[GAME MASTER]Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves
Before Play Station and X Box dominated the game world, it was ruled by Nintendo and its hit characters, the Mario Brothers. Ever since their appearance, some say there hasn’t been a single game in the platformer genre that was not affected by Mario and Luigi.Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus in 2002 was quite a hit and was an interesting and fun style of game, but somehow it was a bit too easy for players who enjoyed a challenge. Now, there is Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves. The second series is the same style of action game as the previous one, but Sly Cooper 2 is much more inventive and lengthier than the first one.
One thing I especially enjoy about this genre is the cute animated characters. Sometimes, three-dimensional characters are too realistic, even freaky. But these creatures never get too realistic. The three characters on Sly Cooper are just as cute as any other animated characters you can find on games. It somehow even makes stealing look like fun, which could be a side effect of playing this game.
Let’s remember as we play the game that the job of the main characters is robbery. In Sly Cooper, Sly was the main character working in the field, and Bentley was the lookout, helping outside Sly’s working area. But in Sly Cooper 2, while you mainly control Sly, there is a chance to play Bentley the turtle and Murray the hippo occasionally. Sly is the guy who steals, while Murray usually breaks objects and beats others. Bentley is the brain of the team, handling gadgets within the team.
As you play along, you can buy additional items to help out the characters. The items make the game much easier but as you get used to the game, I don’t think buying additional items is necessary. Every character has two attack moves, including a stealth attack. However, the stealth attack is only possible when you are behind a criminal.
Most platformers just go through levels that don’t really mean anything but are just an obstacle to reach the final stage. However, Sly makes every objective count. Since you’re only in town to pull off one job, everything you do relates to making that job possible.
You’ll typically start out by looking around an area and taking some reconnaissance photos. From that starting point, the brain of the team maps out several operating steps. Sometimes you’ll have to tail someone or spend a lot of time picking pockets for keys. Some episodes require you to dismantle bombs. The way the game’s levels all tie in to the final stage in some way is unique and fun, and it makes every single goal more interesting. Otherwise, the game would not be different from other platformer games.
You need to be good at controlling the time in playing this game. For instance, Sly hands off the key to a repair truck to his posse. Then you run to Bentley, with Murray following behind automatically, over to the truck. This is the tricky part. You have handed off the key but the time then quickly rewinds back to the handoff, and now you play Sly to try to catch the grappling hook that’s being fired from the repair truck. This sort of multi single-player game mode is the fascinating part of this game. It is not awkward at all, and everything is very natural.
Try it out yourself and explore the numerous episodes with these three gangsters.
by Joe Eun-hye
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)