Delivering more of the same, while making it even better
In 2002 the world was introduced to the odd mixture of stealth and platforming elements in the form of Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus, and was hailed for its successful marriage of the two gameplay types. Since then, there haven't been many (or rather, any) games -- well, outside of the Sly Cooper series, that is -- that have tried this emulate this concept.
Then 2004 came around, and with it came, Sly 2: band of Thieves, the sequel to aforementioned Thievius Raccoonus, that takes the concept of its predecessor and improves upon it by fixing the problems of its predecessor, adding some new features, and making it much longer than the last game, resulting in a game that better than its predecessor.
It's been two years since the Cooper Gang's defeat of the Fiendish Five, and pieces of the groups leader, Clockwerk, have recently surfaced at a museum in Egypt. Seeing this as a opportunity to steal and destroy those parts, Sly and the gang set out to steal them, but their attempt is quickly foiled due to the fact that the parts have already been stolen by a group known as, the Klaww Gang. Fearing that they'll revive Clockwerk, Sly and the gang set out to track down where the parts have gone, and take out the Klaww gang in the process, while, as always, avoiding the law's constant pursuit.
Unlike last time, however, Sly won't be alone in the field. As his friends, Bentley and Murray, will be there with him helping pull off heists by taking on missions that require their unique abilities. The differences between the three isn't huge, but the differences are significant enough to give them their own unique style of play.
Sly -- the thief -- focuses on stealth, and most of the platforming sequences due to his vast array of acrobatic abilities. Murray -- the brawn -- handles things involving combat, transporting heavy objects, and, in some cases, destruction. And Bentley -- the brains of the operation -- deals in demolition, gadgets, and hacking. All of 'em are pretty adept at combat, with the exception of Bentley, who relies upon putting guards to sleep with his tranquilizer darts before taking them out with his bombs.
But if they're standard abilities aren't enough, you can purchase new items and abilities for each character that help make things easier by offering more attacks, and items that distract guards or put them to sleep. But while these abilities are a real help in various situations, they're not necessary to completing the game (well, except for a couple that are, in fact, necessary for that), as the game already gives you many options for stealth and combat.
Though that mostly applies to the former, as the standard options for combat are only a standard combo with your weapon, and a stealth kill move that can be used on unsuspecting guards from behind. It's not much, but it get's the job done during the occasional fight.
The former, however, provides many different options, thanks to the large hub levels where each of the games eight episodes take place. These options include, streetlight poles you can climb on, wires and vines you can run across, and tables which you can hide under. Though most of these options can only be used by Sly, Bentley and Murray can still use various objects to get up on rooftops, and other high areas to avoid being seen.
The hub levels are also where all the missions are located, and, most of the time, take place. These missions serve to set everything up for the actual heist, which starts off with you having to sneaking into a certain area to take reconnaissance photo's, and bring 'em to Bentley, so that he can formulate a plan. From there, you are tasked with other things like trailing someone, or picking guards pockets for keys. All these things tie into the big heist at the end of the level in some way, which places much importance on these missions, and makes it feel like you've actually played a big part in the heist.
The heists themselves are pretty spectacular, in both design and overall execution. They're treated as one long mission that has you switching between the three characters as they complete their assigned objectives. This typically happens as the heist happens, but there are times when the game plays around with time a bit by having you switch between the three characters as they complete objectives simultaneously.
A good example of that is in one heist where Sly has to steal a key to a repair truck from the driver, then pass it off to Bentley and Murray so that they can use it for the heist. From there, the game switches to those two as they head toward the truck. Once that's done, the game goes back to just after when Sly passed on the key. and has him climbing up a large sign to catch a grappling hook that's to be fired from the repair truck.
But most of the heists don't do that, and instead show the events as they happen. Like during one heist where the gang must steal the Clockwerk wings from a room filled with people without being seen. This is achieved by Sly distracting everyone with his dancing skills, while Murray is lowered into the room from above via a winch to saw off the wings from a statue they're attached to. During this sequence, you're put in control of Sly in the form of a timing-based dancing mini-game. After that's done, the game then switches to Bentley as he provides cover for Murray's getaway with a remote-controlled helicopter armed with bombs.
Elaborate sequences like this are commonly how the heists play out, which makes them very memorable, and fun experiences. As the creative cooperative single-player gameplay demonstrated in these sequences is excellently executed, and conveys a true sense of teamwork between the three characters.
However, with all the things the game does well, so too are there things that aren't done well. Like, say, the camera, which gets caught on bits of the environments way too easily. This is especially annoying when your following someone, as the few seconds your view is obscured for could make you fall too far behind, thereby making you start the mission again from the beginning. It's quite frustrating.
Like its predecessor, Sly 2 isn't a very hard game. The stealth mechanics -- which consists of simply avoiding searchlights, laser grids. and guards flashlights -- while well executed, don't add much difficulty due to its relative ease. The boss battles still follow simple, easy to learn patterns like in the first game, making them easy beat. It's a little disappointing that there wasn't even a slight increase in difficulty, as it could have helped extend the games lasting value.
As while it's already a much longer title than its predecessor (it took me 17 hours to beat it), it doesn't have any replay value. Well, unless you decide to find all the clue bottles spread throughout the hub levels, and acquire all the abilities for sale, that is. But even those long, arduous tasks don't really add much replay value, making it a game that you'll probably play once and never touch again.
But also like its predecessor, the game features some great visuals. It utilizes the cel-shaded style in the same way the first game did -- by using it to highlight important elements such as your character, guards, and clue bottles -- and make it feel a bit like an interactive cartoon. The frame-rate issues of its predecessor have also been fixed, resulting in a nice consistent frame-rate throughout, which coupled with the general beauty of the visuals, make for a top-notch presentation, that's further enhanced by the superb music and how it's used.
All the music pieces fit the settings, and the general stealthy nature of the game nicely. It's also interactive in some spots, like the string plucks that play as you get closer to enemies that haven't yet seen you, or how it picks up upon being spotted or while fighting, and then smoothly transitions back to its usual tune after losing the guards tail. It all sounds great, and really helps set the mood for the level.
Overall, despite a few issues, Sly 2 delivers more of what made the first game great, and improves upon it in ways that should please fans of the original. The superb gameplay, longer, well-executed story, and excellent sound and visuals come together to form a fun blend of platforming and stealth, that fans of those genres, or just about anyone, should enjoy.