The Predator Awakes is the third episode in Band of Thieves. It sees the Cooper Gang going after the Clockwerk heart and the main antagonist is Rajan for the second time.
Plot[]
The Setup[]
After the events of Clockwerk's stolen wings, Rajan is forced to flee his own palace and hides deep in the jungle somewhere. The gang tracks him down and discovers that he has transformed a long-forgotten temple into the center of his spice operation. The trio can't drive through the jungle because it is too thick in there, so the only way they are forced to get to their target is to walk by foot. They ran into a few problems along the way (i.e. quicksand), but they pushed on.
Furthermore, the trio discovered that Rajan is using Clockwerk's heart to increase his spice production tenfold, good for Rajan, but awful for the whole world. Knowing how dangerous the Clockwerk heart was in the wrong hands, the trio made plans to steal it.
Spice Room Recon[]
Bentley needs Sly to sneak inside Rajan's spice temple to take a few recon photos to create a plan for the heist. Sly must sneak in through a hidden passage beneath the waterfall. Bentley warns him to not get hurt since it is 106 miles to the nearest hospital.
Once Sly is in, he finds Rajan's spice production facility. From what he knows of photosynthesis, Bentley pinpoints that all of the expensive equipment should be found at the top of the room, which Sly can get up to via an access tube. Sly heads for the top, but must avoid the guards along the way. Once he gets there, he must take photos of Rajan holding his half of the Clockwerk heart, a crane keeping the other half suspended, and the entrance to the spice temple. After that, Sly heads back to the safe house so the gang can sort this out.
Water Bug Run[]
Upon reaching the job beacon, Bentley tells Sly that the nearby bug in the pool is a rare Indian water bug and if he can take it to Rajan's office, the bug's wings will transmit local sound waves at a frequency he can monitor. For clarification, Sly asks Bentley if they are going to bug Rajan's office with an actual bug, to which Bentley confirms so, calling it an elegant plan. Bentley then gives a very important detail that Sly must remember: the bug can only survive in stagnant pools. If the bug is kept out of a pool for too long, it will become unhappy and chirp very loudly, which will draw the attention of nearby guards. Sly notices that there are a few pools along the way to Rajan's office and notes that a short swim every now and then should keep the bug quiet.
Sly picks up the bug that rests in a pool of water. The bug becomes more agitated the longer that it is out of water causing it to make sound and alert any nearby guards, so as he heads through the jungle to Rajan's office, Sly drops it off momentarily into the water pools that dot the area.
He eventually makes it to the office and plants the bug. After that happens, Bentley notes that he has already tuned into the bug's wing vibrations, calling himself a genius.
Freeing the Elephant[]
Bentley informs Sly that Rajan is able to monitor all of their communications with the nearby elephant-driven satellite array.
Bentley points out the local spice plants are illegal because if you eat too much, you will go into an uncontrolled rage. Sly states they should keep it away from Murray, but he then gets what the plan is: he will put some spice plants into the elephant's feed bag and when the elephant eats the plants, it will get all crazy and the satellite will have no power. The only catch here is that Sly will need to do some serious climbing as, according to Bentley, the plants only grow high up in the jungle canopy.
After Sly gathers all six spice plants, he takes them to the elephant's feed bag. Once he does so, the elephant then eats the food from its feed bag, causing it to go into an uncontrolled rage and snap out of its restraints, leaving the satellite out of order.
Leading Rajan[]
As Bentley suspected, Rajan is beginning his daily tour of his spice operation. According to Bentley's sources, Rajan always carries three blueprints on him, which when read together, explains how his operation works. Sly mentions how unfortunate it is that Rajan doesn't have half of the Clockwerk heart with him, as they could simply put him to sleep and steal both of the parts right away.
Rajan eating the watermelon.
Unfortunately, Bentley's sleep darts do not affect the tiger. However, he figured out that Rajan has an insatiable appetite for Indian watermelons, which will put him to sleep instantly when consumed in whole. Once he is out, Bentley will need to creep up on him and lift a blueprint. To lure him over to the watermelons, Bentley equipped his sleep darts with a sonic disrupter, which will make strange, distracting sounds that will help him draw Rajan to the watermelons.
After Bentley swipes the final blueprint, Rajan wakes up and realizes his blueprints have been stolen, causing him to retreat back into the temple. Sly then congratulates Bentley on his great field work.
Neyla's Secret[]
Neyla is offering her aid once again. Sly thanks her for not blowing his cover back at Rajan's party. She reveals to Sly that she knows of a secret entrance leading to one half of Clockwerk's heart, but she needs Sly to keep up while she leads him to the entrance. Sly also offers to take her on a date to Bollywood and she accepts after they both make it to the secret entrance.
Once inside, Sly sees the half of the Clockwerk Heart still being suspended by the crank. Sly must pickpocket the 2 guards holding the keys. He then unlocks the crank and sets the heart free. Once he grabs it, the spice will no longer be growing in this area any time soon.
Spice Grinder Destruction[]
Sly must destroy the spice grinder with a TNT barrel so Rajan can no longer manufacture any more spice and come out of hiding with the Clockwerk heart.
Sly sneaks into the spice grinding facility. There are laser fences blocking the paths to the grinder room. They are using TNT to create the catacombs. Sly must use them to destroy the fences. Since Bentley's the demolitions expert, he asks him how he's supposed to use it. He explains it simply; all he has to do is walk the barrel to his target, jump out and get clear of the blast radius. The barrels do not work on floor lasers, however. Sly blows his way through the laser fences and comes across the room with the grinder, which is being heavily guarded.
Now that Sly has a clear view of the grinder, Bentley explains to him that Rajan will not come out of hiding while spice is still being produced. If Sly destroys the grinder, he'll be out of business and have no reason to stay in the temple.
Sly must start off by acquiring the TNT barrel on the bottom floor. He must sneak past the guards and blow up another laser fence to get back onto the top floor. Sly sneaks past the two guards guarding the grinder and places the TNT barrel in the spice dust. Sly jumps out of the barrel and ignites, blowing the spice grinder to pieces and killing the guards. The explosion catches Rajan's attention, as he comes on the P.A system to ask what's going on. He then discovers that the spice production has stopped.
Blow the Dam[]
According to Bentley's research, tigers have an aversion water. Destroy the dam and flood the local area to get Rajan out of hiding. The problem is that his bombs aren't strong enough to take it out. Fortunately while monitoring the bug in Rajan's office Bentley overheard that a new auto-pilot helicopter had just arrived in a truck that he is next to.
So, Bentley entered the chopper and tries to avoid the dam's air defenses and destroys it with the incorporated gun, and once it's completely destroyed the mission is completed. However, a piece of the dam hit the chopper and it crashed against a small tower.
Rip-Off the Ruby[]
Bentley has contacted a local crime ring. In exchange for a large red ruby, they would give the gang a Cherry Bomb 500 for use in their operation. First, Sly broke the ruby free from the large elephant statue, which Murray picked up and transported to the rendezvous point, by the waterfall. Murray was also warned to be careful as the ruby was extremely fragile due to the size and the exchange will be ruined if the ruby was damaged or broken. On the way, in areas that were unreachable to Murray while holding the ruby, Bentley dropped soft trampolines for Murray to throw the ruby to, so that he could then traverse to the previously unreachable area.
Once at the waterfall, a dealer reacted positively to the quality of the ruby and suggested that they bring the ruby to the buyers. The two made their way to the meeting point, where three buyers appeared and took the ruby, promising a Cherry Bomb 500 when it was needed.
Operation: Wet Tiger[]
Bentley and Murray met up near the tower. Bentley set up shop within the chopper perched at the top of the tower, while Murray's task was to head down into the temple and activate the lever to open up the elephant's mouth for Sly. Unfortunately, as he did this, Rajan alerted his guards that the temple facade was under assault and orders them to put down the attack by sending in a bunch of hunter seeker bombs on Murray. Bentley used the chopper's turret to destroy the bombs before they hit Murray or he would be unable to open the mouth. Once the coast was clear, Murray finished lifting the lever and opened the elephant's mouth.
After Murray lifted the mouth completely open, Sly jumped into the Cherry Bomb 500 and walked it over to the mouth. Once Sly got into the mouth, he planted the bomb in front of the dam door, then jumped out of the bomb. Sly and Murray escaped from the blast's radius before the Cherry Bomb blows. Once the door was destroyed, waters spilled out everywhere and started flooding up the temple. Rajan then exited the temple and, noticing the flooding water, jumped up to the top of the tower of the elephant statue. He then became enraged that his temple had been ruined and yelled at the Cooper Gang to come face up.
Showdown with Rajan[]
After Sly is incapacitated after Neyla abandons him, it's up to Murray to help his friend out. He must defeat Rajan inside a "natural arena," bordered with an electrical fence. Once Rajan is defeated, Murray manages to pick up the other half of the Clockwerk Heart, but immediately after, the Contessa, Neyla and their bodyguards arrive to bust Rajan and the Cooper Gang, with the exception of Bentley, who was controlling the scene from the chopper. Carmelita shows up as well, but she is framed by Neyla, who shows the Contessa a photo of her dancing with Sly back at Rajan's ball.[note 1] The Contessa orders her men to place Carmelita under arrest, which makes her furious at Neyla. Bentley monitors this from the chopper and sees Neyla for who she really is... a double-crossing liar.
The Getaway[]
Although statistically improbable, Bentley has to face the facts: Neyla had betrayed Carmelita and the Cooper Gang, his two teammates were captured, and he was all alone.
Despite being intellectually inferior, Sly and Murray are always a rich source of friendship for Bentley. The long walk out of the jungle gave him time to reflect, and with each passing step, his sense of isolation grew. He had to find his way out of the jungle and back to the van all by himself. To Bentley's shock, the absence of his friends had a profound emotional effect on him.
Bentley realized that this was the true test of friendship. Upon reaching the Cooper van, Bentley's resolve was hardened. He knew he had to save his teammates... right after he had to learn how to drive the stick-shift in the van first. After a moment's struggle, Bentley got the hang of it and drove the van out of the jungle.
Map[]
In this episode, the safe is located in Rajan's office and the combination is 3-8-6. Upon opening it, Sly receives the Voltage Attack move.
Trophies[]
PS3/PS Vita[]
| Image | Name | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
|
Somebody Call a Doctor? | Purchase the Snooze Bomb from ThiefNet. |
|
Watch Out It’s Spicy | Defeat Rajan. |
PS4/PS5[]
| Image | Name | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
|
It's a Shocker | Open the vault in this episode. |
|
Bollywood Will Have to Wait | Complete all jobs in this episode. |
|
Hidden Wealth | Find 10 unique cash briefcases. |
|
Ancient Sentry | When not in a job, defeat 3 guards with the tower turret. |
Trivia[]
- The picture of Sly and Carmelita Fox's dance that Neyla shows to the Contessa is taken from the title screen from the previous episode.
- This is the third time a villain appears on an episode's title card. Before this episode, the Panda King[1] and Clockwerk[2] did this as well.
References[]
- ↑ Episode: Fire in the Sky, cinematic: Fire in the Sky. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
- ↑ Episode: The Cold Heart of Hate, cinematic: The Cold Heart of Hate. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Notes[]
- ↑ The same photo appears in the title screen of "A Starry Eyed Encounter."