Our Garrett(Russell, snarky and out for his own neck) is "recruited" by the Keepers, who in addition to being the focus for this, the final entry in the trilogy(which was always the idea), come off planless, powerless and not guides, so, the exact reverse of before. They have him steal(which is almost always your objective in this, where it used to include eavesdropping, following, etc.) a few MacGuffins, he gets to listen in on a prophecy, and for some reason, he, and we, keep at it, even when what he hears, and the plot itself, remains vague. When something more substantial eventually happens, it's far too little, and much too late.
This takes away a lot of the mystery, because we see too much and everyone talks constantly. Literally, the only ones in this who do not are the Undead(!). The bland and/or derivatively designed creatures included. Everyone walks, runs, and more or less master English, if some have bad grammar and such. A lot of variety and flavor is lost this way. Too humanoid, and usually just people, not other beings. Armed with a bow, a sword or a wand, and all moving like, well, like we do. It looks natural, but, well, in some cases it really shouldn't – there are fantastical life-forms at play, why are they so similar to us?
The graphics, technical aspects in general, are solid. They even hold up fine for their age. Certainly, there are things this does just right. The stealth remains you working with light and sound to remain hidden, to distract, and to detect others. Now shadows are dynamic and everything casts them. Open/close a door, a stone-oven, a window, etc. and it will change how much is lit and how, not to mention that it will be discovered if you leave it in its altered state. The physics system allows you to pick up and throw any object you would expect to be able to, and loot items will now glint, at least at a distance, so you don't mistake one for the other, well, as much. Carpet, wood and rock transmit at different volumes from you walking, running or even jumping. You move from one safe space to another, always careful to time it just right and watch your surroundings.
You get equipment
healing potions, flashbombs, explosive mines, etc. Now you don't have to scroll past anything not useful in the immediate situation to get to them. Most of the other things are in the menu, out of sight unless you need to recheck. Backstabbing and Blackjacking(knocking out) are granted a visual cue so you never miss, albeit they also can't happen if the improved AI is suspicious. You can outrun them, and there are things you can throw their way. Oil and holy water causes puddles, the latter specifically for zombies and their ilk. Lure foes into them, and voila! Heck, the former can be set ablaze. Special arrows are useful. Moss to form a small area that is silent to move across, or choke(!) someone, Water to douse flame and wash away blood, and Gas and Fire are self-explanatory.
Time to tackle the elephant in the room. With Looking Glass(R.I.P.) having gone under, Ion Storm took over developing this. They clearly had the best of intentions. The thing is, they were making Deus Ex(before and during this), and that isn't Thief, nor vice versa. This doesn't fully pursue either of those franchises, and ends up in the middle between them
a bland, unmemorable, if not poorly made, affair. A lot is brought to this that belongs to that but not this. Open-world exploration of The City, conversations that exposit and spells things out, and the fact that you can now ally yourself with both, either, or neither of the other major Factions, the nature-like Pagans and the technology-worshipping Hammerites. Not that those traits play into their presence here. They will let you into their bases and fight for you, provided you do a few things for them, and, well, don't hurt or rob them.
The bleak atmosphere is less present, and no one level(now 1/4 of the size they were. Still open, though the small areas are connected by mist that also doesn't carry over conflict, limiting the amount of routes. Also, one of these is a detour to Silent Hill - well done, absolutely, but really doesn't fit) is as captivating as some of the ones of the first two. Locations aren't bad
a church, caves, the gears of a clocktower, etc. Missions have you infiltrate, accomplish, and get safely back out. You don't feel like you're getting anywhere in the story, that what you're doing is important, or that where you are really makes a difference. The four difficulty settings determine the following requirements: The percentage of total loot, the number of unique loot items(0-3) and sometimes conditions, such as no killing non-combatants. It also sets AI perception, damage player takes, amount of enemy units and their combat ability. Challenge for newcomers and veterans alike.
Cutscenes are now in-engine and, again, mainstream. Silhouettes remain, but angles
they're constantly showing faces! A lot of the twisted, surreal, Gothic elements are just about gone. You can still sit down and immediately start playing, but getting skillful at it will take time. FPS controls and the earlier-described organic hiding are all you need to know. Lockpicking is now a prototype for that of Splinter Cell
move around the mouse to look for a "sweet spot", when you've found one, move on to the next. They will automatically be brought out or put away when you start/stop working on a lock.
There is some disturbing, violent, bloody content in this. I recommend it to any fan of sneaking games, provided the change in quality is surmountable to you. Remember: with how incredible the ones before this were, even with this being much less impressive, it can still be quite good. 7/10
