Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Sly 2: Band of Thieves is a 2004 platform stealth video game developed by Sucker Punch and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2. 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. The ultimate goal is to acquire Clockwerk parts, one or more of which can be found per "world". Sly 2 features a health meter for characters such as Sly,Bentley and Murray, replacing the "charm system" of the first game. It also takes several attacks to defeat local guards. Other changes include missions where the player controls not only Sly, but also Bentley or Murray, who have their own unique skills and are able to do much more than in the previous game. However, Sly remains the main character despite these changes to character roles. Skills can be unlocked by opening safes in each world, as the previous game allowed (collecting clue bottles), but skills may also be acquired by collecting coins and purchasing them from safehouses via Thiefnet.

Sly 2: Band of Thieves brings several new gameplay elements into the fold. In addition to Sly, the player can play as Bentley and Murray. 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 sleep-dart crossbow and countdown bombs to defeat enemies or sabotage enemy equipment. Bentley can use his computer skills to hack villains' 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 and his "thunder flop" attack 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 is attacked or hits a hazard. If it is depleted entirely, the player must restart any current mission and respawn at another location. The orange special bar depletes whenever a character uses some gadget moves. If the special bar hits zero, gadget moves can not be used. Some gadgets are required in order to complete certain missions. Both bars (health and special) can be refilled by finding red "health" icons.

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 which character to use and get away from pursuing guards. The hub can range from a city to a lumber camp in the wilderness. Enemies patrol around this area, although it's usually a secluded spot. Characters can explore the hub world freely or begin a mission at certain locations.

Another new feature is pickpocketing. When Sly sneaks up behind an enemy, he can reach out with his cane and grab coins out of the enemy's pocket. The coins come in clusters. If there is an aura around an enemy's pocket, it is carrying a valuable item (e.g. ruby, diamond, gold watch). Once Sly gets all of their coins, he can grab the enemy's item and sell it later back at the safehouse.

Most powerups and extra moves are now bought from the safehouse instead of found in safes. Using collected coins, Sly can buy powerups for each character from an in-game online store, Thiefnet. Sly's powerups focus on stealth, Murray's powerups on brawn, and Bentley's powerups on technology. Most powerups need to be assigned to a button, but some provide automatic bonuses. Items stolen from guards can be sold for coins in the safehouse to help fund upgrades. Characters can unlock special upgrades by opening safes. To open a safe, the characters must determine the code to unlock it by collecting clues hidden in the hub world. Certain very valuable items can be found in the world and can be stolen and then sold at the safehouse for a large amount of money; these valuables range from portraits to vases.

The game also makes use of the PlayStation 2's optional USB microphone allowing the player to use the sound of their 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 to avoid creating in-game noise.