Sly 2: Band of Thieves (2004)

Even though I enjoyed the first Sly Cooper game, I went into Sly 2 with tempered expectations. I'd read that it took inspiration from open world games, which was also true of Jak II, a game I had some pretty significant issues with compared to its predecessor.

I shouldn't have worried! I had a blast playing Sly 2.

On its surface, the structure of the game is the same as the first: Each "episode" consists of a hub world with gateways to "jobs" to complete, culminating in a final heist. But in Sly 2, the proportions of these things have been flipped: The hub worlds are much larger, and most of the jobs take place within them instead of transporting you to separate levels. This change does come at the expense of some variety, but I loved having the time to explore every nook and cranny of each episode's map at my own pace.

My feelings are a tad more mixed about the playable characters. On one hand, none are quite as fun to play as good ol' Sly Cooper. On the other hand, they do inject some welcome variety, and their presence never felt as unnecessary as in games like Spyro: Year of the Dragon or Sonic Adventure 2. It helps that all three characters have significant ability upgrades that can help alleviate some of their pain points: By the end, I was using one of Bentley's abilities to collect some hard-to-reach items.

The cut scenes and models are a lot more polished than the first game, and the soundtrack... composed by LucasArts and Double Fine mainstay Peter McConnell... is outstanding. It all adds up to an experience that can hold its own alongside games like Psychonauts, Jak and Daxter and Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Sly 3 has a tough act to follow!

(Played on PlayStation 3 via The Sly Collection)

Finished story and reached credits

Final thoughts: I'm sorry to all Sly fans. This is a game I want to really like... but the overall experience wasn't very fun when I was done...

The best part of the game in my opinion is everything that doesn't have to do with the gameplay, as I liked many of the changes introduced here in comparison to Sly 1. The cartoon style was further exaggerated, and the music was generally much more memorable. The open-world heist setting felt more fitting to the franchise, and I enjoyed how all of the Cooper gang were integrated into the story plot-wise. I'd give this game 4-out-of-5 stars just from the positives.

But my GOD this game is literally the definition of tedium for me. Originally I had high hopes and had fun with the 1st Paris chapter. Once I got to India / Czech Republic... OH MY GOD I began to loathe this game. Not only these levels are a PAIN to traverse with the verticality especially with not playing as Sly, but the constant mission pattern of Gather X items from the ENTIRE map, then to Pickpocket X guards, only to go into a room where you STILL have to hack 4 terminals across the entire dungeon... Everything dragged. Then you FINALLY finished a chapter and realized... the boss fled and you have to go to ANOTHER similar zone to where the entire gameplay loop STARTS ALL OVER AGAIN, which doesn't help because I got bored of the India / Czech aesthetics and music (Canada songs are nice though). Once you finally get to the boss they have like 5x more health when they can knock your health down very quickly. The only thing I've played more tedious was... actual MMORPGs with their endless fetch/kill quests. I actually had to take several breaks playing this game because of how bored I was at times.

I also hated the Turret segments. First, the overheat mechanic. I wouldn't mind if it were better balanced, but there are SO many missiles to shoot you rarely get the chance to actually shoot the enemy which has WAY too much health. Second, the turret felt sluggish to aim in comparison to Bentley's crossbow. Lastly... this mechanic was pretty much the BULK of the final boss Clock-la fight. Overall, these segments alone also helped to contribute to my sour opinion of this game.

In the end, how this game was designed just killed my enthusiasm for this game. It's just not my definition of fun. I'll still give Sly 3 a chance. However, if it still has the gameplay loop as this game I'm just going to watch the cutscenes and call it done.

This game is great! It has all the things that made Sly 1 great, but everything's a bit more polished and... sharp, in some way. The visual style has been (at least in my opinion) improved; the outlines are bold and cartoony and the over all graphic style is more deliberate and stylised. The health system is more forgiving than before which makes the game much more accessible to a wider audience. This game has a dark, gloomy, urban feel to it, which is a nice change. (That's definitely not to say I didn't enjoy the areas of Sly 1, I adored them, but I think a little variety never killed nobody.)

Now the reason I wasn't sure if Sly 2 should get five stars is that it kind of drags... The game has eight chapters and many (if not all, I can't quite remember) bosses appear in two chapters back to back which makes the game feel sooooo loooong. I love playing this game, so the length is not an issue, however I do not love feeling like I'm not progressing. Also there's Arpeggio, who's introduced like a boss would be, but who we don't really get to see for more than the introduction and one or two cut scenes.

Anyway, I definitely recommend this game! It is one of my favourite games, and even though it has its flaws, it's a lot of fun to play, the characters are pretty well rounded and the areas gorgeous and interesting. Also, Sly gets a paraglider!