Back a few years ago a game was released on PS2 called Sly Cooper and the Thevious Raccoonus to loads of critical acclaim, and seemingly very little sales. The game was a blend between cell-shaded platformer and Metal-Gear
style sneaking, and was very good at what it did. The only real problem
with the game was its length, clocking in at around 8 hours of
gameplay, it was a real disappointment in what was an otherwise great
game. This new sequel takes care of that problem, and a fixes a few
other things that I didn’t even know were broken from the first game.
The game follows the continuing adventures of Sly Cooper and his
friends, Murray and Bentley, which we all met in the first game. Sly is
a master thief, and also a raccoon. His friends, Murray the Hippo, and
Bentley the Turtle, are the brawn and brains of his operations,
respectively, and help Sly out with his capers. Bentley is the one you
will almost always hear giving you instructions at the beginning of
missions, and Murray is around to provide heavy lifting for missions
which require it.
First off, I’ll talk about the changes since the first game. The game
has been made much longer, and the plot more detailed than the first
game. This helps quite a lot, as the length was the main disappointment
from the first game. Second, they made the game less cartoony looking.
While the game is still cell-shaded and beautiful looking, it’s more of
a comic book look, and less like a Saturday morning cartoon. You see
fewer big cartoon locks and keys, and more things which are correctly
proportioned, which actually increases the feel of the game. Thirdly,
they’ve made all three characters playable, so you’re able to control
not just Sly, but also go on missions as Murray and Bentley as well.
But, sadly, not every change to the game is as positive. The game is a
lot less platformer-y in this version, focusing instead on one major
level, and a few sub-rooms per level. This does make the game a lot
more believable, but it also means that once you’ve fully explored the
main level, there aren’t any more different levels to look forward to.
Secondly, while they did allow all three main characters to be
playable, they could have done a little bit more to differentiate the
playstyles of the characters. While Sly can climb and do various thief
moves, Bentley has his crossbow with sleep darts, and Murray has the
ability to pick up objects, past that, they all seem to control about
the same, run at the same speed, jump the same distance, etc. It’s a
minor gripe, however, and didn’t cut down on my enjoyment of the game
at all. The third thing which annoyed me was the changing of voice
talent for Sly’s main good-guy nemesis. Again, a very minor gripe when
you consider that people who haven’t played the first game won’t have
any idea of this change.
While the game does consist mostly of large single levels, the various
missions you have in those large levels change so widely, it’s always a
surprise as to what you’ll be doing next. One level will have you
taking reconnaissance photos, the next will have you parachuting out of
a plane trying to collect balloons, or hijacking a tank, or raiding
rooms to find tuxedo parts. With the different kinds of missions,
changing objectives, and fun minigames in each level, it’s hard to not
enjoy yourself.
The high point of the game, however, has to be the character
interaction. Unlike many games, I actually looked forward to the
characters talking in this game. Each character has a real unique
personality, and they’re not over-done. Sly is fairly laid back, and
quietly confident, Bentley is nervous and displays a bit of a
know-it-all attitude, and Murray, or “The Murray” as he calls himself,
camps himself up like a professional wrestler, and all three are
believable. Even the various bosses display a level of character design
that just makes the game so much more than what it could be. From the
street-talking Russian lizard, to the unfrozen bison lumberjack, each
character is lovingly designed.
Players should expect a game that is still fairly heavy on the
platformer elements, and forgiving on the stealth elements. Messing up
on stealth means that you’ll likely just need to fight some enemies,
which isn’t really that big of an issue. The combat is fairly fun and
fast-paced, and easy, assuming you’re not playing as Bentley. There are
very few levels which you have to stay completely out of sight, and
even those are normally just staying away from the main boss of the
level. So, in conclusion, this game is very difficult to not enjoy.
Like the first game in this series, this game is much more than a
platformer stealth action game, it’s an adventure with friends. I can’t
recommend this game enough. The original game was a great game, and
this game fixed the problems the original had, and improves everything
in the game, even things that weren’t broken in the original. I’d
suggest going out and renting the first game, though, if you haven’t
played it, not because it’s necessary for the plot, but just because it
was a great game, and will give you a starting point of reference for
this game. This game is pure, undiluted fun injected directly into your
eyes.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Clockwerk parts
