If you are a fan of sneaking games, with a huge emphasis on atmosphere, then this is a must own! Big levels with plenty of ways to complete. Will you kill off patrols? Will you sneak past them and use your huge array of gadgets to fool them? It's all up to the player. The game also features a great story that revolves around a creepy cult called the Mechanists and their creepy leader Karras! Just get it and you won't be dissapointed
This game is a masterpiece, to put it simply. Every aspect has been fine tuned to a point of absurdity. The ambient noises and voice clips create a tense and exciting atmosphere rivaled only by other Thief games. The use of lighting combined with noise in stealth elements comes together to create a stealth system still not surpassed to this day. The learning curve is welcoming to newcomers in the series, but is not easy. The levels get more complex and exciting as the come progresses. The story is original, and is reaveled through gorgeus cutscenes and listening at doors. The voice of Garret only adds to the excitment.
The world this game creates - an early rennaisance world with dashes of fantasy and steampunk (also automotons!) is the icing on the cake for this masterpiece. If you are looking for an amazing stealth and action game that isnt Deus Ex, skip Assasin Creed 10 million: this time theres aliens: revelations part 3, and plat Thief 2, the Metal Age.
TLDR;
This game is an all time great, do yourself a favor and buy it.
Played both Thief I and II over 20 years a go, I remember them as great games.
In a recent GOG sale I picked up both for a pound, and tried them again. They are both even better than I remember! - just brilliantly designed and the use of sound is never been surpassed in a game.
With the HD mod, TFix, EAX sound fix both Thief Gold and II look and sound terrific.
Gold took me 55 hours on expert and II 38 to complete.
I can't recommend both Thief Gold and Thief 2 enough.
When I started playing this game I thought, "why are people saying that this game is superior to Thief: Gold? It doesn't really bring anything new to the table!" Then I got past the first mission...
This game is, simply put, one of the most amazing, fustrating, make-me-want-to-smash-the-keyboard experiences I have ever played and I couldn't be happier for it. The graphics are markedly improved from what we got in T:G, the sound is somehow richer, lighting sources are now even more dynamic than previously and the whole thing still tops out at less than a gigabyte of space!
Then, there's the gameplay. More or less untouched from T:G, Garrett's movement set and equipment are mostly untouched; he gains a new throwable item and two new potions but nothing that really rocks the boat. That is one of Thief 2's strengths; don't fix what isn't broken! Movement, combat, stealth, situational and environmental awareness; all are intact and still work flawlessly! The level design now matches the ambitions of the designers, featuring pristine banks, ornate mansions, technocratic bastions and even forests for Garrett to ply his trade.
The Hammerites, having faced their nemesis in the previous game have fractured; the Mechanist Order has arisen to take the City by storm. Gone are the days when men and women walk the streets of the City in fear; a crackdown by the City Guard and new inventions by the Mechanists ensure than order is maintained. But, beneath it all, something dark is brewing...something that could spell the end of Garrett and the City. And to think that all Garrett wanted to do was pay his rent...
In my review of Thief: Gold I finished by stating that my inner teenager couldn't be happier; I think my inner teenager is still picking his jaw up off of the floor. Buy it...and spread the Word of Karras.
Thief II and Thief TDP/Gold are close in that regard but in my eyes T2 definitely takes the spot. LGS focused on what made the first Thief game good; urban stealth. T2 almost exclusively focuses on thieving with the exception of two levels where as one falls into the supernatural spectrum and the other is a (good) IKEA simulator. T2 had a rocky development although it's really only visible in the Casing the Joint and Masks missions, with the former being arguably the worst mission in the game. Would definitely recommend this one, not to mention the T2X: Shadows of The Metal Age fan campaign and countless other fan missions.
