Sly Cooper and The Thievius Racconus was and still is a Playstation 2 classic. Instead of being a simple hop and bop platformer, Sly Cooper was a unique blend of stealth, action, plot and the platform elements thrown in for good measure. You played as Sly Cooper (of course); a raccoon with a long family lineage that set out to even a score after his parents were killed. The game’s boss fights were unique, its graphics beautiful and even its story was imaginative. It went on to receive rave reviews and it was hailed as one of the best games of its respective year. Unfortunately, Sly didn’t hold a crown for long as games like Jak 2 and Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando arrived. Both of those titles introduced new elements into the lagging genre that essentially restored interest among gamers. Rumors persisted about a possible Sly sequel, but only when it was officially announced, did any of the buzz really mean anything. Sly 2: Band of Thieves promises many things, some which sound very ambitious and others overly so, but the fact of the matter is Sly 2 delivers on all of them. 

Sly 2: Band of Thieves picks up shortly after the first adventure and has us once again following Sly and his gang on a new mission. Sly’s family nemesis Clockwork has been scattered across the world (in pieces of course, metal pieces) and is being held and utilized by a suspicious group called the Klaw Gang. Sly decides that Clockwork is too dangerous to be in the hands of thugs and decides that he must essentially steal “back” his enemy. Sly is once again joined by Bentley, the smart talking hacking turtle and Murray the slow but powerful (and caring) hippo. Carmelita Fox is back as the police agent who has been relentlessly chasing Sly down for a long time, even though it seems she may really have strong feelings for him. The only really new addition to the main cast would be Constable Neela, who although an agent herself, wants to make sure Sly can stop the gang at any and all costs. The plot is tightly intertwined with the gameplay, so saying much of anything would bee too revealing, but the story basically focuses on Sly and his friends plotting schemes to steal back the various Clockwork parts scattered across the game worlds. The relationship between Sly, Bentley and Murray is much stronger in the sequel, most likely because the latter two have been added as playable characters. Contrary to what you may initially believe, these two guys haven’t simply been tacked on, and actually do play a major part in the game.



The gameplay is reminiscent of a mix between Mario style platforming with Metal Gear type stealth elements. It worked excellently in the original, and even more so in the sequel. The two gameplay types seemed destined to mix, since Sly 2 is a thoroughly fun title. Unlike the original where the levels were set up before a generic hub, each world is basically a giant city or environment where most missions just happen on the fly. Some missions are indoors, but a lot of the shorter more memorable ones are usually within the hubs themselves. As in the first, Sly is equipped with a bunch of moves designed to take advantage of stealth. Sly can climb up pipes, dash, hang, sidestep across walls and even perform stealth attacks. The Sly missions are usually the ones that require a unique understanding of each environment. There is almost always more than one way to get to your pinpointed destination and scaling each environment is often highly entertaining. For those who like more of the action platforming, Murray has been added, but even those who like Sly can take comfort in knowing he has quite a few more offense moves.  

Bentley is the second playable character and he is mostly used for missions that deal with some sort of technology or computer hacking. He comes equipped with a crossbow armed with sleeping darts and can perform melee attacks if it’s the right time and place. His missions are often fun and a lot of them have some sort of puzzle attached. Bentley is less about action and more about tampering with gadgets. Murray on the other hand doesn’t exceed in stealth or technology, but simply with brute strength. His missions mostly involve running into an area and basically pummeling enemies and his environment until he finds what he needs. Overall out of the three characters, Sly is still my top choice. I loved the original’s stealth aspects and I love it even more in this game. Pick pocketing is the last major gameplay addition I need to mention. Now Sly can sneak up behind enemies and steal coins or keys from their pockets. Sometimes it takes a long time to get something, but the tension it adds when not knowing if the guard will turn around on you, is simply great. Those who loved the original’s emphasis on mini-games will be happy to know that for the most part, they are back. Now, they are more seamlessly integrated into the levels so when one initiates, you may not catch on right away, which isn’t a bad thing, actually a good one. The inventive boss battles are back and from the first to the last, there was no shortage of good concepts. Each battle has some sort of tactic that must be mastered in order to win, and most of the time, you have to find this out on your own without any help from the other gang members. 

In terms of length, Sly 2 is quite a bit longer than the original, and there are quite a few reasons to come back and play it for a second time. The coins you collect can be used to purchase new moves. When you find a special rare item, as long as you can return it safely to base without being injured, you can sell it for sometimes insane amounts of coins. This doesn’t include the fact that most people will have so much fun the first time; they’ll simply play it all over again.