Thief: Deadly Shadows vs Thief II
Thief: Deadly Shadows is an FPS horror game from Ion Storm (2007) while Thief II is an FPS game from Looking Glass Studios (2000).
Quick answer: Thief II has the higher Metacritic, 87 to 85.
Thief II
What each one is
Thief: Deadly Shadows is filed under FPS and Horror. In contrast, Thief II under FPS.
You are Garrett, the master thief. Rarely seen and never caught, Garrett is the best that ever was. Able to sneak past any guard, pick any lock, and break into the most ingeniously secured residences. Garrett steals from the wealthy and gives to himself, making his living in the dark and foreboding City.
Thief II: The Metal Age is a 2000 stealth video game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive in March 2000. Like its predecessor Thief: The Dark Project, the game follows Garrett, a master thief who works in and around a steampunk metropolis called the City. The player assumes the role of Garrett as he unravels a conspiracy related to a new religious sect. Garrett takes on missions such as burglaries and frameups, while trying to avoid detection by guards and automated security.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
The game begins when Garrett steals a rare opal from a nobleman's castle. After fencing it, he is contacted by Keeper Artemus , who offers Garrett access to the Keeper Prophecies if he brings to the Keepers two Artifacts: The Builder's Chalice and the Jacknall's Paw, which is kept by the Hammerites and the Pagans, respectively. After learning of a coming "Dark Age", Garrett steals an ancient book, the Compendium of Reproach, that details more about the… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Thief: Deadly Shadows received "generally positive" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic . The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Deadly Shadows for their 2004 "Action Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay . It was also a runner-up for Computer Games Magazine s list of the 10 best computer games of 2004. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting and characters Like its predecessor Thief: The Dark Project , Thief II is set in a steampunk metropolis called the City, whose appearance resembles that of both medieval and Victorian era cities. Magic and steam technology exist side by side, and three factions—the manipulative and enigmatic Keepers, the technology-focused Hammerites and the "pagan" worshippers of the Pan -like Trickster god—are in operation. Thief II takes place one year after… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Thief 2 debuted high on the bestsellers list for computer games, and its initial sales were better than those of its commercially successful predecessor. By November 2000, its global sales had surpassed 220,000 copies; PC Zone described these figures as "commercial acclaim". The United States alone accounted for 67,084 sales by the end of 2000, which drew in revenues of $2. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Thief: Deadly Shadows | Thief II | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.0/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (81%, 2,604) | — |
| Critic aggregate | 85/100 | 87/100 |
| Price | $1.79 | Unknown |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | Untested |
| Released | 2007 | 2000 |
| Developer | Ion Storm | Looking Glass Studios |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Thief: Deadly Shadows vs Thief II, 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
Thief: Deadly ShadowsFPS horror gameThief IIFPS gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Thief: Deadly ShadowsStealth, Atmospheric, ActionThief IINo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Thief: Deadly ShadowsMetacritic 85Thief II ✓Metacritic 87Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Thief: Deadly Shadows2,604 reviewsThief II—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Thief: Deadly Shadows$1.79Thief IIUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Thief II takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Thief II (Metacritic 87)
Where they differ
StealthAtmosphericActionSteampunkFirst-PersonClassic
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Thief: Deadly Shadows is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Thief II is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Thief: Deadly Shadows and 0 for Thief II. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Thief: Deadly Shadows and Thief II in scope?
Thief: Deadly Shadows has drawn 2,604 Steam reviews. Thief II lists little scope data.
Is Thief: Deadly Shadows or Thief II better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Thief: Deadly Shadows or Thief II?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Thief: Deadly Shadows or Thief II?
Thief II has the higher Metacritic, 87 to 85. 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
All comparisonsHow 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.