Sly Cooper Thieves in Time

$60, PlayStation 3, PS Vita

Teaches: logic

CTR Rating: 90%

CTR Review

This is the first Sly Cooper game for the PS3 that features Sly Cooper and his cohorts, Bentley and Murray in a time-traveling adventure. The game continues where Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves ended, with Sly having an alleged case of amnesia and Bentley as the keeper of the treasured Thievius Raccoonus. When Bentley discovers that pages of the book have begun to disappear in front of his eyes, he must round up the gang and save the Cooper Clan legacy from being destroyed forever. Game features include: time travel, interactive puzzle elements, boss battles, re-designed characters, new stealth and combat moves and playable characters including Sly Cooper, Murray, Bentley. As you play, you can unlock costumes and special abilities. The game will also be playable in full Stereoscopic 3D. According to CTR tester Addison, the PS Vita version is entertaining, if a bit clich�. The gameplay roughly follows the other Sly Cooper games: 3D action-platforming with a heavy stealth and puzzle solving element. It feels a lot like Ratchet and Clank or Jak and Daxter, but is different enough, and good enough, to stand out. The controls are a little awkward at first - certain moves are automated and require pressing only one button. Until you figure this out, you'll be trying to do the moves manually and messing them up. After this minor hurdle, the controls are responsive and for the most part intuitive. The best aspect of the game is the puzzle solving. This is one of those games where each new puzzle feels impossible at first, and then slowly comes together until it seems obvious. The difficulty level is exactly right, giving the player an equal amount of frustration and reward. In fact, for some players it might not be challenging enough, but it's perfect for someone with average game playing skills. The sound and voice-acting are unremarkable, which is hardly a surprise. The graphics are nice and crisp with a cartoonish feel. There's not a lot of real innovation here, but the game is so well put together that unless you're tired of the whole genre you won't be disappointed.