Thief: Deadly Shadows is a stealth video game where the player takes the role of Garrett, a master thief. It is set in a fantasy/steampunk world resembling a cross between the Late Middle Ages and the Victorian era, with more advanced technologies interspersed. It is major departure from the first two games in the series, different in both appearance and gameplay. One of the game's major new features was the ability to explore the City. While previous games sent Garrett straight from mission to mission, Thief: Deadly Shadows allows him to walk the City streets between missions where he can steal from passersby, spy on the townspeople's daily lives, and search for sidequests in addition to major story missions. The game also introduced an ability to switch between first and third person views, and to flatten against walls.
It was released for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox in 2004, on May 25 in North America, and on June 11 in Europe. Development for both platforms started simultaneously. Like its predecessors, Thief: Deadly Shadows has received almost universally positive reviews, winning IGN's "Editor's Choice" award and "Game of the Month" award for May 2004. A follow-up to this game, Thief 4, is confirmed to be in the early development stages by the "very best core team" of Eidos Montreal Studio.
