-Thief
II, in review
Below
I include quotes from the Gamespot and IGN reviews of Thief II: The Metal Age. The segments I selected are the parts that
echo moreso the points I’ve made in this project.
-from
the Gamespot review, by Ron Dulin
"In
the game's best mission, Life of the Party, you must sneak across the rooftops
of a city, break into a high-security building, gather information and loot,
and then sneak back across the city again. The mission is filled with funny
moments, and you'll overhear all manner of conversations during the course of
the heist, such as two sets of guards shouting insults across the rooftops
about one another's employers. Looking Glass has done a remarkable job of
making the city seem alive, as almost every mission contains conversations to
eavesdrop on and people going about their business who are unaware of your
presence. The only element that slightly weakens the otherwise excellent
ambiance is the occasionally poor voice acting."
[…]
"There
are very few moments in Thief II where there's a single correct path to take,
and the beauty of the mission design is that it's left to your ingenuity to use
the tools provided to overcome the obstacles in your path. Do you shoot out the
torches and sneak down a hallway? Or should you use a rope arrow to hoist
yourself up to the rafters and ambush the guards from above? It's a testament
to the quality of the design that when you complete a mission in Thief II,
you'll actually feel as if you've accomplished something and not just executed
a series of predetermined tasks."
-from
the IGN review, by Vincent Lopez
"For
instance, the game opens with a mission involving clearing a path in a mansion
to a woman so that her lover can sneak through the guards and get her out, a
task which not only involves finding the woman, but insuring that all guards on
the route are out of commission or safely out of view. What route is the best?
That's up to you. I diverted from the designated path completely and found
myself in some interesting areas I would have otherwise never ventured into.
Another mission has you sneaking through the city streets avoiding the guards
in order to get a special item from your house, a process that shows just how
much wider the gameplay has gotten in the sequel. Not only are there a myriad
of routes available to you, from city streets to the underground tunnels of the
canals, but there are entire areas that will bring you gold and information
that aren't needed to complete the game. Secrets abound in every mission, and
rather than just providing a joke or two, the special notes or items that you
find really add a depth to the storyline, especially when you keep track of all
the connections between the characters involved."
[…]
"The
sound once again shines in Thief II, from the dark but ambient score to the
myriad of sound effects and voices that you'll hear in the game. It's really
one of the first times in a game that your ears are equally as important as
your eyes, and the Looking Glass team has emphasized that in the sequel."
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