Thief II: The Metal Age
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4-Play Action Pack (Volume 1)
(2003) - Play the Games Vol. 5 (2003)
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Thief Collection
(2007) -
Thief: Eidos Platinum Collection
(2001) -
Thief: The Complete Collection
(2006)
Description official descriptions
Following Garrett's previous adventure, the repercussions of his actions have changed the political landscape. The Hammerite religion has crumbled and a new leader named Karras has risen up to convert many of these fanatics over to the mysterious Order of Mechanists. Meanwhile, a new Sheriff has arrived in town and has been effective at cleaning up crime - maybe too much so. This is bad news for Garrett, whose profession of master thief puts him on the wrong side of the law. As the risk increases however, so too does the amount of treasure available to a skilled thief.
Thief II: The Metal Age keeps much of the same gameplay and abilities from the original Thief: The Dark Project, but also offers a few new items for the protagonist to use. Among them are scouting orbs, which can be thrown to see around corners and flash mines. The heart of the gameplay is still stealth, made up of Garrett's ability to stay quiet, stay hidden and keep signs of trouble out of anyone's view. Garrett's main weapons are his sword, his blackjack and an assortment of arrows, each with a special power. Each level features a variety of objectives as well as several items which don't belong to the protagonist, but are nonetheless valuable and can be stolen.
Spellings
- Thief II: Эпоха металла - Russian spelling
- 神偷2：金属时代 - Simplified Chinese spelling
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Credits (Windows version)
171 People (147 developers, 24 thanks) · View all
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 88% (based on 46 ratings)
Players
Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 137 ratings with 9 reviews)
The Good
Atmosphere created by the greatest sounds in game history is just GRRRRRRREAAAAAAT! I've never been as scared as playing this game ( X-com 1 comes close though). The missions vary a lot. Graphics are ok.
The Bad
It's slow on my 450 AMD k6/2. That's the main gribe. Metal beings are not very much fun, but atleast more fun than zombies of Thief 1. Sometimes the AI does stupid things but generally it's very good and human like.
The Bottom Line
Throw your morals out and enjoy the art of stealing.
Windows · by Heikki Sairanen (75) · 2001
Thief II : Is it better then the beer-coke/pepsi-pizza combo? Yep.
The Good
Everything. First off, the in-game color is now in full 16-bit splendor, with colored lighting improving graphical quality substantially. The 3D models for the various people you'll encounter have improved a great deal as well, due to an increase in polygons used with their models. Also, instead of the slow, gradual plot of the first game (which was excellent, mind you), the new plot, while still being gradual, moves along at faster clip, and it still is just as good, perhaps better in some ways, in comparison to the plot of Thief I.
The audio for Thief II is also much improved, as sounds (well, some of them at least) play at CD quality (44.1khz) now and better sound propagation in general is evident (you can even listen through doors if you lean up against them). As far as voice acting, it's as top-notch as in the first game of the series, with both the in-game voices and cutscene acting being excellent. Also, on a final note, the major cutscenes are extremely well produced, and still have an quality unique the Thief series.
The Bad
Now that I've beat it, I have to wait at least a year for Thief III (it's 11-July-2001 on the clock right now as I write this) to be on shelves for more thieving fun in The City. Oh, wait, I forgot about the fan missions...
Well, scratch that...not significant complaints with Thief II then.
The Bottom Line
Get Thief II as soon as possible. It's probably no more than $30US in a store right now, and it's more than worth the money you'll spend for it.
Windows · by Longwalker (723) · 2008
The Good
- Overall experience is more stealth-focused, no more sudden switches of genre.
- Story has been improved, lots of characters with different agendas.
- Some levels are very well-designed, also being real tough cookies.
- Loyal modding community with it's own share of masterpieces.
The Bad
- Lots of levels are just not finished. Some have recycled maps from previous missions. Some are just extraordinary empty.
- While it's more focused, it's also lost much of the Dark Project's charm. No more tomb raids or wacky environments, no horror or creature-slicing missions.
- The last level is a 2 hour long maze with lots of backtracking and crafting elements, which is a bit overwhelming.
The Bottom Line
The game is the weakest installment in series for me.
Windows · by SanfordMorgan · 2023
Discussion
| Subject | By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Shadows of the Metal Age | St. Martyne (3648) | Jul 4, 2008 |
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Thief II: The Metal Age appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Covermount release
Computer Gaming World shipped the complete game on their January 2004 DVD.
Engine
Thief II was developed with an enhanced version of the Dark Engine.
Menus
On many of the menus used in Thief II, one can see moving gears and machinery through the glass which may look familiar. In fact, the menus are identical to those of the original Thief: The Dark Project, only a faceplate ("fancy covering") has been added over the graphics of the machinery. As a result the sound of the machinery is also muted.
Mods
In May 2005, five years after the original release, fans of the game presented their unofficial expansion: T2X: Shadows of the Metal Age, with 13 new levels, 10 new weapons, new characters and over 3.000 spoken lines. You play as a female thief, Zaya. The expansion can be downloaded here.
Multiplayer
Thief II had unused and underdeveloped code for a multiplayer mode. Fans have restored the mode with some additional coding and released a multiplayer beta patch.
References
Brahm Gervaisius' ill-fated librarian in missions 13 & 14 is named Giles. It's probably not a coincidence that in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy's watcher Giles was the school librarian.
Thief II: Gold
Thief II was to have a Gold edition with additional missions like Thief Gold, but the closure of Looking Glass Studios halted all development on the project.
Awards
- GameSpy
- 2011 – #23 Top PC Game of the 2000s
Information also contributed by Sciere, Scott Monster and WildKard
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Related Sites +
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Thief: The Circle -- A Through the Looking Glass Website
A fan site - mods, patches, tweaks, fan missions and tips on running Thief 2 on newer hardware
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Will D.
Additional contributors: Terok Nor, ClydeFrog, Sciere, Dae, Havoc Crow, Klaster_1, CaesarZX, St. Martyne, Patrick Bregger, Plok, FatherJack.
Game added April 2, 2000. Last modified March 19, 2025.