Thief II: The Metal Age

The Good
Thief 2 was one of the most riveting gameplaying experiences I have ever had. The interface is setup like a first person shooter, but if you think you can hack and slash your way to victory, fuhgeddabouit.

Thief 2 works because you must take on the persona of the main character, Garrett. As a thief you must pay attention to your elements. Are you being quiet enough, moving slowly enough, staying concealed enough? There is a light monitor (a gem) that shows how visible you are. Moss arrows pad your footsteps and noisemaker ones distract guards.

Sound is incredible. Guards whistle and gripe, wood floors sound different than carpet ones, your arrow whooshes through the night. Great narration too.

Missions are varying and there are different ways to accomplish them. Settings are incredible from breaking into a prison to jumping along rooftops. I was disappointed to see this game end.

The Bad
Enemy AI is a little weak. You should be able to carry supplies over from mission to mission. I would also like to see longer missions and branching gameplay in the next one.

What's with Garrett's shoes? Would you really wear clodhoppers if you were a thief?

The last level was disappointing and the "bad guy" has a weak voice.

The Bottom Line
Thrilling fps features stealth and secrecy over face-to-face combat. A must for fans of the first person sneaker genre.

The Good
It's more of the original Thief, with some improvements.

This game presents the best atmosphere of any game. Shivers will go up and down your spine as you hear the approaching steps of a guard.

The story line is present, and while not over-powering, does add to the game.

Graphically superior to the original, and right up there with the best of any genre.

Everything you need to is in the game. The sound is unprecedented.

The Bad
On slower PCs, load times take some time. Throw this on a gigahertz-plus machine, and you'll wonder what load times people are talking about.

Sometimes fighting more undead gets old.

Some people may find controls to be a little difficult. It takes some time, but when you combine mouse and keyboard, you have unprecedented control.

The Bottom Line
The game is a FPS with no shooting (unless you count bow and arrow). The idea is to sneak around. You need to pay attention to everything from people far off who could see you, to lights and shadows, to the noises of someone walking down the hall.

Don't like that shadow being cast by that torch? Douse it with a water arrow. Want to distract that guard for a minute? Let loose a noise-maker arrow.

Just try it.

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.