Zechs Zero on 27/2/2009 at 20:55
Considerations about the fantasy element being lost (or, rather, not so preponderant) in Thief 2 from say Thief 1 Gold, are outspoken so I will keep away from easy tout-court judgements. :laff:
I think that the two elements gain meaning through their relationship, instead of one being indipendently stronger than the other. I remember playing the tombraider-esque levels of Thief 1 Gold and thinking: "I would like so much to be back being a normal burglar". Then the next level would feature something like this, and I would be overjoyed at re-fitting in my role. Now I play the levels of Thief 2, which so far have all been like that, and I start losing on the difference between the two.
It doesn't feel so special anymore, because it's always like this. Short bursts of fantasy, like the Haunts in the mechanist seminar dungeon and some zombies in the necromancer tower, make me put things back into perspective again. But it's all very short, where in comparison in Thief 1 Gold the two were too much separated by hours and hours of completely different gameplay.
I rest my case when I say that it was missions like Cragscleft Prison and The Sword, half real and half dungeon, that gave you the best impression of being both an earthly burglar and a fantasy character. Because it keeps redefining your role between two scenarios where you need to fit accordingly, avoiding the general dullness that builds on while watching something surely solid, but perhaps *too much* coherent.
SlyFoxx on 27/2/2009 at 21:42
'Bout sums it up for me too.
T1 was the superior game because of the balance of the two elements. (Along with other things as well.)
Lovecraftian on 27/2/2009 at 21:47
T1 Gold was very well rounded, and i agree that T2 had could have done with a more fantasy type level, but too much undead and monsters are grating. IMO i prefer Thief 2 as it had better level design, though towards the end it seemed rushed (though Soulforge was very well designed even if it was robot hell) On the other hand, i've allway felt the last three levels of T1/Gold were dire (I did prefer the undead to those irritating tip toeing bugbeasts) I also preferred the plot of Thief 2 as we were taken on a journey into the mind of Karras on the way, and the mechanists were fantastic enemies. On the whole however, both games are bloody great.
Zechs Zero on 2/3/2009 at 01:42
Progressing further on, it's been disconcerting to see how levels lost Loot Objectives. Assuming the next level has a shop, Garrett's greed stops essentially there.
Now, this would simply dictated by the story: "you're in a hurry to fight the bad guys, no time for thievery". But developers said that missions were pictured before the actual storyline, so... :sweat:
So, get a better story: kind of a late suggestion on my part, I guess. :cheeky: Hammers going down after the major success against the Trickster, Garrett helping Viktoria for something other than money (compare to the end of T1): bah!
Xorak on 2/3/2009 at 08:04
When I replay the original levels, I always find myself wishing I could go back and erase everything I know about them and just revel in the 'first time' playing them again. Only two other games I have ever played gave me that feeling: Dragon Warrior for the NES and Civilization 1. These are the only three games that effectively 'blew my mind', and opened a whole new world for me.
This is off topic I know, but just the memory of learning Civilization without any manual or outside help brings me back to grade 8. I still remember when I walked in on my brother playing it and he had the technology to build ships. That right there was a 'mind blowing' moment. I wondered for so long how he could have possibly done it. Oh, to go back and relieve those first times. :)
I played Thief 2 before playing the first one, and just the memory of walking through that opening mansion. I must have spent hours on it. It was scary just to walk through that lighted foyer and knowing you could be spotted. The level seemed so massive and sprawling, like it was crowded with guards.
