You know, I find your comments interesting because I never played the first Thief, only Thief II. I got it with my SB Live X-Gamer, along with Deus Ex, IIRC. I figured, ah, why not? I was amazed at how good it was, although by the time I played it was quite dated graphically.
Now I think I see the AvP vs AvP2 scenario repeated. Having never played the first, the second seems amazing as we've got nothing to compare it to but other unrelated games.
What would people have thought of the Phantom Menace if it had come out in 1977 and Star Wars in 1999?
The Jedi Master