Sly Raccoon(AKA Sky Cooper ad the Thievius Raccoonus )

The good thing about those PS2 port collections for the PS3 is that people who wanted to play these games but never were to buy can get another chance to play them. So yes I always wanted to play this series when I first saw it, even played a demo of the second game. So of course I got it the PS3 collection when I got the chance and I'm gonna talk about the first game now.

Story
Sly Cooper comes from a long line of master thieves, who wrote all of there skills and adventures in a book called the Thievius Raccoonus. On the night he was suppose to inherit the book, five villains arrived, kill his parents and split the book among themselves. Years later, Sly and his two friends, Bently and Murray, goes to find the villains and get the book back.
The game is told in a episodic format, as in each level is treated as its own story which build up to a final episode. Unfortunately this game is the most formalic of the series as every episode is just: do first level, get keys, beat boss. It's a good thing the writings good as the characters are especially enjoyable to listen to, especially the banter between Sly and Carmelita, that always makes me smile. I also want to add that the big bad is on my list of best villains, mainly due to what it is and the implications of a monster like that.

Gameplay
The game is a platformer with an interesting gimmick in that it's also a stealth game. As thief, you have to sneak around levels avoiding lasers and spotlights to get to the exit. While sneaking around is pretty fun, that's not what you're always doing. Sometime You're racing, sometimes you're shooting goons, sometimes you're in a submarine, etc. I wouldn't have a problem with this if it weren't for the fact that I want to be playing a stealth game.
When it's in the main levels, it encourages you to be sneaky by making spotlights, lasers and flashlights. Unless you have a lucky charm, you only get one free go to get past the security as they from lights into heat beams, unless it's a flashlight guard which is almost an instant kill as they guns or similar. You can find extra moves and blueprints in vaults you can open with the clue bottles in the level, but I never used them except if they're passive as I got by with my regular moves as enemies die in one hit. Though I find the life system to be pretty pointless as I had no trouble on the regular levels and the only real penalty for a game over is starting a level from the beginning.

Just a note on the PS3 port. Apparently the Mz.Ruby fight was ported poorly as the fight is suppose to be a rythem game and the music isn't sync up right.

Presentation
While I like the cel-shaded design of the character models, Sly face looks a little off to me. The animation itself is also a bit stilted and the mouths of some characters look off like the Panda King.
The voice acting is a good first time though Carmelita's voice still needs work(this would be a recurring thing with her.).
The music is decent, it's quiet for the most part and gets louder when fighting an enemy, especially in boss fights and there are a few track that I like. Though I'm not a fan of the main theme.

Verdict
While it's not a great game. it's a nice first step to a good trilogy.
7/10

Comments

[Azrael the alicorn]

Oh Sly Racoon, it was a great start followed by 2 great sequels!