Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
05 Feb 2013
All releases
05 Feb 2013 - PlayStation 3
05 Feb 2013 - PlayStation Vita
28 Mar 2013 - PlayStation 3
06 Feb 2013 - PlayStation 3
06 Feb 2013 - PlayStation Vita
05 Feb 2013 - PlayStation 3
27 Mar 2013 - PlayStation 3
27 Mar 2013 - PlayStation Vita
28 Mar 2013 - PlayStation Vita
Tags
Time to beat
Main story
Main story + extras
100% completion
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a stealth platformer developed by Sanzaru Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Released in 2013 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, it is the fourth main entry in the Sly Cooper series. The game follows Sly and his gang as they travel through different historical periods to restore the Thievius Raccoonus, which is being erased from existence. Players control Sly and various characters, each with unique abilities while completing stealth-based missions, platforming challenges, and puzzles. The game retains the series’ signature cel-shaded art style and humour while introducing new mechanics, including time-travelling settings and costumes with special abilities.
Sly Cooper was enjoying his relationship with Inspector Carmelita Fox, a relationship they were able to begin by Sly feigning amnesia, when Bentley showed up. Bentley explained to Sly that the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus were disappearing and that Penelope had also suddenly vanished simultaneously. Bentley was looking to re-form the Cooper Gang so that they could stop whomever was altering history. Sly soon met up with Bentley and Murray at their old hideout, where Bentley introduced them to the Time Machine. With this device integrated into the Cooper Van, the gang would be able to travel back in time and fix the past. Their first stop was Feudal Japan, but because the Time Machine required an item from that era, they would need to pull a heist to get the item in question. Their target was a nearby museum owned by a seemingly respectable art mogul, a museum that Sly had been keeping tabs on already.
NUNO CD
1
If you're not a big fan of the Sly Cooper series, you'll probably love this game. But for a fan, this game is a mess.
I'm not a fan of the graphics and the gameplay is fine but that's not the issue here.
The game starts out fine but it's in the 2nd half of it where the flaws really start to show. The first couple of characters we are introduced to are great but the more we to further on the story they get worse and worse.
Maybe they ran out of ideas, but some characters are lazily designed and are just reskins with some ability that's only used in specific moments, moments created by the map to make it seems like the ability is useful - for example, the ability to jump higher on hooks, a boring idea and only used on his map.
Another big issue is how the writing is a lot worse compared to the original trilogy and things happen for the sole reason of moving the plot. Biggest examples is how Penelope betrays Bentley and how Sly acts at the end of the game, way out of character actions that are only used to move the plot and that, in Penelope's case, destroys their character.
Though, the biggest crime of this game is how the original Trilogy ended on a perfect note, finishing the adventures of the gang and each moving on with their lives, but Sanzaru Games decided to buy the rights to make a new game.
This game grabbed the perfect ending and completely ignored it (also, Sly betraying Carmelita is out of character too) to make a new game that didn't add anything to the story (and made it worse) just to make a terrible and unfinished ending.
Like I said, this only affects someone who cares about the Sly Cooper story and characters, but this is a special series to me and these issues really bother me. I like to think of this game as a Spin-Off and only count the original trilogy as the "true story"
Overall, it's a fun and enjoyable game, if you're playing it for a good time and I'll be the happiest man alive if there's ever another Sly game.
