Thief III: Deadly Shadow

[Rhydderch Hael]

I just did a very stupid thing tonight. Brewed a four-cup pot of coffee, darkened the rooms for the night, and fired up the new laptop to play the third Thief game, Deadly Shadows.

I'm getting along through it well enough. At least, I was. Playing peek-a-boo with the Keepers was fun enough. Sneaking around the Hammerites and Pagans— just another day at the office. Raiding a pirate captain's mansion = uber fun. Getting stalked by telepathic assassins, ehh, bit of a freak-out.

But tonight— tonight's the night I went into the Cradle. That is, the Shalebridge Cradle. In search of a gray hag who just tried to kill me and has a penchant for nabbing children and skinning grown men alive.

Never much in the mind to voluntarily enter a haunt. Worse yet is a haunted orphanage whose halls faintly echo with soft, high-pitched cries. And should you actually go up into the attic— well, dangit.

"I can hear you breathing. I can tell because nobody here at Shalebridge does that anymore..."

Gah! Thank the gods that I have a sword. I'm sleeping with it tonight.

If you ever play the game, a word of advice: try the Cradle in broad daylight. Or if you really want a mindfreak, play all the previous missions several times over until Halloween comes, then make for the Cradle in the dead of night. On a laptop. Sitting in an attic.

[Artega]

I fail to see how games can be truly frightening. Perhaps good for the sort of "HOLY SH*T!!!" quick-scares, but nothing that lasts a long time.

Maybe I just can't get that immersed.

[kandrathe]

I fail to see how games can be truly frightening.

Play them with and in the same room as a psychopath, or even a schizophrenic. Scary.

Or, if you are the extremly paranoid type...

[Rhydderch Hael]

Got less than two hours of sleep last night, and did have troubling dreams when I did sleep. Had a nightmare where I was basically living a cheap Sci-Fi Channel made-for-TV-movie concerning some underground monsters terrorizing a — hospital.

I should have watched something after my jaunt into the Cradle. Something brighter and more cheerful to soothe my nerves. I have the Special Edition of Aliens on DVD. Should have watched that...

...Why? Aliens, or any horror movie for that mater, does not scare me. I'm just a spectator. Sitting and watching. Nothing I can do can alter the fate of those poor stupid saps who disarmed themselves prior to entry into a Xenomorph lair. It's not my fault.

Playing a PC game, on the other hand, changes all that. I am investing time and effort into seeing to the survival of my virtual self. Getting myself killed, real or otherwise, sucks big time because it's you that's getting wasted. The things you do (or fail to do) in a situation determines the end result. You fail to interact on that level, then you're not actually playing a game, are you? Just pointing and clicking at images on a screen.

[WarLocke]

I should have watched something after my jaunt into the Cradle. Something brighter and more cheerful to soothe my nerves. I have the Special Edition of Aliens on DVD. Should have watched that...

...Why? Aliens, or any horror movie for that mater, does not scare me.

Aliens isn't a horror movie. It's more of a 'bug hunt' movie, a la Starship Troopers.

Now, Alien was a horror movie. :ph34r:

[Kevin]

I always thought of Aliens as a comedy. I laugh more than any other reaction when watching that movie, and it has some great one liners in it too. :)

[Lord_Olf]

Hail Artgea,

did you never dream of flayed goat-men when you where playing Diablo? I did, and it gave moe some good scares...

Didn't happen with D2 or other games though, I guess the gothic-like feel in Diablo did it for me...

Take care, and look behind you :-)

Lord_Olf

[NiteFox]

I fail to see how games can be truly frightening.  Perhaps good for the sort of "HOLY SH*T!!!" quick-scares, but nothing that lasts a long time.

Maybe I just can't get that immersed.

System Shock 2. Play SS2. Do it.




























Fear the spoiler.





























Not only are we talking numerous "HOLY SH*T!!!" moments, but we are talking nerve-jangling suspense building, frightful plot twists, and monkeys. Now, monkeys are not scary to anyone (Save, naturally, for viewers of the first few minutes of 28 Days Later, rhesusophobics, and SS2 players), and you may actually find it odd that during the first level of the main game you hear monkey noises.

Then you're sprung by a cryo monkey. Fast, unexpectadly, and unsettling as hell. From then on you're jumping at any sound of monkeys. You back off, afraid, sweaty, nervous. You may be listening to a crew member's log while running around the Van Braun, only to come to a bone-shuddering stop as you think you hear a monkey; but you can't tell, for the pre-recorded message of the now-dead crewer is droning on as if nothing matters. You know where the "stop message" key is, you know you could press it, but you don't want to because then you will get confirmation that, yes, we do have monkeys in the area and that is something you really didn't want to know.

Then the log ends. Monkeys.

And, like all good horror, you eventually become more and more desensitised to monkey noises. In fairness, you've had bigger problems to deal with - Grenade Hybrids, Cyborg Midwives, Annelid Pods - Stuff that makes your life hell. Then you hear another monkey noise, no problem, just take the initial cryo shock, then whack the little simian. But it's a pyro monkey, it hurts you, and suddenly you are afraid once again. You hate monkeys, and wish that you never hear another one again.

But there are some fabulous set pieces that don't result in physical pain, but rather mental anguish. The first time you see your first crew-member suicide, the first "ghost", the Many's hallucination. Hell, even Xerxes, the ship's computer, who is under control by the heartless Many, finds the time to remind the crew that there are only so many shopping days until Christmas and encourages the crew to work overtime so they can afford nice gifts. Surreal and, it must be said, a little creepy.

Really, you only have to say the words "Polito's Office" to some folk and they break out in a cold sweat. It's that kind of game.

In fairness, the game does fall apart after you leave the Van Braun, seems they ran out of steam at that point, reverts to pretty straightforward blast-everything-that-squirms stuff. Not entirely brilliant.

But, right through the Van Braun, you'll suffer many a minor heart palpatation. And I don't want to hear another damn monkey ever again.

























Fear the spoiler no more.















- NiteFox, confirmed spheksophobe

[Jeunemaitre]

In fairness, you've had bigger problems to deal with - Grenade Hybrids, Cyborg Midwives, Annelid Pods - Stuff that makes your life hell.

I'm going to rip out your spine!

Actually my favorite was the psy-cloaked spiders. That, and the defensive mechs when you run out of all your ammo, and have to try and beat the thing with a wrench. Not fun. Not fun at all.

[pakman]

You know, I have been playing Thief 3 and so far the scariest part for me has been the ghost ship...I didn't have enough money to buy fire arrows so I could "kill" the undead. I had to instead back stab them and make them take a nap worrying the whole time about them waking up as I walk by. I have only gotten as far as meeting with the keepers that want to help me, and now I have to sneak my way past the Keeper Assassins.

But something has gone terribly wrong Grommit. For some reason, when I try to load the game from the disk or use the shortcuts on my computer, I get my desktop. The game is running, I can see that in the processes, but I don't get any "game." When I try to load from the cd, it for some reason thinks that I want to install the game, and doesn't have the "Play Game" option highlighted. Could uninstall reinstall help? If I uninstall, does it ask if I want to keep my save-games?

[SwissMercenary]

I believe your save games (As well as settings) are kept when you uninstall-reinstall. Or, at least they were kept for the demo, because they are stored in your "My documents" folder (Or something like that).

To me, the Abysmal Gale was not scary. There are few zombies, they are slow, and it's a small level... The Cradle, on the other hand... I think I still have mental scars. What makes it so scary is not what you see - it is what you don't see. Your mind really starts playing tricks on you when you get to it. Do not read any more spoilers about the level. Ignore previous suggestions. Play "The Cradle" in the dead of night. With the lights off. In the dead of night. With closed blinds. With headphones. I went as far as to tape the lights on my keyboard/monitor, so all I could see was the screen. Trust me, that amplifies the experience tenfold. The frst time I heard the little girl, Laurel was, well... Disturbing. Oh. And, I suggest that you stock up on your holy water at Fort Ironwood. ;)

For all it's flaws, Thief 3 has some pretty amazing moments, and the Cradle is up there. Very far up there.

PS. The line was "I can hear you breathing... Nobody does that in the Cradle anymore. How did you get in?"

Trust me. It's engraved in my mind (As are several other... quotes.). No doubt about it.

[Artega]

Played it and beat it. Nothing scary about it. Sicked and twisted, yeah, but so was the first one.

[Rhydderch Hael]

Once the zombie is down, a flash bomb will dust them. Flash bombs not only blind the undead, they damage undead as well.

There's a recurring spawn point for a Fire Arrow in that house you can break into in South Quarter. In the fireplace. You'll find most spawned Fire Arrows in some sources of flame, and you don't even need to extinguish the fires to retrieve them.

The elemental arrows spawn in locations that tally with their nature, of course. Water arrows may be found in drains and fountains. Moss arrows in foliage. Fire arrows in flame sources. Gas arrows on rooftop locations.

[Rhydderch Hael]

So, in the Cradle, when the crisis finally comes, will little Lauryl help me out with some fan-dazzle-tastic magic ghost mojo? Because I'm feeling a little undergunned here. Damn that Inspector Drept! He should have sent me some backup on this mission. Wouldn't mind a Hammer priest with his fire wand, or just one good stout Hammerite ready to do what he does best ("Squash! Make flat!") on this particular quest.

Then again, I could see it go down like this way: my Hammerite ally falls one or two steps behind, and then gets snatched away into the gloom with barely a stifled yell. Later on, I find the fellow standing in the middle of a large hall, and as soon as I approach, I get a crash-course on trhe difference between an allied Hammerite and a screaming Hammer Haunt...

...okay, maybe it's better if I went into the Cradle all alone.



I still do curse the Keepers until my dying breath for the little surprise they left for me in Interpreter Caduca's chamber.


SPOILER- If you have not yet entered Caduca's chambers, then tread no farther than here...
































I've snuck my way through the Keepers' Library, made entry into the Keeper Compound, located Orland's quarters (the hard way, without Artemus' Keeper Ring) and finally entered the Lower Library in which Caduca's chambers are located. I open the door to Caduca's room and slip my way in.

Crap! There's somebody in here! Apparently somebody on the same trail has successfully snuck into Caduca's room and is now seated at the table, reading one of the books. Good thing their back is turned to me— they are unaware that I'm here as well. Okay, I'll just snoop on the trespasser and see just what they are up to.

I creep my way forward, always careful to avoid being detected by the other person. I've snuck past two such instances where somebody sat in a chair, so this should be easy. This trespasser is clearly unaware of my presence. They are hardly stirring at the sound of my approach. In fact, this person isn't stirring...

...at all.

I get in closer. More detail and contrast is presented to me in the dim light.

Bastards. Friggin' little heartless, soulless, scum-sucking rat bastards.

It's her. Caduca. The Keepers left her ashen, half-incinerated corpse in the freaking room! Damn.

There's a lot of loot sitting in Caduca's chambers. I didn't touch a single piece of it. Being falsely accused of Caduca's murder is one thing, to actually steal from the scene of the crime while the body is still there— that is another...



















Spoiler be ended. Deaded it be.

[DeeBye]

System Shock 2.

That is a truly scary game.

[SwissMercenary]

I was under the impression that the murderer petrified her... Not too sure about that, now that you say it...

[Rhydderch Hael]

The cinematic that occurs after the Clock Tower mission suggested to me that Caduca had been 'cooked'. Her subsequent appearance in the chamber seemed to suggest to me she had been turned into a statue of char caused by the combustion.

[Swiss Mercenary]

Ah. I guess I was wrong.

As for little Lauryl, she will be very helpful. Helpful in the way that she tells you what to do... And you have to do it, if you want to keep your skin

[Rhydderch Hael]

Well I got out of the Cradle... finally. :unsure:

The method of time travel— odd. Sadly, horrifyingly, disappointingly odd. Not in itself— but I'm writing an action/horror novel where the hero uses a somewhat similar method of time travel. Dangit, can't I ever come up with something truly original? :(

I'm noticing that there are two distinctly different styles of cinematics in the game. I think two different companies, or teams within the same company, worked on these movies. One set of cinematics has a smooth, intricately-directed quality that almost rivals Blizzard; while the other is more stark in its lighting, character rendering, and is more or less a series of half-up portrait shots of folks trading conversations with each other.

[Swiss Mercenary]

You are correct. The former are all beautiful pre-rendered 2-d based cinematics, done by another company, the same company that made all of the even-more amazing Thief 1&2 cinematics. Now, if I could only remember their name...

The latter are game-engine-rendered "action" shots. My mind just glossed over them, as they in no way could compare to the 2-d artwork... I am willing to bet that they were done by ISA.

This is bringing me back the nostalgia of old mission briefings being just the camera, slowly spiraling out from black&white concept art, with Garret's ever-cynical voiceovers. And I wouldn't trade the world for them.