Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

The Good
I hate platformers. I truly do. Even the term itself sounds extremely mundane. When I was a lot younger, I would enjoy the Marios and Sonics of yesteryear. Of course, like most gamers, I've grown up and moved on from the kiddy platforms. With all that behind me I have delved into more crazier, darker games or just much more complex ones. However, along comes a preview and some screenshots of its graphics and I found myself playing this game and finishing it. Despite its cartoony tone and cheeky dialogue, Sly Cooper is a very good game. If given a chance, the game not only appeals to families who love Disney collections but to a much bigger group of gamers than what one might expect. The direction, cutscenes and characters are well designed and animated but what really amazes me is the pacing of the game. There are many games where you play a character that gains abilities as he traverses through the levels gradually. This is one of them. But, when it is tightly wrapped around some pretty interesting puzzles and good story, it is a game that is truly hard to put down. The difficulty of this game isn't that high considering the target audience it was aimed to sell for but it does its job with some really unique game situations not tried in many "platformers". In Sly Cooper, you are mostly a thief trying to retrieve the separated parts of the holy grail known as the Thievius Raccoonus. This is nothing new but the way the game tells the story is. Sly Cooper makes heavy use of cinematic gameplay meaning the game looks plays like a real life cartoon where the camera is always changing. And although you jump around a lot in this game, it isn't frustrating. It is actually enjoyable. In fact, there are parts of the game where the character has the ability to jump at precise spots. Gone are the die-from-the-edge-of-the-cliff days where most platform type games have jump over or under p a particular block floating in mid air. Not Sly Cooper. In the game, you are given a series of objectives but none of the objectives feel pointless, nor do they feel like tedious play. There is actual purpose for everything you do in the game and the objective does not feel like something small you go after. In my own experience, it seems that the bigger the objective the more dire the challenge. Sly Cooper's execution is so well thought out that it would be worth playing again. The boss fights are hilarious and in some cases a puzzle in itself. There is even a sequence in the game where you must sync with the rhythm of the buttons a la Parappa.

The Bad
Other than the fact that it was a platformer, there weren't too many weaknesses. There maybe the occasional annoying dialogue but for the most part it is actually entertaining. You may also get sick of the cel-shaded look of the game. The colors are very vibrant but sometimes too vibrant that you may need to take a break once in awhile. The other gripe is that it is a short-lived ride. Very short. Just when you think the crescendo approaches, it ends.

The Bottom Line
Bottom line? Sly Cooper is a good game that can be easily overlooked for its kiddy and cartoon-like direction. But a deeper look says alot more about what the game offers for all of its audiences.

radcastro.com