Sly Cooper entered the cute mascot race a little late in the game, but he quickly captured gamers’ attention with his 2002 title Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. In addition to featuring a cute and cuddly (albeit deceitful) mascot, Sly Cooper also contained immersive gameplay and a fun and kitschy atmosphere that reminded players of old time B-movies. The game went on to become a Greatest Hit and as fans saw other platformers like Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter spawn franchises, they began to wonder if Sly Cooper would ever pick up his cane for another round of fun.
Well, two years have passed and Sly Cooper is preparing for his next adventure. I had the chance to play a demo of the game and I’d like to share some of my impressions before the game is released next week. Sly 2: Band of Thieves picks up almost immediately after the first game. From what I saw in the demo, not much has changed: Sly and his gang are still avoiding Carmelita Fox as they travel the world in search of the fiendish Clockwerk’s mechanical parts.
The biggest difference between Sly 2 and its predecessor are that Sly’s sidekicks take on a more prominent role; they are now playable characters. Bentley the turtle is the brains behind the gang and provides much of the reconnaissance for the missions. Bentley does not have very much physical strength, so instead of battling his way through a crowded room, he is more likely to work on tasks such as dismantling security systems and avoiding guards. On the other hand, Murray, who is a big pink hippo, is nothing but brawn and he is quite likely to find himself in a situation that has his swinging left and right at enemies. It is quite interesting to experience the viewpoints of the other members of Sly’s gang. They played a very important role in the first game, but their participation was limited to technicalities, such as a mission in which players had to race the team van, which happened to be piloted by Murray the getaway driver.
The cel-shaded graphics that made the first Sly Cooper game so delightful have returned. They give the game a quirky edge that makes players feel like they controlling a comic book or cartoon. The audio department helps further the comic book ambience by providing sneaky music and appropriate sound effects that always fit the mood.
As Sly 2: Band of Thieves prepares to make its debut, the gaming public is faced with many questions. Over the past two or three years, we have witnessed the birth of several popular series of platform games. It seems that there is no set formula that determines whether or not a video game sequel will be successful. Is the addition of the sidekicks as playable characters an indication that Sly 2 is going to revolutionize the series or are the developers going to focus on what made the first game so great? This question and many more will be answered when Sly 2: Band of Thieves is released later this month.
