• Sly Cooper was born into a family of thieves. On his 8th birthday, he was supposed to recieve the Thievius Raccoonus -- the family guide to theivery. But it was stolen, broken into pieces and spirited away. Now, ten years later, Sly will fulfill his destiny and get the Thievius Raccoonus back!

• With the help of his friends, Bentley the inventor and Murray the muscleman, he'll go on a quest to restore his family name

• Use your stealth and smarts to sneak around, duck security, and jump through windows & doors without being seen

• Great minigames, hideouts, and vehicles are here for an adventure kids will love!

Sly and the gang are back. With old friends and new, you must work together using all your skills to stop the crazy Dr. M and pull off your biggest heist ever. Sly, meanwhile, uncovers the secrets of his family's thieving past and ultimately learns the greatest secret of all ? something his father has kept hidden from him for years.

The game is a typical 3D platformer, with the hero, Sly Cooper, master thief, trekking through various locales in hopes of restoring the five pieces of his "Thievius Raccoonus", his family's great book of stealing. The book was torn apart by the group known as the Five Fiends, and now, it's up to Sly and his buddies to overcome the villians and steal what is rightfully theirs.

The graphics are splendid, taking full command of the PS2's capabilities with gorgeous -- and fitting -- cel-shading. The voice-acting, while a little hokey, has its moments, but the real prize of the game is its overall presentation. From opening credits to cut-scenes, Sly Cooper weaves a fun, truly original tale that can only beg for more sequels.

The gameplay is precise, with Sly a cinch to control. A quick tutorial mission acts as the first "stage," so novice gamers will have no problems figuring out how to make Sly climb, jump, swing, and do other marvelous things with his unique cane. Special "Super Sneaky" moves are available with a simple press of a button, and special techniques can be unlocked by finding "clues" (bottles) throughout the levels. These special techniques are fun to use and add some flavor to the game, but they're not necessary to complete your missions.

With colorful characters, memorable villains, rewarding gameplay, rich graphics, and a terrific story, Sly Cooper should find its way onto your PS2 soon. It won't take many days to finish, but the ride through is well worth it!

27 of 30 found the following review helpful:


An entertaining diversion  Aug 31, 2003 By Jadecat
I was lucky enough to pick this up used at Blockbusters for a very reasonable price. I bought it based on the reviews I had read here. My 7 year old daughter immediately began to play it and has been going at it for a few days now. She has reached 40% completion now, so it has not been a terribly difficult game up to this level, but she has had to replay several sections more than once in order to continue. The game save works very nicely and you can start your saved game up quickly with a minimal load time. The fastest I have seen so far. It also hasn't sent her back to the beginning after Sly dies, avoiding frustration. We also have Ratchet & Clank as well as Jak & Daxter, but this one seems to hold her attention more. It may be that this is a more linear game, where she doesn't get stuck wandering around on an island, wondering where to go next. With this game, you just keep going forward and the obstacles appear right there, sort of like the old style Crash Bandicoot games. This game is also a pleasure to watch as the graphics are so nice. Put this on your list of games to buy, but be patient, find a good deal on it to make it all the more enjoyable.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:


Can Perfection Have a Flaw?  Jan 03, 2003 By Spencer Hollerith
Hmm... I wonder. Can I still give this game a perfect 5 stars despite the fact that it is not perfect? Sure I can! Why? Because the flaw is only in your mind!
Ok ok, now that I have you all confused, I guess I'll just have to explain myself. Everything about this game is utterly phenomenal, the Graphics drip with style and flair, the Sound is exceptionally well done, Gameplay is pure gaming goodness (my second favorite kind also, platformer), the Plot will grasp you tight, and well.. then there's the Replayability. I will break everything down individually though, so that you can see more clearly what I think of this masterpiece.

Graphics: 5 stars
For all those of you who have been living under a rock, in a cave, or on the moon these last couple of months, a new kind of graphics craze is headed to gaming, ''Cell-Shading.'' Cell-shading is a technique that makes 3d animations look like cartoony sprites, but still retains a sharp crisp look. Unfortunately, many of these games end up looking like a kiddy title because of this. Sly Cooper however is able to master this design by mixing cell-shaded characters and objects with pure three dimensional backgrounds. The result is quite astounding and you'll even enjoy watching other people play the game (but you'll like playing it more yourself). Every level but one runs at a fantastic 60 fps, beautifully sharp and quick. There is a little slowdown in the swamp level of Mz. Ruby due to the enormous amount of detail, but that hardly makes the level unplayable. With this great level of detail and a useful first person binocu-com view, you'll often find yourself staring at the beauty in amazement.

Sound: 5 stars
There aren't really any scores of music, but rather on-going dynamic tracks or themes for the levels. What I mean by dynamic is that the current situation affects the way the music is played. Many games have used this idea recently but SC&TR really masters it, creating an almost emotional result. I truly got frightened when I was seen by one odd looking guard in the haunted swamp; the music turned from its eery low flow to a blaring roar of sounds that quickly got my attention to the fact that I was in trouble. The music really also sounds like spy or thief music, which is a pretty impressive feat, it quiets down when you're in ''sneaking'' mode, and it just makes you feel like an overall badass. The main draw here I would say, is some of the best voice-acting ever done in a game. This is probably third in quality on the ps2 to MGS2 and FFX (sans Yuna). The characters voices match their personality and don't have any of the trademark videogame awkwardness.

Gameplay: 5 stars
In all honesty, I have never felt like I had this much control over a game, despite a rather simple 3 button setup. The triangle controls your specials, the x controls your jump (or double-jump), and the circle controls everything else. I have to admit I thought it was going to be too simple just using the circle button for all action, but I quickly grew accustomed to it, and was clinging on rails, hooks, and pointy tower tops like there was no tommorow. It's a very comfortable way to play a game, and an ingenious setup. The superb graphics allowed you to see the clear route along each level. The game managed to be linear but without fault as it didn't make any levels exceedingly easy. It also presented some nice variety in every boss level.

Plot: 5 stars
The plot was much, much more than I was expecting. I actually felt attached to the characters, angry at the villains, and excited to be a part of such a cool family (the Coopers). The story was basically about recovering you family's ancient thieving book, the Thievius Raccoonus, and the shenanigans along the way. That's about all I can say without giving away any spoilers, but believe me, it's very well presented. The plot is relayed through animated scenes as well as in-game cutscenes, along with some of that great voice-acting I was telling you about earlier. Without being a behemoth RPG-type game, the plot manages to keep you excited for more, and in the last level, you'll be on the edge of your seat.

Replayability: 5 stars
A perfect 5? I thought I was saying that this was the flaw with the game before. Well, to some extent it is. I could beat this game over and over and not really get tired, but that's not exactly the type of replay people look forward to. No, the replay that makes this game great is found after you beat the game for the first time, in the Master Thief Sprints. These are basically times to get through the level in as fast as you can, for a reward, mostly pride though. The reward is a dialogue about the level going on while you play through that particular area again, and some of the stuff is pretty cool to hear, especially if you're interested in making games (mostly design type stuff, which kept me interested even though I'm more of a programmer). But the flaw that I said was in your mind, and which may draw some people away from playing these Sprints, is the difficulty. For novice gamers, and on some levels, even for experts, these challenges can prove to be just that, challenging. But in the end, the feeling of pride you'll get to reach 100% will guide you through all of them. And don't worry, it's no Battletoads!

The Bottom Line: 5 stars!
Overall, I'd have to say this is definitely one of the best games I have ever played. I rented this, and kept it long enough to rack up a 7 dollar late fee, so that tells you something (if you know me). I'd suggest buying it, as I'll no doubt feel the urge to play it again soon.

15 of 16 found the following review helpful:


Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!  Sep 07, 2002
This is a game I am extremely excited about. If you have not seen it you
can get the demo just about anywhere, Sony must be crop dusting with these
things, I have seen it three times already in the gaming magazines. I also
had a chance to play it at Ozzfest (Sony trucks) where they were showing
considerably more of the game.

The first thing that drew my attention to this game was the graphical look.
The game looks absolutely amazing. The demo is by far the best looking
game I have ever seen on my HDTV. The art and design get high praise. I
am having fun with it and my kids are really enjoying it as well (I have an
11 and 8 year old). The play control is really nice, it has a good feel
and the movement is fast and reacts great.

The personalities of the different characters is really well done. The
whole game follows a thief theme and you feel like you are "Sly Cooper"
and part of the action. I have seen sites calling it a Metal Gear parody,
this is not how I would describe the game. The stealth is not patience
based or "lock you in room" and keep trying until you get it, it is more
action based: moving spotlights, running around in a barrel, hidding from
guards, dodging lazers. I really enjoyed the premise and execution of the
game.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:


Wow.  Oct 19, 2002
Sly Cooper is perfect in almost everyway. The gameplay consists of platforming- like Mario games, and stealth elements- like Metal Gear Solid, and lots of minigames. And they all blend together perfectly. No stupid minigames that you'll want to skip-but instead, they're 100% addictive. The stealth elements can only be used at certain designated times, but man are they fun. It even includes some things that Metal Gear doesn't have, such as slow mo jumps and stuff. Each level is pretty straight, as each level as one simple path, but there are some points where the path splits and stuff. It gives you more freedom than Crash Bandicoot ever did, put it that way. At the end of each level, you earn a key, which helps to unlock things in the hub world. There are 5 hub worlds in the game, each for the fiendish five that stole Sly's Theivius Racoonus, and you must steal to try to get them back. Boss fights are very fun and varied, and they range from flying fights, PaRappa the Rapper like fights, and just plain kill the enemy like crazy fights. The problem with the game is- its too dang short! About 8 hours to beat. But, the levels are so addictive, that don't be suprised if you find yourself going back to get 100%, and even after 100%, dont be suprised if you go back to them just for the fun of it! The controls in Sly are very smooth, and work perfectly.Each stage has things called clues that you can collect, and give you moves which add to your arsenal- which is very helpful throughout the game. And it finally gives you a reason to want to collect these items! Sonic the Hedgehog was popular on the Genesis because the game had easy controls, and it was fun to play. Well, I can easily say that Sly is the Sonic equivalent for the PlayStation 2. The graphics are also nice, lightly cel shaded, they look beautiful. Its suprising that they were pulled off on PS2. But- there is slowdown- lots of it at some points. But, if the developers of the game had to choose from framerate or graphics, they chose graphics- and they chose correctly. Also, there are cool cartoon styled cut-scenes to add to the fun. The sounds are pretty cool, and its got some cool and funny ones. You have to listen closely. Cool spy/cartoonish themes, good voice acting (the mouths actually match too!) and more make the sound area perfect. The game is very difficult at times, but this game has a new system where if you die alot in one area, it will reward you with more health and such. Speaking of health, you only have 1 HP until you die, but luckily, if you find items (horseshoes in this case) you can gain up to 3 HP. Its difficult at first, but you'll get used to it. Sly isn't actually perfect- but dang close. I recommend buying it. If you own a PS2, and you don't buy it, well you're making a very big mistake.
MY SCORE: 95/100

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