hile Jak and Ratchet are Sony’s commercial stars, the company’s lesser known mascot, Sly Cooper, has proven to be one of this generation’s most endearing cuddly console heroes. Now, the Cooper gang is back for more in a finely crafted sequel that nearly achieves immortality.

I think the real triumph of Sly Cooper’s developer Sucker Punch is the way it has managed to make 3D platforming as fluid and effortless as the 8-bit 2D classics we cut our teeth on. By allowing Sly to instantly land on tightropes and small peaks by pressing the circle button, the game goes a long way towards taking away the frustration and camera problems that can often be the result of platforming in a fully rendered environment. This mechanic works just as well as it did in the first game, and allows Sly 2 to maintain an effortless feel that most action titles would kill for.

Sly 2 sees our hero and his companions Bentley (the technologically adept turtle) and Murray (the dimwitted but strong hippo) taking on the nefarious Klaww Gang, which is involved in all manner of illegal hi-jinks. The brilliant cutscenes tell the story between levels in artfully illustrated, animated comic book sequences which rival many popular animated kid’s television series in both writing and artistry.

Per usual, the bulk of the gameplay revolves around Sly’s unique, user-friendly brand of stealth, as you infiltrate palaces, prisons, and the like by avoiding guards and discovering precarious hidden entrances. By pickpocketing guards, you can gather money and items, which can then be sold between missions to purchase new super-spy moves like the smoke bomb or quick-dodge combat move.

The levels are expertly designed, allowing Sly huge areas of rooftops and power lines to explore vertically, as well as some fairly aware enemies to avoid or eradicate on the ground. In addition, minigames (like destroying a dam with a mounted gun turret or guarding the gang’s van from above with an R/C helicopter) are interspersed to add a little variety to the proceedings.

While it is much appreciated, this desire to add diversity also leads to Sly 2’s biggest downfall. Unlike the first game, where Murray and Bentley were used primarily in the smaller, minigame-style sequences, this time they are playable in proper levels, and more often than in the past. While this does add interest at times, I was sometimes frustrated by the fact that the fighting-oriented Murray and the frail and uncoordinated Bentley just weren’t as fun to play as Sly. While it’s cool to check out some of their unique abilities (like Bentley’s sleep darts and bombs), neither one can pull off the tightrope walks or precise platforming that Sly performs with ease. About halfway through, I began to wish that Sly’s posse had been given a lesser role in the proceedings.

However, that’s about the only thing I didn’t like about Band of Thieves, as nearly every other aspect of this title is done with aplomb and style to spare. Adding stealth-style gameplay to the platformer genre is a great hook, and Sucker Punch has a real knack for implementing new and unique types of playstyles at just the right time in the adventure. What’s more, the story is actually fairly engrossing and does a great job of playfully tweaking spy movie cliches.