Thief II: The Metal Age
Garrett´ previous adventure was a bittersweet tale; sure he survived, but losing an eye is never a good thing for the self-employed thief. In Thief II, there is literally a new sheriff in town who is making life rather difficult for thieves and other never-do-wells. The poor and dispossessed are disappearing in the night, and Garrett has suspicions that the sheriff knows all about it. Complicating things is a splinter group known as the Mechanists, who have introduced a motley collection of clanking machines and whirring cameras into the game´s medieval fantasy world.
The basic game mechanic is identical to the first title. The cut-scenes are stylish and evocative, with excellent voice acting. The load-out screen is simple and intuitive, but like the original Thief, you will not be able to hoard gold between levels, so be sure to spend every last nickel. The vine and gas arrows are the best of the new weapons, and the invisibility and slowfall potions are the most useful new items. But the coolest addition by far is a spectator orb that communicates with Garrett´ mechanical eye. You can toss the orbs around corners and get a safe, fish-eyed view of the world. They are not cheap, but they are worth every penny.
Thief II´s 15 levels are enormous and are designed explicitly for tough, complicated jobs. Breaking into a heavily guarded bank in the dead of night is a nerve-wracking and exciting experience, like being part of your favorite heist film. The original Thief had problems with the AI not responding to Garrett when he was on another height plane, like standing on a crate or table. That problem has been fixed, but pathfinding is still an issue. Guards will often take a direct line toward Garrett and run blindly into a barrel or lamppost. The new mechanical beasts are none too bright either, but the game´s crude, steam-powered behemoths bring a lot atmosphere with their noisy rumbling and powerful cannons.
The greatest weakness of Thief II, as with the original, is the dated graphics. The graphics engine has been bumped up to 16-bit color, and there are a host of beautiful new textures. But the fact is that Thief II simply can´t compare with the visual splendor of other first-person shooters on the market today.