SO, after another swift telling off, Keef was pushed out of the town to survive the perils of the jungle. Realising that he was new to this civilisation, he studied some of his many notes strewn throughout his clothing, and remembered the history of the Tri-City and Tel Mercon.

Many centuries ago, a man without power or influence rose to become Emperor. Nobody knows how, Telloc was his name.
Telloc was more egotistical than Duncan Evans, loved himself more than Green, and showed it by plastering his name on all and sundry. A city was built called Tel Mercon. After a prophet predicted his future. Telloc had a fortress built and named it Tel Hande. He locked himself away for many years and forgot about the welfare of his people.

Tel Mercon began to look strangely like the streets of London, with peasants begging on the roadside, living in dark corners and alleys. The rich stayed wealthy and the poor grew poorer.

Enough was enough. Grouping together, the streetbound and homeless revolted. They lay siege on Telloc's fortress, while the man himself was locked inside chanting spells he believed would save him from the prophet's prediction. But a single word out of place caused Telloc to disappear in a puff of sickly smelling green smoke.
The city rose from the gutter and was renamed Same Mercon, The Jewelled City.

Releasing the notes from his grasp, Keef looked around this foreboding place. Surviving he must, because at least one elder from his old town had 50 gold pieces riding on him.

Keef The Thief is another game in the long line of point and click adventures.
Keef begins in the jungle close to the city of Same Mercon, where he can talk to many people and steal from many houses. But Same Mercon has a great police force which patrols most streets and has an incredible knack for catching low-lifes like you.

The objective of the game is to break into the city's treasury and steal a most valuable ancient artefact. But the treasure is periodically moved around a maze - pinching it is not as easy as it at first seems.

There are a few busty women in the game, all of them quite tempting for a young thief like yourself. I had no luck chatting them up. But then I'm ugly.

The game is certainly challenging, especially creeping into empty houses and walking out with the booty without getting caught. I still haven't got the hang of combat and rarely survive an attack.

I enjoyed Keef The Thief, but can see that my days as a tea-leaf are numbered.

E's a likely lad is Keef. Dumped on the Temple's steps as a nipper. The priests took him in - they also kicked him out. And now you get to play Keef, the medieval world's answer to Ronnie Kray and the good-for-nothing character in Electronic Arts' latest RPG. It is up to you to give Keef a boost and to bring him fame, fortune and popularity. Start off with just a few gold pieces and your wits about you. Survive the jungle, the wilderness, a few random attacks and head off to the nearby town. This is where the real fun starts...

Depending upon which phrase you choose, you can elicit some very funny replies from the locals. Some of them provide you with interesting snippets of information; some sell you handy equipment. On the other hand, you could always steal...

More often than not you will find yourself being rumbled, or even mugged, so you will always need to defend yourself.

The screen display changes to show a forty-five degree view in front of Keef. Move him around to face his opposition and click on the fire button to batter them. Unfortunately Keef tends not to fare too well in combat in the early stages of the game. And he often ends flat on his back.

Keef The Thief is a typical example of the high quality of Electronic Arts' RPGs. Keef contains lots of scope for exploration, puzzles, stacks of humour, great graphics and just about everything else you could want. With a very easy play method, I can heartily recommend this to any Bard's Tale fan, or to just about anybody else who enjoys an amusing RPG. I just hope we do not have to wait too long before we see more from the programmers, who, aptly, are named Naughty Dog Inc.

This RPG is great for parties, not necessarily 'cause it's a good game but 'cause it's so difficult to say properly. Have a couple of shandies and get your guests to utter the title without resorting to saying 'Keef the Feef', it's a great fun. I tried it at the last party I held and everyone had so much fun they had to go home early to recover.

In this novel game you're a compulsive feef, er, thief who's recently been banished from your home town. The priests there tried to educate you in the traditional ways of their elders, but you decided to adopt their teachings to suit your own, less-than-lawful exploits. Even now, you remember the words of the town council as they exiled you; 'Admit it Keef, the ways of the priest shall forever remain foreign to you (although you steal things religiously). You're a natural nicker, a brilliant burglar, a perfect pilferer, you'll thrive as a thief... but not in this town.'.

As the game begins you find yourself in a dense jungle, just outside the city of Same Mercon, owning just a few gold pieces. Now, for a street-wise dude like yourself increasing your wealth, or just survival, would be no problem. But your destiny is more of a challenge - you're intended to become God-King of Tri-City!

Your first move is to explore Same Mercon, where you swiftly discover information costs money. Encouragement, if any was needed, to take a gander round the back streets of the city, where rows of empty houses are just waiting to be burgled. But take car, for guards patrol these streets and they won't take kindly to your kleptomania. To avoid capture pop in and out of houses while the guards are elsewhere. If there's any booty worth plundering, the steal option lights up. However, it's not just a case of pinch 'n' run, as you may set off a trap or fumble while in mid nick and 'sustain a rather nasty owie' (don't ask me!). I died trying to nick a booby-trapped teapot!

The way to progress is to constantly save your position and begin by stealing easy pickings such as a dirk from the weapons store, to build up your thieving skills. Combat is a major feature of Keef and it makes sense not to indulge in too much fighting at the outset of your quest as most enemies are merciless and well armed; you need to be the same to survive.

Screen area is split in two, with a graphic of what you see or what you're doing situated above an option panel. Options consist of Talk, Look, Search, Cast, and so on which change to suit your current situation. There are, in fact, three main types of screen: the movement/manipulation screen where most everyday interaction takes place with other characters and objects, the combat screen where you basically turn to face your foe and attack with the most appropriate weapon in your possession (magic if it's needed), and the magic-creating screen where you mix ingredients to make spells. All the screens are neatly laid out (although I found the graphic style odd) and user friendly; enabling you to use mouse, keys or a combination of both.

Keef founders slightly because of its 'high difficulty factor' and 'high learning curve' (EA terminology). Sudden deaths abound and game's logic is frustrating (why should I fumble and hurt myself when trying to nick a necklace from an empty house?). Combat is confusing and unfair to begin with (although you can adjust the number and ferocity of enemies), making the urge to continue initially weak; just when I thought I might be getting somewhere (by cruising the streets and diving in houses for a quick pilfer), I noticed my Hit indicator turning red. Obviously food and rest were needed, so off I strolled to the nearest hostelry only to be beaten up by a mad dog and a drunk... for nor apparent reason. I had no chance. As I've said before, SAVE REPEATEDLY!

As in real life (is there any such thing?) you need to get enough sleep, keep your stamina up, and stay sober(?) to survive, while aiming to increase your strength, speed, constitution, and so on. Objects are never in the same place as the last game, and your character's attributes change with each new game. If you don't like what you're given, start again. Try to get high thieving skills, high hit points, and as much as possible.

Keef the Thief certainly takes a lot of getting used to (and only being able to save one game position is odd) but if you're prepared to play 'n' save you'll slowly progress and eventually become addicted.