Introduction

Imagine you made a list of all the good things you wanted more of from Thief: The Dark Age and then also made a list of bad things you wanted to go away, at least for most of the time. Now imagine that the developers got your lists, and then built their next game around them, as well as tossing in a few new tricks they came up with on their own. Welcome to The Metal Age.

While Thief 1 had issues stemming from "Garrett's profession is 'thief,' not 'adventuring archaeologist' and/or 'undead slaughterer,'" Thief 2 makes a point of pitting you against normal guards and other humans, as well as keeping you within the boundaries of the still-active City. Said guards are also smarter and more alert than before, particularly on Expert, making for a greater challenge. Garrett also gets a bit more talkative, and the new Secrets system quantifies just how awesome you are at getting into the well-stocked nooks and crannies of the levels.

That's another thing. The new level maps are huge. Admittedly, they were pretty big in The Dark Project, too, but the developers have made progress on exploiting the map size more effectively. Did you think the Bonehoard was big? Thought the developers were showing off by putting in a couple streets outside the two mansion levels? You ain't seen nothing yet.

That said, The Metal Age isn't a perfect game. Released just a year after The Dark Project, there's something of the expansion pack feel to it; the game engine is virtually the same, quirks and all, most of the assets are reused, and the tutorial level is far more like Bafford's Manor than the more helpful Keeper's Training. Hell, the tutorial aspects don't even activate unless you play the mission on Normal (and it doesn't tell you this except maybe in the manual, and who reads those?). Metal Age also reuses its maps to a greater extent than Dark Project, possibly because of both time constraints and the amount of effort that went into each map.

Still, considering the missteps made by Deadly Shadows, The Metal Age is widely understood to be the best of the Thief trilogy.

But I've blathered enough. Let's beware the Metal Age.

Youtube playlist

Objectives

Youtube (Polsy) Blip (Polsy)

Map 2 3

Griping about the sheriff

BONUS OBJECTIVE!

Objectives

Youtube (Polsy) Blip (Polsy)

Map 2 3 4 5

At least "Tips" are only 50 now

Guinea Pigs Wanted

Financial Report

Lucky's luck ran out 2

Jerm wants protection

Eviction notice

Maintenance problems and noise complaints

Lenscrafter contract

MECHANIST TECHNOLOGY

"What do you mean, I'm the only Hammerite in Thief 2?!" (Thanks, Prenton)

Youtube (Polsy) Blip (Polsy)

Invoice

Appointment list

Gilver Exporters audit

Gilver's worries 2

MECHANIST INSTRUCTIONS

Where have all the Hammers gone

Bartering for herbs

Youtube (Polsy) Blip (Polsy)

The president's concerns 2

Manifest

Osterlind's side business

Captain's log

Blackrat's scheme

Objectives

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Map 2 3 4 5

Tip #1 (at least one of the tips is worth paying for, finally)

Schmidt's punishment

Coroner's Report

Congrats to the City Watch

Schedule

Truart's journal

Hagen-Truart memo

Youtube (Polsy) Blip (Polsy)

Mess hall announcements

!!!Kick me!!!

Harassment warning

Burglary and Criminal Mischief

Paganism and Assault

Key memo

Mosley's journal

Truart-Mosley memo 2

Hagen's journal

Truart-Hagen memo 2

Vice journal

Robbery/Homicide journal

Youtube (Polsy) Blip (Polsy)

"I should write that down."

Lady van Vernon

Lord Mani Rammstein

Warden Affairs journal

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I only really screwed up once, so I padded the video with the antics from the main run.

Objectives

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Map 2

A new spectator sport

Reconsidered objectives

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Objectives

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Map 2 3 4

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New objectives

Molding directions

Beware of rain

Hymn 18

Gaspar's enticement

Jerome's inquiry

Truart's dismissal

Donations: Week 23

Donations: Week 26

Einhorn's excitement

Psalm 13

Final objectives

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Objectives

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Map 2 3 4

The no-goddamn-duh "tip"

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Tyler's melancholy

Ortham's complaints 2 3 4

Captain Blouf's defender

Youtube (Polsy) Blip (Polsy)

Safety deposit box ID's

Why lucky coins are worth anything

Davell conspires with Flemion 2

...But not on everything

The nephew's exceptance speech

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On customer privacy

Flemion conspires with Davell

...And even makes a nice offer

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Objectives

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Map 2 3 4 5 6 (Man, he's got a huge house)

The tip

The worker's lament 2

Youtube (Polsy) Blip (Polsy)

The new security system

MECHANIST INSTRUCTIONS (Same as in Shipping...and Receiving)

It's a fake!

Jabril's a snitch (also last heard from in Shipping here)

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A complaint regarding the chapel

A sergeant's anger

Benny's troubles

"Norman Druart's" goodwill

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Objectives

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Map (same as in Ambush!)

Blackrat is AWOL

The letter 2

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Objectives

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Map?

Better map

Hooksied on them fonickers

A meal's blessing

Lighting the Gathering Place

Whose side is Jabril on?

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Garrett's map

Letter #1 2

Letter #2 2

Bonus objective

Letter #3 2

Letter #4

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This is the intro movie for "Uninvited Guest," the demo level of Thief 2. It's mostly identical to "Life of the Party," so I won't be playing it separately; the main differences are that "Uninvited Guest" takes place later at night and Angelwatch is only the top two or three levels.