Sly 2: Band of Thieves

"Three times the fun of the original"

This game is twice the size of the original in area alone. It is a good three times longer in play time. The original was actually a 12-15 hour game to get everything. This is a good thirty hours, which I will get to later, but first:

GRAPHICS: 9/10 The colorful and cartoony world is back. Great characters and enemies and animations. If you loved the first one, then you will love this, since I suppose they figured if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

MUSIC/SOUND: 8/10 I have to admit that sitting here and writing this I can't remember the music, not usually a good thing, but the voice acting in this game is excellent, and a good thing too, because this is a very funny game.

CAMERA/CONTROL: 9/10 Why only a nine, because I have encountered some problems with jumping, the button does not always work, but the game is easy enough to not be a problem, and for the other moves, they work perfectly about 90% of the time. The camera is great, so good in fact, that I can't remember it, which means it never blocked my view and I had no reason to even think about it.

GAME PLAY: 9/10 Other than the game being too easy( so far easier than the first one), it is near perfection. There are 8 huge chapters, which require you to fulfill certain jobs, which lead to the big heist and the boss battle. The final heist will seem extremely complicated, but all you have to do is locate the markers of what to do next. If you use the R3 button, you get the binocucam or whatever it is called, and will know where to go next. Money is easy to come by, and a good thing to, because at the safe house in each chapter, you can buy stuff from thief net. There are 30 note bottles in each chapter, which I believe are all on the outside, and which will unlock a safe in the chapter for a new move. You don't need these, but all completeists take note, they can be hard to find. Some missions are character specific, and you can change characters in the safe house, though you will mostly be playing as Sly. You will be told on a menu what your percentage is for each chapter as well as the entire game. You can reenter chapters to get any note bottle you may have missed, and when you have all thirty the binocucam will show you where to go. Enemies constantly re spawn, so you cannot just eliminate them and explore at your leisure, but the game is very easy as there are plenty of health power ups, and your health bar can take quite a few hits .

VALUE: 8/10 Here is the real deal. I spent 4.5 hours on the first chapter, which at 100%, was only 9% of the game. After 5 hours I am 10% done. That tends to make this a 50 hour game, but I don't really believe that. I think that for most people intent on finding everything it will be at least 30 hours or more, which is pretty good for under $40.

FINAL COMMENTS: This game is the platformer's platform game. A long game made that way by length and not by difficulty. Of course if you want to beat it in 10 hours I'm sure you could, by using a guide and not collecting note bottles, but why would anyone not want to take the time to enjoy such a wonderful adventure.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/28/04