Sly 2: Band of Thieves.(Product/Service Evaluation)

KEVIN: Remember back a couple years ago when platformers and their endless-doodad-collection gameplay were all but declared dead? Thanks mostly to the efforts of Sony's developers, the genre's been revitalized--and Sly 2 sets such a high standard for this year's crop that Sony's upcoming Jak and Ratchet & Clank sequels definitely have their work cut out for them.

The original Sly was a smart piece of loony cartoony mayhem that needed to climb just another rung or two on the ladder to achieve perfection. With Sly 2, however, the folks at developer Sucker Punch have dealt with all of the first Sly's weaknesses. Game over in eight hours? No problem--it'll take you at …