Retro Review - Thief: The Dark Project & Thief II: The Metal Age PC Game Review
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Thief: The Dark Project is an action-adventure stealth game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows. Set in a medieval steampunk metropolis called the City, the game follows Garrett, a master thief trained by a secret society. An expanded edition of the game, Thief Gold, was released in 1999.
Thief was the first stealth game to use both light and sound as gameplay mechanics, and the first to always feature a first-person perspective. Its use of this perspective for non-confrontational gameplay challenged the first-person shooter market; Eidos Interactive even officially described the game as a strategy-action hybrid.[2] The game's design combines complex artificial intelligence with simulation systems to allow for emergent gameplay. Thief's influence can be seen in later stealth games, such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Hitman series.
The game received critical acclaim and has been placed on numerous hall-of-fame lists. With sales of near two million units by the year 2000, it is Looking Glass Studios' most commercially successful game. Thief was followed by three games—Thief II: The Metal Age (2000), Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004) and an upcoming reboot, Thief—developed by Looking Glass Studios, ION Storm and Eidos Montreal, respectively.
Thief II: The Metal Age is an action-adventure stealth game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to 1998's Thief: The Dark Project. Set in and around a steampunk fantasy metropolis called the City, the game's plot follows Garrett, a master thief, as he works to uncover a conspiracy. The player assumes the role of Garrett and undertakes missions that range from theft to kidnapping and sabotage.
While designing Thief II, the developers sought to build on its predecessor's foundation. They emphasized the urban stealth elements that were used occasionally in the original game, and minimized sections that included supernatural opponents. As with its predecessor and System Shock 2, the game was built with the Dark Engine, which was modified to provide better graphics.
Thief II received positive reviews from critics, and its commercial reception was strong. However, Looking Glass faced extreme debt problems and revenue from Thief II was processed slowly, which led to the company's closure in 2000. ION Storm and Eidos released a follow-up to Thief II, entitled Thief: Deadly Shadows, in 2004.