Sly 2: Band of Thieves

...and he has brought his friends Bentley and Murray along with him. Sly 2: Band Of Thieves is the sequel to Sly Cooper, the superb platformer for the PS2.

BoT gives us an update on what has happened since the first game. It appears that the parts of Clockwerk, the evil owl boss Sly defeated at the end of the first game, have been collected by other thieves who are using them for their own nefarious means. Sly wants to eliminate Clockwerk once and for all and he, Bentley, and Murray work together to that end.

Of course, Carmelita Fox is still trying to bust Sly and there's also a wild card in Commissioner Neyla; who may or may not be an ally to Sly.

The game is split into 8 Chapters. Each chapter details a heist attempt to collect a Clockwerk part. You will control Sly Cooper (a raccoon) for the most part but you will also control Bentley the Turtle as he hacks PCs and Murray the Hippo as he uses his muscle to dominate opponents. Each chapter has about 12 missions to complete to finish it. It will take 2-3 hours for each one so multiplying it by 8 adds up to a long game. Along the way, you can make money by pickpocketing enemies or finding treasure. You can use this money to buy extra abilities through Thieves.Net. Also, the bottles are back and will give Sly even more abilities.

Everything you loved in the first game is back: Great platforming, winning characters, superb dialogue, gameplay, graphics, and sound, and a family-friendly image that's getting a bit lost in video games. While I do love mature games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I also want to play something much less foreboding that's just as fun.

By all means, buy this game. Also, watch for Sly Cooper 3:Honor Among Thieves. It's coming in September 2005 and it plans to be even more revolutionary than ever. Sucker Punch Productions rule!

I been playing this game and got to chapter 6.I hate chapter 4 and 5 because it was frustrating!seriously!those places was filled with security.and one thing i like about chapter 5 is driving the tanks to go to war against other tanks.But they never disappear after the mission.i wanted to get rid of those tanks!because they are annoying!The enemies are stronger and more annoying then the first game.theirs 3 types:normal ones that counterattacks after you attack them.that attack was annoying!the caller ones that calls for other enemies when it sees me.and there's guards the toughest yet most annoying enemy in the game!whats also frustrating is the clue bottles!they are everywhere but the more you get the more harder to find the next one.I think the 1st game is better then this one!also the dialogues are pretty good.but some is cheesy or corny. How long is the game in chapter wise?well there's 8 chapters and each chapter has 8-10 jobs. That makes it a total over 70 jobs in the game!while in the other game,you have 5 chapters and each one has 9 levels.So that makes it a total of 45 Levels!is the game harder then the 1st game?well for combat,yes.lasers?yes.exploring?yes. Challenges?no.they are a little easier.bosses? yes. Are the moves better then the first game? well yeah.But it missed some moves that were in the first game.

At the very beginning, the PS2 and GameCube era has just started experimenting something new for 3D gaming. That's how PS2 game did with the first game. But this has took its direction to a whole new level. Sly 2: Band of Thieves is not only one of the best platform games of the 2000s, but also one of the best game PS2 has produced at the time. It has upgraded even bigger than its predecessor with an exciting story that's put to telling more after the first, graphics that has presented a brilliant platform gaming style, charming and unforgettable characters, and some of the best gameplay that people would want to stick around to fully complete the game for. Not only do we get to use gadgets, but we also get to play as Bentley and Murray in this game. And it was a surprise the game would upgrade the gameplay something like that. If you are a fan of the first game or even a fan of platform gaming, then please go play this game. If you don't have it for PS2, then I would recommend getting it for PS3 with the entire trilogy. It has done a splendid job on what 3D gaming is meant to be. As a definition of how the game would take time on the effort that was given. Because of how a truly fun game it was, I cannot wait to play Sly 3 next. Now we're seeing an age where old games are being remastered to new gaming consoles, PS5 should do the same for the first three games.

After going through the whole storyline of Sly 2, I must say I am really blown away. Sucker Punch has managed to stay strong, despite the high expectations of fans set by the first game.

For those of you who don't know about Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, the first game starred Sly Cooper, a master thief (in training) in search of a book of family secrets stolen by five villains. And his main villain--a mechanical owl called Clockwerk who just happens to be a rival of the Cooper Clan!

And now, set two years after the first game, Sly is back and this time, his friends get in on the act!

Starting with the story, what basically happens is that Sly is going to steal the Clockwerk parts so that they may be destroyed. But you see, it's not quite that easy. When he arrives at the scene of the crime, he finds out the parts were already stolen by another gang called "The Klaww Gang". And now Sly must find the parts before Clockwerk is rebuilt. Don't worry about the story dragging on though, it's extremely compelling and will keep you going until the end.

The controls and general gameplay are very slick, just like the first one. However, there have been a few modifications to gameplay. First off, world hubs are gone! They have been replaced with large cities, which act as your levels. They're not exactly world hubs per se, but the levels are split into the different areas for your exploration. You also run a bit slower this time around, but you do have a button that allows you to sprint.

If you thought the variety of gameplay in the first game was broad, check out this game! This game is chock full of activities and different things to do. These tasks may range from plain old sneaking around to dancing/tux wearing to controlling an RC Chopper and much, much more! It is guaranteed you will never be bored with all of these things.

As suggested by the subtitle "Band of Thieves", you'll be able to play as Murray and Bentley this time around, as well as Sly Cooper himself.

As for basic styles, these pretty much sum it up:

-Sly: The character who does the thievier jobs, like pickpocketing, sneaking around and taking recon photos.

-Murray: The fighter.

-Bentley: The hacker and the thinker. When you play as him, you have to be careful before you step forward since he isn't able to get into close combat that well.

Sucker Punch does a great job of making all three playable characters unique. Each has a different set of moves, however not all of them seem to be of any important use. Perhaps if Sucker Punch incorporated them better, then I'd be even more satisfied.

As for the graphics, the slow-down is gone! (YAY!) While the graphics haven't changed too much, they have received a tune-up as well as some additions, including sound effects text for when you defeat enemies. The animations are also cool and sometimes funny to watch (Sly using his cane as a back scratcher *snort*).

The music is much better this time around and the voice acting is still pretty top-notch!

Overall, this game is good. I was able to beat the storyline in about 17 hours, which is at least seven hours longer than the first one for me, although experienced players might beat it quicker. While the length is much better than the first, I regret to say this game doesn't have much re-playability. It doesn't let you replay through the levels in the game once you beat them and that kind of stinks since the jobs are all fun to do and complete. But I can see why Sucker Punch didn't add this in though. It wouldn't work in the kind of gameplay Sly 2 has.

MY SCORE:

9.5/10

There's something about Sly Cooper you just can't resist about him. If it's his suave, charming voice (courtesy of the great Kevin Miller), the cool gadgets he has, the friends he has plus his nemesis/love interest, and his strong code of honor, what's not to like? I like the first game, but this one improves upon it to the peak in every way in terms of gameplay, graphics, storyline, acting, and ending. Thankfully each character now has health and stealth meters as opposed to the annoying one-hit deaths of the first game. Speaking of which, you can now play as Bentley and Murray as well, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities to compliment Sly himself. The graphics look pretty slick with a Saturday Morning Cartoon style. The storyline has improved in the writing department with plenty of film noir elements such as treachery, double-crossing, espionage, unlikely alliances, love triangle, and detective work, making this a game that even adults can enjoy. Speaking of which, there are even a few adult jokes that will go over the heads of kids that adults can catch. My favorite is this line of dialogue: "You look familiar, do you work in law enforcement" "I often deal with police while on the job". The acting is spot on for everyone, with Kevin Miller masterfully performing as Sly Cooper himself, Matt Olson once again steals the show as Bentley with all his memorable, funny lines plus direction he gives the other two. Even though I find it annoying that each game in this series has a different voice actor for Carmelita, Alesia Glidewell is perfect as her and simultaneously her constable Neyla. What Neyla's true intentions are I won't reveal here, you'll have to play it to find out. I like the minigames as well, one of my favorites is where Sly gets to dance a tango with the females in a rhythm game. As for the ending, I won't reveal it here, but even though the game lacks some hidden secrets, the ending will make you want to play the game through again.