Several recent stealth-based games have put you in the role of a top-secret, high-tech operative armed with night-vision goggles and a sniper rifle. However, as fans of the Thief franchise know, Looking Glass" series was among the first modern games to emphasize stealth action. In the series, you played as a footpad, named Garrett, who had to make do with a bow and arrow, a blackjack, and his own wits. Fortunately for both Garrett and fans of Thief, he was--and continues to be--an extraordinarily talented thief who has pulled off (and continues to pull off) incredibly daring heists so that he can finally retire. We"ve finally had the opportunity to get our hands dirty with an early PC version of the next game in the series, called Thief: Deadly Shadows.
The game starts out with an introductory level, complete with objectives read by Garrett in full speech. The tutorial walks you through the basics of the game and explains how crouching makes you move more slowly but more quietly, and it reveals how walking on different surfaces (such as cobblestone, soft carpet, high grass, and so on) makes a different amount of noise. The tutorial also shows you how to avoid detection by sticking to the shadows, and it fills you in on how the game"s dynamic lighting engine allows for flickering torches and realistic shadows, which can provide very clear paths for you to sneak along--at least in the easier missions.