Soulforge vs. Maw of Chaos - by slayed to rest
slayed to rest on 31/3/2006 at 07:01
Hey all. Just finished T2 for the second time. Searching through the boards at the typical "favorite/least favorite" mission threads, I noticed that a lot of people didn't like Soulforge OR the Maw of Chaos. What do you think is the better concluding mission?
The general consensus seemed to be this:
Maw of Chaos:
+ Cool atmosphere, good ending
- Too linear, too short, too easy
Soulforge:
+ Longer, more to do, non-linear, more challenging
- Tedious, too many damn bots, worse ending (?)
The two seem to be polar opposites, eh? The first time I did Soulforge, I hated it. I ran around frantically trying to switch all the towers, and got seen by everybody. This time, I was calm, collected. Only took out a few bots, and none of the Servants. I think I like Soulforge better than the Maw.
What are your thoughts?
Frikkinjerk on 31/3/2006 at 07:59
I enjoyed them both, though I thought Souldforge was too big, too tedious, and unfinished looking in places.
I didn't mind so much that the Maw was as short as it was. I think end missions should have an immediacy and be climactic. When you drag it out the way Soulforge did it kills that feeling to the point where it's anti-climactic. Sure, I was happy when I beat the Soulforge mission, but not out of a feeling of accomplishment, but one of "I am so glad that shit is over with".
I was bummed Victoria died, but I thought they both had good endings. Comparatively, I like TDP better. T2 was good, but I didn't like the whole bot thing. Those freaky masked servants were creepy though. [SPOILER]I nearly crapped myself when I looted the vault in Karras' office only to have the freaky gold twinky guy scream at me when I rounded the corner.[/SPOILER]
Luthien on 31/3/2006 at 10:49
I hate them both for the same reason: they are fundamentally "critter" missions. I don't like knocking out animals or bots. Anyway, MoC is slightly better in my eyes because (a) it's short while Soulforge is **sooo** tedious, and (b) the story of T2 is confusing and braindead.
Fragony on 31/3/2006 at 16:37
Maw was horrible, thief themed railtrack, Soulforge was not quite the thing but still a fun mission. Complain about Thief2 ending, but Soulforge as a mission is really a part of it.
Dussander on 31/3/2006 at 17:44
They're both as bad as each other, but considering that I prefer bots/humans to monkeys and spiders... I'd choose Soulforge.
The inscrutable po on 31/3/2006 at 17:56
Never played Maw of Chaos as far as I know. I liked Soul Forge once I knew how things worked. These days the more cameras, bots and turrets I have to deal with the better. The only thing I didn't like was the voice of Karas being blasted constantly.
ffox on 31/3/2006 at 18:42
Soulforge (played properly) is one of my top 4 OMs. (The other 3 are Cragscleft, Bank and LOTP.)
Maw is probably my least favourite, although Trail of Blood runs it close for last place.
But I'm talking minor rating differences here - all the OMs are pretty good to play.
Frikkinjerk on 31/3/2006 at 19:05
Quote Posted by ffox
Soulforge (played properly) is one of my top 4 OMs. (The other 3 are Cragscleft, Bank and LOTP.)
Maw is probably my least favourite, although Trail of Blood runs it close for last place.
But I'm talking minor rating differences here - all the OMs are pretty good to play.
My opinion is that some missions are bound to be more linear and others more complex in the course of telling a story. They can't all be bank or mansion jobs. Some missions are meant merely for story exposition. In that respect I think both games told their stories pretty well through the content of their mission catalog. However, personally, SoulForge was a bit much for what was supposed to be the climax of the game. Though, I liked that Garrett never had a physical showdown with either the Trickster or Karras in either game - he was a Thief 'til the end. I think it adds weight to the story that they didn't just give us a Mechanist Rocket Launcher to blow Karras into bits.
killerecho on 31/3/2006 at 23:43
I would've enjoyed shutting up that sanctimonious windbag with a rocket:thumb:
I hated Soulforge, and the payoff was so lukewarm that I never wanted to go through it again. The Maw, for me, was less of a mission than it is an interactive narrative. You can screw all the AI's in the mission (except for the Trickster) and just run through the whole thing like an obstacle course. But it was an interesting ride (especially the water tunnel), and had some wild visuals to boot. So I like it, despite the length and linearity. It was way better than Soulforge imo.
Dirty_Brute on 1/4/2006 at 07:47
Maw of Chaos for me! There is nothing better than exploring that Pagan flea-pit and running like hell from the creepiest of spiders! That place should be called Maw of Spiders! :eek:
