Keef the Thief is a design from the awesomely named company, Naughty Dog Incorporated. It was published by Electronic Arts Incorporated, a much more mainstream firm. Keef the Thief is a late eighties play for the personal computer that is running the MS-DOS operating system. The Apple and the Amiga both picked up the title and ported it to their platforms. Keef the Thief has elements of many different genres all rolled up into a tight fantasy format.
There are a lot of role playing games aspects involved, as well as some adventure and action gaming. Keef the Thief also features both real time and turn based gaming…with the situation deciding which format is used.
The main character of the story, portrayed by the gamer, is a budding young thief called Keef. He has been exiled from Mercon the Merchant City by the city’s elders for being a thief that they have deemed is beyond reform. Keef, despite understanding that he is in fact a criminal and likely deserving of his punishment, decides to take revenge against the city and its elders. To do this, he formulates one of the only plans that his nature will
allow. He decides to train himself to become a master thief, sneak back to his home city, and steal their fabled treasury from beneath their noses. This is a long game, mainly due to the fact that Keef has a lot to learn. Theft, in Mercon, is punishable by castration, a deterrent that will make certain Keef does not try to go back home until he knows he is ready.
Like most any other role playing game, Keef will begin the game with less than stellar weaponry and armor, and very little money. Through adventuring, questing, puzzle solving and combat, Keef the Thief will grow his skills and acquire the skills he needs to become a master thief. There are four basic ways Keef will raise his attributes. The first is plainly thievery. The more stuff he steals, the better he will get at stealing stuff. He can pick locks and disarm traps that are protecting treasures. He will spend a lot of time sneaking into homes and taking personal possessions. There will also be combats to partake in, although this portion of the game is not so heavily emphasized as the thieving. He will do plenty of exploring, questing and adventuring to gain some items. Finally, he will also try his hand at alchemy and will learn how to make a variety of magical spells and charms from the ingredients he picks up in his quests.
This is a fun little game with a lot to offer. There is so much to do, and so many ways to do it, that no one will get bored with this lesser known gem.
