Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Review

Title: Sly Cooper Thieves in Time.

Developer: Sanzaru Games

System: Playstation 3

Genre: Platformer

Rating: E

 

It’s been over seven years since the gaming world last saw Sly and his pals in an all new adventure but fans can now rejoice as their favorite ring tailed caper has finally arrived on the PS3. With a new developer backing them now that Sucker Punch has moved on to other projects, Sanzaru games have some pretty big shoes to fill. And while a relatively new company, they already have a less than favorable history in dealing with beloved Sony characters; I’m looking at you Secret Agent Clank. My suspicions were once again even more enforced when word spread that the game would be forty dollars on the day of release. When a gap between sequels is this long and the price is that low, one should always proceed with caution. It certainly looked like gamble but were odds in my favor or was this a crap shoot where fans should cut their losses?

Sly is not impressed with Bentley's skills as an impressionist artist.

 

The story takes place sometime after last game revealing that the Cooper gang members are still split up doing their best to adjust to their new law abiding lives and that Sly finally managed to go steady with Inspector Carmelita under the false pretense that he has amnesia and doesn’t remember his criminal past. Before one can dissect his questionable relationship however, his old friend Bentley shows up with alarming news. He states that Penelope had gone missing and that the pages from the infamous Thievius Raccoonus were vanishing due to suspicious activities going on in the past thus changing the Cooper family history.  Acting fast and leaving Carmelita in the dark, Sly reassembles the gang to help Bentley build a time machine in order to travel back and fix whatever is causing his family lineage to disappear. Needless to say the plan hits snags right from the start resulting in Carmelita finding out and chasing after them as they struggle to piece together who is behind all of this.

I’ll be blunt here-the story of “Thieves in Time” Is a complete piece of garbage that no raccoon would ever bother to rummage through.  This is not a game for anyone who wants their time traveling story to make any kind of theoretical sense. Sly and his pals constantly work alongside his ancestors without fear of destroying the space time continuum and Technology flourishes where it shouldn’t.  Hacking high tech computers in the Wild West is just one of the pages of complaints I could write about along with the lame pseudoscience that stinks up this adventure.  It quickly becomes perfectly clear that the writers had no intention on putting any effort in the story simply because someone was in the mindset that it was only to be for little kids. That would be fine if this was first time release but when a company is continuing on an intellectual property  that already possesses an established fan base that’s grown up over the years, this effortless story is a giant middle finger to all those who patiently waited these past seven years for a sequel.

All your favorite characters along with new ones are playable this time around.

“Thieves in Time” at its core plays like the previous sly games but there are quite a few extra elements added to it to make the experience feel new again. First off in every time period players are able to freely choose any of the Cooper members in order to explore open world style areas that are full of hidden items, treasures, and collectible masks that unlock certain cheats, a set of mini games, and even a secret ending. At the dedicated hideouts players can waste time playing table tennis against a friend but the novelty quickly wears off.

The Murry is a little too eager to get in touch with his feminine side.

When the main missions start every playable character including Sly’s ancestors have unique skills that keep the gameplay from becoming stale. Sly earns new costumes throughout his travels granting him new abilities that can be used later on to access areas that were once unreachable and players can also unlock a large list of moves to better themselves for survival. Bentley’s missions stand out the most composing mostly of three mini games types that simulate the hacking of software throughout the story. The oddest choice of gameplay – and supplier of the biggest wtf moments- however come from guitar hero style rhythm games that have characters dance in order to cause diversions so that other members can continue on with their various heists. The game also borrows many game mechanics from other major titles like, “Red Dead Redemption”, “Ratchet and Clank,” and “Prince of Persia” just to name a few.

Nothing says “children’s game” more than a visit to the local geisha house.

 The Graphics in “Thieves in Time” are a mixed bag really. On one hand everything looks very clean with cel-shaded style environments while on the other hand, it looks like something that could’ve existed on the PS2. When compared to other popular platforming titles, this game does little to push the envelope in terms of looks. Characters have really nice facial expressions but outside of that it just doesn’t put the PS3s power to good use. Even with graphics this simple, the game’s frame rate constantly slows down when the screen gets a little cluttered making the visual experience a jolty mess and timing jumps a bit tricky.

Where the visuals excel though are in the 2D animated cutscenes. If there was ever proof needed that Sly cooper could exist as a Saturday morning cartoon this game delivers it in spades. These are the type of cut scenes the franchise should’ve had from the beginning and the animators deserve many congrats on their work. If anyone out there has the power to and is reading this review; make this show happen.

The Albino establishment is always trying to keep the Grizz down.

The voice actors in this release are top notch bringing lots of personality to the characters but the dialog is face palm worthy for adults along with clichéd ethnic stereotypes. Grizz the ghetto rhyming black bear is quite possibly the most racist character since the crows from “Dumbo” with his obvious urban design but in the end it is harmless.  Jokes constantly fall flat but one joke- a montage training sequence- actually got a few laughs out of me. The music has that typical jazzy style the series is known for and provides adequate changes in style for whatever location Sly and his pals end up in.

The Tennessee Kid brings shooting elements and his unique charisma into the series.

 Aside from the incredibly dumb story, horrible dialog, and questionable graphics, “Thieves in Time” sadly has other major issues stacked against it including the difficulty. The game most of the time is way too forgiving to provide any real challenge to most gamers. It’s so easy that it makes the games long list of unlockable moves unnecessary in order to complete the journey. Boss battles are breeze thanks to mid battle checkpoints and missions never force the player to start back at the hideout if a character dies eliminating almost any tension or sense of peril. The game also lacks enemy types ranging from three basic classes that remain constant no matter where Sly travels to and all are pretty much blind unless you step within their flash lights parameter. 

After suffering through that story Sanzaru, just look at all the dissapoints your fans give.

In the end Sly Cooper Thieves in Time is not a horrible game, it’s just a huge disappointment for older fans who may have expected the series to grow up along with them. Kids will have an absolute blast with this new release but it’s just a shame that the developers couldn’t manage to appease both demographics like the Ratchet and Clank series have all these years. It may be the next big thing for kids being introduced to the franchise but to older fans like myself, the overall experience comes off as a bit of a letdown thanks to the story. If you can forgive that though, odds are you’ll enjoy it as well. The game supplies many hours of gameplay- at least twelve hours worth- and combined with the Sony cross buy feature for the Vita at just Forty dollars, it is still a bargain.

 

Ryan Pierce

Rating: 7 out of 10

PROS: Bargain priced.

             Easy to learn gameplay for fans and newcomers alike.

            Awesome 2D cutscenes that tell the story.

            Tons of hidden extras to keep one busy after the story is finished.

            Pretty cel shading design

            Cross buy enabled.

 

CONS: Story is absolute crap.

            Frame rate constantly drops when things get hectic.

            Graphics hardly push the PS3’s potential.

            Really dumb enemy AI.

            May not satisfy older loyal fans.