Thief Chapter 3 Part 1

The Walk Through:

You start out back at the clock tower. Here, you're given a chance to grab or store some arrows, health, or poppies from your chest. You also have the option to examine any special items that you collected. Then once you go upstairs, you're given your next mission, via carrier crow (raven?).

Start out by making your way to Basso, who will introduce you to Orion, the man that wanted the ring. He tells you that the Barron is ruining your town. The people are suffering because of his desire to gain wealth through the suffering and death of his people (insert political reference of your choice here).

Orion convinces you that you can make "a better future for everyone" if you help him. Your next mission: steal a book for him from the local brothel, The House of Blossoms. Most people would go to the library for a book, but where would the fun be in that? So it's off to the South Quarter for you.

On your way there, you will see the world's shortest guard tower. It's not tall enough to see over the wall, but is tall enough to give the archer stationed there an easy kill. How you proceed is up to you, but I decided to take the easy way and shot him from the alley. Don't worry about his death scream. The other guards either ignore it, or just don't hear it. How you deal with the other guards is up to you. There are street lamps lighting up the area, so don't expect an easy sneak.

Before you leave the area, there's a leaf pin on the crates next to the tower. If you use the wrench, you'll gain access to a new merchant. Grab what you need, but don't expect to find the wire cutters. Just arrows, food, and poppies for now, Once you leave the area, Garrett tells you that Erin used an old mill in the area as a hide out.

After you enter the South Quarter, you need to deal with some guards. Again, sneak or attack, it's up to you. If you climb the wall near the carts, there's a room with a bureau. DO NOT OPEN IT! Use your focus to reveal and avoid the trap. Steal everything that you can for now, and leave. Snake your way past the two guards looking into the water, talking about killing a debtor, and jump into the water.

Once you're in the water, there is a gold bracelet on a broken fence plank. After you find it, head towards the well lit dock, and climb up. There is a rope that you can reach once you climb a crate. This will take you to an upper level with an open window. Crouch and move slowly towards the window, You will be spotted by an archer inside if you wait to long. Duck around the corner, grab what you can, and force open the next window.

Now that you're in a new area, you have a couple of windows to force. Again, grab what you can, then when you enter the apartment with a staircase going down, pick the lock (for experience), and head back up the stairs, and exit through the window. After you exit, you should notice a crawl space. Grab the loot, then exit. Follow the beams back to where you entered the area, and there is a guard with a torch walking around. Perform an aerial take down, then keep moving in the same direction.

There is a railing to your right. Head in that direction, pick up the treasure, and jump the railing. Grab the next items, hop a wall for a silver frame, and then hop the next wall. There is a pair of scissors on the walkway just to your left. Hop over the rail on your right, turn left, and hop the short wall to get back to the rooftops. Go left, and walk across the beam. After you drop down, move slowly to the lit area, and stealth attack the guard leaning against the wall. Turn around, and sneak up on the guard with the torch.

The area is now safe to explore, so climb the rope to the platform above you. Cross the beams to a pair of scissors, walk around the next two corners to another treasure, then jump in the water. There is a small alcove with a poppy down there, so don't head to the next area right away. Once you have the poppy, turn around, and you should see the door to Erin's Mill before you jump back in the water.

The Review:

There are some things that I just don't understand about this part of the game. I got to shoot the archer on the small tower, but I couldn't climb it, even using the nearby crates. It should have been in reach. Earlier, Basso told Garrett that he had been gone for over a year. Yet at one point in this mission, Garrett asks himself how long he was gone. And of course, there's still the mapping issue. I really think that Eidos could have made bigger areas, instead of making people put up with so many load screens.

The game still has SOME fun to it, but it really is getting old. Especially since there are traps that you can't deal with, due to a lack of wire cutters. My guess is, the areas will be reused so many times that I will get back to the trap once I have them. Still, it seems like the programmers cheated by putting the trap there.

Remember game designers, you're supposed to CHALLENGE the players, NEVER try to beat them. You have far too many ways to unfairly beat a player, say with bad designs.