Customer Reviews

Thief II: The Metal Age

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

After trying the first mission in Thief 2:The Metal age I was dazzled. The developers at Ion Storm have truly lived up to the promise of a better sequel for we slobbering Thief fans. The original Thief was thought not to do well because of its twist on the first-person shooter. But when it hit the shelves it sold like hot cakes. To those of you run-and-gun fans this might not be the game for you. Thief 2 consists heavily on keeping out of sight and sticking to the shadows. You are not a war hero that can take some few thousand bullet wounds, you are no more than a common thief trying to hold your own. The game has changed a significantly since the original game. The characters in Thief 2 are much smoother and less blocky looking. The physics have also had a dramatic change with new fog effects and etc. The AI's intelligence has been increased as well. This game is fun to play and if you buy it, it will take some time to complete. It can be dificult at times so I suggest buying a strategy guide. I can't tell you how much fun it is when a nobleman offends you, and then you loot him for all he's worth. This is definetly one to get.

Not that I mind ultraviolent games, but every once in a while, it's nice to play something that emphasizes something other than "get big gun, frag away."

Thief 2 (and Thief before it) are both excellent games that require you to move slowly and carefully throughout each level and use only minimal force to accomplish your goals. The game is set in a part medieval, part industrial renaissance world where torches, gas lamps, electricity, steam power and magic all exist side by side. The contrast is sometimes used to great effect by the level designers, producing wonderfully complex levels that are both nice to look at and fairly interactive. The controls are pretty simple and users who prefer a keyboard, keyboard and mouse, or joystick will all feel very comfortable. Equipment is bought or found during gameplay (but doesn't usually carry over from level to level) and is designed to supplement gameplay, not dominate it. The most unbalancing items are also the rarest and levels are easily finished without these rare items.

The opposition AI is a little dumbed down, but still challenging. The ability to set the difficulty level (which affects the number of goals in a mission and level of violence permissable) allows for a fair amount of replayability.

A major change from the first game is a noticeable lack of undead and overall less need to get into combat situations. This is more or less a welcome change but can lead to some long, patience testing level play. Fortunately, a game can be saved and returned to at any point during a level, unlike Diablo 2. Also, the level maps are much bigger than the first games and if you enjoy exploring every nook and cranny, you can really spend a lot of time in the game.

Speed isn't a problem on a PII 400 w/128 RAM and 32 meg TNT card and the sound quality is excellent. The only drawback to the graphics is that everything is fairly dark (avoid light, night missions, duh) and on dark monitors, things are downright difficult to see. If you have lights on, screen glare more or less makes the game unplayable. So turn down the lights, turn up the gamma and sneak away.

Just as Thief: The Dark Project, was an innovative masterpiece, this game holds true to its title. Improved graphics and AI are only the beginning. The incredibly involved story line and the sheer detail achieved by Thief 2 are what keep me sneaking through level after level. There are two main things that move Thief out of the standard "First Person Shooter" shell. The first is moving the focus away from senceless killing. Though I do hold Half-Life as the single best game of the past five years (if not forever) there was a lot of mowing down aliens and double-barreled-shotgun action. And don't get me wrong, I love that as much as the next guy, but anyone can see that a change is long overdue. The second change is the difficulty system. I worked my way all through the orrigional Thief (after nearly a year) so I believe myself to be of average thieving ability yet this new game is still quite difficult. The difficulty works on three levels. In the 'normal' level, Garrett (the main character)gives the player clues as to how to beat the levels with the most efficiency. On hard, there are no more clues and there are added objectives. More objectives and less life on expert. This makes Thief 2 a worthwhile investment as it can be played again and again. All in all, Thief 2 could very well be the best game of the year.

This review may be useful for people who haven't played thief I, and therefore don't really know what to expect from thief II.

I picked up a copy of thief II when it first came out. I hadn't played Thief, the dark project, so I didn't really know what to expect from the game. It turns out that I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the graphics, the outstanding plot, and the varied pace of the different missions.

Thief II puts you in the boots of Garrett, a thief who seems to be just barely one step ahead of the authorities. The first few chapters of the game focus on teaching you how to sneak in the dark, move silently, and kill quickly and efficiently. Following this brief training period, the game quickly becomes more intense as you are confronted with increasingly difficult missions and situations. You rapidly put the skills you've learned to the test as you break into buildings, pickpocket guards, frame people for crimes, and sneak past hoards of irate guards.

The pace of thief is excellent... it can rapidly change from a slow stealthy sneak around a church, to a fast paced confrontation with a group of armed guards. Few action games I've seen make such great use of sound and the environment. Hiding in shadows allows you to slip past guard unnoticed, and you can listen for footsteps, opening and closing doors, and other sounds for approaching danger. You'll get to break into buildings, sneak through beautifully designed and rendered cities, and make your way though catacombs and dungeons. Every chapter in the game is different, and each offers new and difficult challenges.

Thief II is a fantastic game which blends the feel of an RPG with an Action Shoot-em-up. It's well designed, well balanced, and quite intriguing... five stars all the way!

Finally, a first-person shooter more complex than "kill everything that moves"! This game's emphasis on stealth and secrecy are a welcome change from the high-speed fragfests of the Quake and Unreal series. The various tools of the trade are widely varied and have more effect than simply killing your enemies. You might blind a pursuing soldier with a flashbomb or distract the gate guards with a noisemaker arrow. The voices can become very boring after the fiftieth "Just make one little noise" or "When I find you, I'm going to TAKE MY TIME with you!". The combat is somewhat too heavily based on surprise; one arrow to the leg will kill a guard if he doesn't know you're there, but eight arrows in the throat are sometimes insufficient for one who's on his guard. Likewise, a single sword swing will kill an unsuspecting fool, but it takes a dozen cuts in a hand-to-hand duel.

Overall, I'd give it a good rating for plot, story, equipment, and the shadow mechanism. The balance of combat is a little weak, however. In general, this is a good game for anyone who likes to use their head as well as their hands to play a game.

I absolutely fell in love with this game even before I had played Thief: The Dark Project. I'm so glad I started out with the "better" part of this game with Garrett's mechanical eye, vine arrows and probably a lot more. These help big time in getting past the levels. I experienced its absence when I played Thief: The Dark Project which was pretty tedious, but it wasn't bad.

Thief 2: The Metal Age has got quite a story. You'll be amazed to find out (which I did after analyzing the game during Algebra) the pace in progress by starting out at some fancy mansion to help someone, to actually saving the city. On the way, a lot of things are encountered which lead to other things causing subplots but in the end they're all related to the big picture, and it doesn't get off track.

I was pretty addicted to this game, and still am. I long to slip into that sober and forbidding atmosphere which is brought out so well through the music and the lighting; and Garrett helps the situation through his sarcasm and cynicalness.

This is one kind of game which I know I won't grow out of. In a way, it's not repititive, as sometimes when you save the game at a point where a guard's going to walk in on you, he sometimes won't turn up when the game is loaded. Also, in levels that require locating some kind of loot or item which you carry on to the next level, (considering that you're starting fresh on the level) it can be hidden in 14 different places, and I haven't experienced all of it either!

I really recommend this game, especially if you're a First-Person-Shooter person, and for once there aren't the usual shotput guns or bazookas or alienated monsters and what-not. Thief 2: The Metal Age is definately a break-through.

Thief 2 is probably the best 1st person game I have ever played (and I own over 150 PC games). Granted, I like the idea of using your brains rather than an BFG to solve a problem, plus I get a huge rush of adrenaline when I am able to get away with something sneaky in a game. Therefore, your experience may vary.

To maximize your enjoyment of the game however, I suggest you turn out the lights in your room, put a dark blanket or towel over the windows and then adjust the gamma controls on the game and the brightness/contrast on your monitor. Once you do all of this, you'll be able to see that Thief 2 isn't just a blind run in the dark, but a very richly detailed world.

Also, use an EAX capable sound card, such as Creative Labs Live! card and you'll be able to hear things happening all around you as you play. Knowing where sound is coming from really helps, for example, when you've been spotted and are trying to stay one step ahead of the bad guy.

The Thief series also has a solid online following, so you can count on good fan-created levels to keep your gaming experience going. Check out sites such as thief-thecircle.com for more.

It's difficult to overstate the significance of Thief II within the gaming community. While flashier games like Half-Life (also a fantastic investment, if you're looking to buy a good game) have managed to take the spotlight most of the time, Thief II is best at what its protagonist is famous for: quietly stealing an entralled following from the high-octane world of 1st person shooters, simply because the gameplay is so incredibly innovative. It's refreshing to see a throwback to the days of adventure gaming done thoroughly and well with a modern 3D engine (and what an engine it is: the scripting and AI will have you begging for more). The story - and here I take issue with at least one other reviewer - is flat-out brilliant, and the voice-acting is Hollywood-quality, a rarity in today's gaming market. The cyberpunk/steam-age setting (which one author has catchily called "steampunk") is another never-been-done-quite-that-way treat for the player. No multiplayer? Don't worry. This is very much a first-person experience, and it owes a great deal more to King's Quest than it does to Quake. Parents, the game may have a Mature rating, but I defy you to find another action game anywhere in which the goal is to kill as few people as possible. This is one game that does NOT encourage mindless violence. For every person dead or even unconcious, there is a host of new hazards to face that can make a mission anywhere from slightly more difficult to completely impossible. In an entertainment medium where developers admit that their game was "largely a contest to see who could make the coolest Deathmatch level [Quake]," it's a pleasure to see a game so devoted to a tightly-knit, interesting story in spite of the action component. Looking Glass, the development studio, has graced the gaming community with several of the most incredible PC games ever released (System Shock 1 & 2, the original Thief), and Thief II is the best in a long line of bests. It's also the last game put out by this incredible team of developers, so please play it, if for no other reason than to support people who want to put the brains back into PC gaming.

Alas poor Looking Glass, I knew ye games well...

Not only were Looking Glass Studios just terrific programmers and designers, but they were one of the few companies (very few) that created sequels that OUT-DID the originals!

Therefore, Thief 2 TMA, is a near flawless game in almost every aspect.

Good ol' Garrett is back and stealthier than ever! The best qualities that made the original so- well- original were the concepts. Sneaking, stealing, pick-pocketing, lock-picking, puzzle/problem solving, great cast, weaponary makes their glorious returns here and are improved (and fixed here and there too).

Now what makes The Metal Age (no, not 80s hair metal bands) better than The Dark Project? Well, aside from the improved weaponry and gadgets the story is more streamlined to adhere to the gameplay better. TMA was a tad over-board in the Hammerities theology deterring from the pacing of the game at times. Here, the Mechanists are a theology as well but don't slow down the pace. Not to say that it's thin on plot- it surely isn't- it has a great story as all LGS games do.

The graphics are great for the time it was released (today they look kind of "primitive") and the foley is terrific as always. It carries some of the SFX from TDP and adds more sounds and removes some of the annoying sounds from TDP too.

If I have to mention (and I do) any negatives I would say that there are a few glitches (even for the final version of 1.8) that ruin the game. I tended to get to get stuck in corners and had to restart. At times, when you're moving at the slowest pace you are still heard from half across a room. I found that ridiculous. Lastly, there is no 32bit resolution availabilty. Bummer.

Overall, this is another jewel in the small but flawless Looking Glass Studios crown.

The other 3 LGS games are:

System Shock
System Shock 2 (greatest PC game ever created)
Thief: The Dark Project

Now go get it/them Taffer!

The most original would actually be Thief 1 but lets not quibble here. The Thief series is inspired genius. The developers at Looking Glass (R.I.P.) dared to do something new with a genre that was at that point old and cliched. An action game where you can win without killing anyone. Whoda thought it? The pitfall here is that most people think that action games without killing are no fun. LG side-stepped that beautifully. Sure its fun to put an arrow in some poor sap's neck but out-witting them instead is often more satisfying. Add a great story and original setting and you have a great game. Finally, to answer a previous reviewers question, Thief 3 is in development now but not by LG :(. Ion Storm great Warren Spector is in charge of T3's development. However, the majority of the original Thief team is working on it so it should be just as great.