"Ambush!" sure isn't as bad as the similarly titled "Escape!" The level has a lot more detail, isn't as cramped, and the first half (getting to Garrett's home) actually works just fine. The few citizens out there at night talk about things, adding a bit more life. Sneaking past the guards is fun.

However, when Garrett reaches his home, he ha...

Framed is just amazing. It shows that having a different atmosphere from the first game does not mean it has a worse one. The station is beautifully oppressive, and visually provides the player with insight on just how corrupt Sheriff Truart and his band of cops are. The prison below the complex is filled with people; seems the City Watch is at ...

The second mission of The Metal Age shows what Thief II is good at: building great, complex, detailed levels with a lot of routes to take, secrets to find and stories to figure out. The warehouse complex is occupied by various tenants, each providing their own flavor to the halls they're renting. Though these sections feel cozily separated, they...

Running Interference feels extremely simple, yet hides one pretty obtuse objective in the Expert difficulty mode. The main objective only takes you through the mansion's basement. This means that on Normal, you don't even have to enter the place proper. On Expert, you're given a 200 gem value requirement. Finding the gems requires explicit disco...

The Maw of Chaos is pretty wild. Suddenly, this game becomes a sort of Super Mario 64. It doesn't fit well with the Thief game mechanics/the engine's physics OR with player expectations. Despite this, this mission is still a cool experience overall. There is a lot of variety to the areas you visit, the atmosphere is once again great, and the Tri...

Not really. The enemies are too numerous, the level design is just nondescript underground mazes, and there's barely any place to actually hide. The level is fairly linear, so the only way to run is either backward or forward. To add insult to injury, damaging/being damaged by the Bug Beasts adds an extra objective on Expert: Kill them all. I di...

Thief has suddenly become a... I can't even explain it. It strays away from actual stealth completely, it strays away from complex level design as well. On Normal, this was pretty bad already (was planning on giving the gameplay a 2 or 3), but having to look for Constantine's plans, which could be anywhere, is just plain trash. I spent about 50 ...

Even though I prefer Bonehoard by an inch, I think Return to the Cathedral is the best example of stealth being possible with supernatural elements. It's way more focused than The Haunted Cathedral mission, and way less platforming heavy than the Bonehoard (even though I personally like that one more). The Haunts are easiest to deal with throug...

This mission introduces us to a little mechanic called "social stealth". I've never been a big fan. I tried playing the new Hitman games several times, and just being able to walk around without consequence doesn't feel right to someone who mostly likes to spend my gaming time inside forgotten dungeons, haunted castles or abandoned kingdoms. I ...

My favorite part of this mission is the "story" and the way it is told. After all. this is Raoul's story. After a short trek through the caves, you end up being at an opera house, of all places. Raoul, the old owner, was kicked out by Lady Valerius, who became the new manager. Raoul has used all sorts of hidden passages to spy on his rival, but ...

The Lost City isn't as bad as I remember: the navigation is pretty interesting, the Fire Elementals, while annoying, are easily dealt with, and getting the Fire Talisman is not as hard to climb to as initially shown. That said, this mission still feels somewhat lacking. An underground, ancient city can feel more exciting than this. The level fee...

It's a shame we get to see so little of the Hand Brotherhood, because they added a stronger dynamic to the city. One of less extremism and more mystique. The towers feel empty and lacking in detail, as many rightfully claim. However, a brotherhood that clearly values the spiritual above the material has every reason to not indulge in these thi...

Stealth is pretty easy in the Haunted Cathedral. The challenge is in finding the things you need to have, more than ever before. In the meantime, all sorts of monsters walk around. These monsters (especially zombies) are easy to get past on their own. The problem is, there's a lot of them. While trying to fulfill your objectives, you may just r...

The Sword starts off as a regular mansion heist. But quickly, you begin to realize that... well, nothing is as it seems. Some mad sorcery is being worked here, and it turns the familiar into the unknown. The usually pretty orderly structure that is a mansion, is turned into a chaotic mess. It's pretty daunting and confounding, especially the upp...

Shadow Politics is deceptively simple. It feels like your average Thief 1 mission. At the same time, it goes in a direction the OMs never went.

MINOR SPOILERS:
The focus here is not on a big complex building, but on the streets and what you can find in them. Using Rope Arrows leads you to all sorts of small yet interesting spaces, where lo...