REVIEW – Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, or I have been calling it Sly 4, is the fourth game in the Sly Cooper game series. Thieves in Time is available on the PlayStation 3, and PS Vita. The original three titles were developed by Sucker Punch Productions for the PS2, however this game was developed by Sanzaru Games, who had previously released the original games into high-definition versions for the PS3. The Sly series is known for it amazing gameplay, stealth, and cartoonish humor, and it is good to say this game lives up to the franchise. This game is a sequel to Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves which is a personal favorite of mine. And people who are new to the series will be brought up to speed in the first few cut scenes.
The game gives you control over four main characters: Sly Cooper the master of thieving and stealth; Murray, or as he refers to himself “The Murray,” the powerhouse muscle of the team; Bentley, the genius and computer whiz; and Carmelita Fox, the gun-wielding love interest of Sly. The game takes you on a time traveling adventure to find out who is altering the past and ruining the Cooper name. You visit eras such as Feudal Japan, The Wild West, and even the Ice Age. The gameplay is very reminiscent of the original games, which makes it very refreshing to fans of the series. Sneaking up behind enemies to pickpocket them for loot, only to take them out silently to avoid detection, makes you feel like a master thief. Each characters’ play-style is unique and fitted to meet the job that character needs to do. Sly’s ancestors who are playable in the game are similar to Sly in some ways, but have unique moves, and abilities that make feel like their own character, instead of a rehash of Sly. Over the course of the game you build up currency to purchase new moves, and abilities to help aid you in these quest.
The music of Sly Cooper is still there such as the little tunes as you sneak your way through laser grids and hacking games. Also, as the jazz plays as you are jumping across rooftops, and prowling the streets at night, gives off a sense of nostalgia to fans. Visually speaking, this game is definitely the best looking of the series, and seeing how this is the newest game in the series and on a new console, I expected nothing less. The Sly series always had a unique look to it that no other game has. It’s cartoonish, cell-shaded look is truly a work of art, and each era in the game’s time period looks different from the rest, and you will never get tired of the visuals. All in all, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a very solid game. My only grippe about it, is that certain missions tend to repeat themselves, and some of Bentley’s hacking games can be frustrating, due to the fact it uses a feature that is very much used in Sony Exclusives, the Six Axis. By turning the controller and tilting you have to drive this ball through a map, and it can be unresponsive at times. However despite that, it is an awesome game that should definitely be played by all owners of PS3’s. Sly Cooper: Thieve’s In Time, gets a 4 out 5.
