Thief II: The Metal Age

This is the follow up to the original Looking Glass Studios video game: Thief The Dark Project. If the first Thief was set in the hood it woulda been called Thief The Dark Projects. But anyways, this game is a coo-coo-cool mixture of sword and sorcery fantasy gaming combined with Doom like first person game play features and a healthy dose of 19th century type technology. If you like movies or games or books that combine different types of genres like the old Wild Wild West TV show mixed the old west and sci fi, you'll dig the game Thief II.

This version has the typical video game plot of a power hungry madman wanting to take over the world. The new Thief II additions of talking robots are a very nice touch. I miss the Hammerite bad guys from the first Thief though. The new Mechanists just aren't as much fun. All in all a very good game though.

like stealth? love the darkness? then get thief and thief 2!! no other games have ever kept me in such suspense, action, and excitement as these two have! the gameplay rules, the story rules, the graphics are outstanding, the sound rules, and Garrett is one of my favorite video game characters!! this is short, but the bottom line is, get these games!!!!!

Thief is a totally unique playing experience and the only game to keep me captivated, not just for months, but for years! I have tried newer games, enjoyed them to a certain extent, but always find them lacking in the end. None of them can match the immersiveness of Thief II:TMA or Thief TDP (Thief 1).

Even though both Thief games have been out for a number of years, there is a huge fanbase still playing the original games as well as the hundreds of Fan Missions that are available, with new ones being produced each week. Many of them have surpassed the original game missions in both quality and game play.

If you haven't tried it, then what are you waiting for!

Even after almost three years, Thief: The Dark Project remains my favourite game of all time. Thief II: The Metal Age, while not as good in terms of the plot, or of the characters, is still an excellent game and comes highly recommended.

In my (quite extensive) knowledge of FP computer games, no other game comes close to recreating the tense atmosphere. Just you wait until you get to the "Haunted Library" in the levels "Casing the Joint" and "Masks" - you'll see what I mean!!! :)

The Dark Engine (on which the game is based) may look slightly dated now compared to newer games, but it has some fantastic features. The best of which is the sound-propogation. Thief II (as with the original) relies heavily on situational awareness, and the Dark Engine pulls it off superbly - just by listening, you can tell exactly where the enemy is, whether just around the corner or walking around on the floor above. Add to this the Environmental Audio effects and I can guarantee that you'll not sleep for a week!!!

On the whole, I preferred the undead from the original game to the new mechanical monsters in this game as an adversary, but none-the-less, Thief II is an excellent game with a huge fan base.

If you haven't bought this game yet, buy it now. It'll get you into practice for the third game in the series, under construction by Ion Storm Austin (of Deus Ex fame), and is currently estimated to be released in the Autumn of 2002 (but I personally think it may be a little later!)

Thief II is what I believe to be one of the greatest games ever made (and I've played a lot...). However, it is not your usual experience. In this game they have taken everything from the prequel and improved it. They have removed such annoying elements such as undead (with a really scary exception), and instead focused on more variation in missions.

And since finding all the money on the same level is almost impossible and given three rather different difficulties, Thief II has a great replay value. At least three times, which is more than most games today.

While graphics may not be top-notch anymore (and they weren't when it came, either), it does not negatively effect the game-play. Sounds are wonderful, especially the dialouges and small-talk between the NPCs and the whistling guards. Music is unfortunately very background, and is very seldom special. This does not matter that much, though, since the player will be so into the game that he/she will have a hard time quitting (at least I had...).

All in all, buy it if you can and like sneaking games. It's not very hard to find cheap, at least not where I live, but even for a higher price it is definitely worth it. I payed full price when I got it, since it was new by the time, and that is not something I regret. One of the top-five PC games of all time!