Sly 2: Band of Thieves is the upcoming sophomore entry in SCEA and Seattle-based developer Sucker Punch's fledgling Sly Cooper franchise that began in 2002 on the PlayStation 2. We've had a chance to see the promising sequel on and off since its official unveiling in March of this year. The game aims to offer refined gameplay, improved visuals, and a better overall experience than its solid, but not quite perfect, predecessor. We recently had the chance to take an exclusive look at a work-in-progress version of the game, which let us take a proper run-through of Sucker Punch's ambitious sequel.

　　Sly returns to sneak around and kick butt.

　　The story picks up two years after the last game. Following Sly's triumph over the robotic menace of the evil Clockwerk, the young raccoon's gang has been doing pretty well for itself. Together with childhood friends Murray and Bentley, Sly's Cooper Gang has been both making a name for itself and making waves with Inspector Carmelita Fox. In Sly 2, the trio sets out to prevent the return of Clockwerk, whose once-scattered parts are being collected by the evil Claw gang. The adventure will start out simply enough in Sly's hood of Paris but will eventually send him and the gang across the globe to exotic--and not so exotic--locales that offer new adventures to experience.

　　The game follows roughly the same mission-based structure as its predecessor, but the system has seen some significant tweaks to accommodate a richer gameplay style. We've gone over the heist system mechanic before, wherein you'll alternate between controlling Sly, Bentley, and Murray over the course of a mission. In our previous looks at the game, the mechanic has seemed fairly straightforward, but our latest look at Sly 2 has shown a decidedly more dynamic element to the new gameplay addition. The three-character mechanic and the time shifts that occasionally put you in control of multiple gang members before or during a mission are pretty dynamic. You'll do everything from controlling the gang as it deals with hordes of enemies to controlling the gang via shooting segments in vehicles, to name just a couple of examples. The heists will also become increasingly bigger and more complex in their executions. We haven't seen any heists that are simply overwhelming or anything along these lines, but we have seen some good challenges that are fun. Another new aspect of the game that's come to our attention is the ability to upgrade some of the gang member's moves to increase individual effectiveness. Bentley, for example, can eventually beef up his arsenal of moves with stronger variations on his base set, which helps in later missions.

　　The heist system in Sly 2 offers dynamic segments that can be completed when you switch between all of the game's characters.

　　The graphics look as sharp as ever. While there hasn't been a dramatic upgrade in the game's visuals, Sucker Punch has gone ahead and done work on the original game's engine to coax more performance from it. The inventive and varied locales, and the enemies contained in them, are nicely done and sport distinct personalities. Besides the obvious assortment of unique enemies, each of the locales will have subtle touches, such as weather and lighting, to help create specific moods. You can also expect to see more than a little whimsy tossed in to lighten the overall mood. Animation in the game is slickly handled and gives Sly 2 quite a bit of character. You'll also want to keep an eye on the detail in the backgrounds to catch some amusing little touches in the scenery or to catch non-player characters hanging around, which helps bring the nicely designed cartoon world to life. From a technical standpoint, all of the above manages to boost the visuals over the original game while maintaining a solid frame rate.

　　The audio has been shaped into a funky mix that complements the game's action and characters very nicely. The main tracks for the different levels are good and match the game's eccentric locales well. If you listen closely, you'll even hear each character's theme in many places. The tunes have a classic feel to them and almost recall the slinky tracks heard in heist flicks from the 1960s. The sound effects are solid and make use of many of the effects heard in the original game. As far as the voice acting goes, Sly 2 appears to be doing a good job of capturing the new, experienced Cooper Gang, as well as the bevy of friends and enemies it encounters on its adventures.

　　Sly's new adventures take him across the globe.

　　The original Sly Cooper introduced us to a rich world and a colorful cast of characters that all held a great deal of promise. Sly 2: Band of Thieves appears to be building and adding to that stable foundation with a solid game that aims to address the weaknesses of its predecessor. While we'll reserve our final judgment of the game until after it ships this fall, so far we're pleased by the work Sucker Punch is doing. The expanded gameplay and smart story are all looking good. While the fine art of crafting a sequel is almost always a dicey prospect, at best, Sucker Punch seems to be managing to make the most of it. Sly 2: Band of Thieves is currently slated to ship this fall for the PlayStation 2. For an exclusive interview with the individual developers of the game, be sure to check out our media page.