| Some of you may already be familiar with Sly Cooper from 2002's Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoons, but yours truly wasn't until I received Sly 2: Band of Thieves a few weeks ago. Since I haven't had time to play the original I can't compare the two, but what I can tell you is how interesting and addictive the sequel is.
In Sly 2, you get to play many roles, not only do you play the part of Sly ("the thief"), but also his pals in crime, Bentley ("the brains") and Murray ("the brawn"). Both Bentley and Murray have special abilities that their friend Sly just can't pull off, therefore they are better equiped to take on a few objectives from time-to-time while Sly takes the backseat.
Bentley, the turtle, is seen in the very first scene of the game. From here you know that he will be your right-hand man for anything that needs to be solved. Bentley is nicknamed the brains and for great reason. He is perfect at breaking locks, security codes, and even keeps sleeping darts and bombs on hand in case he comes face-to-face with a large obstacle or enemy that needs to be taken out. As for Murray, the hippo, he is the ultimate macho man. You need to get past a gate? Murray will be there to lift it or to knock that sucker down. You have some lizards messing with you? Murray will belly flop them and then kick their butts out to sea. Last, but certainly not least is the main character, Sly Cooper. Sly is the most dynamic of the team, he can run tight ropes like you wouldn't believe, climb pipes, and even holds his own when having to combat the enemies.
I don't want to give away too much of the storyline, but I'll tell you what the main story is all about. From the beginning you (Sly) are in it again with the Klaww Gang. It all begins with the Klaww Gang beating Sly to the punch to take Clockwerks. The trio sets out on a whirlwind trip around the world to take on the Klaww Gang and get Clockwerks. Sly 2 is filled with story-driven action throughout. Once I started to learn more about the character and the entire storyline, keep in mind I missed the original Sly game, I really got hooked and wanted to keep going.
I just have two main issues with the game that I felt could have been improved. Call me impatient, but I hate waiting through filmed scenes in games, especially when I have already watched and heard what they had to say. The second issue is with controlling the camera. I have noticed this with far too many recent games. The camera is user-controlled which at times makes it difficult to figure out where you are supposed to be looking. After playing it for a while you get the hang of it, but I still feel this could be improved not only with Sly 2 but all games in general.
Sly 2 plays out much like a movie. Obviously I expect this from more mature games, but with the game aimed at a slightly younger audience I figured that it would lack such a thrilling plot. The gameplay isn't all that difficult, but it is a really exciting game nonetheless. Overall, I highly suggest picking up Sly 2.
- Chad Kennedy, Editor-in-Chief
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