Could "T2X: Shadows of the Metal Age" be better than TG and T2? - by Sanctus Germanus
Sanctus Germanus on 6/9/2016 at 06:27
I'm undecided, but it doesn't sound THAT crazy, does it? I mean, T2X isn't as technically "sharp" as T1 or T2 (and of course it isn't even close to be up to their status), but the Guild made a damn fine work and even more: SotMA not only stays true to the LGS originals, but it widely enriches that universe and builds an atmosphere which integrates the best of both games and casts something new, unique, wacky, intense and, chiefly, something that stands by its own feet. C'mon, don't be afraid of letting the whole world know that you love T2X! That forum is a ghost town, for Karras' sake!
Platinumoxicity on 6/9/2016 at 06:58
Gameplay and level design wise it's on par with Thief 2 and I don't think it has any unnecessary additions. Story is crap and hand animated pre-rendered cutscenes are cringy and inconsistent with Thief's art style. Good balance of different types of missions.
User 205 on 6/9/2016 at 10:49
Not really. About three levels are on par with Thief 1,2 or 3 but the rest is mostly pretty small and not always that great. And the story is really garbagy. In the end it is still a huge fan mission, in which people put a lot of love and excitement.
marbleman on 6/9/2016 at 10:52
I think T2X is at least as good as TG and T2. It might not be as long as the originals and the missions might be smaller and easier, but every single one is enjoyable. Sure, there is no RttC or Soulforge, but there is also no Undercover or Tracing the Courier. Where the originals (especially T2) are rollercoasters of amazing and mediocre missions, T2X plays great all the way through.
Furthermore, T2X just looks better. Levels are neat and pleasant to look at. There are no rough edges like in T2 and the use of colored lighting is superb. And the sound design... oh man. Ambients are more musical overall and the heart-warming organ music in hammerite cathedral or sexy music in the brothel I liked even more that ambients from TG and T2.
The story is good enough to enjoy I think. Same for the cutscenes and briefings.
The only bad thing I can say would be about some voice lines. While voice acting is good, the quality is not so much... Some guards walking 2 meters away from you, sound like they're talking through a tube from 20 meters away.
All in all, T2X to me became Thief 3. It's an amazing experience and I do cosider it to be another original Thief game, just not made by LGS...
Cigam on 6/9/2016 at 17:41
Played it once nearly 10 years ago, and don't remember it being better than the official games, but it certainly was an excellent FM and creative in places. The people that worked on it should be proud of it.
A few negatives, and a slight spoiler about the way it ends. I thought the twist was disappointing. I would have been far happier for it to end a mission earlier with a happy ending.
Also there is a "Benny" style thicko guard who keeps cropping up, who is just irritating and has none of Benny's charm.
But that aside, love the way it interweaves with T2, and as I say, great bit of work overall, from what I remember.
Fallen+Keeper on 7/9/2016 at 18:29
It's a nice piece of fan content but inferior both to T1 and T2.
T1 had good level design and terrific story, T2 story was poor but levels were bigger and some of them were even better than the best T1 ones. And then there is the main character and voice acting.
In comparison, in my opinion, T2x story was boring, writing was "cartoonish", the level design was inconsistent (good in some places, amateurish in others), the main character was flat and voice acting ranging from average (secondary characters mainly) to cringeworthy (main character).
I could elaborate why the story was boring etc, but I don't feel like trashing someone else's work only because that work happened to be compared to the originals.
Compared to other fan missions, yeah, T2x certainly stands out - minus the voice acting. (the girl just killed the main character for me, sorry).
ZylonBane on 10/9/2016 at 07:29
/casts Betteridge's Law
Fallen+Keeper on 10/9/2016 at 14:03
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
/casts Betteridge's Law
Lol.
voodoo47 on 11/9/2016 at 10:11
Quote Posted by User 205
Not really. About three levels are on par with Thief 1,2 or 3 but the rest is mostly pretty small and not always that great. And the story is really garbagy. In the end it is still a huge fan mission, in which people put a lot of love and excitement.
it's been a while, but I don't remember feeling anything off with the levels. the story is a matter of personal taste - while not exactly sophisticated, it does its job. the only two things that really bothered me were some of the custom resources being of surprisingly low quality, and the voiceacting being a bit cringy sometimes. guess those were unavoidable, considering the size of the project.
