Thief 2 is my favorite in the series, and also my personal all-time favorite game. It looks and plays almost identical to the first game, but it's longer, and more confident in its stealth gameplay. There are far fewer monsters and other such baddies, and a bigger focus on sneaking and thievery. Casing joints, stealing and planting evidence, a bank heist, and more await you in this classic. But make sure you play the first game before tackling this one! Players are expected to be familiar with events from the first game, and Thief 2 will be far more enjoyable with that background. There is likely a split among fans between those who prefer the first game and those who prefer this one. The two games do have a difference in tone; the first has certain missions that are absolutely terrifying, filled with strange undead creatures that will keep you cowering in the shadows in fear. The second does not have as many moments like that, but instead has a more over-arching creepiness to it. The new robotic enemies do not inspire the same fear in and of themselves, but as the plot progresses and more is learned about them, one realizes that there's something far scarier going on than the monsters from the first game. Or at least, I thought so. If there is one criticism I can lay on Thief 2, it's that the early missions aren't very cohesive. The plot proper doesn't start until several missions in, with the early ones focusing on day-to-day work as a thief. This is cool, actually, but the missions have little or no connection to one another. Garrett will explain that he needs to pull off a heist to earn some much-needed cash, but when the mission is over there's no closure, no information about what happened next. Just an abrupt jump to the next mission. Once the plot starts in earnest, though, the missions chain together nicely. Overall a minor complaint, but something players will notice when they start the game. Regardless, both Thief and Thief 2 are required playing. They're fantastic. More than just inventing stealth gameplay that works amazingly well, they're also steeped in atmosphere, set in an interesting and mysterious world that will draw you in unlike any other game I've played. Both games also feature the best sound design I've seen (heard?) in any game, ever. Don't let the dated graphics dissuade you from trying these out, they're absolutely amazing games.
While my personal favorite game of all time is actually Thief 2, the first game runs a close second. This is the game that invented stealth gameplay, and it's still one of the best implementations of stealth to be found anywhere. If you haven't tried this game yet, you owe it to yourself to do so immediately. The game was never much of a looker, even when it was released, but don't let that stop you. You'll be hiding in near-darkness most of the time anyway. Where the game really shines is in its audio. Listening for footsteps in the next hallway. Eavesdropping on a conversation between two guards. Straining your ears to try and locate the... thing... that's out there, hunting you. It's still the best audio design I've heard in any game, ever. Play this. Just do it. And then, when GOG releases Thief 2, play that, because it's more, and (in my opinion) better. Even the third game, despite several shortcomings, is definitely worth playing. One of the best, if not THE best, game series ever. You won't regret it.
Stonekeep is an interesting game... not quite like any other RPG I've played. In many ways it feels like an RPG mixed with an adventure game. There are all sorts of random objects to find, some weird creatures to meet and talk to as well as ones to fight, your character and his companions are pre-made, and there are some really tough puzzles to solve at some points. The RPG parts of the game come from the dungeon exploration, which works similarly to the early Might and Magic games where you move one square at a time and turn in 90-degree intervals, but combat is real-time, and you can move around while frantically stabbing at enemies. There's no leveling up, instead you just practice different weapon (and other) skills and they improve. It's pretty fun, although there isn't as much equipment to find as I would have liked, and I though it got a tad boring in the middle of the game. Also, the characters and acting are quite cheesy, especially at a certain stage in the game, so players should be ready for a tongue-in-cheek experience. If this strange mix sounds like it could be your thing, definitely take a look. There's quite a bit of content here for $5.99.
This game was a lot more fun than I expected. Many seem to compare it to the more recent Alien Swarm, but I actually felt that it played quite differently. Shadowgrounds feels more like an FPS that just happens to be played from a top-down perspective, rather than a traditional top-down shooter. I also liked the level design and overall campaign in Shadowgrounds better than that in Alien Swarm. The story is rather generic, but it's well executed, especially early on. A special note must be made of the lighting in the game too... some very cool-looking light and shadow make the dark parts of the game very tense. You'll need to use your flashlight a lot, and you'll be treated to some awesome dynamic shadows as you pan it over the landscape. And then you'll jump out of your seat when your light reveals some alien critters who were just about to jump you. The weapons are very good overall and can be upgraded to suit your playstyle. There were only a couple that I didn't use much, and that's probably more to personal preference rather than any balance issues. Even the lowly pistol can be upgraded to be useful in the right situations. Some others have wondered at the price... I think that objectively the game is definitely worth $10; I think I paid more elsewhere actually. The problem arises when you see some of the other offerings on GOG for $10. Shadowgrounds can't compare to some of the absolute classics that are available here on GOG, but it's still a great game and I don't think you'll regret the $10 spent on it. Especially if you have all those classics already. One quick final note: The game supports full widescreen resolutions through an .ini file. Cutscenes are done in-engine and actually play at the resolution you've set, which means they look just as good as the rest of the game.
I had a good time playing through this one with a friend back when it came out. It's got a very cool time-travel mechanic that sets up some pretty interesting puzzles. There's also some good humor in the game, but I found it got a little cheesy at times. The game does also suffer from the age-old adventure game problem of having some rather illogical and annoying puzzles in a few places. Overall, it's a good game but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first game in the series. I will admit that there are a few bad design decisions in the first game but for the most part I liked the plot and puzzles in the first one better than this. But this will still be a good time for any fans of adventure games, especially at the GOG price. Definitely recommended.
This is one of those games that really shows what PC gaming can be. It defies a genre description... the best I could come up with is action-adventure, which is so general it doesn't really mean anything. The makers of this game weren't burdened by thinking about what KIND of game they were making, they simply imagined a world and a story, and then made that. And it's utterly fantastic. I played it for the first time last year and promptly decided it was one of the best games I've ever played. Many people consider the graphics dated now, but I found them to be beautiful. The voxel technology used for the terrain means that the outdoor areas have gorgeous rolling hills and mountains, and the character animations are also very impressive. The overall resolution is a bit low but the artistic design is so good I hardly noticed. And there are so many little touches, like when you activate your mini-map and you actually see the futuristic visor slide out over your character's eyes. Then there's the combat, which is also gorgeous... seriously, these are some of the nicest explosions I've ever seen, and they were made back in 1999! Sound is also great; others have mentioned the fantastic soundtrack, but I also really enjoyed the voice acting, which seemed much better than a lot of modern games. The story is captivating, with a lot of twists, some of which I was very proud of myself for predicting and others which were total surprises. But really, the game is even better than the sum of its parts. They're not just features or details, everything works towards the cohesive whole. Basically, imagine a really awesome sci-fi action movie, and then imagine PLAYING it. That's what this game is like. Also, major kudos go to GOG for fixing many of the issues associated with running this game today. The voxel technology runs entirely on CPU, meaning that super-fast modern CPUs could cause problems... when I played it last year I had to use a separate program to slow down my CPU. But, according to the forums, GOG has managed to fix this problem, which is amazing! For $5.99 we can get this classic without worrying about getting working properly. It's a no-brainer.
As others have already said, this game really is great. I remember playing the DOS version long ago and really loving it. It really isn't like any other game I know of... abstractly it's similar to games like Prince of Persia, in that it's a 2-D platformer where your character behaves mostly realistically, rather than being able to jump 20 feet in the air, etc. But where Prince of Persia still felt formulaic, with the player pulling himself up ledges, jumping pits, fighting guards, etc., Another World is always changing. There's really only one button other than the arrow keys, and it does different things depending on the situation. Sometimes it makes you jump, other times it makes you attack, and still others it does something else entirely. Everyone's already mentioned the amazing atmosphere, and that's definitely the strongest point of the game. I would like to add that I really liked the combat as well, when it occurs. It manages to be quite strategic while also being fast-paced and exciting. The game is definitely worth the asking price here, especially with the updated graphics and new extras. There are some minor faults with the game though. A few other reviewers have mentioned a small similarity to games like Dragon's Lair, in that you basically have to figure out the correct way to proceed or you will die. This is true, but it's not as pronounced as in games like Dragon's Lair. I think that a lot of the challenge of Another World comes in the form of figuring out how to pass the next area without being killed. At a few points there are more large-scale puzzles to be solved though, and those are really nice. But once you've "figured out" how to get through the game, it's not particularly long, or challenging. After I'd finished the game for the first time I would occasionally sit down and play through it again, usually in a single sitting. But it was definitely still fun, because the atmosphere and hints at the story are so well done that it's quite an entertaining romp. If you've played this game before you're probably going to buy it without even reading the reviews, but if you haven't, I really would recommend it. Even with the faults I mentioned that might make it a bit frustrating for players used to more recent games, the experience really is worth it. Have fun!
I played through this game with a friend of mine back when it came out. I found it to be quite enjoyable. It does use full motion video, but at the time it didn't really bother me, which is a bit surprising. I think for the most part it was done quite well, but there were definitely some times when we had some laughs making fun of a few of the actors. The game definitely does not sacrifice any interactivity though; even though there's a lot of video, there's just as much full-on puzzle solving, and I appreciated the fact that almost all the puzzles actually made logical sense and avoided the adventure game trap of being overly obtuse. I can't remember if we ever got really badly stuck... I think for the most part we were able to figure out the puzzles but we might have consulted a walkthrough a couple of times. Definitely worth checking out for fans of adventure games.