Verdict
93/100

Thief III: Deadly Shadows is the sequel to Thief II: The Metal Age which in turn in the sequel to Thief: The Dark Project. They really are sequels, not just games with the same title because the storyline in each game continues the storyline in the last one. The games take place in a world that is a strange mix of Middle Ages elements with primitive technology, which means that you'll encounter things like magic and steam machines in the very same world! The Thief games are first-person sneaker games; a game genre made famous my Metal Gear Solid but Thief was the first in the genre. The main character in these games is Garrett who is, as you might have guessed, a Master Thief.

The storyline in Thief III picks up some months after the events in Thief II. The Keepers contact Garrett, a faction he was once a part of, who need his help in requiring certain artefacts. In return, the Keepers will allow him to look at the Prophecy, which had something to do with previous event that Garrett was involved with. Garrett doesn't trust the Keepers but also realizes that he has no other option if he wants to read that Prophecy. So he decided to do those missions for the Keepers. Of course what he doesn't realize is that taking on those missions is only the start of another, far more dangerous mission.

Gameplay
As said the Thief games are all first-person sneaker games and they have a developed a very special playing style. Each game uses this rather unique game play and Thief III is no different. They main goal in Thief III is to sneak around, not to kill. You can play this game on different levels (Easy, Normal and Hard) and in the higher levels killing will often make you fail a mission. The standard "You're a Thief, not a Murderer" is something that one should keep in mind while playing Thief III. The AI of Thief III is far better that in the previous games and so sneaking becomes more and more important. They noticed when an object or a person is missing and even the slightest sounds will attract the guards or other enemies so you have to be very careful while walking and choose your ground wisely (for example you will make more noise while walking over metal plates, so you'll have to walk slowly). But of course, the shadows are your biggest friend here. At the bottom of the screen there is a Light-Gem. This Gem shows the player how well Garreth is hidden in the shadows. If the Gem is too light that he is very visible, if the Gem is completely dark then no one will be able to see Garrett

Tools
Luckily Garrett as a lot of tools that help him sneak like a Master Thief. One of the most important tools that Garrett can use is his mechanical eye. He lost his real eye during a previous Thief game and that eye was replaced by the Hammerites with a mechanical one. He can use this eye to zoom in and out so that he can keep a close watch on guards and other things. Another handy tool is the blackjack. Now, the game does not allow you to kill people but there is no real difference between killing a person or knocking them for a good while. The blackjack comes in handy in many situations and if you can use it right (swinging it wrong will not knock a person out, if will just make them attack you) it will make the game a lot easier. But the most used tools are Garrett's arrows. He has a wide selection of arrows including Water Arrows, Fire Arrows, Moss Arrows and Noisemaker Arrows. You can use Water Arrows to douse flames to create more shadows, Fire Arrows can be used to kill mechanical enemies, Moss Arrows create a patch of moss where ever your shoot them at and you can use them to choke enemies or to walk over metal floors without making a sound, and you can use Noisemaker Arrows to create a loud noise that will distract the guards.

New Elements
But Thief III also holds some new elements. In Thief and Thief II the game was laced together by mission after mission. Now in Thief III Garreth can walk through the City between missions to sell his goods and to travel from one mission location to another. There are also peasants roaming the streets who are quite easy to mug and there are several funny sequences and even more loot to obtain in the City. The way that you pick a lock as also changed. In the past games it was a simple matter of sticking the lockpick into the lock and the door would open. Now you have to open up a series of lock rings. Ones you've managed to open all the rings the lock will open. It adds a sense of realism and pressure to the game, because it takes a lot longer to open a lock properly. Thief III also comes with a new tool names the Wall-Climbing Gloves. These gloves allow you to climb up certain walls (meaning that not all kinds of walls are compatible with the gloves) and they give Garrett an advantage over his enemies.

Factions
Another interested new element in the game is the fact that Garrett can align with different factions. The City knows three different factions. The first faction is the Keepers. They are the secret observers of the City and they watch over the ancient scrolls and Prophecies. They use stealth and Glyphs (The Keeper's way of using magic) to achieve their goals. The second faction is the Hammerites. The Hammerites worship the Builder and use machines and tools to work in the name of the Builder. The third faction is the Pagans. The Pagans worship the demonic Trickster god and have aligned themselves with nature and its (supernatural) creatures. In previous games the gamer had no say in which factions Garrett allied himself with. But it this game Garrett can take on quests set by each faction to try and get on friendly terms with them. Or he can go and mess around with them to get on their bad side.

Fun!
Thief III is a game with many different elements and it allows the gamer much more freedom then the previous ones did. The game requires a large amount of determination though. Sneaking is not always as easy and the storyline takes some pretty ugly turns. The game is really not suitable for gamers with a very weak nerves system, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't play it (my nerves system isn't exactly great but I managed to finish the game). Thief III is addicted and fun, whether you've played the previous two games or not!