You don’t see a lot of mascot games anymore, or platformers or collect-a-thons (Assassin’s Creed not-withstanding). When the previous generation launched Xbox and PS2 were desperately trying to establish a mascot character franchise to compete directly against Nintendo. Sony had a bit of a head start on the PS1 with games like Tomba! and MediEvil but sadly neither of those made it to the next generation. Xbox tried to make the Oddworld games their mascots but it didn’t seem to work out, Oddworld was just too niche. Sony on the other hand, working with Sucker Punch, had a lovable and competent raccoon thief named Sly Cooper come out in the early 2000’s.

Sly was something new compared to the other mascot collect-a-thon platformers out there in that it really used its thief motif to blend platforming with stealth and maintain a strong atmosphere of vintage crime camp, pulp, and a narrated comic book. Sucker Punch went on to improve on the series in the second game by making it more focused on the stealth aspect and having each world feel like working towards a grand heist. Third game was more of the same but slightly shorter and a bit more mini-game heavy, but still enjoyable. Sucker Punch went on to bigger and better things with Infamous 1 and 2 and have been working in secret on some new surprise project yet to be unveiled. The series was handed off to Sanzaru who was the company that made the HD collection of the first 3 games for the PS3. And here we are more than a decade after its creation with the fourth installment, Sly Cooper 4: Thieves in Time.

The internet has done untold damage to my perception of anthropomorphic animal characters. The internet also caused me to become physically ill at the sight of MOMO from Xenosaga, but that’s another story. Sly games have always been charming enough to be enjoyed despite the horrors of the internet and Sly 4 managed to keep up most of the spirit of the old games. 4 picks up pretty much where 3 hinted with Bentley the turtle having built a time machine and keeping an eye on the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly’s book of his family history of thieving techniques. Bentley notices that the pages are starting to erase themselves and summons the gang back together to find out who is erasing the past. Each world of the game takes place in a different time era and involves 5 of Sly’s ancestors each with a unique ability.

The gameplay remains mostly the same as the previous games with a few changes and a slightly less tight control feel than before which you will get used to. Instead of having 3 of several abilities set to the R and L buttons like before they have set uses usually regarding to what Sly is wearing. Other than his normal outfit he also has 5 disguises that allow him to do things like deflect attacks or slow time or shoot arrows to make useable walking lines. It’s not bad necessarily but the frequency at which you will be switching is sometimes annoying as the outfits cause you to lose abilities and mobility. Personally I would have preferred the old way but then I am old and fear change. Bentley and Murray’s segments remain pretty much the same with 2 new Bentley hacking methods that take the form of a Shoot-em-up arcade game and a Sixaxis ball maze. I was able to get past the ball mazes easy enough but still found them irritating because I hate motion controls, but in these sort of games the variety of other genres and playstyles mixed in are to be expected and are part of the appeal. You have to be a Jack-of-all-trades for this.

Overall I enjoyed the game, and it’s a steal at the $40 that they decided to release it at. It also has crossplay with a PSP if you’ve got one. My issues with the game are that it’s a bit too short. The last game ended with a really well done gauntlet trial showcasing multiple ancestors and what they contributed to your current thief skills. I would have liked to see more of them but given the cliffhanger ending to this one I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t done with the time travel just yet. Even so the missions themselves seem to be over a bit too fast and lack the slower buildup to the grand final heist of each world that the last 2 games had. Sly 2 did it right when it had each boss have 2 worlds to give them more of a presence and make the story feel bigger and better.

Story-wise I was expecting a cliffhanger ending that left it open and ready for a sequel since all the other games did that too, and this one was no different. That didn’t make me any more satisfied at the end however and I want more, MORE! And that mixed with my general pessimism and fear that games that don’t pull in 5 million sales won’t be given sequels makes me worry that I may not see another Sly game for a while. Only other thing worth mentioning is that the new cutscenes are done in what looks like Flash and lost the pulpy comic book feel the old ones did. Gameplay-wise it was easy to pick up and play given my familiarity with the old games but the game is welcoming to new players and since it is at heart a kids game it holds your hand.

Overall: I still recommend this game to people looking for something cheap and fun to hold them over for a bit, and especially to fans of the series.

The Good:

• -More Sly. If you liked the old games you’ll probably enjoy this one too
• -Lots to do and collect
• -Game looks nice and lost the old games occasionally jerky animation in game. Everything’s smooth and animated.
• -Cheap! $40 new

The Bad:

• -I hate sixaxis motion controls and if you do too this game has some
• -Slightly shorter than the old games
• -Quicktime events. I hate them because I spend more time focusing on which button comes next instead of the action
• -The rhythm music minigame that occurs twice in the game isn’t fine tuned and is off the beat which I found a bit annoying.

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