Unlike the level-based gameplay of Sly 1, this transforms the series into a mission-based structure and leans in real heavily to the 'thievery' motif, which I love. Oddly enough, even though I think this game is better than Sly 3, I find myself going back to it less often. The story doesn't take itself too seriously, which fits the tone established in the first game, and the different regions in each chapter are fun to explore in between missions. All in all, this improves immensely over Sly 1 and turned a decent platformer into a really good series.