a full arsenal. there was little to spend money on, as most items could be found. I was cheated by a merchant near the end who sold ersatz loot and a map, but the game would not let me go back and kill her. the only thing really necessary to buy is climbing gloves. faction status is new. you can improve vour status with hammers and pagans by doing them favors, which results in their leaving you alone when you enter their areas of influence (very helpful). what this implies is you cannot molest any ot their members, or you lose standing. this, in turn, means you must do missions involving these groups with no knockouts (of note, "killing time"). on the downside, there is only one truly spooky mission. there were several in thief 1, which makes that, for me, the scariest game ever. the hammer haunts in thief 3 are not as malignant as previously, and there are no spiders. the ai doesnt seem as smart as previously. the bad guys are much easier to sneak up on and knock out than before. i think they could get rid of those dead bodies that flopped for 5 minutes after you dropped them and use the computing power freed up for the ai. anyway, the slablike rigor mortis bodies of prior thiefs and deus ex may not look as good but they work well and there is no obnoxious uh-uh when you have to hide them in a hurry. all zombies in the cradle except one could be easily and repeatedly avoided, which detracted from the fear factor of that mission (which is reminiscent of "return to the cathedral"). actually, i think the gameplay of thief three was easier, too. Thief 2 had many very difficult secrets, but some of the objectives in thief 1 were much harder. did you find the serpentyle torc? the watchmans grave? or get to the heart and soul in "bonehoard"? also, i miss monster levels like "life of the party" (my favorite), "soulforge", "shipping and receiving", and "lost city". all in all, thief #3 is strong work, with great story, attractive visuals, superb atmosphere, and engaging gameplay. my "complaints" amount to things id like to see when i buy thief 4. (make it for mac!)
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome graphics...but boooring...get Splinter Cell instead!
Review: I love the simplicity of skulking around in the dark during medieval times. I like having a bow to fight with. Beyond that, this game is just too repetitive.
You get new missions and all you can do is sneak, find loot by stealing it or picking locks on wooden chests, achieve the required goals, then get a new mission that has you doing the same crap all over again! I MEAN HOW MANY CHESTS CAN YOU PICK OPEN BEFORE YOU GET BORED TO TEARS??? The weapons perform poorly too! I aim perfectly for the heart, shoot a guy with 3 arrows close up and he still kicks my butt! Then I can shoot another guy in the leg and he dies instantly! LAME!!!!! The concept is fun, it just lacks something to make you want to continue playing the next repetitive levels. The voice acting is pretty lame too. I would go so far as to call it banal. I am glad the developers stepped away from aliens and nazis. I swear if I have to kill one more darn Super-Armored Alien Nazi Storm Trooper with twin machine guns for hands I will scream! I don't want to imply that you should not play this game. It does have it's moments. I would recommend you wait until this game costs around $15. If you want a true sneak and loot challenge..go for Splinter Cell. The character has many more abilities and the game is actually entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Beauty!
Review: I recently finished playing this masterpiece, and I'm still rueful about it. I absolutely loved it, I always knew I would anyway being a die hard fan of Garrett.
So what I found in this game: the price sure was an issue for me when it first came out, but they weren't stereotype about it this time, the screenshots were an actual part of the game. I don't blame Eidos and ION Storm for making this game not so easy to purchase. These graphics come at a great cost, and plus you get what you pay for, including the make up for the extra slight expense for the graphics card and the like.
This game's got a bit of a give and take in it. The sword; vine and rope arrows; scouting orbs; flares; invisible potions and burricks have been removed but a dagger replaces the sword; climbing gloves make up for the old vine and rope arrows; and there are flasks of oil and holy water as far as inventory and tools are concerned. The game's also got extra features: shadows and change of perspective which enables first and third person viewing. The physics are precise. Bodies actually roll if thrown down a flight of stairs and objects crash to the ground if you go bumping into them, though I do slightly doubt the ragdoll physics (It makes you feel you're in a yoga class). Lockpicking's now a little more complicated and it's got more of a realistic feel to it unlike its prequels where you just switched between the triangluar toothed pick and the square toothed pick. This time though, the mouse is needed to control the picks until it "jabs" the "sweetspot" of the lock.
Deadly Shadows is now a little more open instead of the usual "one mission leads to another" technique. This time, the game offers sidequests and Garrett is now free to roam the City, looting and selling to his fences. The City's also divided into four places- South Quarter (Garrett's residence), The Docks, Auldale, and Old Quarter; and eventually all areas are accessible depending on your progress throughout the levels.
Also, this time Garrett's got a Faction Status. He can ally with the Hammerites and the Pagans through doing these sidequests or they'll continue to be hostile to you and won't allow you to enter their territory (Hammerite Cathedrals, Pagan woods and the like), which in a way will make the game more stealthy.
The atmosphere is still as detailed and realistic especially this one level which stands out the most in my mind- Robbing the Cradle. Garrett still retains his signature cynical voice played by Stephen Russell and continues to bring out the dark and dismal feel to the game.
I really recommend this game, it still lives up to its prequels but its more improvised this time.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome game for any Thief fanatic
Review: I loved Thief and Thief 2. I liked the graphics - while behind the times, they had a beauty to them that was sometimes breathtaking (especially some of the fan-missions). When I heard 3 was coming I spent every day reading and re-reading everything on it I could.
I bought the game the same day Amazon put it up for pre-order and I was so excited when it got to my house I took the day off work to play it!
Well, sometimes things aren't always what you'd hoped for. The game was more difficult to get used to then the other two - the guards are more responsive and you can't knock them out from in front or the side or if they are aware of you. Some parts are easier too - you can "melt" into a wall and someone can walk right past you and not see you. If you creep along or crouch, you make no noise, not even on metal.
The visual are awesome, far beyond Thief 2, especially the musuem - wow! (and be so careful when playing the Shalebridge Cradle - stock up on fire arrows and flashbombs)
The story kind of plays the same as the last one, but still has tricks and turns. No changes (beyond some of your goals) keeps the game from being all that replayable, but I've played through it three or four times.
If you liked or loved the Thief series, you'll be happy with this one...besides, my computer won't play Thief 2 anymore anyway...
Rating: 
Summary: Controversial game-- brilliant, but still disappointing
Review: This game is not consistent in its quality. Many of the in-building missions are just magnificent, both in graphics and in gameplay -- at first -- the guards talking about you etc. But soon one notices that ALL guard creatures do exactly the same things, just in different words. This is made worse by the fact that there are no traps or security systems whatsoever, like in Thief 2.
The cave missions suck in terms of graphics, and diversity. Each room looks like the previous one -- and you can and will get stuck between two rocks at some stage... just like your opponents get stuck ...
The city is tiny and crude -- huge downgrade from the large and mighty city of thief 2. Also, when I killed the female thief in front of the cathedral, I proceeded to kill her male companion -- and, wow, a duplicate of the 'dead' lady runs from behind a corner and says "at least it wasn't me!" Depressing...
You enter missions by clicking glyphs -- eg the cathedral looks like a small cottage, but when you click it, you enter a mission with a huge cathedral and courtyards -- realistic, hah.. The city is like a fake, cardboard village.
The best item of thief 2 was the rope arrow -- now you have an unrealistic solution, climbing gloves... While climbing can be somewhat fun, you can escape all guards by jumping on the wall. Garret's hand gets tired of holding a light bow, but apparently not from hanging indefinitely to a brick wall with his fingers! You can't even navigate round a corner whilst on the wall and overall, it's really clumsy to climb around.
No special missions like shadowing, which we had in thief 2. Only open lock, get in, steal stuff, move stuff, turn switch, and in every darn mission -- lack of imagination????
What you have is the very basic elements of old thief games with nice lighting effects, but buggy graphics close to Garret in the view from behind him. (Ok, the possibility to choose between views is still good.)But why couldn't they implement the best extra elements from thief 2 or replace them with something else? Now the whole game is lacking something. The story is probably the most immersive so far, but it seems that the story doesn't really begin until half of the game has been wasted with 'fetch this'- missions. Voice acting is often appauling, and while pagan 'bes' are funny, they will get on your nerves.
On the whole, it's not a bad game at all -- but what is good, is almost always inherited from the basic concepts of old thief games. The best extra elements of thief 2 have been left out completely. Unfortunately this is much more repetitive than other thief games -- a lot of it is because of the stupid inclusion of the boring City.
+ graphics (but not consistently good)
+ story (but starts too late)
+ good old TM Thief formula never fails
+ moving light sources
+ volume of steps changes according to distance (but some spoken lines seem same volume close and far!)
+picking locks is more realistic than before
- repetition to the extreme -- eg all guards are the same
- I'm stuck in a chest, or between two stones, or in a sealed pit in Pavelock prison and I can't jump out.
- It is sometimes very hard to simply pick loot -- you have to get it dead centre, which may take a minute.
- I'm a master thief who goes to the shop to buy my equipment
- I'm the best thief in town and still I pay rent to my landlord to live in a pathetic dump.
- wait for tiny cramped city area to load, take two steps, and wait for next area to load...
- the unrealistic "fog" between area -- did thief 2 have loading times to move between places inside missions?
- occasionally pathetic voice acting and lines: "die, die -- now you are dead" or "I am still searching -- now I stop searching (so you can blackjack me safely)"
Now, I only gave 3 stars to the game.
But I could give 234 stars to the level Shalebridge Cradle,a dark dark abandoned lunatic asylumn/orphanage. And it is not a typical level of Deadly Shadows...
I consciously tried not to be afraid. But I've never feared more-- this level's audiovisual structure makes you feel like a paranoid lunatic yourself!! You just can't help feeling that something will strike you -- but there are only relatively few enemies, (which are some of the most freaky, twitching, mad, ghastly, sneaking creepers you will ever witness). The majority of the sounds are "ghost sounds".
You are guaranteed to tremble 5 minutes after putting it away. And this is something you have an urge to do so very often. To be honest, I don't know if I will ever have the guts to go back again myself...
After playing through over a dozen of missions where the slightest sound instantly revealed an enemy, here this developed instinct is constantly made use of with the freaky ghost sounds. And the sounds seem to come up very irregularly and with varying volume, which increases the fear/uncertainty factor.
Nothing as intense and horrifying exists in the world of gaming -- it is a prize for navigating through 2/3 of the otherwise repetitive missions. Regardless of whether you have the courage to complete this mission, you must try it-- this level cannot be missed.
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