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 Although the fictional setting was fine, I was a bit peeved at first at the addition of zombies and monsters. The game's greatest thrills come from hearing the footsteps and insults of guards as they believe you're there, and the greatest rewards come when they just scurry off, blaming the noise they heard on rats. Even magic was treated fairly in the game, when Garrett jokes about "finding a place where a heretic like me can find some holy water" and comments about how he doesn't want to disturb the mysterious mages. The best part of it all is that the setting enhanced gameplay - otherwise unrealistic healing potions, moss crystals and rope arrows make thieving that much more interesting, and I didn't even have to put up with any nonsense about elves. Characters like the sensitive Cutty, the needful Brother Murus, the self-righteous Hammerites, mysterious Constantine, cruel Ramirez, Viktoria the "associate" and the greedy patron of the arts Lady Valeria really added depth to the world. And let's not forget the unseen but totally amusing jerk Lord Bafford!
The drawbacks of the game's monster element came when this complex setting is nearly wasted on an endgame Tolkien rip off. The world was so fresh with political intrigue, rival cult factions and interesting characters that the big plot twist came as a major disappointment. You're liable to like the final levels of Thief as much as you enjoyed the last levels of Half-Life. I had expected a mob-style doublecross with magic at the plot twist point, but instead was given a Tolkien inspired monster scene that annoyingly wasted a few characters' potential and featured the most cruel, pain-focused maiming I ever witnessed in a video game or television program. Although books and letters that Garrett reads in the game are frequently littered with descriptions of harsh violence, that violent animated cutscene could have been single-handedly responsible for the Mature ESRB rating. With the lowered quality of gameplay that followed, only Garrett's incredible attitude made the finale worth the price of the last three levels' admission - even he said "I've had enough of this." The final attitude filled cutscene reminded you why the game was so cool in the first place, just like the sequel does all the way through.
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