Garrett is back and this time he'll take all of the lot from under your nose!
It's been a while since a Thief game. The graphic market has grown a lot since 1999, the year of the release of Thief II: Metal Age, so the third game got a good face lift. Adding to the graphical awness is the addition of a third person perspective. It is more a gimmick than anything else, since it isn't as precise as the first person, so you won't use it a lot, maybe only in the first few levels, but after you get the hang of the game's not so friendly controls, you'll run back to the first person mode.
The light is treated here just like the past games. It is your worst enemy. For normal torches, the water arrow will douse them. For electrical ones, you'll have to be cunning or, even better, find another way around it. There's always an alternative way in this game. You'll need to find them all if you're planning to go 100% stealth with no killings to the end, like I did. Yes, it's possible to beat the game without killing a single sould just for the sake of it (OK, I stand corrected, you have to at least spill the blood of someone in just one particular level, but that's about it).
For weapons, this time around the arrows have wind resistance and weigh factor-into the firing, so fire arrows will travel not as far as a normal one would, so you'll have to aim a little higher. Also, the arrows are more useful this time around, you'll use the fire ones a lot against the undead, and you'll be able to acquire a good amount of them, since money is stable this time around, so you can visit the many fences in town and buy the weapons. Other weapons include the classic blackjack, dagger, mines and smoke grenades. And you'll obtain some new items along the way, like a climbing glove that substitutes the quirky robe-arrow from Thief II.
The level structure of the game is also different this time around. You'll have to travel from place to place through a hub called The City. It has various areas, and each with their own people and guard routines. You won't be able to access the whole City when you start the game, but soon you will. The levels have to be infiltrated before starting, for instance, when you break into a mansion, you'll have to first find your way to the place, then break in before you do the stealing per se.
The enemies are varied and as I mentioned, zombies will be a nuiance, not a lot like the previous games, but enough. They are weaker this time around, since you'll have a lot of fire arrows at your disposal. Guards remain in almost every level and they are as dumb as a door as they've ever been... some other enemies aren't going to be mentioned here since I don't want to spoil anything, but I can say this: not every enemy will be affected by sneaking and clubbin'. Nuff said.
The game will take a while to beat, since if you really get into it, you'll want to go 100% in every level. And let me tell you: it is really rewarding doing that and not killing anyone. It'll probably take you some days to finish if you play like me, short spurts at a time, not a lot.
If you played and loved the original games like I have, go right ahead and get it. If you're new to this, it's a great place to start and maybe you'll even want to go back to the old games to know some back-story, like how Garrett lost his eye...
Thanks for reading!