Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - Review

If I’m to be completely honest, the PlayStation 2 is my favorite system. It just has the most enjoyable library of games that are closest to me. Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, Shadow of the Colossus, Dragon Quest VIII, the Dragon Ball Z Budokai’s and Budokai Tenkaichi’s, God of War, Okami... Metal Gear Solid 3, I could spend all night writing a list of great titles for this particular system. The point is, one of the many gems to spawn from to spawn from the sixth generation was Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sucker Punch’s first great success. The cel-shaded cartoon adventure-stealth platformer followed the exploits of the Cooper Gang and their battle against the Fiendish Five. Its success spawned Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, which had seemingly concluded the series; as Sucker Punch later moved onto their current franchise: inFamous.

Headed by Sanzaru Games; who previously worked on The Sly Collection for the PlayStation 3, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time brings back the Cooper Gang for another adventure. After the events of Sly 3, titular character himself has settled into civilian life with Carmelita, having made that decision at the end of the previous installment. But, when the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus seem to be going blank, the gang deduces that a time-traveler is altering the past in order to reap the benefits, and is erasing the Cooper family history. The Cooper Gang travel through multiple periods in history to save the Cooper ancestors and restore the natural order and all that good stuff.

Now, the Sly trilogy was great for the time and still holds up. Sly 3 was a definite conclusion to said trilogy, so theorizing any kind of future for the franchise ran the risk of undermining the events of Sly 3 no matter how hard you may have tried to avoid it. Much like Indiana Jones 4, this is a case of fans wanting another installment even if they may not realize just how much they don’t need it. Also, like Indy 4, given what I’ve just said, while both had the potential for an interesting narrative, especially given the time between installments, they both fumble. Now, neither franchise is by no means deeply philosophical or even remotely complex, but they’re carried by memorable casts and colorful characters. So, it’s only natural we’d like to see what they’ve been up to in all this downtime.

So, we know Sly 4 wasn’t going to have much of an interesting call to action when compared the original three. That was kind of inevitable. The concept is there but there’s not much in the way of execution. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we can discuss other things. Aesthetically-speaking, the game is vibrant and colorful, and uses the time periods to its advantage, including but not limited to Feudal Japan, The Old West and Medieval Europe. Most of the characters, especially the Cooper family, have impressive new designs that translate well for seventh generation, even if we are at the end of the PlayStation 3’s life cycle. Murray and Carmelita’s new looks however, leave something to be desired.

From a mechanic standpoint, this installment is neither as smooth nor as balanced as its predecessor (Ninja Spire Jump, lookin’ at you.) but it is not without redeeming qualities. As far as most platformers go these days, it’s above average, and while the Cooper ancestor abilities might not have been as creative as I might’ve liked, they do vary gameplay well enough throughout the main story. I just wish we could’ve gotten something beyond climbing a bit faster or jumping a bit farther than usual. As far as the voice acting goes, all the cast (except Carmelita, of course) returns to the fold and none of them phone it in. The humor, while not as clever, does invoke a few chuckles. So overall, the general gameplay is solid; it’s just not as good as what we’ve had before.

Now, onto the game’s most definitive detriment: events. What I mean by that is instances of gameplay outside of the normal jumping and running and pickpocketing, etc. For example, the dance with Carmelita in Sly 2 or the very entertaining ship battles in Sly 3. Those were fun. The ones here... aren’t irredeemable, so much as lazy. And while I do appreciate variation for Bentley’s hacking and a pretty funny nod to 80’s training montages... why am I using SIXAXIS controls in 2013? Also, that final boss fight. Really, Sanzaru? That’s it? That’s the most effort you could muster? Now, it may seem like I dislike this game, but that isn’t the case. This is an enjoyable title, especially if you love the characters. It makes mistakes, but they’re forgivable here and there. When it’s good, it’s very enjoyable. For new players, I’d recommended The Sly Collection instead. For fans of the series, I’d say it’s worth another adventure just for novelty’s sake. Also, the cross-save capability for the Vita is greatly appreciated. 7 out of 10.