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Developer: Looking Glass Studios
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Version: 1.33
Platform: Microsoft Windows
Release Date: November 30, 1998
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Version: 1.33
Platform: Microsoft Windows
Release Date: November 30, 1998
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Long, long, time ago (somewhere between 1992 and 1997), the gaming world had made it's defining shift from story driven adventure games to the new hard-hitting action packed FPS genre. As a result more and more games were turning out to be the next Doom and Quake clones, but with increasingly vague plotlines. In a year of supposed creativity and industry innovation, there were more games been released with technological entrails than they were games with a plan. It was an alarming trend that showed no signs of stopping. Gamers were becoming jaded with what they saw and experienced; playing the hero for the umpteenth time kicking xeno butt in 3D would only get you so far into the day, especially if it had been done before. A revolution was beginning to brew; there was a push to combine the storytelling elements of the adventure genre with that of action from the FPS genre, to create something more than just mindless slaughter, to put a face to the character you were playing.
It was during this time a small development company known as Looking Glass made its indelible mark on the industry, by combining storytelling with action to create some of the most immersive computer games ever seen, Ultima Underworlds and System Shock for example had taken the world by storm proving that it was possible to make in-depth action games that did not rely on reused ideas and gameplay tactics. By 1998 Looking Glass had refined and combined all that they had learned from their previous titles and came to the rescue of jaded gamers world wide by releasing Thief: The Dark Project, a game that offered an incredibly immersive first-person experience; an intelligent, fully-developed storyline; an engaging, believable main character; and computer artificial intelligence that does more than just run and shoot. It is a game that was and still is beyond its time.
Thief: The Dark Project is a first person stealth game set in a medieval-early industrial revolution-magic/fantasy world that tells the tale of Garrett, a master thief who makes his money robbing from the rich and giving to himself. As a young lad, Garrett was another homeless face in the streets; stricken with poverty he saw no alternative but to scratch out a meager existence by pick pocketing those that were higher up the food chain. One fateful day though he decided to stick his grubby fingers into the pockets of a mysterious stranger that he spied wandering around the city (never a wise idea in any circumstance). It turns out that this stranger was a "Keeper," a member of a mysterious order charged with maintaining the balance of life. The Keeper was impressed with the boy's skill in detecting his presence, a feat that no one other soul in the city could achieve and believing that Garret held true potential, opted to adopt the him into their order as an initiate, and began to teach him their mysterious ways, including the art of vanishing into the shadows. Garrett soon grew wary of the Keepers, however; life on the streets had made him more than a little cynical, and their cloistered way just wasn't his style. So he took off, returning to the only life he truly knew - that of a scoundrel and thief. But Garrett's time with the Keepers had been well spent, and his unique "education" will come to prove invaluable in his chosen profession.http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/Skarin_2009/thiefshadowsscuts4-1.jpg
This is where Thief's story really begins, years later just as Garrett breaks free from the Keepers as he sets out into the world to resume his antihero activities.
While Thief: The Dark Project seems like a classic fantasy adventure, featuring the standard medieval trappings, that's not entirely the case. The game is set in a dark, gothic and almost steampunk looking metropolis known as the City, an urban center where magic and science meet and the streets are lit by strangely constructed "electric" lights. It's more like Victorian era London than anywhere else, but you never really know where it is or what lies beyond its walls. As for the City itself, well there are more forces at work than just the Keepers; the City is also home to the Hammerites, a strict religious order and political faction that acts as the local police force. On the surface, the Hammerites control every aspect of the City, and for the game's purposes there is no higher order in the entire universe. This focus on one geographic location proves to be eerily effective, and not knowing who or what is in control beyond the confines of the City just makes the Hammers seem that much more powerful, and intimidating.
At first, the Hammerites seem little more than raving religious lunatics intent on exerting their will on others and enforcing the ancient teachings of a vague creator known as the "Builder" and warning those that listen of the coming of an evil essence named "The Trickster". Yet, through strange and intricate twists and turns in your path, it becomes apparent, that Thief: The Dark Project is about more than Garrett's selfish need to stuff his pockets with noblemen's trinkets or the Hammers' crusade to purify the world around them; like it or not, our anti-hero has a destiny, and the Keepers are intent on making sure he keeps to it.
The storyline of Thief: The Dark Project is very important to the game itself, as is the action element. However, it is not a high-charged, adrenaline pumping action game, and is about as far from a typical first-person shooter as you can get. Instead, the concentration here is not on killing everything in sight, but on using stealth to completely avoid your enemies or take them out from behind. At you disposal throughout the game is you main ally, the darkness and it's close cousin; the shadows (as detected by the color-coded gem), and by sticking to them while adapting new strategies you will gain much better results than simply running about weapons flailing. That said, the best thing about playing Thief: The Dark Project is relying on your wits, and your skills as a thief, to get you through each mission while also discovering the many hidden areas and alternate routes that could make your task a little bit easier and all the more fun.http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/Skarin_2009/dump120-whereimstuck-1.jpg
Thief: The Dark Project is all about watching, waiting, and listening - biding your time until the perfect moment arises; only then do you emerge from the shadows and steal that precious prize. This game requires a lot of patience to play, and you can count on a lot of moments where you're just sitting, waiting, holding your breath, as guards pass within inches of your invisible form and you're never quite sure if they're going to see you or just go on their merry way. Additionally, different missions will call on varying levels of finesse, to keep things interesting. While confrontation is the least preferred path, blackjacking people from behind and hiding their unconscious body is a more than acceptable form of getting around a tricky obstacle.
In addition to the shadows, the game also provides you with some extra "goodies" that you can use during your covert adventures. One of this, as was mentioned above, is the blackjack, for knocking people out from behind. Apart from this there is the broadsword, for those emergency close encounters; and a bow, for just about everything else. The bow however quickly becomes the jack-of-all-trades weapon, an all purpose tool that lets Garrett do any number of creative things using a variety of specialized and highly unorthodox arrows. To start with you have the conventional broadhead arrow which can kill an unsuspecting target with a single shot, then there is the fire arrows which can be used to blow up several enemies at once and even relight torches; gas arrows can render multiple opponents unconscious; noisemaker arrows can be shot into the distance to cause strategic diversions; moss arrows can silence your footsteps by releasing patches of vegetation on particularly noisy bits of terrain; rope arrows can latch onto wooden surfaces to create rope ladders which are perfect for reaching those out-of-the way places; and finally water arrows are used to extinguish torches to create darkness, and when doused with holy water can kill the undead (yes the undead!.. you have to play the game to discover the brilliance of the story) Sporting more gadgets than James Bond, Garret also has additional items which he can use, such as flash bombs for stunning guards, lock picks for opening doors, and mines for setting up ambushes to get past any that lies between him and his objective.
Occasionally you'll find additional items and arrows, but Thief: The Dark Project does not fall into the trap that typical 3D games employ, and that is the building up of an arsenal as you progress through the game. Instead, the developers designed a whole new way of dealing with this issue. As a thief, your job is to steal anything you can get your hands on, and the items you pilfer during any given mission are used to purchase weapons and items for the next one. So, say you steal 1000 gold pieces worth of merchandise during a mission; that means you'll be able to buy 1000 gold pieces worth of equipment for the next mission. This money doesn't carry over from one mission to the next, either, so the player is forced to spend it and equip Garrett with the best goodies his money can buy. This is a great gameplay element, because it gives the player an incentive to steal as much as he or she can in order to get the best equipment available for the next mission. http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/Skarin_2009/thiefundead-1.jpg
Gameplay in Thief: The Dark Project is mission-based, and the "jobs" you go on are connected by an intriguing story that comes together via a variety of ways: the mission briefings, bits and pieces you read in various books and scrolls strewn about the levels, the beautiful cutscenes, and the missions themselves. What exactly your place is in the grand scheme of things is discovered as the missions are played out, but you can be sure the Keepers haven't kept you around for nothing. I've never felt this way before while playing a computer game, but while adventuring through Thief: The Dark Project I couldn't help but think that it would make an excellent movie; the storyline is that involving. Furthermore, despite been "mission-based" the game is pleasantly not synonymous with linearity, Thief: The Dark Project encourages adventuring and exploration as well as completion of mission objectives, particularly when playing at the highest difficulty level. Even if you've already stolen the objective item or items, you may still need to pilfer a certain amount of gold, meaning you need to venture into areas you could otherwise stay away from. Occasionally your mission objectives will even change unexpectedly, forcing you to go off on a side quest or do something completely unexpected. Some of the missions - one in a haunted cathedral comes to mind - even find Garrett completing some pretty detailed Ultima Underworld like quests.
Really the best thing about Thief: The Dark Project is the way it encourages the player to think through any situation, and get as creative as possible within the confines of the game. The whole game is about doing whatever you want, so long as you complete your mission objectives. Not surprisingly, the gameplay is like a cross between that of Ultima Underworld and System Shock, though those gamers who played Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall as a thief character will have the best idea of what it's like to slink around the shadowy City.
If you're looking for another brainless shooter, look elsewhere. Thief: The Dark Project is an intelligent, engrossing action/adventure experience that pushes the gamer to use his brain as much as his broadsword, and offers the type of gameplay that in a way pioneered the stealth-action genre. It is important is that we recognize Thief: The Dark Project for what it is- a very, very special game created by one incredibly talented group of developers.
Bottom Line: Thief: The Dark Project is an amazing experience boasting amazing level designs and a unique story emphasized by a strong narrative and stealth based gameplay. However, keep in mind that this is quite an old game and as a result you should not expect to be blown away by snazzy graphics or special effects. The graphics are similar to those seen in Jedi Knight but it won't set any new trends in the 21st century. Besides that, this game is worth the effort and it is a real keeper if you want to experience the best that the genre can get.
Recommendation: This is very easily a buy if you're a fan of the series or stealth-action games in general. If you have never ventured towards stealth games before then rent it, the storyline alone will have you glued towards the end.
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Part II- Thief II: The Metal Age [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.136846#3079168]
Part III- Thief: Deadly Shadows [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.138283]
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