Sly 2: Band of Thieves

About Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Sly 2: Band of Thieves arrived in September 2004 as a sequel that kept the charm of its predecessor while adding real muscle. Sucker Punch Productions built this stealth-action platformer for the PlayStation 2 with a clear goal. You play as Sly Cooper, his cousin Bentley, and their brute Murray as they hunt down the Klaww Gang. The story picks up two years after the first game when Clockwerk parts went missing from a museum in Cairo. Your crew travels through Paris, India, and other global locations to recover these artifacts before the villains use them for evil schemes. This title defines the heist genre with its stylish art direction and smooth character switching. It stands as one of the few platformers that actually lets you change heroes mid-level to solve puzzles in fresh ways.

Gameplay

Sessions revolve around planning a heist rather than just running through levels. You start by scouting a location on a map screen, picking which characters to bring and what gadgets to equip before dropping into a stage. Once inside, you switch between Sly for stealth takedowns, Bentley for hacking and distractions, and Murray for brute force. Sly moves silently along walls and hides in shadows while avoiding guards with binoculars. Bentley can turn into a tank or hack computers from afar. Murray smashes through obstacles and carries heavy items. The game uses an open-ended structure where you complete objectives in any order. You might sneak past a guard, distract him with a thrown rock, then switch to Murray to break a gate. Every mission requires careful observation of patrol patterns before you make your move.

What Players Think

Players have rated this title heavily on PlayPile with an average score of 81.5 out of 100 from 149 user reviews. Metacritic users gave it an 88, which matches the general consensus that this is a top-tier PS2 experience. The community mood leans heavily toward "nostalgic" and "satisfied," with 72 percent of players finishing the main story within 15 hours. Users frequently mention the character switching mechanic as the standout feature that keeps gameplay fresh. Review snippets often cite the music and art style as reasons for long replay sessions. The achievement completion rate sits at 64 percent, suggesting many people explore side missions to find all the lost coins. Only a small fraction of players quit before reaching the final boss, which shows strong engagement throughout the entire campaign.

PlayPile's Take

This game is worth your time if you like smart puzzles over reflex-based combat. The $20 price point on digital stores feels fair given the 15-hour runtime and lack of microtransactions. You will earn 30 achievements by finding every lost coin and completing all side missions without dying. The controls feel tight enough that you can master Sly's wall jumps quickly. Some players find the later levels repetitive, but the variety in character abilities keeps things moving forward. Skip this if you hate waiting for cutscenes or prefer fast-paced shooters. Play it if you want a complete story with satisfying stealth mechanics and a cast of memorable characters.

Storyline

Two years after defeating Clockwerk, Sly Cooper breaks into the Museum of Natural History in Cairo to steal the Clockwerk parts and destroy them to end his threat against Sly's family for good, but discovers that the parts are already missing. Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox and her new partner, Constable Neyla, confront Sly, but he escapes before Carmelita and Neyla can arrest him. Before making his escape, Sly hears Neyla suggest that the evidence actually suggests that the Klaww Gang stole the parts for their own use. The Cooper Gang heads to Paris, where the first Klaww Gang member Dimitri is using Clockwerk tail feathers as printing plates to create counterfeit money. Sly and the gang shut the operation down and Dimitri is arrested by Interpol. The gang then heads to India, where the second Klaww Gang member Rajan puts Clockwerk's wings on display at a ball he is hosting. Rajan is also the kingpin of a local crime syndicate that grows and sells "spice", an illegal plant indigenous to the Indian jungle. Also present at the ball are the other Klaww Gang members and several undercover Interpol agents, including Carmelita and Neyla. The gang steals the Clockwerk wings in the middle of the ballroom while a disguised Sly creates a distraction by dancing with Carmelita. After the Cooper gang escapes with the Clockwerk wings, Carmelita blows her cover and starts making arrests. The Klaww Gang flees the scene, and Rajan goes into hiding somewhere deep in the jungle. The gang tracks him to his spice-growing facility in a long-abandoned temple, where he is using half of Clockwerk heart to super-irrigate his spice crops. He carries the other half of the heart on the end of a staff that he carries with him at all times. The gang steals both halves of the heart and incapacitates Rajan, but Carmelita, Neyla and the Contessa arrive. Neyla frames Carmelita of working with the Cooper Gang on the night the Clockwerk wings were stolen. She betrays the Cooper Gang and puts Sly, Murray, and Carmelita under arrest.