Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is a great game and a good start to the seiries.
Game play: As Sly Cooper, you will need to sneak and fight throughout the game. Each level has a unique setup designed to push the limit on certain skills. In each level, there are bottles that you can collect. These bottles will allow you to open a safe, giving you a bonus skill. Some levels are mini games, and these are sometimes fun, but most are hard and frustrating. After you complete all of the levels for an area, you can fight the boss. The boss is generally difficult, and each boss has a very unique way of fighting it. The bosses do have a corny, "You will never defeat the next boss!" when you beat them, but besides that the bosses are a highlight in the game.
Graphics. For the most part, the graphics are good. They have a cartoon style, yet you can still connect to the world as if it was your own. Since you are a thief, you work at night. Sometimes the lighting can get really dark. If this happens, you can change the lighting settings on your TV. I personally did not have any trouble with the light, but some friends of mine had some trouble with it. This is a problem easily fixed though A certain boss named Mugshot looks pretty bad when you have a close camera shot of him. Besides that, the graphics are simple yet very well done.
Now for the bad news: Enemies are really easy. Most are 1 hit KOs that have very wimpy attacks. Some enemies that are found in a group can be difficult, but there are few parts where more than one enemy is present. Some of the minigames are very difficult. Some of the mini games may cost you most of your lives. Some of the unlocks for finding pages of the Thievius Raccoonus are not very useful, and you will not want to use them. Plus, the story is fairly short and does not deepen much as the game goes on.
Overall, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is a very good game. I enjoyed playing it. I must say however that this game lost some charm when Sly2 came along. If you have Sly2 or even Sly3, this game will not be as good. If you are a dedicated gamer who wants the back story to the series, you will want this game. However, if want to save money or you allready have Sly2 or 3, rent this game first and then decide.