Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Hands-on - Preview
by Jake Weston , posted on 06 June 2012 / 3,354 Views
With 2010, developer Sanzaru Games’ Sly Cooper HD Collection simultaneously rekindled fond memories and reintroduced new fans to the long-running stealth series. And clearly, the experience paid off, as Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Sanzaru’s first original entry into the series (Sucker Punch, of inFamous fame, developed the first three games) shows a clear understanding of what makes a Sly Cooper game great.
To fans of the original trilogy, Thieves of Time will feel readily familiar. Gameplay is almost exactly the same as the PS2 classics, and the controls are pitch perfect. Unfortunately, the demo I played seemed to be relatively early in the game, as there were no enemies to fight or alarms to avoid.
Of course, Sanzaru applied their own take on the series, showcasing new features for the series. One of the most interesting things shown during the demo was Sly’s new costume system: by pressing L2, players can switch into new costumes for Sly on the fly, which also provides Sly with unique powers. In the demo, Sly would transform into a Robin Hood-esque outfit, which allowed Sly to use a bow to shoot arrows from nearby crates. From there, the perspective switched to the arrow, letting players control the trajectory of the arrow, Heavenly Sword style, where Sly could climb across the rope at the end of the arrow’s tail like a bridge.
Fans who were worried that Thieves in Time would simply look like the Sly HD Collection need not worry. Sanzaru games clearly understands what makes a Sly game a Sly game, but this is definitely a game made for HD consoles. The classic cartoon style remains, yet levels are large and expansive, and the animations are the best in the series.
With Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Sanzaru Game is successfully pulling off the all-too tricky developer switcharoo, taking over an established franchise from a big name developer. Although no specific release date has been set, Thieves in Time is quickly looking to be one of the premiere games of late 2012.
