You sly devil…
I never played the original Sly games, but upon playing them…I wish I had. The Sly Collection contains the 3 games made by Sucker Punch and it’s a brilliant, yet understated collection. Sly the Raccoon is a master thief and the games are traditional platformers, but manage to stand out from the crowd with its quirky humour and great characters.
Here’s what to expect in The Sly Collection:
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Born into a family of the world’s greatest thieves, Sly Cooper was given the Thievius Raccoonus, a family heirloom that is passed down from generation to generation containing all of their best-kept secrets. When a gang of ruthless villains steal the Thievius Raccoonus it’s up to Sly and his mischievous friends, Bentley and Murray, to reclaim the heirloom and restore honour to the family name.
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Taking place two years after Sly Cooper defeated Clockwerk for the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly Cooper and gang embark on a mission to rob the Museum of National History of Clockwerk’s parts. Upon arrival, Sly and friends discover the parts of Clockwerk are missing and embark on a quest to ensure Clockwerk is never reassembled.
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
The gang returns in the largest caper yet. Sly, Bentley and Murray assemble a crew of near friends and old enemies. Together, they attempt to unlock the one great secret Sly’s father kept from him for years – the Cooper family vault. With the tireless Carmelita Fox on his tail and a jealous and maniacal Dr. M attempting to loot the vault, it’ll take a team of skilled thieves to pull off this world class heist.
Now one thing that did annoy me is the one hit kills, those really grinded my gears! But it made me play the game differently as a result, and while the games didn’t exactly blow me away, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them from start to finish.
The pinnacle of the trilogy has to be the second game, Band of Thieves, while the weakest has to sadly be Honor Among Thieves…which isn’t a bad game by any means; it just isn’t nearly as great as 1 and 2. There are stealth sections among the platforming and combat, but there’s also some new features for fans including mini-games that work with Move and there’s Trophy support for those completionists.
The collection is nothing more than a HD remake with some new features, but it’s a welcome one as not many got the chance to play the Sly games like me, I finally understand why gamers rave about the series now that I’ve finally gone through all 3 games. It may be a bit simple on the visual side, but it’s got a charming look to it that still looks the part. Voice-acting is a bit mixed, but overall the dialogue is great and funny…but I wish sometimes you could skip cutscenes, just a minor quibble.
The Verdict
The Sly Collection is a great opportunity to relive or finally play the Sly games. They are truly gaming gems that any platforming fan shouldn’t deny. It’s yet another example of how HD remakes really work out well…
