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Sucker Punch Set to Steal Gamer’s Attention with Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Deeper gameplay, and content, makes this title a terrific bit of fun
The folks at Sucker Punch Productions in Seattle have a word that sums up the whole Sly 2: Band of Thieves experience – ‘thief-ier.’
“If you think you should be able to do it, we better damn well let you,” said Sucker Punch’s Nate Fox during a Sly 2 Gamer’s Day in Seattle hosted by Sucker Punch and Sony. The event was to show off the PlayStation 2 title, which will release September 12.
Sly 2 is bigger than the original title Sly Cooper and the Thievous Raccoonus. In the sequel, Sly is older, has all the skills intact from the end of the first title, and the gameplay – if one only sticks to the primary path through the game – is twice the size.
Bentley
The game itself is summed up by one central idea – ‘Sly and the gang work together to pull off a series of big heists.’ And when Sucker Punch says “the gang,” it means it. Bentley and Murray each have bigger roles in this title. In fact, during times in the game, players will actually get to take on the role of either Bentley or Murray. Bentley is the demolitions expert and the brains behind the outfit; Murray is the brawn.
“We worked to infuse the characters into the gameplay,” said Fox.
But make little mistake about this – while the characters are deeper than previously, this is a title about possibilities and opportunities. Sucker Punch is not just intent on casting players superficially in the role of the thief, but it really wants players to immerse themselves in the game.
“We want to give you the opportunity to become the thief,” Fox said. But “you can do whatever the hell you want. We’ve created a huge jungle gym of thiefy possibilities.”
The game’s primary path offers twice the gaming experience as Thievous Raccoonus. There will be a secondary path, and in addition, players can freelance within the game environments.
“We always try to tie what you are doing into the gameplay,” Fox said.
Murray
The game, while still featuring cel shading, has undergone a bit of a renaissance in regards to the technological backdrop. The environments feature the wonderful nuances of dynamic lighting and line of sight. They are three dimensional and somewhat interactive. Murray, if in a brawl with guards, can smash cars parked on the street. Or he can pick up guards and hurl them into their cohorts. Sly can elude pursuit by taking to the rooftop and wending his way through the winding streets or through the twists and turns within an indoor environment.
“Our philosophy, on the development team, is to not be there to be seen,” stated lead programmer Chris Zimmerman. “We don’t want people to notice the technology.”
But while Zimmerman wanted the technology of the game to take a low profile, in looking at the game, it is readily apparent that the technology used in Sly 2 did change quite a bit from the original.
“Since the PlayStation 2 did not change since Sly 1,” Zimmerman said, “we had to tear everything apart and you are basically seeing a new engine.”
An example of the change?
“The guards now have 33 animations (as compared to less than a handful in the original title),” Zimmerman said. “The goal was not to make them look like robots, but to make them look like really dumb people.
“The combat system in Sly 2 is way more dense and deep than it was in Sly 1.”
Sly Cooper
Great attention has been paid to environmental and character shadows, and the game has taken strides in another area as well – sound. In Sly 1, the music was all midi based.
“This time around we stream the music off the disk,” Zimmerman said, and the musical score is much more orchestral in tone.
The game itself is told episodically, and starts in Paris. But Sucker Punch refused to comment about how many episodes the game will entail. And while the company did trot out a playable demo, they stated that it was partial coding. The first finished levels were available for play and a gander, and everything that Sucker Punch said it was trying to accomplish within the game was supported by the game itself.
Sly 2 features the trademark static screens, the stylized cel cutscenes and features missions that are as multi-tiered as the environments.
The original Sly adventure has recorded sales of approximately 1 million worldwide, far exceeding what the Sucker Punch team was expecting. Sly 2, based on what was shown at the Seattle studio, should outsell the first installment of the series. This is a game that is joyful in tone, and serves up entertaining challenges. Mark down September 12 on the calendar. Sly 2 is slated to hit retailers on that day, and this thief of a game may steal a lot of game time on the PS2.
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