The third entry in arguably the most under-appreciated series of stealth games on the market, Thief: Deadly Shadows maintains the high standards of its predecessors, and offers some extremely tense gaming in the process. The concept is pretty much the same as usual. You take on the role of a master thief in medieval times, who must pull off a series of missions--covering thefts, the odd assassination and combat--while gradually uncovering a darker, overriding secret. This all underpins a game structure that sees you taking on tasks of gradually increasing difficulty, as you seek to evade guards, sneak through the shadows and pick a few locks for good measure. Along the way, you'll also find yourself making use of your arsenal of tools, be it to create a distraction to get a guard out of the way, or to extinguish some of the lights that would otherwise give away your presence. All of this takes place in one of the most atmospheric game worlds out there, and, mixed with some terrific work on the audio side, it's utterly engrossing stuff. Few games get anywhere near the tension levels that Thief: Deadly Shadows attains, and few will have you holding your breath quite so often.
And there are more ticks in the plus column, too. The game is a lot longer than gamers would have expected before its release, and some of the missions are genuinely exceptional. The only slight downers are that there aren't too many new ideas this time round, and the third-person camera doesn't always work smoothly, which means you're best sticking to a first-person viewpoint.
Nonetheless, this doesn't detract from the fact that Thief: Deadly Shadows is an excellent game, and one of the very best stealth titles around. It's easy to get into, packed with surprises, and is pretty much guaranteed to bring you out in a cold sweat when it ratchets up those tension levels. It deserves to be a big hit. --Simon Brew
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