A very non-linear and creepy mission, which offers hours of gameplay and plenty of exploration.
Final Score: 8.5 Hammers
Garrett wakes up, feeling quite a bit worse than ok, and discovers that he has been put in a shallow grave in some swamp. Naturally, this pisses him off. He can't quite remember everything that happened earlier, so his first priority is to find out where he is and who did this to him. Then comes sweet revenge.
I'll admit this at the start: Left For Dead was a mission I had been looking forward to playing for a long time before it was released. The anticipation started after seeing a few screenshots. This is very unusual for me; I have never had a few images evoke such a response before. Would this mean I was biased from the start? Perhaps, but it also meant that for me, Left For Dead had great expectations to live up to. I'm pleased to say that I was not disappointed.
There is both a movie intro and a CamVator sequence at the start. Personally I think this is a very good combination; the first shows the few memories Garrett has and the second gives some idea of the current situation. I don't want to give away too much about what you learn from these. Especially the CamVator gave me a surprise that I don't want to spoil for anyone. They occur right at the start, so you will find out about them soon enough. I will only say that you see Garrett in a way you have never seen him before.
As the mission starts, you find yourself in a grave. The surrounding swamp is foggy and dark, and only vague, eerie sounds can be heard. I was completely hooked from this moment on. How much creepier a start can a mission have?
Gameplay is challenging, but the times I actually had to reload were few and usually connected to a problem with low framerate in one way or another. As far as secrets are concerned, the hints are few (except on Normal) and only vaguely point in the right direction, forcing the player use their brain. This is something I personally appreciate. However, sometimes it's too obvious that a text exists only as a hint to help the player. It can disrupt immersion for a nit-picker like me.
A word of warning to those of you who have even the slightest trouble keeping track of directions. You will get lost in the swamp. Again and again. You won't be lost for very long though, especially since there's an automap to help you out, so you may as well relax and make the most out of it. How about finding all those secrets while you look for a way out of the swamp? Or for a real challenge, try to find all the loot. When I finished the mission the first time, I had played for over 2 hours and found less than half, barely enough to meet the objective.
The mission is far from linear, which means it is possible to finish the mission and still have missed much. This gives a good replay value, but at the same time it can cause some confusion about the story after the first time. The lack of restrictions for how to proceed also leads to a bit of going back and forth, to complete new goals that appear on the way. Fortunately there is a convenient teleport system to use, making this a lesser nuisance. There are several extra objectives, but in order to find them all you need to explore pretty much all of the level. Finding the additional goals not only extends the gaming experience, but gives a more complete story as well.
Left for Dead is definitely one of my favourites. The only niggle I have is with certain creative interpretations of the original Thief setting, which I don't happen to agree with. Other than that, it is a very enjoyable mission that I gladly played through several times, finding something new each time.
Players with less powerful computers had problems with a lot of slowdown while playing when the mission was released in 2003. In some cases this even hindered them from finishing the mission. I experienced a bit of the same at the start, where the framerate was significantly lower than for most other FMs I have played. It stayed low throughout the level, but got a little better once I left the swamp. However, note that my computer will celebrate its 5th birthday this year, so it's far from the fastest out there.
There are some issues with the objectives. The "no kills" and "no KOs" ones don't show up with a green checkmark if they are completed, but instead look as if they're incomplete. This doesn't affect whether you complete or fail the mission, so it's not anything serious. Also, what's supposed to be the final objective isn't set up as the final one, so it can be completed before the others. This means that once you've completed all the other necessary objectives, the mission will end. This can be a bit annoying if you want to find all the loot or have optional objectives left to do, but is otherwise harmless.
Visually, this mission is not fantastic in the traditional, "beautifully adorned mansion" sense. Still, it is very effective. The terrain is surprisingly simple, especially in the swamp, but this is something I never really noticed while playing. It conveys the mood it is supposed to, and that is all that is needed for immersion.
The few buildings that exist are very well designed, both visually and gameplay-wise. The use of suitably worn out textures allows the buildings to fit in with their surroundings.
Left For Dead has some of the best atmosphere I have ever experienced in a Thief mission. At the start in the swamp I felt insecure and uncertain of what to do and where to go. The surroundings are creepy in a way that no regular undead mission can accomplish, nor any conventional horror/monster setting. The ambient sounds add to this feel excellently, as do all of the fine details in the design. I was unable to relax during the walk through the swamp, and this I consider to be a very good thing.
The tale of being wronged and seeking revenge is far from new, but Left For Dead has a twist that truly deserves an extra point. New objectives appear as the story progresses and several optional bonus objectives exist on higher difficulties.
It seems the events take place before the original games, because the Trickster is apparently alive and well, and Garrett himself is with the Keepers. However, since when have the Keepers been thieves?
It would have been better for the sake of immersion, if the texts had seemed to be notes that are there for other purposes than to give the player information. The believability also suffers when incriminating evidence is found out in the open, unguarded. One would think that a thief would be more careful than that.
I hope you like exploring, because there's plenty of it to do. You'll certainly get to practise your rope-arrowing skills and do a lot of wading and swimming. There's sneaking too, just mostly in a very different environment from ordinary city or castle missions. Don't worry too much if you prefer the ordinary stuff, because there are a few buildings with human AIs and dark corners to hide in, providing the more usual entertainment. All in all, there seems to be something for everyone in this mission.
Final Score: 8.5 Hammers
