I was looking into buying the Thief Series Collection and Orange Box for steam, they're both 20 dollars but I still want to know if how well the games hold up today.
How does the Thief series and Half-Life 2 hold up?
- Thread starter Ronald Nand
- Start date
I never played much half-life but I'm a longtime thief fan. The original two thief games are good but they've aged pretty poorly. Thief: Deadly Shadows is just as good as the other two thief games and is a little bit newer. If you can play Deus Ex or System Shock 2 and come away happy, then you'll have no qualms with the original two Thief games. If old games with some old quirks are not your thing, Thief 3 might be all you need.
Half-Life 2 is still a decent game by today's standards. It's got plenty of issues that seemed to have been worked out in most games since then and a few games have taken what it did and improved on it, but it's still a solid shooter. The gunplay is fun, the puzzles are interesting, and the atmosphere is great. Just don't go into it expecting it to have a story on the same level as BioShock or any more freedom than a traditional corridor shooter. If you can get those two preconceptions out of your mind, both of which seem to occasionally come up when people start raving about the game, then you should have a great time with it. Oh yeah, and be prepared for a lot of loading screens and poorly-placed health packs. Other than that, not too much should annoy you.
Visuals aside the Thief games have aged fantastically well. Admittedly they're pretty damned ugly but then even when they were first released they were hardly the best looking of games out there, what does hold up spectacularly are the gameplay and sound design.
Thief 1 and 2 still play brilliantly, and seeing as there's never really been anything else released that played quite like the Thief series they still feel unique as well. Meanwhile the sound design is just perfect, everything from the voice acting to the atmospheric effects and even Garretts oddly loud shoes sound great, helping to make the old Thief games just as immersive now as they were ten years ago. Thief 3 holds up pretty well also. The levels are smaller and more cramped and the design not nearly as sharp, especially not compared to the massive non-linear levels of Thief 2, but if old visuals are really a problem for you visually it still looks pretty nifty with clever shadow use and great art direction.
Thief overall is still brilliant and I recommend it wholeheartedly.
As for Half-Life 2 it's still pretty damned fun, I replayed it myself not too long ago and enjoyed it. That said since unlike Thief there have been approximately a billion shooters released since HL2, it can get a bit frustrating and samey at times. Stuff like driving along the coast and exploring random houses or getting chased through City 17 still hold up really well, it's just the actual shooting bit that doesn't feel so innovative anymore and some of the 'boss battles' like against the tripods are more annoying than entertaining I found. Still as an overall experience I still love HL2 and despite there having been so many shooters released since it's still got a really neat feel to it that's entirely it's own.
Thief 1 and 2 still play brilliantly, and seeing as there's never really been anything else released that played quite like the Thief series they still feel unique as well. Meanwhile the sound design is just perfect, everything from the voice acting to the atmospheric effects and even Garretts oddly loud shoes sound great, helping to make the old Thief games just as immersive now as they were ten years ago. Thief 3 holds up pretty well also. The levels are smaller and more cramped and the design not nearly as sharp, especially not compared to the massive non-linear levels of Thief 2, but if old visuals are really a problem for you visually it still looks pretty nifty with clever shadow use and great art direction.
Thief overall is still brilliant and I recommend it wholeheartedly.
As for Half-Life 2 it's still pretty damned fun, I replayed it myself not too long ago and enjoyed it. That said since unlike Thief there have been approximately a billion shooters released since HL2, it can get a bit frustrating and samey at times. Stuff like driving along the coast and exploring random houses or getting chased through City 17 still hold up really well, it's just the actual shooting bit that doesn't feel so innovative anymore and some of the 'boss battles' like against the tripods are more annoying than entertaining I found. Still as an overall experience I still love HL2 and despite there having been so many shooters released since it's still got a really neat feel to it that's entirely it's own.
Ok, thanks for the advice, I think I'll get both when there is a sale, as I already have enough games to play now. Does anyone have a date for the summer sale or know when sales generally occur?
You just missed a bundle that featured the entire Thief series alongside Deux Ex and System Shock 2 for around 20 or so bucks on GOG.com, if I didn't already own all those games I'd have bought the package in a heartbeat as that's some amazing value right there. The summer sale is still ongoing as well so keep an eye on the website to see if that bundle pops up again.Ronald Nand said:
GOG's version of Thief also runs perfectly on modern PC's and is fully patched, unfortunately I can't say the same for the Steam version.
Halflife 2 is still fun. Requires a little more thinking than your average "run to this checkpoint" shooter.Ronald Nand said:
I'm playing the first thief for the first time myself (will get round to thief 2 afterward) and finished thief 3 recently. All are really fun stealth games with some great level design and many secrets to find. Just understand its a PURE stealth game. You will have trouble fighting any more than one enemy at a time directly, and even then...
If you want to improve the graphics and gameplay a little of the first I reccommend going over to the gog thief forums and getting the tafferpatcher. It generally improves the look of the models, water, sky etc as well as fixing bugs still in the original game. It also adds more resolution options (i think the original only goes up to 1024X 600). I'm not sure if the modders have messed with the AI too...
Also on the theme of sales I suggest looking at green man gaming as well, I managed to get all the thiefs for about two quid each on sale (sales on now but not thief yet).
Also I think the steam sales start sometime in the next month or so.
Never played a Thief game but I played Half-Life 2 (And the episodes) for the first time about 2 months ago. And I can say that it definitely holds up. Gunplay is satisfying, characters are likeable, story is interesting and there is a lot of variety and clever scripted sequences to keep you entertained the whole time.
The only real problem I had was the platforming. Which was (as you could've guessed) terrible. But there isn't that much of it so it's not a big deal. It was kinda refreshing to play an FPS without modern tropes like regenerating health, two weapon limits, waypoints, unnecessary NPC partners, etc.
The only real problem I had was the platforming. Which was (as you could've guessed) terrible. But there isn't that much of it so it's not a big deal. It was kinda refreshing to play an FPS without modern tropes like regenerating health, two weapon limits, waypoints, unnecessary NPC partners, etc.
I first played HL2 in 2009, and by that time I thought the game had aged pretty poorly. I could see why people thought it was great at the time of release, and I did play it to the end, but it didn't feel like anything spectacular. As such, I can't really say I recommend it. Other games has surpassed it in every area.
Thief, or at least Thief 2, is still pretty fun, however.
Thief, or at least Thief 2, is still pretty fun, however.
Half-Life 2 + episodes is awesome. I don't think that there's a reason to elaborate, as the game has been reviewed and discussed by many already. One thing to note is that Episode Two ends with a cliffhanger that might never be resolved.
I got the Thief collection on Steam and played a bit of them (haven't finished any of them yet), and I like what I've seen so far. As long as you don't have problem with not-well-aged graphics and like stealth, you'll probably enjoy it.
I got the Thief collection on Steam and played a bit of them (haven't finished any of them yet), and I like what I've seen so far. As long as you don't have problem with not-well-aged graphics and like stealth, you'll probably enjoy it.
I <3 Half Life 2. I seem to be in the minority of people who found the gunplay in HL2 really satisfying even in comparison to most modern shooters, and I still love it's atmosphere and it's story. My only complain is that the vehicle segments definitely do overstay their welcome.
As for the Thief series, I've started to play Thief 2 (I skipped the original due to what I've heard about it) and I'm enjoying it so far. It's definitely a bit strange compared to modern line-of-sight based stealth games, but it's still pretty fun.
As for the Thief series, I've started to play Thief 2 (I skipped the original due to what I've heard about it) and I'm enjoying it so far. It's definitely a bit strange compared to modern line-of-sight based stealth games, but it's still pretty fun.
Thief: The Dark Project is very good, but Thief II: The Metal Age is perfect. The unanimously agreed biggest problem with TDP is that the levels are labyrinthine and very, very confusing to navigate. Thief II had a better understanding of how to convey level designs to the players without sacrificing size or undermining the player's intelligence.
Half Life 1 and 2 are both phenomenal.
Half Life 1 and 2 are both phenomenal.
I'd say the Thief games hold up, although they've take some persistence if you've not played anything on the PC from that specific era. I would probably just jump into the second though and skip over the first. Dat level design these days is just... not good for one's sanity.
Half-Life 2 certainly holds up.
Half-Life 2 certainly holds up.
I've just finished The Dark Project yesterday and it was a fantastic experiance. Download TFix, revel in the greatness. I didn't mind the graphics that much if I'm being honest. How is Deadly Shadows compared to the other two? Is it decent and people are just disappointed with it or is it genuinely bad?
Edit: Oh right. do they hold up? You bet. Just get used to the controls and you're all set.
Edit: Oh right. do they hold up? You bet. Just get used to the controls and you're all set.