Sly 2: Band of Thieves
released on Sep 14, 2004
The sequel to Sly Cooper delivers the same crime detective style of presentation, borrowing heavily from movies, novels and comic books to create a beautiful, highly animated game. The story takes place two years after Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. In the first game, Sly was becoming a professional thief, but in Band of Thieves, he is a professional thief -- so he retains all of the moves from the first game. He also earns new moves and gains different items to assist him in his dark craft. The biggest upgrade comes in form of the new multi-character gameplay. Players might start a level as Sly, and then after completing a particular task, players switch to Bentley, and Murray, respectively.
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Now this is the Sly game.
One of the reasons I enjoy it so much more than the original is because of the sheer variety in gameplay, which I find a little stale in Sly 1. So much depth is added to the game just by making Bentley and Murray actual playable characters.
The plot is executed very well, I'd even say perfectly. It was so easy and fun to follow. I love the characters; there was definitely an upgrade between the original and the sequel. The bosses aren't just caricatures of a region, which makes them much more memorable, they all have such distinct styles and motives for their respective clockwork parts.
Finally, I adore the art. This is something I'm especially fond of when it comes to this franchise. The character designs, maps, and cutscenes never fail to amaze me with every replay.
This is probably one of the coolest games to ever exist. For someone that is considered "a mascot character" (next to Crash Bandicoot and Parappa the Rapper), Sly is the man.
Everything about this game screams cool. The maps are cool, the music is cool-- even the hud is cool. Sly's dark blue icon, Bentley's dark green icon and Murray's magenta colored icon. What a lovely atmosphere.
You play a group of missions that all are relevant to your big heist, while using three distinct playstyles (Platformer, Brawler, Minigames). Each mission feels unique and serves a purpose. It keeps you on its toes. Every environment is an explorable hub world that you will get to interact with on your missions. That nightclub seems cool right? Let's break into it! I wonder what's in that house? No need to wonder any further.
You can also collect bottles as collectibles, and coins as a way to upgrade your characters abilities. Want to purchase a paraglider? Want to purchase a smoke bomb? Each character has a powerup that is distinctly for them too. You can approach any heist as flashy as you want, just as long as you are in reigns of the objective.
This game was hella fun. Definitely worth playing. I never finished it, and I wanna go back and play it again.
One of the most overlooked ps2 era gems. Stylish mix of stealth and platforming with extremely good writing for a kids' game.
Vastly improves on the first game with upgrades and being able to play as Bentley and Murray. Backtracking all the way back to the safehouse can get mildly annoying though, at least depending on what episode you're on. Other than that, one of the best platformers I've played.
Sly 2 is most certainly a step up from its predecessor. The story, characterization and gameplay are all elevated while still retaining what made them fun.
The biggest shift between games is the sandbox type level design featured here as opposed to straightforward levels connected by a hub in Sly 1. Personally, I think this was a great change, as it allows the areas you are sneaking around and plotting heists in to feel much more present. Sucker Punch even managed to retain the smooth platforming levels of the first game in miniature levels found throughout the world.
Another big step up is that you can now play as all three members of the Cooper Gang. While Sly remains the most fun to play as, the other guys are a nice change of pace. The strengths and weaknesses of each of their play styles make everyone feel equally valuable to the team. This is extremely evident in a certain portion of the game.
Unfortunately, there are still some things that hold it back. The minigames (turret sections, Bentley's hacking, etc.) are still pretty frustrating. Maybe I'm just stupid but I have such a hard time with the controls that it just feels awful. Luckily they are toned down here in comparison to Sly 1.
I also found the detection for grabbing onto or landing on things was often wonky. Sometimes I'd press circle and Sly would refuse to grab onto what was right in front of him, costing me time or sometimes the entire mission. Other times he would get magnetized to something miles away from what I was trying to land on. This was a consistent frustration throughout the experience.
Lastly, I feel the pacing of the story could have been better. Some villains you go up against feel like they are stretched out a bit too long, while the climax feels very rushed. I overall like where the story goes, but it is not entirely smooth in getting there. The characters themselves are a charm throughout though.
Overall, this game is fantastic. It is super fun for its majority, with a great style and characters to boot.
This review contains spoilers
Game literally told me to touch grass at the very end.