Thief: The Dark Project did well enough on the retail shelves that now we have been presented with a brand new sequel on the PC, Thief II: The Metal Age. However, with all the innovation found in the original title, has there been enough improvement made to the second game to warrant picking it up? Put simply, yes.

An impressive factor of the original Thief was how it immersed the player in the experience, and made them feel like they were actually stalking the streets and stealing loot. The graphics themselves weren't the most spectacular, but it is mostly what the developers did with what they have - and that point holds true in the sequel, as well. Complaints around the Internet have been related to Thief II having below average visuals, but for the most part it is all far exaggerated. The frame rate tends to fine and dandy most of the time, though this is mostly because the environments take place in indoor areas. Whenever venturing into the vast outside, the frame rate has a tendency to take a spill, and really can get extremely choppy. The textures plastered around the game's environments are detailed, varied and accurately portray the various locations that the game takes place in. A good portion of Thief II takes place in the dark, though, so even the times the textures aren't quite A++ it isn't a big deal at all.

The missions themselves are so incredibly enjoyable and entertaining to play through, and are what make Thief II such a fantastic title. Three difficulty levels are presented to the player, and the difference between them is not just the artificial intelligence of the enemies, but more so the amount of goals that have to be completed. As an example, in Normal the goals might be to sneak in, steal some loot and get out; while the other difficulties add more complex objectives that will require taking more precautions and head into even more treacherous territory. And I'll mention from experience of playing the game for many hours, heading past the normal amount of objectives can result in plenty of fun, but the missions will indeed drag on for quite a while (sneaking around is time consuming business, you know). As we have mentioned, though, Thief II has enough fun packed into it that no matter how much time you spend with the game, there's always something new to try out or mess around with.

And that leads into another strong point of Thief II: it's replayability. These days most first person shooters have their longevity enhanced through the addition of multiplayer modes, but Thief II features absolutely no multiplayer modes whatsoever. Because of that design decision, the developers had more time to concentrate on the little details in the single player missions, such as having so many ways to complete any given mission that it's a bit mind numbing. In the second mission alone I discovered a ton of different ways in which to break into the needed building and take what was needed. Entering into the building presented itself with many ideas. I could take out the guards who are hanging around near the back of the map and enter through a small back door, but take the risk of alerting one million and one guards who want to rip me a new one. There is also the possibility of taking to the top roof, sniping at some guards using the trusty bow and arrow (make sure to try the water arrow against a person once or twice - trust me, you'll laugh) and dropping through a roof door. I could also hop up onto the walkway that runs all along the building and leap through a door there when no one's looking.

What it comes down to is that the developers took into consideration that gamers would not want to follow one specific pre-determined path. Looking Glass Studios has given the ability to attack a problem in a manner that is entirely up to the player's imagination. Want to distract a particular guard who happens to be standing in a doorway? Pick up a nearby crate and toss it in his general direction and he will creep over near the crate and see if he can discover anything. Then it is up to you to take him out with an arrow or your trusty blackjack (preferably) and drag him off to a corner where he'll be undiscovered by his guard companions.

If for some reason you haven't figured it out already, stealth is a huge aspect that you have to take into consideration when playing through Thief II. At the bottom of the screen there's an icon with two sections that will signify how visible you are to the people around you, and how much sound you're making at the moment. The less that people are able to see and hear your character, the easier it will be to complete the mission at hand. Throughout the maps there are plenty of places to move into dark areas to hide, so as to make it so the game is not overly frustrating. There is a substantial amount of difficulty to overcome, but whenever I perished into the unknown I always knew that it happened because of a stupid mistake that I had happened to make, and not because there was an unnecessarily strenuous section in the game. The enemy artificial intelligence is also sensitive enough that they will notice when your character is too visible or loud, but also not so sensitive that the slightest error can result in an instantaneous assault of the guard force against you.

Thief II is a worthy successor to Thief: The Dark Project, and a game that no fan of the original - scratch that, any person even interested in first person shooters - should be without. It is a unique change from the normal all-out-shoot-em-up that is usually found on the PC, and that is what makes it so special. Looking Glass Studios has already confirmed a third entry to be into development, and I'm already salivating at the mouth to get my hands on it.