Product Description

Thief II: The Metal Age

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8740 in Video Games
• Brand: Eidos
• Model: STHI2PUS00
• Released on: 2000-03-24
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 95
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 2.00" h x 10.25" w x 10.25" l, 1.00 pounds

Amazon.com Review
Eidos and Looking Glass Technologies advance the shifty gaming style they introduced in Thief: The Dark Project as they continue the adventures of Garrett the master thief. In Thief II, Garrett faces tough times. Machines and their Mechanist creators have emerged as the new sinister force in the city, replacing the Hammerites of the original game. Initially unconcerned with these mechanical abominations, Garrett sets out to pilfer enough to make his next rent payment when he makes a startling discovery: someone is trying to kill him. With thoughts of financial troubles set aside, Garrett must find out who is trying to eliminate him--and why.

Through 15 grueling missions, you lead Garrett through the shadows as you attempt to accomplish a variety of intriguing objectives. In one scenario, you'll be trying to frame an innocent man by planting evidence, while in another you'll have to break into a heavily guarded bank. All the while, you will rely on moss arrows, water arrows, flash bombs, and invisibility potions to get you past the city watch as well as the Mechanists and their walking iron beasts.

The gameplay in Thief II is very much like that of its predecessor: Garrett is forced to rely on stealth and cunning rather than brute force. Each successive mission will put those stealth skills to an even tougher test than the last, as you try to slip past a seemingly endless array of guards, traps, robotic sentries, and innocent bystanders. You'll certainly get your money's worth, as each mission can easily take an hour or two to complete.

Essentially, Thief II is everything the original Thief was and more. Better graphics, superb mission design, and even better virtual thievery make Thief II a must-have for fans of the original and for any action enthusiast who is tired of the same old shoot-'em-up theme. --Michael E. Ryan

Pros:

• Excellent level and mission design
• Great graphics
• Cool array of tools to make any thief's life easier
• Challenging missions that will last 1 to 2 hours each

• Some missions incredibly difficult
• No multiplayer

Amazon.com Product Description
Welcome to Thief 2: The Metal Age, Looking Glass Studio's highly anticipated sequel to the hit "first-person sneaker" Thief: The Dark Project. Players once again occupy the weathered boots of Garrett--master thief, expert in stealth, and unlikely victor over the mad nature god, the Trickster. It's been over a year since the events portrayed in Thief: The Dark Project, and Garrett's life has returned to a kind of chaotic normalcy marked by daring independent thieving runs and lucrative "jobs." But the cost of business has just gone up, and Garrett may end up paying with his life.

GameSpot
Like Thief: The Dark Project, Thief II: The Metal Age uses the mechanics of a first-person shooter to make a game that's more about inaction than action. You won't find yourself running through hallways shooting everything that moves. Instead, you'll find yourself hiding in alcoves, listening intently for the slightest indication that you've been detected. The sneaking premise of Thief was only one of its best features; the game's excellent story and generally good mission design helped to make it one of 1998's best games. And in some ways, Thief II is even better. The mission design is more consistent, and some of the missions are among the best in any action game to date. But the story is a bit disappointing compared with the complex plot of Thief, and the game itself lacks the surprises of the original. Yet if Thief II has a real shortcoming, it's that the game is too similar to Thief.

But that similarity isn't necessarily a problem, considering how good Thief was. It's clear that Thief II was put together with the intent of getting the game done as quickly as possible. That's not to say the game was rushed or is incomplete, but only that it reuses a number of Thief's elements. For instance, certain parts of the game's structure are almost entirely the same, from the mission-briefing screens to the "mission complete" and "mission failed" movies. But the quality of Thief II's mission design more than compensates for this recycling.

A few of the missions borrow heavily from Thief, and a few are predictable. There are some moments in Thief II when you'll see potential twists in the mission from the very beginning if you're familiar with Thief. But otherwise, the mission design is superb: The designers have gone to great lengths to emphasize the thieving element of gameplay, so you'll spend less time searching through monster-infested caverns and more time in high-security buildings. You'll rob banks, burglarize storage warehouses, infiltrate secured mansions filled with secret passages, and even sneak around high-society parties. Thief II's 16 missions are longer and more involving than the first game's, and the locations are often enormous, but unfortunately, the accompanying loading times are longer as a result.

In the game's best mission, Life of the Party, you must sneak across the rooftops of a city, break into a high-security building, gather information and loot, and then sneak back across the city again. The mission is filled with funny moments, and you'll overhear all manner of conversations during the course of the heist, such as two sets of guards shouting insults across the rooftops about one another's employers. Looking Glass has done a remarkable job of making the city seem alive, as almost every mission contains conversations to eavesdrop on and people going about their business who are unaware of your presence. The only element that slightly weakens the otherwise excellent ambiance is the occasionally poor voice acting.

The highly detailed missions are likely what make Thief II's story seem weak in comparison with the original's. In the first Thief, the missions served the story. But the opposite is true of the sequel. The hero Garrett is once more called upon to put an end to a great evil, and he once again seems reluctant to do so. With the exception of the epilogue, Garrett does little but remain his roguish, wisecracking self the entire time. Garrett's an interesting character, and it's a shame that Thief II doesn't do more to develop him. Despite Garrett's desire to be an independent rogue, his seemingly self-serving actions usually end up working for the greater good. Thief II's epilogue, which seems disappointingly abrupt in comparison with Thief's excellent ending, at least hints at an interesting development for Garrett in the next game.
--Ron Dulin
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Customer Reviews

The sequel to the first person "sneaker."
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.

Nice departure from ultraviolent FPS
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.

Once a thief, always a thief
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.