2002’s Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus was an interesting and fun installment that combined standard platformer-style gameplay with some light stealth elements that helped it stand out in a crowd. It looked good and played well, but was a bit short and simple, ultimately making it more suitable for a younger audience. Sly Cooper and his gang are back in Sly 2: Band of Thieves. The sequel features the same style of stealth action as the first game, but packs all the action into a more imaginative and lengthy package. The result is a great game that has all the charm of the original, but is even better overall.

When we last met Sly Cooper, he was searching for his family’s thieving instruction manual, a thieving raccoon, and Clockwerk, the evil creature who stole it. The parts that make up the body of Clockwerk’s bird-like robot are now in the hands of Interpol, but as the game begins, Sly embarks on a mission to steal the parts before they fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately he is too late. When he finally finds the pieces, they have already been stolen by an international crime network called the Claw Gang and scattered all over the world. So our evil raccoon, along with his faithful companions Bentley and Murray, must steal the parts back from the gang, fight the gang’s various thugs, and stay away from the law. The law appears again in the form of Inspector Carmelita Fox; another woman named Constable Neila stands to the side. It’s a colorful, well-realized setting that seems straight out of a quality animated film.

In Sly 2, you play as Sly, but sometimes you can also control Bentley the turtle or Murray the hippopotamus, as some goals require special skills. The differences between the three characters are pretty simple, but different enough to give each player a unique feel. Sly is the stealth type, so he’s the most agile of the three. Murray – hilarious in a crazy wrestling costume – is muscular, so his moves are focused on breaking things and beating people up. Bentley is the smallest of the gang, but he’s also smart enough to carry a few gadgets with him. His sleep darts can stun guards for a short time, which is usually more than enough time to use another standard Bentley device, a time bomb, when they run out. You can also buy new skills and items for your characters, which makes the task easier, but the game is so well controlled that you can usually get by without any extra help. Each character has two attack moves, including a stealth attack that can only be used if you get behind an unsuspecting guard. However, if you do get hit, the damage is minor. Sly 2 is more forgiving in this regard than its predecessor, where in the first game, one hit (or two if you have a special item) would incapacitate them.

Clockwork’s parts have been dismantled and are being used for different purposes by various criminals in the Claw Gang. This effectively splits the game into episodes. Each episode takes place in a fairly large overworld-like hub (where Sly can be seen sneaking around on rooftops in the middle of the night), but unlike many platform games with hub environments, in Sly 2 some of the objectives are achieved directly within the hub. The goal in each episode is to pull off a major heist; however, you cannot enter each episode and immediately perform the heist. As with any big heist, there’s a lot of preparation required here, and this is where the game’s level structure comes into play.

Most platform games just string together levels that don’t actually mean anything. As a result, you end up playing platform games for platforming’s sake, so to speak. Sly makes every goal important. You’re only in town to do a job, so all of your actions are aimed at making that job possible. You usually start by breaking into an area and taking reconnaissance photos. From this starting point, Bentley, the business manager, plans several steps. Sometimes you have to tail someone. You end up pickpocketing and spending a lot of time looking for keys. In some episodes, you have to disable the alarm system beforehand. It’s pretty cool how every level in the game relates to the main heist in some way, giving each individual goal a lot more meaning than it would otherwise.

The heist itself is the final level and will be the boss fight of each episode, if applicable. This is a longer mission than the others, and you will usually control all three characters at different times. Although a lot of prep work has already gone into making the heist possible, the heist level is still packed with a variety of targets. During the heist, Sly must distract the attention of the entire ballroom, while Murray is chained to a winch to lower himself down and cut off the wings of a statue to escape. Sly uses his dancing skills to distract the members of the ballroom. Here you control Sly while a time-based dance mini-game plays in the background. They see Murray looking nervous and when he emerges pulling the wings, they quickly switch control to the Bentley and cover Murray’s escape from the compound with a remote-controlled helicopter that can drop bombs. It’s an elaborate, funny and unforgettable sequence.

Other heists require a bit more time-sucking. In one case, Sly gives his squad the keys to a repair truck. You then run to the truck with Bentley (Murray automatically follows behind). Time then quickly rewinds to the handoff, but now you’re playing as Sly and must make your way to the top of the shield to catch a grappling hook being fired from the repair truck. This kind of single-player cooperative gameplay translates incredibly well; it’s imaginative and exciting, and there’s a real sense of teamwork between the three characters. The pranks are colorful and fun, and there are some great rewards at the end of each episode.

The structure of Sly 2 is truly impressive, but is somewhat marred by the game’s relative simplicity. It’s a game the whole family can enjoy, but platformer veterans will love the game’s light stealth mechanics. You’re pretty much limited to staying out of the way of flashlights and headlights and sneaking up on guys from behind to take them down, but you’ll master them almost instantly. Boss fights also follow a pretty simple pattern. There’s no real reason to replay a level you’ve already beaten, so the lack of difficulty takes away some of the game’s lasting value. Still, Sly 2 is noticeably longer than the original game. Players should be able to complete the story in around 20 hours, but this time will be longer if they want to take their time to collect enough coins to purchase each additional move and find all 30 clue bottles in each episode. The game offers a variety of gameplay including activities such as gunplay, vehicle control, and the aforementioned dancing mini-game to help players make the most of their time.

The original Sly Cooper was very visually impressive; the game used cel-shaded graphics to give it the look and feel of a Saturday morning cartoon. Sly 2 uses the same look, with the added benefit of a more stable and usually very smooth frame rate, but still shows some drops here and there. Sly 2 still looks great, but with so many cel-shaded releases between the two games, it might not be as immediately amazing this time around. However, the character movement and overall visual design are all top notch. Murray’s wrestling outfit is fun and suits his exaggerated character very well. Sly moves very stealthily, while Bentley always looks appropriately awkward given his character’s general lack of confidence on the field. Every character, from the common guards to the game’s boss criminals, is created with authentic style. Simply put, the game looks very cool.

This sense of cool is further enhanced by Sly 2’s soundtrack. The music suits the game’s big heist characters very well, and it’s somewhat interactive, so you hear light plucks on the strings to accentuate each step you take to slip past enemies. The music gets louder as you fight and quieter as you hide. And with great music comes equally great sound effects and voice acting. The voices in the game are great for the most part. Of particular note is Bentley, who acts as a guide and teacher in explaining the objectives, but Murray and Sly are also good. The writing is better this time around too. The first boss you encounter, a socialite named Dimitri, has a European accent that he uses to mash up hip-hop slang in a very funny way. The voices and scripting bring a lot of life to the game’s characters, both good and bad, which helps keep the story interesting.

Overall, Sly 2: Band of Theives is a great game that will surely please fans of the original as well as fans of 3D platformers in general. It’s a great game for younger players too. Diverse gameplay, a well-thought-out storyline, and great graphics, sound, and music combine to create an experience that nearly everyone can enjoy.