Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (Sony PlayStation 2, 2002)

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 :)

Sly Cooper does a good job at everything it brings to the table.
It has a somewhat film noire / 70's spy movie mix flavour to it in both look and sound.

You play Sly, a raccoon thief who has to infiltrate the layers of master crooks and steal back the pieces of a family treasure.

Standard platforming rules apply; There's lots of running, jumping, dodging and collecting items. This brings a classic platforming feel to the game, in addition to some other items. For the most part you have one weapon: your staff. There's a one-hit-death! No health bar for the nocturnal hero, which adds some challenge to the levels. Luckily many of your foes suffer from the same drawback. You can collect lucky horseshoes, and for each one you collect you can get hit one more time before you die. Of course if you do die, you go back to zero horseshoes, and must recollect them.

In addition to the familiar platforming elements, you come across various mini-game levels. These include providing cover fire for allies, zooming around a swamp on a hydroplane, collecting chickens, and more!

As you progress, you gain new master-thief moves to improve your stealthy-ness. Being able to move undetected is a big element to the game, although not always necessary.
The biggest inconsistency is with the theme of Sly. He's supposed to be a thief, but all you really steal in the game are keys.

The length of the game is satisfying to me, however avid game players may find it a bit short.

There's some good challenge, tense moments, and a few frustrating ones as well. Luckily those don't last to one.

Sly Cooper: ATTR was a good start to a great franchise.

While the instant charm and accessibility of Sly Cooper outweighs its criticisms, it should be noted that there are some noticeable problems in this game, enough to keep the game from reaching higher scores.

Sly Cooper is an excellent looking game, probably one of the best-looking games of the year -- at least in terms of art direction -- and it's beautifully animated as well. All of the characters are lovable and the story is well scripted and well written, too. So there is much to like about it's overall presentation and graphic appeal. Gameplay wise, the final score comes down to the speed and skill at which you're able to apply to a platform game, but it's pretty clear that Sly Cooper is brief game. The thirty-five missions are briefer than they sound and the game is just plain easy to beat. There are those niggling technical issues I have written about in detail, so I won't elaborate again, but all in all, they do hamper the game's overall likeability.

I would highly recommend this game to platform fans, because Sly Cooper is truly something special, but don't expect to be playing it too long.

RATING!!! :D

9.5 Presentation
Superb in every sense of the word. Great cutscenes, excellent characters, and enjoyable characters.

8.7 Graphics
Nice-looking cel-shading, but that's not all. The backgrounds and creature designs are also top-notch.

8.0 Sound
Dynamic music and some perfectly selected voice actors make this a joy to listen to.

8.0 Gameplay
While slowdown and some technical hitches hurt this a bit, the wild assortment of excellent levels and superb control pull it out of the gutter.

7.0 Lasting Appeal
You can play it again if you like, but the first time through this is pretty short, about 12 hours. Not so much replay value.

8.5 Great OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

This is the last of the series (to date). It is fun to play, although number 2 was better. There are more characters you get to play with and more fun things to do with them. This is a much needed addition to your collection.

The game is lots of fun for the whole family, even my four year old, who does very well at the game. There are some hard areas that I have to help out with, but for younger kids, it's a good start out game.

The graphics are superb, the controls and the moves are easy for the young ones even to master, and diffrent options are great as well.

If your looking for a good game for your young kids to play, look at this game first.