Game Review: Sly 2- Band of Thieves

I’ve been excited to write this review for such a long period of time.  A lot of games have had a hand in defining my childhood growing up, but no game has situated itself so profoundly in my memories quite like this one.  I played this game so much as a kid that even now I can remember each specific level, mission and character associated with it.  It’s rare that a game is able to leave such a strong lasting impression that you still recall so much of its inner workings to this day; but I think it says something about the core quality and appeal tied behind the game in itself.  All of this is to say that Sly 2: Band of Thieves is definitively one of those games and I cannot wait to break down why I love this game so much.

Developed once again by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of their exclusive line up of games, Sly 2: Band of Thieves is the second entry in the Sly Cooper franchise.  Development on the game began almost immediately after the release of the first entry, with a lot of the core development team returning to support. It was noted that the team wanted to expand on the main element of the first game by pushing the gameplay to be more open-ended and offering the player more means of exploring and interacting with the levels in themselves. The biggest inspiration the team touted was heist movies, as they wanted each level in the game to focus on the Cooper gang pulling off elaborate heists which the player would feel immersed in setting up.  The ambitious drive to push the envelope of the series further was clear to see and it resulted in the game being a critical and commercial success when it released on PlayStation 2 in 2004.

The narrative of Sly 2: Band of Thieves is set in a world consisting of anthropomorphic characters in which renown thief Sly Cooper and his friends Bentley and Murray are two years off from their defeat of Clockwerk in Russia.  Despite being defeated, Clockwerk’s threat still lives on as his parts were separated and remained in pristine condition.  Knowing that Clockwerk could possibly return if he was ever reassembled, the gang try to steal and destroy the parts while on a job in Cairo, Egypt.  Their mission soon goes bad however as they discover the parts were already stolen by an international crime organization known as the Klaww gang.  Each member of the Klaww gang has taken their own portion of the Clockwerk parts and put their incredible powers towards their own nefarious schemes. As a result of the situation, the Cooper gang set forth on a globetrotting adventure to steal back the parts from each of the Klaww gang’s members while putting an end to their operations one by one.  This won’t be an easy endeavor however, as the Cooper gang will have to face not just the Klaww gang members but also avoid the ever-persistent detective Carmelita Fox and her new partner constable Neyla as they track both gangs down on behalf of Interpol.

What I love about the plot of this game is its consistent structure.  The first game’s plot tailored around Sly specifically and his hunt for his father’s killers while restoring the legacy of his family, it was a very Sly-orientated story.  In Sly 2’s case the story is much more about the Cooper gang as a unit rather than just Sly specifically.  Sly as a character is charismatic but he works much more when he’s able to bounce off a supporting cast.  Great effort is clearly given by the writing team to make us understand why these three people are the closest of friends because of how their relations and dynamic are a constant focus of the levels.  Bentley and Murray each get a great opportunity to showcase their own quirks and their presence in the narrative feels just as integral as Sly’s.  To assist in defining that familial bond the gang have, it helps the threat they go up against in each of the game’s episodes is well realized by each of the Klaww gang’s members. Like the prior game, Sucker Punch does a phenomenal job in making these characters a presence unto themselves and their usage of the Clockwerk parts helps outline each of the characters evil motivations.  The fact these members are scattered across the globe too gives the narrative a lot of justification for placing us in such varied and distinct locales. Like many heist movies that the game is inspired from, the narrative is anything but predictable either, there’s no sense of repetition in the structure of the story and there’s a lot of great twists and turns that truly help the story stand out on its own merits. 

With its strong narrative, it’s equally impressive the game is able to set just as strong an impression with its gameplay functionality too.  That open-ended objective is on clear display from the very start.  Gone away are the single, linear levels of the first game, Sly 2 focuses way more on giving the player ultimate freedom by placing them in open map environments and basing the missions within them.  With these expanded environments you also have the benefit of a way more refined playstyle for each of the three Cooper gang members.  You’ll already be familiar with Sly’s movement and combat style if you played the first game, but thankfully he feels and moves a lot more agile which helps with the explorative gameplay.  Another neat bonus is the game does away with the one hit kill approach and offers a health bar to give the player a bit more room to make mistakes.  Bentley while not as agile as Sly is able to benefit from a plethora of unique gadgets including his sleep darts and bombs to circumvent his enemies.  Murray is rightfully the brawn of the outfit, with his functionality being based more so on diving right into combat and beating hired goons to a pulp. The fact that each of these characters have a distinct playstyle goes a long way to defining their individuality and variety.  Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses and it’s up to you as the player to utilize them when it’s appropriate to do so. 

What helps to showcase their unique playstyles are the missions in themselves.  Each of the games 8 levels feature a selection of missions which are tailored for specific character to play.  The stealth and platforming levels are usually reserved for Sly.  The technical missions like hacking or engineering are where Bentley comes in and then for Murray his skills are reserved for missions primarily geared towards destruction and fighting.  Giving each character unique missions allows the player to immerse themselves in their playstyle while also giving the levels themselves a fair sense of variety to avoid things getting boring. I think Sucker Punch did an excellent job in giving each mission a distinct flavour that lends from the level design and theme quite well.  I never felt bored or fatigued by the mission design in this game, it just highlights how comprehensive a package the game is when so much of its core gameplay is able to flesh itself out so distinctly. 

The environmental design is also the big positive point of the game too.  I am not exaggerating when I note that each of the games 8 maps are superbly designed and realized.  These maps go a long way in incorporating the beauty of the location but also the tone of the story.  There’s a lot of verticality in the way the map design offers explorative options for each of the three central characters too.  Freedom is the ultimate goal of the level design because it offers the player the means of exploring the environment and mastering its challenges as you progress through it.  The fact that the game will take you to places like Paris, India, Prague and Canada shows that the games holds a massive amount of creative variety to appreciate. There also a fair bit of objectives to go for on each map too.  Besides the main missions, each map holds 30 collectable clue bottles which will unlock a power-up when collected.  On top of that is also valuable loot which you will need to grab and bring back to the hideout so you can sell it on the black market for coins to unlock more gear.  Sucker Punch designed each environment to offer the player the ultimate means of familiarizing themselves with it in different ways. 

What really helps keep this game as timeless as it feels is the art style. The visual work put into rendering the environment and its characters is presented in a cell-shaded style.  This style helps the game feel unique and apply a more iconic impression that helps it sidestep the hardware’s limited graphical capabilities. There’s a lot of creative ideas layered in the visual end, especially with the mixture of hand-drawn cartoon intros/outros for each level on top of the animations layered within the gameplay.  Peter McConnell is the credited composer for Sly 2 and he really earns that paycheck with this games score.  I absolutely love the main theme for Sly 2, it’s one of the most iconic main themes in video game history.  Some other favorite tracks include the Paris and Canada suites. 

Revisiting Sly 2: Band of Thieves has only reinforced the adoration I hold for this game.  While you can argue I’m willfully dismissing some objective flaws in the game, I honestly don’t really care.  So much about this game works to deliver a truly memorable gaming experience that it’s pros far, far outweigh whatever menial cons you can drag up.  Sly 2: Band of Thieves exudes confidence at every turn with its expansive gameplay and enticing narrative.  It’s rare to find a game that is capable of leaving a lasting legacy but I will happily argue with anyone that Sly 2 has earned its place in that category.