To be truthful, I don't really like stealth games that much. Sure, I can stomach them in small doses but to play a whole game where you constantly repeat the same tasks of sneaking against walls, peaking around corners, tiptoeing around endless security cameras and hitting the quick load button every time an alarm triggers a never ending swarm of fully armed guards is just too much of a bore to me. There are, however exceptions to this and Thief 2: The Metal Age is most definitely one of them.

I was unfortunate enough to miss the original Thief game, which I'm assured was sublime but I wasn't going to let history repeat itself with the sequel. I'm glad that I made the effort to see what all the fuss was about too, because Thief 2 is perhaps the best sneak em' up game I've ever had the pleasure of playing.

Set after the original Thief, you play Garret, a master thief who robs from the rich and occasionally the poor. While being a self employed and self important Thief has its perks, it's also fairly risky and dangerous, especially when a new Sheriff of the darkened city that Garret uses as his workplace decides to eradicate crime once and for all, which spells bad news for all thieves alike. But this is far from Garret's worst problem. He's been hired by "the Keepers" and soon finds himself in deeper waters when he comes up against a growing cult known as the Mechanists, a shady group obsessed with technology. Needless to say it's not an easy task but with so much loot to plunder in between taking on the Mechanists, how could Garret say no.

Set in the Middle Ages, there's a few things different in Thief 2 to the usual high tech stealth games we're all so familiar with. There are no gizmos to play around with, no guns or rocket launchers to blast your way through when things go bad, no sniper rifles for long distance take downs, no stun grenades, nothing of that nature. Garret's list of weapons and items are of a lower grade sort but in this game they make all the difference. Replacing the usual weapon list, you not only get a sword for those swashbuckling close encounters and a club to knock out any guard silly enough to turn his back on you, but also the premiere weapon of any thieving anti-hero, the bow and arrow. While simple in design and use, the bow and arrow is as much an effective weapon as any high profile guns or machine guns that you can find in any other action game. It also comes with a lot of different ammunition types. Apart from the standard arrow, you've got the water arrow, used to douse the flames of any lit torches to darken the area around it, moss arrows are used to cushion the sound of your footsteps on any hard surfaces, while fire arrows are the high explosives that should only be used when guards are alerted. The bow isn't just a weapon, it's a tool, and one you'll come to rely on often in the game.

The differences in Thief from other stealth based games aren't just in the weapons however; there's a lot in this game that is vastly different to anything you might be expecting. Stealth is dependent on how quick you are and how well you use the different types of environment in each level, and one thing they all have in common is that they're set at night, which makes this one very dark game; it's no wonder the original was called Thief: The Dark Project! However, this forms more of a practical use for playing. Shadows are everywhere and they're your only friend throughout the 15 levels, so learning how to manipulate them is essential if you want to stand any chance of getting through alive. A helpful light indicator at the bottom of the screen is perhaps one of the most important features in the game; stand in directly in light areas and it will shine brightly indicating that guards will be able to spot you from a few feet away, in the shade however, it will go completely blank indicating that you can't be seen by anyone unless they are right on top of you. Quickly diving in and out of shadows, narrowly avoiding guards, is something you'll be doing often in this game but then this is the life of a thief after all.

Knocking out guards of course makes progressing through the game easier and shadowed areas do make great hiding places for their bodies but it's far from an easy task to take down all opposition you may encounter. Much of the time guards work in groups or in areas that are observed by their friends and in these areas new tactics have to be employed. Noisemaker arrows for example, while alerting guards and making them harder to attack do distract them long enough to slip by. In fact, sneaking by guards is often easier then trying to knock them unconscious. Sound is also a factor to consider when in proximity to a guard; different types of surfaces create different sounds when you walk on them; running on stone and wooden floors creates much noise and will attract the attention of anyone close enough to hear, while it is quite safe to traverse on carpets, which nullify any sound. Walking pace is quiet enough to sneak up on anyone and you can often pick their pockets and find valuables such as keys, purses of gold or even an extra arrow or two from archers.

While these simple tactics are enough to get through the earlier stages of the game, as it progresses things become a little harder. Thrown into the mix this time are security cameras and robots, just to make things a little bit difficult. But despite my hatred of security cameras, annoying little devices that give you warning before they unleash a barrage of infinitely spawning guards you can never fight off, here they are implemented as I would want all security cameras to be implemented in other games. Fitting in with the Middle Ages time period, the cameras are incredibly basic. While they do come with the usual green, amber and red warning lights to kindly let you know when you're about to be spotted, if they do sound an alarm it's only for the immediate area rather than the entire level, so if there are no guards nearby then there's nothing to fret about. Occasionally they even come with big "On/Off" buttons a few feet away, so it's as easy to disable them as it is to avoid them. Robots as well are fairly primitive; huge bulky things that fire devastatingly inaccurate bombs and can easily be disabled by a well placed water arrow in the furnace used to power them.

While providing a bit more of a challenge, security cameras feel more like they've been added to conform with the stereotypical stealth games. They feel slightly out of place here and it perhaps would have been better to just stick in a few more AI guards instead, especially since the AI on the whole is quite impressive.

Also impressive are the huge levels you get to sneak around. Don't be put off by the fact that there are only 15 levels either, each and every one of them is big, sometimes huge and each display a kind of freeform exploration not often found in other stealth games. Take the first level for example. Acting as more of a tutorial it has a simple objective; sneak into a manor and knock out all the guards along a path that your friend has marked on the map so he can valiantly charge in and rescue his fair-maiden-to-be, who is being held in the manor against her will. While you can follow the linear path set for you, you don't have to. You can approach the objective any way you like and it's much more profitable if you search for less travelled paths. Levels can often be huge and while you are not required to explore them all fully, you will miss out on treasure, loot and a few secrets if you don't. All these add money to your pocket that can later be used to buy extra items and weapons for future missions, although most of the time you'll want to explore the environments simply because it feels more rewarding than just sticking to the objectives and missing out on it all.

Thief 2 also comes with one of the creepiest atmospheres I've ever encountered; the developers have really done a canny job of playing on simple fears and psychological torment. The fact that the game is dark, both in tone and actual gameplay means that simple yet effective tricks are used to just give a sense of fear that often strikes a nerve or two. The faint footsteps of approaching guards, the distant moans of prisoners in the Police Station level and I'll never forget the time I literally jumped out of my skin when I decided to rob a few tombs in the church level, only to find it was guarded by a living skeleton! Yes mythical creatures and monsters do pop up from time to time, but their appearances are rare making the parts of the game where they do step in all the more frightful.

Music is also used to good effect, as creepy as the game itself it helps to create much of the atmosphere. Every time it kicks in, it always feels like something is about to happen or be discovered, something you don't really want to encounter, and while most of the time you will encounter nothing it doesn't stop you being a little more jumpy and a little more aware of your surroundings. While not necessarily a horror game, there are enough elements in here to really send shivers down your spine and the dark, Middle Ages setting remains a suitable backdrop for the dark atmosphere presented.

While much of the game is hard to fault, even I had to admit some parts did have their problems. For starters, the map isn't as helpful as it should be; it highlights the areas you are currently in and helpfully leaves areas you've already explored in purple but it never gives an exact location of where you are. You know what room Garret is in, just not where he's standing or which direction he's facing, which for some of the bigger maps can get confusing. Level design also falters now and again, such as one rather tedious section set in some underground caves with mazelike pathways and impossible to avoid defences; it just gets tedious and has you rushing the level just to finish it and progress to something more exciting to explore. These tedious levels are rare but it still doesn't stop them slightly spoiling an almost perfect game. Also, perhaps less of a problem given its age, Thief 2 is hardly a looker. Granted the environments still look nice enough but the character models look extremely dated with hardly any facial expressions and primitive character animation. Still, like I said, it's an old game now so it's obviously not going to look as good as it once did, but those who like their graphical finesse with game, won't be bowled over in this department with Thief 2.

Despite its age, Thief 2: The Metal Age still has enough to stand out amongst the now crowded stealth genre. Unlike its bigger, younger and more high tech siblings, it's a game that's easy to get addicted to and hard to put down. Its reliance on older tools and methods of playing makes for a game that not only challenges but innovates in ways that still haven't been superseded by any other game. Until Thief 3 arrives in the not to distant future Thief 2 is still well worth exploring, providing an experience that is unique, fully entertaining and just possibly the best stealth game around.

Reviewed by Kieron Giacopazzi for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).