Thief II: The Metal Age

 PC
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
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  1. GameZone
    95
    Intriguing, delightful, spooky and thoroughly enjoyable.
  2. PC Gameworld
    92
    Smashing sequel improves on the original. Utterly unique and addictive series.
  3. Game Revolution
    91
    Older graphics aside, Thief 2 is a great game. Though I'm sure some sociology professor might decry the glorification of breaking into people's houses and stealing their stuff, there's no denying that it's a lot of fun.
  5. Gaming Age
    91
    The missions themselves are so incredibly enjoyable and entertaining to play through, and are what make Thief II such a fantastic title.
  6. Yahoo!
    90
    The most impressive aspect of Thief 2 is its massive and varied levels. The levels are truly huge and require hours to fully explore.
  7. Total Video Games
    90
    This truly is the sneakiest game available on the PC, and is also one of the best designed and most enjoyable releases of the year so far.
  8. IGN
    90
    For those of you looking for a complex, unique effort, Thief II continues to shine. The game puts in so much world detail that you can't help but get immersed in Garrett's plight and his adventures.
  9. Computer Games Magazine
    90
    All of the game's levels are very well crafted, and many of them are huge. Looking Glass has done an excellent job making each level feel like a "real" place.
  10. Eurogamer
    90
    But with more interesting and varied missions, bigger and more detailed levels, new enemies (and allies), a few new toys to play with, and some vital tinkering under the bonnet, Thief II stands on its own merit.
  11. PC Gamer
    89
    More focused and polished than the original, it's a game to get for any fan of the FPS genre looking for something a bit different.
  12. GameSpot
    86
    But the story is a bit disappointing compared with the complex plot of "Thief," and the game itself lacks the surprises of the original.
  13. Game Over Online
    85
    Sure, it's essentially an add-on for the original Thief plus a few engine enhancements, but the result still works.
  14. Electric Playground
    85
    Like its predecessor, Thief II is subtle, deep and refined, words associated with the action game genre about as often as they are with fraternity hazing rituals.
  15. FiringSquad
    83
    The levels are even bigger and more interesting. The game will take a good while to finish - 50 hours isn't out of the question, so you'll definitely get a good bang for your buck.
  16. GameSpy
    83
    The pace is slow, but it's a lot of fun and very rewarding. However, the game suffers from unattractive graphics, bad sound in places, and a few bugs. If you can get past those points, however, you'll find a whole lot of deep gameplay.
  17. Gamer's Pulse
    80
    It has provided me with in excess of 60 hours of pure addictive gameplay, and has earned a permanent spot on my shelf, sharing space with the likes of "Kings Quest 1" and "Doom."
  18. GamePro
    80
    A very entertaining "thinking person's shooter" that provides more of the same to fans of the original release. It's tough to learn, but rewards you with an immersive, fun experience.
  19. Adrenaline Vault
    80
    I like the larger scenarios and the attention to detail on all of the levels is amazing.

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Best PC Game of 2000
19
#19 Most Discussed PC Game of 2000
31
#31 Most Shared PC Game of 2000

User Reviews

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User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 283 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 249 out of 283
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 283
  3. Negative: 12 out of 283
  1. RickK.
    Mar 5, 2003
    10
    A tremendous sequel to an overlooked gem.
  2. oliver1h
    Nov 14, 2012
    10
    This game wa a solid improvement on its legendary and revolutionary predecessor! Thief has a unique and gripping atmosphere (This time withThis game wa a solid improvement on its legendary and revolutionary predecessor! Thief has a unique and gripping atmosphere (This time with less horror elements, focusing on Karras and 'His' machine servants). It has one of the most memorable and charismatic main protagonist in gaming history: Garrett, voiced by the legendary voice actor Stephen Russell. The stealth system work as a charm! The graphics are very good (the game was built with the Dark Engine). The maps seem to be bigger than in Thief:TDP. I can only recommend this game! If you like stealth games it is a must play!!!… Full Review »
  3. Speedster09
    Sep 8, 2011
    10
    if you've never played the thief series then you've missed out big time! without doubt or hesitation my absolute personal #1 game franchise;if you've never played the thief series then you've missed out big time! without doubt or hesitation my absolute personal #1 game franchise; if you've never played the series: you play as Garrett, a master thief, always on the lookout for loot and missions; G is hardly any good at fighting, but that's exactly the point - you need to sneak and pay careful attention to your surroundings to avoid detection; at your disposal you have various tools and non-lethal weapons to ease your quest by for example creating mossy carpets to drown out noise from footsteps or water arrows to extinguish torches;
    if I could, I would give this a 9.5 - it's not the perfect 10 that its predecessor was for me, but also definitely not as "bad" as a 9.0;

    THE GOOD:
    * the graphics engine was greatly improved compared to Thief1 (of course, no comparison to modern games)
    * mission maps are typically bigger than in Thief1 and missions longer
    * compared to today's often generic background story, this one is immersive! while the fanatical (at least so you thought) hammerites were the focus of the first thief's story line, now it is karras and his mechanist followers
    * your arsenal has grown slightly, allowing for more varied gameplay, but also some (IMHO) cheating (slowfall potions anyone?)
    * typically more enemies, now even mechanized - greatly helps immersion by making the Thief universe even more bizarre; but also meant that zombies are gone (that's a CON in my book)
    * and most of the previous awesome aspects have been retained if not improved (at least the german version that i own contains some hilarious exclamations made by some of the guards when they chase you);
    * oh, and thank god, a character that can and does actually speak! (stephen russell is kind of a thief celebrity)
    * IMMERSION - you really become sucked into the Thief world because you constantly have to pay close attention to your surroundings and actions; visual cues, sounds, and lighting all are important sensory inputs in this game and thus to enjoy this game you automatically become immersed in it; just make sure that you play in a dark room with surround sound setup - and make sure no heavy or expensive objects are around - hysterical arm flailing is included in this game!

    THE BAD:
    * in general - nothing much; if you're looking for psychopatic mass murdering, you're at the wrong address; * the -0.5 i dock off for several reasons: first off, no zombies! perhaps the most awesome enemies in the first thief - scary, loud, slow, and it's possible to blow them up! what's not to like (unless you have weak nerves); the story - just not as immersive and fresh as constantine's plot in Thief1 - that one had mystery, betrayal, and revenge in it; this one only a constant fanaticist (karras) and not much more; finally, my biggest complaint - not all the playing styles that were possible in Thief1 are possible in Thief2 - even the second mission is impossible to 'ghost' (getting all loot and items without detection or even arousing suspicion); later missions just compound on that

    other thoughts:
    also used to (and to a limited extent still does) have a very proliferative fan community - check out 'thief - the circle' (no longer updated but still accessible) and if at all possible get komag's DVD sets (i think he offers a torrent somewhere) - tons of those missions are just incredibly well done, some perhaps even surpassing the original missions (calendra's legacy, T2X, 7th crystal & many more) in immersion, while others give it an entirely new spin (hammerite deathmatch, some of the unreal tournament style missions)

    IMHO, the Thief franchise created a wholly new type of gaming style and as such revolutionized pc gaming; much more so than other hallmark games such as crysis or half life ever did (for me at least); how good is it? i've played through Thief1&2 countless times with different styles in mind and the very first games that always get installed on any new computer of mine are the thief and system shock games!    … Full Review »
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