Sly Cooper is an amazing game for any age and a PS2 classic! :)
With platformers hitting their peak at the transition point between the 16-bit and 32-bit eras in 1995, it seemed one couldn't walk down the street without bumping into a furry mammal with an attitude. Sonic, Bubsy, Aero, Crash, Conquer, Zero -- the list seemingly ran into infinite. Once considered the most important aspect of a console launch, the mascot, which was once always identified with a particular console or system at the time, has now entered into the Netherlands in significance toward a system. No longer team players, "franchise properties" such as Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon are like overpaid athletes, jumping from team to team for the biggest impact. Additionally, now we have crossbreed, focus-tested characters that no longer resemble either humans or animals, and that perhaps aren't as identifiable as the simple wacky mammalians we used to know and love.So, it's with great sentimental interest that we watch Sucker Punch Studios, the development team remembered for Rocket on Nintendo 64, embark on its new platform game, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. The single-player platformer is one of two games Sony Computer Entertainment America is delivering this year and of the two, this lead character is, you guessed it, a furry mammal -- a thieving raccoon to be precise -- with an attitude.Are we entering a new dawn of platformers? Will there be a new renaissance of great 128-bit mammals with attitudes? Heck if I know, I can hardly count all of them. But what I do know for certain is this Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is one of the most beautiful platformers I have ever seen. And Sly Cooper is, inarguably, the most charming platform character to appear on a system since the talented, impatient Sonic the Hedgehog won gamers hearts on Sega Genesis in the early '90s. Storybook PresentationBlending tried-and-true platform techniques into a 3D world, Sucker Punch has fused a smartly designed platformer in Sly Cooper. The game follows the exploits of Sly -- a thief whose family heritage is built upon great thieves -- and his friends, Bentley the brainy turtle and Murray the clumsy but brave hippo. Sly's family heritage is deep with thievery, and all of color and technique has been written into the Thievius Racoonus, a big, hardbound heirloom book that's been stolen.When Sly was a young pup, a group of five evil criminals ransacked his house, murdered his father, and stole the family book, forcing Sly to grow up in an orphanage, along with Bentley and Murray. Once Sly is old enough, he and his crew, Bentley with his technical wizardry, and Murray the lovable life-long friend with a knack for getting in trouble, take off to find the lost pages of the Thievius Raccoonus.Delivered in the style of a hard-boiled detective story, and leaning toward a graphic novel sensibility rather than a traditional novel, Sucker Punch's game draws empathy from you while earning your respect. It's hard not to like this poor-boy raccoon whose thievery comes only from hardened criminals and evil crooks, never from law-abiding citizens.Although we have shown off a good bit of Sly Cooper in movies and screenshots, what we haven¿t shown are the seams between levels: The menus, cut-scenes, interfaces and load screens. And while these naturally take a back burner role to gameplay and graphics, Sucker Punch's game is a pure gem all the way through. All in all this game is amazing :)Read full review
