Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Old-school"

Thief II builds on the same formula as the first but adds a bunch of small improvements that make the game more fun to play.

Gameplay: 4/5
+ I really enjoyed the first game but there were lots of instances where I would get frustrated at the gameplay quirks. I chalked this up to being such an old game and perhaps some people can overlook them. In Thief II, however, I had far fewer negative experiences. It seems that the development team established the series in Thief 1 and was then free to focus on using their tools to keep all the fun elements and fix the pitfalls. Overall the level design is a lot better. I read that in Thief 1 the story was made first and then the level was designed afterwards, whereas Thief II had the level designed first and then the story would fit the level. In my experience with both games I would say that the latter achieved the better result. The levels can get a bit overwhelming and it is still kind of easy to lose track of how to solve the mission objectives, but not nearly as much as the original. As much as I praised the maps in the first for the realism they had (lacking specific details and just providing a general blueprint), they added a small feature that improved gameplay even more. Now the map highlights in blue areas that you have already visited and highlights in yellow the area you are currently at. Which would logically make sense in game and out of game. There are also a few new items that were added, including an invisibility potion, slow fall potion, flare, and scouting orb--all of which are fun, practical, and useful. Two game features that I was incredibly thankful to see were the recognition of the mouse wheel (so now you can flip through your inventory using the scroll wheel) as well as the quick save keybind (which the game desperately begged for). Still, a few of the problems of the original did slip through. Noticeably the issue of doors not opening completely if an object is blocking its path (causing you to close and open the door again, which happens a lot when you are lockpicking near doors), as well as a few problems jumping and mantling (but again, not as noticeable as the first). I did have one nasty bug in the last level that is worth mentioning. I reached a location where I jumped down into a room and was not able to leave the room later through any means since I don't think I was meant to jump down at that point and was faced with a locked gate. It was extremely frustrating since I was nearing the end and about to beat the game and I was forced to restart. And the last level can be very confusing and exhausting so it was even worse. Still, I seemed to draw more fun out of gameplay in Thief II than I did in Thief 1.

Story/Presentation: 4/5
+ I personally thought the story was stronger in this game than in the first. I enjoyed the story of the first but wasn't completely turned on to the steampunk setting, and I began to grow apathetic to it as it grew more far-fetched into altered reality. Thief II focuses more on your thievery skills, sending you into city buildings to accomplish your mission. You don't really encounter the monsters and zombies that you did in the first, and you aren't digging around in graves and haunted chapels. Instead you are unwilling caught into the struggle against the Mechanists who thrive on turning everything into metal and machines, which is effectively killing all natural life in the city. Each mission brings you closer to Father Karras--a strange, powerful, and brilliant antagonist--and brings you one step closer to stopping the Metal Age.

Graphics: (N/A)
+ Like I did in the review of the first, I'll omit the graphics category since this game is 10 years old and not impressive to look at today. Still, I will make a note that the game recycled a lot from the first in terms of graphics. Not just textures but an entire level was redone. I was kind of hoping for more, but I suppose two years since the first release was not enough time to improve the engine.
Audio: 5/5
+ The sound is as great as the first and you are still forced to listen around every corner to see if someone is coming. New surfaces were added and you have to quickly become aware what kind of sound it makes when you walk over them so that you don't alert enemies near you. Still a tremendous audio presentation.

Value: 3/5
+ The game is again kind of on the short side (around 10 hours). Besides going back to collect all the loot, this game has added secrets, which are basically hidden locations that you can unlock and find in the levels. If you want you can try to find all loot and secrets, but it's not that appealing to me. It's still a fun experience and though it doesn't have the revolutionary impact that Thief 1 did, it does still shine as a superb stealth game.