Sly 2: Band of Thieves
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| Sly 2: Band of Thieves | |
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| Developer(s) | Sucker Punch Productions |
| Publisher(s) | SCEA |
| Series | Sly Cooper |
| Engine | significantly modified Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus engine |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release date | NA September 14, 2004 EU October 29, 2004 JP June 16, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) PEGI: 3+ OFLC: G8+ |
| Media | DVD |
Sly 2: Band of Thieves is a PlayStation 2 video game by Sucker Punch and SCEA released in 2004. This title is a sequel to the game Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus and part of the Sly Cooper video game series.
The sequel has a variety of changes, particularly in level design, in which the ultimate goal, a "vault," occurs not per level, but per "world". Also, it takes more than one hit to kill both Sly and the opponent. Other changes include the ability to control not only Sly, but also Bentley and Murray, who are given more skills as compensation, able to do much more than their more limited persons in the previous game. However, Sly remains the central focus and character despite these changes to character roles. Finally, new skills can be bought at a 'safehouse', as well as being unlocked by opening safes hidden in each world.
Music for the game was done by Peter McConnell.
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[edit] Plot
Set 2 years after the defeat of Clockwerk in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, the game is set in 1999. The game begins as Sly and the gang attempt to destroy the Clockwerk parts in a Natural History Museum in Cairo, Egypt. It turns out, however, that the parts have been already stolen, and Carmelita Fox along with her new partner Constable Neyla turn up at the scene instead. Constable Neyla purposefully hints that the parts could have been stolen by a group of outlaws known as the Klaww gang, each member using a Clockwerk body part to aid his or her own personal conquest. Sly and the gang set out to find the missing parts, and destroy them. However, a deeper scheme is later uncovered by the Cooper gang, leading them into various hijinks, betrayal, and even a jailbreak. Since that, Sly 2 is known to have a deep and darker plot twist near the end of the game, other than its predecessor Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, and successor Sly 3.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Playable Characters
- Sly Cooper voiced by Kevin Miller — A full time master thief since he destroyed Clockwerk two years ago. However, he'll need help from Murray and Bentley to pull off stealing the Clockwerk pieces. Age: 20.
- Bentley the Turtle voiced by Matt Olsen — Bentley has now taken to the field to help Sly and Murray pull off heists. Became demolitions expert and lends his gadgetry and knowledge to the team. Age: 20.
- Murray the Hippo voiced by Chris Murphy — Murray has grown more brave and courageous since the Clockwerk incident two years ago. He now helps the team on the field using mass muscle. Age: 20.
[edit] Klaww Gang
- Dimitri — A nightclub owner iguana from Paris who specializes in forgery of paintings. He was a young artist working to create his own visionary style, however, his rejection caused him to go insane and forge famous French paintings (one of them is the Mona Lisa)
- Rajan — A power-hungry tiger from India. He runs an illegal spice operation. He started his life of crime as a boy, who grew up with riches but small child-sized clothes, he bought a palace to get attention to be "Lord Of The Hills".
- The Contessa — An expert hypnotist spider. She's a criminal psychologist for Interpol in Prague. At first, it is not known that she is a secret member of the KLAWW gang, but Bentley discovers it by spying on the Contessa in Episode 4. She married a General after graduating a School of Detectives but became a widow due to the General's poor health. She then made a prison gaining a place in Interpol. But she was arrested for attacking a cop (Carmelita) and kidnapping.
- Jean Bison — A bison from 19th Century Canada. He owns most of the trains and mines in Canada, and is the transporter for the gang. Returned after being frozen alive during the California Gold Rush. According to the credits, Jean retired from the Klaww Gang and became an Arctic Lifeguard, but became frozen in the same pose rescuing a group of penguins.
- Arpeggio — A genius parrot. He's the inventor, mechanical expert, and leader of the gang, who is very sensitive of his inability to fly. He was killed by Neyla (now Clock-La) before he can even enter the Clockwerk body and gain the ability to fly.
[edit] New Features
Sly 2: Band of Thieves brings several new gameplay elements into the fold. In addition to Sly, you can play as Bentley the Turtle and Murray the Hippo. Bentley follows a more cloak and dagger approach to stealth. He can’t climb poles or jump very far but he is equipped with a sleeper dart crossbow and countdown bombs to subdue and defeat enemies one by one or sabotage enemy equipment. He can use his computer skills to hack villain’s computers, bringing the player to a top down shooter like mini game. Murray is much more direct. His brute strength allows him to take on groups of strong enemies by himself with powerful hooks and upper cuts. He can pick up objects and enemies to throw around and his thunder flop can stun and destroy enemies. His strength allows him to help the gang with heavy duty tasks.
Each character now has a health bar and a special bar. Health is diminished every time the character gets attacked or hits a hazard. If it is depleted you must restart any mission you are on and respawn at another location. The special bar depletes whenever a character uses a special move. If it hits zero, manual special moves can not be used.
Missions are now connected to a main hub of the location Sly and the Gang are operating. A safehouse located in the hub is where the player can choose what character to use and get away from pursuing guards. This hub can range from a city to a lumber camp in the wilderness. Enemies prowl around this area, and there are no objectives until a character arrives at a mission beacon.
Another new feature is pick pocketing. When Sly sneaks up behind an enemy he can reach out with his cane and grab coins out of their money pouch. The coins come in clusters, and they go directly to Sly’s coin count, he does not need to pick them up. If there is an aura around an enemy’s coin pouch, they are carrying an item. Once Sly gets through all of their coins he can grab the enemy’s item and sell it later back at the safe house. Murray and Bentley can not pickpocket.
Most powerups and extra moves are now bought from the Safe House rather than gotten from safes. Using collected coins, Sly can buy powerups from an in-game online store for each character. Sly’s powerups center around stealth and combat, Murray’s are power and fighting and Bentley’s are gadgets and gizmos. Most powerups need to be assigned to a button, but some give a constant effect. Items stolen from guards can be sold for money in the safehouse to help fund for upgrades. Special upgrades and moves can be found after a number of clue bottles are found in the main hub and a hidden safe is unlocked with the code.
The game also makes use of the Playstation 2's optional USB Microphone allowing the player to use the sound of his or her own voice to distract and attract in-game enemies. This in turn adds a new twist to the stealth elements, as the player has to refrain from noises such as talking or coughing or risk creating in-game noise. This feature first appeared in the game Manhunt, which was released a year ealier.
[edit] Locations
The locations in Sly 2 differ from its predecessor's, primarily in that all areas are interconnected. There are eight locations in Sly 2 (as opposed to five in the first game). In addition, the locations of Sly 2 are much more realistic.
- Prelude: A Shadow From The Past; 5:12 PM
Sly heads out to get the Clockwerk parts from the Natural History Museum in Cairo, Egypt, near a sandy, pyramid-filled desert. This is basically a tutorial and storyline beginning for the game. The player finds out that the Clockwerk parts have been stolen and Sly and his gang have been framed.
- Episode 1: The Black Chateau; 11:55 PM
This is the first real episode Sly and the gang visit, a section of Paris, and a small island in the middle of it where Dimitri has a popular club. It is all a front of a counterfeiting operation, using the unique alloy of the Clockwerk Tail Feathers to print money endlessly. Sly and the gang must infiltrate the club and some of the buildings around it to get at the feathers.
- Episode 2: A Starry-Eyed Encounter; 5:57 PM
At his newly bought "ancestral" Indian Palace near Calcutta, a big forest and a giant village of palaces, Rajan throws a party to show the world his Clockwerk Wings and flaunt his so-called royalty. Inspector Carmelita Fox, Constable Neyla and The Contessa are working undercover at the party to try to bust the leader of an illegal spice-trade ring. Sly and the gang must find a way to get the wings out of a party crawling with cops and get past the security of Rajan's valuable fortress. [1]
- Episode 3: The Predator Awakes; 6:32 PM
After Sly and his friends had stolen the Clockwerk wings, Rajan had to flee from his own party into the jungle where the center of his spice plant operation was. It was a long forgotten temple and home to the Clockwerk Heart, a pump so tireless it could increase spice growing tenfold. The heart was in two halves, one half used to grow the spice, the other Rajan carried on a staff. Neyla showed up and showed Sly a secret door to one half of the heart. After Sly defeats him, Neyla double-crosses Sly, Murray, and Inspector Fox and puts them all in jail. She showed The Contessa a photo of Carmelita Fox dancing with Sly, when she still had no idea it was Sly.
- Episode 4: Jailbreak; 11:20 PM
Bentley, having escaped the Contessa, has to rescue his friends in jail. This takes place in Prague near a prison island assumed to have a red sky for no reason. First he rescues Sly, then Murray. Then they need to plan a way to break out Inspector Fox, who has been framed. The Contessa plans to brainwash Sly, Murray and Carmelita into becoming peaceful members of society (A possible reference to A Clockwork Orange).
- Episode 5: A Tangled Web; 1:22 AM
The Contessa has holed herself up into her Gothic mansion. This still takes place in Prague, in a village next to the mansion. Constable Neyla wages war against the Contessa with a mercenary army of tanks and planes. Through all this, Sly and the gang must steal the Clockwerk Eyes and free Inspector Fox before the Contessa brainwashes her into taking the fall for Interpol.
- Episode 6: He Who Tames the Iron Horse; 6:31 AM
They have found out that Jean Bison has at least three Clockwerk parts: both lungs and his stomach. This takes place in Canada, in a small hunting ground. He is using the Clockwerk parts in his trains (iron horses) so they can run day and night in Nunavut Bay without a break. Sly and co. plot to steal them. Meanwhile, Inspector Fox prowls the wilderness looking to bust Sly, in order to get back in good graces with Interpol.
- Episode 7: Menace from the North, Eh?; 3:32 PM
Jean Bison has fled to his lumber camp in Canada, where he holds yet another Clockwerk part: the talons. It still takes place in Canada, on a small island of ice near a light house and a bigger lumber camp. He has decided to post the talons as a trophy in his annual Lumber Jack games, which draw Sly and the team like a magnet. Despite some magnificent displays and cheating to make Bison lose, the three are captured and their safehouse raided of Clockwerk parts. Finally, Bentley uses the logging camp's equipment to take Bison down. Often quoted as the greatest episode.
- Episode 8: Anatomy for Disaster; 6:00 PM
The eighth and final location of the game, you play on Arpeggio's massive air fleet, heading towards Paris, that the Cooper Gang has stowed away on. The gang attempts to stop Clockwerk from being rebuilt by Arpeggio. Then Sly faces off against Clock-la, the reborn Clockwerk, when Constable Neyla bonds herself with the completed Clockwerk parts.
[edit] Reception
The game received very strong reviews from numerous publications.
Also it has won an IGN Editor's Choice by having a 9.2 score and is often considered to be the best of the three games.
[edit] See also
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