Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Sly 2: Band of Thieves is a PlayStation 2 video game by Sucker Punch and SCEA, released on September 14, 2004 in North America. This title is a sequel to the game Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus and the second game 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 "episode". 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 composed by Peter McConnell.

Plot
Set two years after the defeat of Clockwerk in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, the game begins as Sly and the gang attempt to steal the Clockwerk parts from 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.

The trio first travel to Paris and steal the Clockwerk Tail Feathers back from Dimitri, a club owner and "underworld celebrity" who was using the feathers as a printing press for forged money due their unique alloy being unaffected to wear. After putting the forger behind bars, the gang headed off to India where they steal back the Clockwerk Wings back from Rajan, a tiger who controls the Klaww Gang's illegal spice operations and uses the wings to earn prestige. After pursuing Rajan into the jungle, the trio manage to steal back the Clockwerk Heart. Unfortunately, the gang are betrayed by Neyla who throws them (along with a framed Carmelita) into the care of the Contessa, a high ranking prison warden whose mastery of hypnosis to "re-educate" criminals has earned her a reputation amongst Interpol.

Being the only one not to be captured, Bentley travels to Prague to help bust Sly and Murray from the Contessa's prison. In the process, he learns that she too is a Klaww Gang member, using the illegal spice as part of her hypnosis techniques so that the thieves in her care confess where they have hidden all of their wealth. Though the Contesssa initially escapes, the gang track her down and steal the Clockwerk Eyes from the Contessa, freeing Carmelita in the process. The prison warden is brought to trial for the crimes she committed and Carmelita reluctantly takes Sly's help in an escape (still being a framed cop). The gang then track down Jean Bison, another member of the Klaww Gang who is a shipping baron who owns half the trains in Canada, and steal back the Clockwerk Talons, Stomach and Lungs from him (he was using the talons to clear-cut the forests and the lungs and stomach as bellows that would never wear out in his trains). However, Bison captures the 3 of them in their 2nd adventure on his turf, and then sells all of their hard-earned Clockwerk parts to another Klaww Gang member. The three defeat him and then sneak aboard a battery as part of a Trojan-Horse-type plan which takes them to the buyer's airship. Tragically, they have to leave the van behind, much to Murray's dismay.

The gang's journey eventually culminates in a confrontation with the gang's leader, Arpeggio, on his blimp as well as his protégé who is revealed to be Neyla; both have managed to gather all of the parts together to create the Clockwerk Frame. The Klaww Gang leader reveals that he plans to use the parts to become super strong and eventually use the power of hatred Clockwerk used to live for hundreds of years to become immortal. Dimitri is revealed to have gotten all of Paris to consume spice he acquired from Rajan (who shipped it through Jean Bison) and using the theory of the Contessa's mastery of hypnosis, Arpeggio plans to use the Northern Lights as a giant "Hypno-Light" to fill the people below with hatred. This would render him immortal.

Suddenly, Neyla double-crosses him and bonds with the Clockwerk parts herself. She kills Arpeggio with her beak and proclaims that "Clock-La" is born before flying away. Knowing they need to act fast, the gang disable the blimp's engines to stop Clock-La from drawing energy, After some help from Carmelita, the mechanical hybrid is beaten and crashes down just outside of Paris. After the battle, Clock-La begins to scream at Sly, shouting that his life will never be the safe as long as she is alive, a hint that Clockwerk's real mind is starting to take control. Bentley manages to place a bomb on Clock-La's Hate Chip, the core component which the parts going, and blows it off of her. Unfortunately, Bentley's legs are crushed by Clock-La's beak in the process but Murray manages to free him before Clock-La is blown apart. Sly, Bentley and Murray all realize that the parts are still undamaged, as if nothing could destroy them. Luckily, Carmelita, who is angry at not having a whack at Neyla herself, smashes the Hate Chip and renders Clockwerk's parts useless. The four of them watch as the parts fade to dust.

Carmelita then suddenly places all three of the thieves under arrest, but Sly sees that they're in no position to make a fast getaway. He gives himself up peacefully in exchange for letting Murray & Bentley go. His two friends leave their gear behind and walk away sadly and Sly is surprised at how deeply his friends are affected by his capture. Carmelita is given a promotion by her boss and takes Sly on board a helicopter so they can get back to Police HQ.

Although initially silent, the two get to talking and recount over past adventures and even tell of favorite books and music, prompting Sly to relate it to a first date. However, as Carmelita is about to share some champagne she'd been saving for Sly's arrest, she realizes that the short journey has taken over two hours. Whilst she goes to the cockpit to check, Sly realizes that Bentley and Murray left with a little parting gift by rigging the chopper to fly in circles and promptly parachutes out of the chopper to the ground. Carmelita swears that she'll get him he flies away and remarks that she'll see him again soon.

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, 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, voiced by Chris Murphy — Murray has grown braver and more courageous since the Clockwerk incident two years ago. He now helps the team on the field using mass muscle. Age: 20.

Klaww Gang

 * Dimitri — A nightclub owner iguana from Paris who specializes in forgery of paintings.
 * Rajan — A power-hungry tiger from India. He runs an illegal spice operation.
 * 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.
 * 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 Yukon Gold Rush.
 * 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 willing to leave Paris brain dead in order for him to finally fly.
 * Constable Neyla/Clock-La - The main villain of the game.

Interpol

 * Carmelita Fox (Age:21)
 * Neyla
 * The Contessa

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 earlier.

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.


 * 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 the spice growing facility. The team plans to flood the entire temple to force Rajan to come out hiding which also led them to a showdown. After Murray 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; Prague, 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. 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; Prague, 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; A Canadian Bay, 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 the gang plot to steal them. Meanwhile, Inspector Fox prowls the wilderness looking to bust Sly (and manages to capture Murray), in order to get back in good graces with Interpol.


 * Episode 7: Menace from the North, Eh?; A Northern Logging Camp, 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 (which is actually disguised not knowing that its the center of the collection of northern lights), a bigger lumber camp and home to his residence. Bison 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.


 * Episode 8: Anatomy for Disaster;Above the Atlantic Ocean, 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. Carmelita has hired Sly to be her tail gunner helping them to take out Clock-la. After Clock-la is beaten, she crashes to the airships main engine, which cripples and shatters the blimp into pieces.

Reception
Sly 2 was received as a "great" and "outstanding" game, receiving a Metacritic score of 88/100. Scores from game reviewers are listed below:
 * IGN: 9.2/10 (Also received "Editor's Choice")
 * GameSpot: 8.4/10
 * Game Revolution: B+
 * Gaming Age: B+
 * GameZone: 9.1/10
 * Dragon Ax Ratings: 9.8/10

Cheats, Glitches and Tips

 * Once the story has been completed, Episodes 3 and 7 are easily reset. In Episode 3, entering the spice grinding facility will reset all progress in Episode 3 to when you completed that mission (i.e. you will have to do any missions that you originally did AFTER the spice grinder mission, including the final heist). In Episode 7, if you enter the building that holds the laser you used to free the manual of the Lumber Jack games (along with the mammoth), all progress in Episode 7 will reset to when you completed that mission (i.e. you will have to do any missions that you originally did AFTER the laser mission, including the heist).
 * When jumping on wires, in the Black Chateau, sometimes Sly will run above the wires performing the same action.

Secret Movies: To view a secret movie, go to the following episodes, without selecting them, and wait a few seconds. When the gold badge appears in the corner, press SQUARE. Episode 1: Heist Cartoon Episode 3: La-La Clip Episode 5: Advertisement Episode 7: "Making Of" Clip Episode 8: Credits
 * Unlockable Gadgets: To get these gadgets, collect all 30 bottles in each level and do the following.
 * Knockout Dive: Go to Episode 1 and open the vault in Dimiti's office, in the place behind the restaurant. Bentley will give you the code.
 * Insanity Strike: Go to Episode 2 and find the vault in the area directly behind the ballroom. You will have to hug the wall and crawl in to get there. Bentley gives you the code.
 * Voltage Attack: Go to Episode 3 and open the vault in Rajan's office. Bentley gives you the code.
 * Long Toss: Go to Episode 4 and go through the crawl space under the Contessa's house. You will receive the code in there.
 * Rage Bomb: Go to Episode 5 and find the door in front of the tower. Kill the wolves if you need to, and get the code at the end of the room.
 * Music Box: Go to Episode 6 and go to the cabin on the hill, closest to the bear cave. Kill the guards if necessary, and get the code in there.
 * Lightning Spin: Go to Episode 7 and into the room where you redirected the laser. Avoid the guards and do NOT get killed, or you will trigger a huge glitch. Bentley gives you the code.
 * Shadow Power: Go to Episode 8 and into Sly's engine place (I think it's the one with a terminal next to the entrance). You will receive the code in there.
 * BONUS GADGETS: To the bonus gadgets, pause the game and enter the following. If you did it right, you will hear a sound and a new icon will appear in the Gadget Grid.
 * Time Rush: Enter DOWN, DOWN, UP, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT.
 * TOM: Enter LEFT, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT.
 * Mega Jump: Enter RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, R1, LEFT.

Note: Do NOT enter this code after attempting the glitch in Episode 7 in which you redo the jobs, or you will have to enter this code every time you enter a new area!

Miscellaneous Codes: To enter these codes, pause the game enter any cheat below. If done correctly, you will automatically load and get there. Restart Current Episode: Enter LEFT, R1, UP, DOWN, UP, LEFT. This is useful for getting out of certain situations. Tutorial Level: Enter RIGHT, LEFT, UP, UP, UP, R1. This will take you back to the museum, but you cannot get past the metal door.
 * Episode 1: Enter DOWN, R1, LEFT, RIGHT R1, DOWN.
 * Episode 2: Enter R1, LEFT, RIGHT, R1, LEFT, DOWN
 * Episode 3: Enter UP, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, DOWN, UP
 * Episode 4: Enter UP, RIGHT, RIGHT, UP, LEFT, LEFT.
 * Episode 5: Enter LEFT, R1, DOWN, DOWN, UP, RIGHT.
 * Episode 6: Enter DOWN, UP, R1, R1, LEFT, DOWN.
 * Episode 7: Enter LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, DOWN, DOWN, R1.
 * Episode 8: Enter DOWN, UP, LEFT, LEFT, R1, RIGHT.

Trivia

 * There were original plans to put a level based on Monaco. In it, there was a mission where Bentley steals a yacht and smashes it into the docks. The video can be viewed in Sly 3's bonus area, unlocked by progressing through the game, in the video presenting the creation of Sly Cooper (the preview of it in the game's actual menu is a red hippo without a face (early animation of Murray)). It was idealized 18 months before the shipping of Sly 2.