Sly 2: Band of Thieves -- Initial Impression.

I've started in on Sly 2: Band of Thieves for the PlayStation 2. A few changes are instantly apparent. The game seems to have ditched the map into level back to map progression style in favor of a city or location from which you run around and find missions. You can now also play as any of the three main characters. Each playing differently with their own skill sets. Bentley and Murray aren't just there for support this time around. They get in on the action. Murray is all brawn. Bentley is weak and all brains. Their play style reflects that. The game also appears to be much larger than before. Sly Cooper took around nine hours to complete. I've put in about five hours on Sly 2 and am roughly 16% complete. Some aspects seem the same. Most notably are the great art direction and the graphics, sound, and voice work. The same level of storytelling seems to have returned. It's very much the well thought out Saturday morning cartoon style of the previous game. Hopefully the changes in action don't take it too far from the original. We'll have to wait and see.