Just Cause 2 vs Thief Gold (1999)
Just Cause 2 is an FPS open-world game from Avalanche Studios (2010) while Thief Gold (1999) is a horror simulation game from Looking Glass Studios (2012).
Quick answer: Just Cause 2 rates higher, 8.1 to 7.8 on the GamingPickz Score, and Thief Gold (1999) is the cheaper at $1.74.
What each one is
Just Cause 2 is filed under FPS and Open-World. In contrast, Thief Gold (1999) under Horror and Simulation.
Dive into an adrenaline-fuelled free-roaming adventure with 400 square miles of rugged terrain and hundreds of weapons and vehicles.
Stalk your prey on the quest for stolen goods with your blackjack, sword, and an assortment of unique arrows. Steal for money and uncover the hidden agendas of your allies and enemies as you play through an unravelling story of deception and revenge.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Four years after Just Cause , Rico Rodriguez is dropped into Panau to find his former handler Tom Sheldon, who is suspected of going rogue and aligning himself with the country's dictator Pandak "Baby" Panay. With the aid of intelligence asset Karl Blaine and a weapons dealer only known as the Sloth Demon, Rico allies with the island's three dominant criminal gangs and factions: the Roaches, an organized crime syndicate; the Reapers, an insurgent… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Just Cause 2 received generally positive reviews upon release, with critics praising its gameplay, graphics and open world; the game was widely regarded as a significant improvement to its predecessor. It was nominated for Best Action Game at the 28th Golden Joystick Awards , losing to Assassin’s Creed II . Eric Neigher of 1UP. (Wikipedia)
No Wikipedia detail on file.
At a glance
| Just Cause 2 | Thief Gold (1999) | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.1/10 | 7.8/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (91%, 51,583) | Very Positive (92%, 4,177) |
| Critic aggregate | 84/100 | 92/100 |
| Price | $14.99 | $1.74 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | unsupported |
| Released | 2010 | 2012 |
| Developer | Avalanche Studios | Looking Glass Studios |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Just Cause 2 vs Thief Gold (1999), point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Just Cause 2FPS open-world gameThief Gold (1999)Horror simulation gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Just Cause 2Open World, Action, SandboxThief Gold (1999)Stealth, Classic, First-PersonThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Just Cause 2 ✓Score 8.1 · 91% on Steam · 84 criticThief Gold (1999)Score 7.8 · 92% on Steam · 92 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Just Cause 251,583 reviews · 8 add-onsThief Gold (1999)4,177 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Just Cause 2$14.99Thief Gold (1999) ✓$1.74Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Just Cause 2 ✓VerifiedThief Gold (1999)UnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Just Cause 2 takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueJust Cause 2 and Thief Gold (1999) on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Just Cause 2 (GamingPickz Score 8.1)
- The cheaper right now: Thief Gold (1999) ($1.74)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Just Cause 2 (verified)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Just Cause 2 (51,583 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
ActionAdventureSingleplayerExplorationModdableAtmospheric
Where they differ
Open WorldSandboxThird PersonMultiplayerThird-Person ShooterShooter
StealthClassicFirst-PersonSteampunkImmersive SimHorror
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Just Cause 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Thief Gold (1999) is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Just Cause 2 | Thief Gold (1999) | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | DX10 compatible graphics card with 256 MB of | — |
| Minimum CPU | Dual-core CPU with SSE3 (Athlon 64 X2 4200 / Pentium D 3GHz) | — |
| Minimum RAM | 2 GB | — |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Just Cause 2 · Thief Gold (1999).
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 6 accessibility features for Just Cause 2 and 0 for Thief Gold (1999). A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Just Cause 2 and Thief Gold (1999) in scope?
Just Cause 2 has drawn 51,583 Steam reviews and ships 8 add-ons. Thief Gold (1999) has drawn 4,177 Steam reviews.
Is Just Cause 2 or Thief Gold (1999) better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Just Cause 2 rates higher (8.1 to 7.8). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Just Cause 2 or Thief Gold (1999)?
Thief Gold (1999) is cheaper right now at $1.74, against $14.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Just Cause 2 or Thief Gold (1999)?
Just Cause 2 rates higher, 8.1 to 7.8 on the GamingPickz Score, and Thief Gold (1999) is the cheaper at $1.74. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.