S&S Review: Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Title: Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Format: PS3, PS Vita
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Sanzaru Games
Price: $39.99
ESRB Rating: E

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is the latest Sly Cooper game, and it's the first from a developer that isn't Sucker Punch.  We all know Sucker Punch has been busy with inFamous, so Sony gave the keys to Sanzaru Games, and its's safe to say that they have done the storied franchise justice.


Story and Presentation:
I'm not going lie, I've never been the biggest fan of the Sly Cooper games.  I've only recently gotten my hands on the Sly Cooper HD collection, and I have enjoyed every minute of those three games.  When Thieves in Time came out, it was a game that had to play as well, and it was at a discounted price, so I pretty much had to get it.  The game's story is just as silly as the previous three, it can be so comical at times, and the characters' performances is an attribute to this.  The timeless trio delivers another great performance, with Sly once again leading the pack with his quick wit and cunning demeanor.  Bentley, the tech genius, and Murray, the oversized pink hippo who loves smashing things make up a pretty enticing group.  There's also a number of new characters that get introduced throughout your campaign, and there just as interesting as the main three characters.  I'm not going to spoil the story for you, but it involves a lot of time travel and time manipulation, hence the name Thieves in Time.  The story is definitely over the top, and doesn't hold back anything.  The voice acting in the game is strong across the board, Sly and his brethren are all voiced to perfection.  Giving off a lot of humor and laughs throughout your playthrough.  The visuals in the game are really impressive, if you've played through the HD collection, then you know how much better the game can look on a HD set.  Thieves in Time is the best looking game out of the four, and I know that the three games were ports of PS2 games, the third game really stood out among the trio, and its the closest to four.  There are a lot of detailed and diverse environments to sneak in and out.  The character models are all highly detailed as well, the game looks like it has graphical filter over it, that makes it look cel-shaded.  And we all know how good cel-shaded games look in HD.  The soundtrack is stellar throughout, but that's not a surprise.  The music in every Sly Cooper game has always been good, and Thieves in Time is the best yet.

Core Gameplay:
The gameplay hasn't really changed from previous games in the series, but the addition of the time mechanics make it it's own unique experience.  At the beginning of every mission, you're thrown into a huge map.  Where if you want to just go straight through the main story, you can do just that.  Or you can also explore the map to it's fullest, getting the most out of each environment you come across.  The biggest difference in this game is the inclusion of Sly's ancestors.  You'll be jumping through different periods of time and interacting with Sly ancestral family members, each one of them will give Sly with a new costume that'll grant him with new abilities that he can change on the fly.  Some of your ancestors will grant you Archery skills, the ability to slow down time, and a few other cool powers you'll have to experience on your own.  These new abilities help change up the gameplay enough to make the archaic platforming feel fresh.  The wonky camera doesn't help at all, it can really get in the way sometime.  The good news is, the camera doesn't break the experience, its more of a minor issue.  The game features a questionable mechanic that makes the platforming feel weird at first.  In order to latch on to certain ledges or pipes, you have to jump then press circle to interact with that certain object.    Like I said, it does feel weird when you first put the game in, but after a little time with it, it'll feel right at home for you.  As you progress through the game's five big environments, you quickly learn that you can't fully explore every nook and cranny of that area.  Once you learn certain skills throughout your travels, the band of thieves can travel back in time to access different areas that they couldn't before.  If you want every single collectible, it'll take you a lot of backtracking and time to obtain em all.  The game can easily last you 20+ hours, if you want it too that is.

Final Thoughts:
Sanzaru Games has done a great job at reinvigorating an aging franchise, and it has a lot of potential for possible sequels.  The visuals are nothing short of impressive, and it also features some of the best writing in the series so far.  If you weren't sure about the new developer don't be, because they created the best Sly Cooper game to date.

S&S Rating: 8.5/10

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