Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

It took the better part of a decade for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time to be released. I loved the Sly Cooper trilogy that was released for PlayStation 2. It was such a fun franchise and as so much time passed, I felt like Sony was done with it. So, I was very surprised that it was coming back on the PlayStation 3 with a brand-new developer in tow. This is a charming stealth-based platformer and one of the more underappreciated titles for the PlayStation 3.

He’s Gonna Take You Back To The Past

The story being told in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a lot of fun. There is a villain called The Paradox who is obsessed with the family history of Sly. This means that Sly needs to go through time trying to stop him. The time travel aspect of the story is great as you go to all kinds of locations such as the ice age and medieval times.

What really makes the story though is the characters. Our three main characters, Sly, Bentley, and Murry have such a great relationship that feels very real and special in this game. They also add in a bunch of fun new characters, including Sly’s ancestors who are awesome.

Sneaking And Looting

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is best described as a platformer, but it is more of a stealth-based platformer than an action one. In most cases, you are best at avoiding combat unless it is 100 percent necessary. There are a few sections in the game, most notably boss fights when you have to fight. The game though, more wants you to sneak around undetected. The levels are huge and once you unlock an area, you are free to come back to it to do more exploring and find cool items.

The gameplay is a lot of fun and for the most part, they really nailed it. However, for some crazy reason, they put in motion controls during a few sections. Why did a game that was released at the end of the PlayStation 3’s life need motion controls! A couple of camera issues too can hinder things, but neither one of these things is enough to ruin things.

Meet The Cast!

Playing as Sly is great, but I was impressed with how many characters Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time let you play as. When you go to the different time periods, you get the chance to play as one of Sly’s ancestors and this is a ton of fun. Playing as Murry too offers you a different way to go about things.

DreamWorks, Is That You?

The presentation of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is great. I loved the way that it looked like a movie. It has a kind of DreamWorks style to it and I mean that in a very complimentary way.

The game just has a ton of charm to it, this is especially true in regards to the characters. The game also has some excellent voice acting which once again feels like something that would be in a high-end animated movie.

Pros:

• Sly is such a great character
• The game actually has a ton of awesome characters
• I enjoyed the time travel aspect of the story
• Plenty of reasons to replay levels

Cons:

• Why are there motion controls?
• There are a few issues with the camera which can make some platforming annoying

The thieving raccoon and his stealthy friends are back for a new adventure in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the fourth game in this popular PlayStation series. In this journey, Sly and company set out to discover the secrets of Sly's ancestors in order to repair a priceless tome of information. This family-friendly story takes you on a roller coaster through time as you use stealth abilities to track down treasure, with a funny story and a lovable cast of characters. Best of all, it's just as good as the original trilogy, so prepare for another awesome tale with Sly Cooper!

Main Game Features

• Open world action-adventure stealth
• Time travel storyline
• Multiple playable characters

Story

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is set following the third game in the series, Sly 3 Honor Among Thieves, with all of the gang enjoying some time off. One day, the words inside the precious book, the Thievius Racoonus, start to disappear, causing quite a concern. When one member of the crew, Penelope, also disappears while working on a time machine, Bentley the Turtle gets everyone back together to solve the mystery. Using Penelope's time machine, Sly and the rest set off across history, starting their adventure in Feudal Japan.

Over the course of the journey, the gang travels to multiple places in time, including the Wild West, the Ice Age, Medieval Times, and more. Each area has its own story to discover and are crafted with lots of care. You'll meet various characters with short missions to finish, adding further interest to each area. The story has been written with younger players in mind, but if you love Sly Cooper already, this is a tale that every fan can enjoy. The humor is hit-and-miss, but overall, this is another awesome story in the series.

Gameplay

There's one major change in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and that's the introduction of open-world gameplay. In previous games, like Sly 2 Band Of Thieves, players progressed through several linear levels before reaching a final boss. This time, each level is open to be explored, containing tons of hidden secrets as you explore. Most of the time, you'll play as Sly Cooper, but Sly's crush, Carmelita, is also playable, as well as a few other characters like Murray and Bentley. Like in previous games, each character controls differently and has unique abilities, and several characters have specific mini-game sections that you must complete.

To restore the Thievius Racoonus and rescue Penelope, Sly will have to learn several “ancestor abilities” in the form of unlockable costumes. When equipped, these costumes give Sly unique abilities, like an archery outfit to fire arrows, a suit with a sword, and more. These abilities will let you complete specific missions and open up new areas in the world, giving way to hidden treasures. Additionally, you can return to old levels with your costumes and discover other secrets, offering some replayability.

Conclusion

Sly Cooper: Thieves of Time gives players the classic Sly Cooper experience but with some modern changes, like the open world style levels and unlockable costumes. However, there old style of gameplay persists, with lots of sneaking around, a bit of platforming, and some mini-games to keep things interesting.

Pros

• Fun to explore and find collectibles
• Lots of levels and content
• Funny dialogue

Cons

• Horrible loading times
• Too many mini-games
• Not enough platforming