2 Like This is easily the best and most enjoyable PS3 game i have ever played so far, hell it beats all that adult garbage (COD, Halo, Gears of War, Resident Evil etc) by a mile.
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Review
Game Emblems
The Good
Visually excellent, well polished with a lot of potential, but somewhat hollow.
Graceful controls and well-designed levels make Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time another satisfying entry in the series.
The Good
- Intricate and diverse levels
- Each character has his or her own appeal
- Lots of collectibles to unearth
- Colorful, striking artistic design.
The Bad
- Tedious combat
- Easy difficulty diminishes the fun of thieving.
Thieves sure do lead enviable lives. Not only do they get to explore exotic locales and caress exquisite treasure, but they can even mingle with their ancestors. Yes, in Sly Cooper's latest foray, he steals priceless artifacts while thumbing his nose at scientific law. Zooming through history's pages brings plentiful, and often welcome, diversity to this horological adventure. There's a continuous flow of tantalizing environments to wander through and crooked schemes to take part in, though there are times when this variety serves as a detriment. Graceful as Sly's thieving crew can be, when it comes to fisticuffs, they're nothing more than blundering buffoons. Nevertheless, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a lengthy and exciting caper through the eyes of good-natured burglars.
The Thievius Raccoonus has served as a comprehensive account of the masterful exploits of the Cooper clan throughout history. As the brilliant turtle Bentley peruses this encyclopedia for information one day, he realizes that entire passages are being wiped clean. Who could so brazenly tamper with history? Bentley rounds up the rest of the gang--plucky Sly and the always hungry Murray would never turn down an opportunity for tomfoolery--and ushers them into his newly built time machine to investigate the cause of this historical whiteout.
No one blinks at this off-the-wall premise, and the humorous situations and dialogue ensure that the zany vibe continues until the game's end. Characters embody specific archetypes, which means they don't evolve over the course of the game, but their diverse personalities do a good job of creating a comedy well. Tennessee, Sly's cousin from the Wild West, represents cowboys well, albeit while only participating in family friendly situations. His false modesty and aw-shucks charm around women is a sharp contrast to his "best of the West" boasts when apart from the fairer sex, and it's amusing to see him do an about face. Salim is the funniest member of your assorted crew. Muttering sarcastic complaints under his breath, he reluctantly scurries up poles and across treacherous traps while pining for his forsaken retirement.
Sly must travel to five places throughout time, ranging from ancient Japan to a prehistoric ice land, to fix his ailing family tree. Each episode sports a massive hub world that's much more than a link between stages. These areas are littered with enemies, collectibles, and all manner of hidden goodies, and scavenging for all the mysteries is one of the greatest joys in Thieves in Time. Yes indeed, there are plenty of tangible rewards to strive for. Racing back to your hideout with a valuable urn adds more coins to your bank, allowing you to unlock new maneuvers, and nabbing every stray bottle unlocks the secrets hidden within the safes. But there's inherent pleasure in scouring the landscape that goes beyond completing a checklist. Keen eyes and deft maneuvering are required to reach the most elusive treasures, so there's an irresistible delight in exploring every inch of the land.
It's in these zones that you learn how to slink through shadows and balance on precarious ledges. Sly is an adept leaper who sees the ordinary construction of a city as a beckoning playground. Guide wires and poles call to him like inanimate sirens, and you jump and run through these environments with smooth elegance. Once airborne, you can latch on to surfaces with the tap of a button, though the suction doesn't remove platforming skills. You still need to be relatively accurate to land on your target, so once you master movement, you can rush through ancient streets without a worry. Dance along rickety poles, sprint across a perilous wire, and then land behind a bewildered henchman. Creep behind your prey (complete with the appropriately sneaky music), pluck gold from his tantalizing purse, and then vanish before he senses your presence.
By
Tom Mc Shea, Editor
Tom Mc Shea loves platformers and weighty moral decisions. Some call him a T-Rex with bigger arms, some call him a gorilla with smaller arms -- you can just call him the jerk who hates all the things you love and loves all the things you hate.
191 comments
2 Like 
1 Like It's astonishing that this game wasn't made by Sucker Punch, and yet you can't tell the difference between its original developer and the new developer, since the folks at Sanzaru were dedicated to making a game as equally good as its predecessors.
I'm gonna buy the game anyway, but if the game is easy as the review says....I think I would miss old days when you would die of one hit and can extend your life to take only 3 hits in Sly1........good old days.
What the fuck, a 7.5 for early game easy difficulty? Might as well change the score of every god of war and Elder Scrolls game a 5.0 then.
It's a next-gen Sly game (finally!)... this is a no-brainer. Already pre-ordered my copy.
Also, Sly games were never about the combat or the difficulty. And playing as anyone other than Sly was always a bit of a drag - but that didn't stop the previous games from being awesome, and I doubt it will stop this one. Can't WAIT for this!
Sigh this review seems like an out-liar to me as all the others I have seen as well as all the player reviews have been extremely positive. Guess that's why reviews are an opinion. In my opinion maybe have someone else review these games in the future.
Once I saw Tom reviewed this game I knew he gave it a 7.5. Pretty much the score he gives every ps3 exclusive he reviews.
1 Like @02050muh Sadly... you're right. You forget how polished these PS2 platformers were. LOL! Nintendo do not make games with this sort of production value. I actually LOVE this game. 100% bottles, safes(obviously) and treasures. Just working on Masks and trophies. Excellent game overall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNJncIXgJCU
Guh, this is the most fucked up thing I have ever seen.
1 Like I look forward to picking this up as it is the only action series my daughter wants to play. Hopefully it is some good fun for her.
1 Like @Bgrngod @PSPFAN14 This game is more entertaining and fun than any platformer on any console right now. GUARANTEE IT! LOL! This was a reminder that the PS2 platformers were polished and great. This game may not beat Sly 2 BUT Jeff Gertsmann underated that game however his reviews are somewhat consistent. He would rate a Mario game a 6 and would not give 2 craps what anyone has to say about it.
Now that I am in the last of the 5 main worlds I think that this game is actually really good. If you are an old school Mario, Jak, Ratchet even Zelda player or familiar with the series this is a no brainer you're going to like this game. Be warned there are some I want to throw my controller or Vita moments so be warned. I will not spoil the wario ware lite suprise but man it will test your patience. Any fan though of Sly or this proper production to an old style game is going to LOVE this game VERY MUCH. Tons of personality, character development, and pure light hearted comedy. Truly a pleasure to play a platformer that is semi-mature in its subtly and fun. BUY THIS GAME because at the price it's a STEAL easily could have spent more on this game for sure.
Never played slycooper until I tried this demo. Loved it. They should release a SC collection for ppl like me that skipped the others. I'll be getting this one anyway.
1 Like Im playing it right now as we speak..and i love it..it brings me back..yea grpahics are not top notch but thats not the point in this game..for 40 bucks cant beat it..usually il trade my games back after i beat them but not this one..
1 Like Glad I got a PS3 around Black Friday. Can't wait to play this (just after I beat the other 3 @_@)!
4 Like I like this game for its unique charming artistic design, scores, atmosphere, voice acting, and characters.
1 Like as much as i love sly trilogy, i think they should to reboot it, i mean come on the gameplay won't be like this forever, i liked this game but it felt the Same.
1 Like On my wishlist, because I know I will enjoy it. not because of a review's number.
Ironic how you; those who complain for a stupid number, are giving that same number the same credit as a final word or a sentence.
I play the games I like. Don't care about number. Sorry for you if you can't do the same...
1 Like @Warlord_Irochi Stop thinking you are so special because you are doing what anyone would do.
@Warlord_Irochi Not special, just common sense. Some problem with me posting it here, have we?
2 Like Good Review. I am unsure why people are unhappy with the score:
IGN = 8
Eurogamer = 6
Gamespot = 7.5
Seems like consistent scoring from all sites
1 Like @benbuckley Try this for consistancy
Gamepro = 9.0
Gametrailers = 8.0
IGN = 8.0
It looks like GS and the other lower end sites are inconsistent.I personally don't care about the review. I tried the demo on my Vita and i freaking loved it. I'm planning to get it.
@Slim_Lyrics yes... McShea has minimal credibility at best. Just read through the forums. Kevin probably has to help him log into email and set out his clothes for the day.
4 Like @benbuckley People are morons who don't know how to look past a simple number... that and the fact that a review is ONE persons opinion, not the over arching be-all-end-all evaluation of the product.
1 Like @goldmask That is why they gave GoW, Ni no Kuni, MGS4 and Infamous such good scores.
Does a low score here prevents you from playing the game? just buy it and quit crying, have COMMON SENSE!
some "gamers" this days...
@Warlord_Irochi for your feedback, uncharted 3 and ni no kuni get the lower score ever just on this fucking site ... Xboxspot
1 Like @Warlord_Irochi Yes but those are games specific to the PS3. Other games that have come out recently that are on both the 360 and PS3 that don't score well tend to be posted on the PS3 page and not the 360 page. For games that score well, it's the opposite. I don't know why Gamespot thinks of Sony as being second-rate, but it is very evident in everything they do. That's why I depend on IGN for a lot of my reviews. They don't crap all over handheld systems like Gamespot does either.
@TomMcShea @musalala @goldmask It's ok man, I'm not referring about you. I talking about GameSpot.
2 Like @ClaudiusCaesar @musalala @goldmask Did you miss the editorial I wrote ripping Xbox Live Gold? I have no idea where the idea that I favor the Xbox 360 came from, but it doesn't have any factual grounds.
1 Like @ClaudiusCaesar They love Xbox so much that most of the Game of the Year winners have been PS3 exclusives.
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Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Not Following
- Publisher(s): SCEA
- Developer(s): Sanzaru Games
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- ESRB: E10+
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Sly: Thieves in Time Navigation
