Renault on 23/3/2015 at 17:31
15 years ago today, Thief II: The Metal Age was released. The last game that Looking Glass Studios would ever create.
It's probably the game I've played the most during my lifetime, if you factor in fan missions and dromeding. I registered here a couple of weeks after it was released, so this is kind of an anniversary for me as well.
Let's celebrate today - play a little Thief 2, and read a bit on its history. Feel free to add additional links...
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thief_II:_The_Metal_Age) Wikipedia Entry - Some good stuff here in the Production/Early Development section.
(
http://www.gameranx.com/features/id/20666/article/thieving-nostalgia---why-thief-ii-the-metal-age-is-one-of-the-best-games-of-all-time/) Why Thief 2 Is One Of The Best Games of All Time (Gameranx)
(
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-07-thief-2-the-metal-age-retrospective) Thief 2 Retrospective (Eurogamer)
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLaBfXPkXdI) The Making of Thief 2 - most of you have probably seen this short vid, included on the Thief 2 CD.
Reviews of Thief 2: (
http://www.ign.com/games/thief-ii-the-metal-age/pc-11726) IGN, (
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/thief-ii-the-metal-age-review/1900-2533414/) Gamespot, (
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Games/Reviews/thief2_metalage/) Neoseeker, (
https://web.archive.org/web/20050406013151/http://avault.com/reviews/review_temp.asp?game=thief2) Avault (wayback machine archive)
Sneaky Bastards started a series of reviews of each level, sadly never finished: (
http://sneakybastards.net/stealthreview/the-sentimental-thief/) Running Interference, (
http://sneakybastards.net/stealthreview/on-the-waterfront/) Shipping and Receiving, (
http://sneakybastards.net/stealthreview/evidence-tampering/) Framed, (
http://sneakybastards.net/stealthreview/ambush/) Ambush
Inline Image:
http://www.southquarter.com/thief/thief2_box.pngCrashT on 23/3/2015 at 18:44
For what it's worth the level reviews on Sneaky Bastards will continue, I've just been super busy.
page on 23/3/2015 at 19:45
Thanks for reminding us, Brethren. I hope Thief communities will stay strong in the future, and that new enthusiasts will find them and cheer this game :D Speaking of game anniversaries, November 2013 was insane in that regard: Baldur's Gate, Thief The Dark Project and Half-Life all celebrated 15th birthday (my personal TOP3 of PC gaming ;) ).
And now I shall read these articles, thanks again Brethren!
Bucky Seifert on 24/3/2015 at 02:43
Man, so long ago. This was actually the first Thief game I owned, after playing the Dark Project demo dozens of times. Garrett would forever define my favorite character archetype in many RPGs I would later play. Not to mention this is not only probably my most played game (Like you Bretheren, factoring time spend in the OMs and FMs), but also my second favorite game of evar. It's heartening to see that there still very much exists a community for this game, and I think it will continue to last for a good while longer.
I suppose I should also say that in my opinion, "Life of the Party" is the absolute pinnacle of stealth gaming. No other game has managed to reach that peak in my experience.
henke on 24/3/2015 at 07:33
Thief 2 is my favourite in the series, and one of my favourite games ever. It, and Deus Ex, are what brought me to TTLG. Life of the Party may indeed be the best stealth level ever. Particularly the version that was in the demo, which I lost myself in for 6 hours first time I played it, exploring every nook and cranny before finishing it. Tried to find the game in the shops but it was nowhere to be seen. I had a friend of a friend who hooked me up with a pirated copy which had all the cutscenes and briefings ripped, so the first two times I played through it I had no idea what the story was. Nevertheless I loved exploring that world from the safety of the shadows, where none of the inhabitants were aware of my presence.
downwinder on 2/4/2015 at 08:27
happy birthday thief 2,it was a great game but thief 1 was better in story and missions,part 2 was rushed,otherwise it would have been the better game,thief 3 was fun but a hollow feeling when in city hub,and loading screens killed it,i don't even go back to play the fan mission as the base game was sluggish due to how Garrett turns in game,i almost went back to play that thief rising but i heard so many bad things i passed,i have hope one day they will make a new thief game that continues from part 3 or a thief game that predates thief 1=pre garrett maybe play as Artemis = as training missions shows garrett was not ready before thief 1,and it could give a great amount of back storie,ok i am rambling.
gamophyte on 6/4/2015 at 04:02
Not at all I like where you're going with that. Prequel would be great. Maybe artimus is easy on Garrett because he understands having been a little thiefy himself ;)
downwinder on 7/4/2015 at 02:25
Quote Posted by gamophyte
Not at all I like where you're going with that. Prequel would be great. Maybe artimus is easy on Garrett because he understands having been a little thiefy himself ;)
garrett would only be a kid in the prequel i am thinking about,it would be more about how alot of the characters from thief 1,2 and 3 got to be how they are or where they are,for example more about viktoria,woodsie lord,pagans,hammers and mech/etc all predating thief 1,can even have a mission where you play as garrett as a kid and maybe witness something/etc
i got a good idea but i am a terrible at trying to figure out how a story lays out,i just know what would be cool to have in a fan mission/s
i think a great way to look at what i am saying is think about all the missions from t1/t-g/t-2/t-3 and anything you wanted to know about could be made into a fan mission,as in the real back stories on viktoria/etc and since we truly do not know as much as we should about the thief world,i think a prequel would be the right thing for thief,=to wipe the sour taste from the abomination they made with the reboot.
and even a mission that is after thief 3 is something i want,wouldn't it be amazing if one day the new company made a double game one prequel and one new one
pelo89 on 10/4/2015 at 12:07
thank you for reminding us Brethren. i don't know why i never read the wiki page, there are so many interesting things there - and they confirm many things i thought about the story (3-act structure with the first one as protagonist presentation/cynical personality/normal taffer life) and the aesthetic. it would be fantastic to hear about all the things the team did in order to build such a solid narrative and good aestethic style. Also i'm still a bit schocked and saddened after learning about the fact that LGS wanted to make 4 thief games :eek:
Ev0luti0n_ on 16/4/2015 at 09:45
And 15 years have passed.... oh, the nostalgia! :cool:
