GAME
InThief's worthy sequel, subtitledThe Metal Age, you again play Garrett, a cat burglar who plies his trade in a nameless fantasy city. You venture out armed with only a sword, a blackjack, and a bow. Unlike most of its first-person peers,Thief II is defined not by mindless firefights but by a cunning dance of stealth, observation, and bursts of well-timed action.
The suspense is keen as you inch unnoticed past a cadre of guards, so close you can see their bloodshot eyes. The game's interface merges you with the Garrett persona so seamlessly it will feel unprofessional to noisily hack a guard to death. Instead, creeping up behind, you'll hear the guard muttering and singing to himself - and feel a touch of pity before you lower the silent knockout blow.
Like its predecessor,Thief II wisely emphasizes the heists - Garrett leaps along city rooftops to invade a medieval skyscraper, or crawls into the bowels of a ship. Visually,Metal Age is richer in texture and architectural detail, evoking an eerie world where the culture, religion, and technology of disparate epochs meld together. Its somber, literary tone still allows for flashes of Pythonesque humor, and goals change as characters develop. While delivering incomparable thrills,Thief II provides something rarer than one of Garrett's conquests: a PC game that is also a work of art.
Thief II: The Metal Age: $49.95. Eidos Interactive:www.eidosinteractive.com.
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