Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus HD Review (PS3)

A Stealthy, Yet Overlooked Thief.

 During the PlayStation 2 days, the platforming genre prospered greatly thanks to titles such as Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank. There was also Sly Cooper, a stealth-based platformer that was in the shadows of the former and latter. Released in 2002 for PlayStation 2 and developed by Sucker Punch (who would later work on the inFamous series) sneaks Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus, a great platformer with a noir-like atmosphere. 

 It was also remastered in 2010 as part of The Sly Collection, which basically compiled Sly's first three adventures on a single PS3 disc with high definition visuals and trophy support. After beating this adventure, does this sneaky raccoon steal our hearts, or gets jailed by the foxy inspector?

STORY- Sly Cooper is the latest in the Cooper clan, a family of master thieves that dates back many centuries who steal from criminals, because there is no honor, no fun, no challenge stealing from the innocent. One the night Sly was about to inherit The Thievius Raccoonus, a book containing various thieving skills from past Cooper members, his house was attacked by the Fiendish Five, who overpowered and killed Sly's father, thus taking sections of the book and partings ways. During his time in the orphanage, Sly met Bentley, the skilled hacker, and Murray, the likable brawn. Now, they must track down the five embers of the Fiendish Five and restore the Thievius Raccoonus to its former glory.

Sly and company are a likable and memorable cast.

GAMEPLAY- Sly Cooper plays as a third-person platformer with emphasis on stealth. The game is divided into five levels, each level focusing on a member of the Fiendish Five. The core gameplay has Sly, along with his trusty cane, sneaking around enemies and avoiding detection to reach the key at the end of the level. Despite being linear, there are some collectibles to add replay-value. Sly can be defeated in a single hit, but so do his enemies, so stealthy approaches are advised. However, collecting 100 coins can gain Sly a horseshoe, which allows him to survive a hit. Also, thanks to his sneaky skills, Sly can use the environments to his advantage. Using narrow ledges and vines, as well as jumping onto streetlights and poles can help avoid enemies. 

 Furthermore, "clue bottles" are scattered throughout sub-levels, if all bottles are collected, Bentley can open that sub-level's vault, which contains new moves for Sly. Levels can be repeated anytime for coins and time sprints, which basically has Sly beat a level in given time. Besides the normal gameplay, there are some mini-games which features Murry either racing with the Cooper van or avoid getting hit by enemies with the help of Sly.They are a nice distraction, but those driving sections can really be irritating.

PRESENTATION- Despite being an early 2000s game, Sly Cooper has managed to age well thanks to its cel-shaded visuals. The cartoonish character designs and areas gives the feeling that you're basically watching a Saturday morning cartoon. The music and voice work are great, the voice work and soundtrack showcases the thievish atmosphere and is a joy to listen to.

The noir-like atmosphere is neat.

OVERALL- Sly's first outing was a great one, Sucker Punch did an impressive job handling the game. Despite the somewhat-linear gameplay and stiff character animations, Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus was among PS2's best games.

IMPRESSIVE