Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut (PS5)

The original release of Ghost of Tsushima came around when the PS5 was close to launch, providing an imperfect, yet fantastic swan song to PS4-exclusive first-party titles. Months after the launch of the PS5, a new edition of Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, was announced for both platforms that brought with it new improvements as well as bonus content based around the region of Iki Island. You could even transfer your PS4 save file to the PS5 version, albeit through a USB drive rather than the cloud.

Since I already owned the physical PS4 copy of the game, I opted for the digital upgrade option to save money rather than buy the physical copy again at full price, however it isn’t cheap; upgrading the PS4 version costs $20, then another $10 to upgrade that to the PS5 version, or you can pay $30 to skip straight to PS5. Though I knew I wanted to play the PS5 version to get a better experience, I still went for the two payments option so I could still have the PS4 option if I wanted, and transferred a save file I had based on the original game’s Good ending. After exploring Iki Island to the fullest, I found the PS5 experience to be worth my time, though I feel unsure if the digital upgrade was worth my money.

Ghost of Tsushima

Back when it was announced in 2017, Ghost of Tsushima caught my attention, due in part to it being a brand-new IP from Sly Cooper and Infamous developer Sucker Punch and for it being their own take on samurai-style gameplay. The more I learned about the game as it got closer to release, the more it intrigued me, such as how the game was heavily inspired by works such as Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo comic book series and the films of Akira Kurosawa of Rashōmon fame. Though the game was delayed on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, said delay was fortunately only by a few weeks, which incidentally made it the final first-party PS4 exclusive following the rather divisive (and that’s I will say on that) The Last of Us Part II released a few weeks prior. The game took a little longer for me to complete than anticipated due to Comic-Con@Home starting up shortly after it came out, though once I finally completed it I found the experience be wholly worthwhile.

Infamous Second Son

Ever since the first Infamous game came out in 2009, I’ve been anticipating each installment by Sucker Punch. I remember liking the original game as well as Infamous 2, so I naturally wanted to play the PS4 installment, Infamous Second Son. However, it wouldn’t be until after my birthday that I’d be able to get it (I ordered it online so I could play the Limited Edition), and even then college eventually got in the way of my play time, so I couldn’t finish my standard two playthroughs until my finals ended. After having finally done so in time for Trophy Unlocked's fourth anniversary, I would say that Infamous Second Son is definitely worth playing, though it’s not without a couple of hang-ups.

Delsin Rowe is a graffiti artist living on the Akomish reservation. After his brother Reggie, a police officer, catches him spray-painting again, Delsin runs away, but Reggie stops him and scolds him for having to be arrested again. The resulting argument is interrupted when a military convoy carrying three Conduit prisoners crashes on the reservation. Delsin ends up touching one of the prisoners, a man named Hank, and gains abilities related to smoke. Seeking answers, he chases Hank and manages to corner him, only for Brooke Augustine, the director of the Department of Unified Protection (D.U.P.), to show up and trap Hank in concrete. Augustine quickly finds out about Delsin’s powers and puts him in a coma. A week later, Delsin wakes up and finds that Augustine used her powers to injure everyone on the reservation with her concrete powers. In an effort to save them, Delsin heads with Reggie to Seattle to confront Augustine and gain her concrete abilities so that he may heal everyone in the Akomish tribe.

The story has solid writing, with enough character development to let the player figure out Reggie and Delsin’s personalities. Other important characters, Hank, Fetch and Eugene, are less three-dimensional, but they have their own character arcs that show development on their end, as well as back story via comic book-style cutscenes, and feel more involved in the story. The Karma system returns from the first two games and still influences power modifiers and story paths. However, no matter what Karma route you pick, the story will play out in nearly the same way except for the very ending or what the minor characters say and believe. Since I played the game twice, I also noticed that though the numerous side activities around Seattle can lengthen the game immensely, the actual story feels a little short. I’m not really certain as to how long it takes, but I felt like it could have been lengthened a little or had some more character development worked in.

Seattle is very well rendered. Though I haven’t been to the city in real life, I would say that Sucker Punch did an amazing job with recreating iconic landmarks like the Space Needle. They also did a good job capturing the feel of Seattle, which was the goal anyway since this is more of a fictionalized version of the city, though this feeling is based on what I’ve seen from Strip Search and countless episodes of Frasier. The character models look very realistic without dipping into the uncanny valley and Delsin’s powers all look very cool during use, with various effects applied so as to make them believable to the setting. I also liked the lighting effects during the different times of day, as it added a layer of realism to the world and shows how well the PS4 is able to render day and night, although certain conditions can make specific side missions requiring good sight a little more difficult to complete, though I’m more willing to blame the angles I put the camera at. Also, I didn’t really come across any glitches, except for a specific one where Delsin can slide down a specific building’s support and clip all the way through the ground.

The game's graphics are top notch.

Gameplay in this installment is definitely improved from the previous ones. Delsin’s conduit ability is that he can steal powers from other conduits, so there’s an easier explanation for how he can have, at the end of the game, four different powers at his disposal (I won’t go beyond Smoke to avoid spoilers). Each of these powers has their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as different methods of mobility, so any player can figure out a power which suits their play style. Karma can also determine the sort of additional upgrades you can gain with collected Blast Shards, so it’s worth it to play through the game twice to see what Delsin is truly capable of, though I did notice that Good Karma abilities tend to take the more nonlethal or healing approach as opposed to Evil Karma focusing on death and destruction. The only thing I was unsure of was the fact that powers are switched by absorbing it from the environment as opposed to using the d-pad (think Devil May Cry 4 style switching), although the fact that the strongest abilities are mapped to the Down button may justify it for some.

Like in previous Infamous games, Karma is altered depending on either story choices or actions in the environment. These actions can include side tasks such as drug busts or clearing an area of Akura gang members, though these are designed to be done quickly and you can, of course, always just kill random civilians for quick Evil Karma. Karma isn’t so easily swayed though, since the Good and Evil sides each have five levels as Delsin reaches either Hero or Infamous rank. The biggest addition is the ability to free different districts of Seattle from D.U.P. control by completing actual side missions, such as destroying mobile command centers, killing secret agents or finding the location of a hidden file. Completing a certain mission from each district that unlocks whenever the D.U.P. control of that district reaches 30% or lower will also unlock Fast Travel locations for easy travel across the rather large city. What I found most interesting was that Seattle is divided into an upper and lower half separated by a bridge, which can also sort of separate the difficulty level of the game, since the lower half can definitely get more intense than the upper half.

If there’s one thing I really didn’t like however, it would be (optional) Paper Trail DLC. Paper Trail is essentially an ARG built into the game in which Deslin confronts a Conduit with paper-based abilities. During this extended encounter, players are encouraged to visit an external website to solve various clues left behind by the Conduit, though the clues are often cryptic and may necessitate consulting an online guide. Just to add to the frustration, these clues are often solved by doing something in the real world, such as printing out an origami dove and folding it until certain numbers are visible, which you then enter in as a password on an additional website. The worst part of this ordeal though is that when you finish all parts, some of which require the external website to activate, you don’t get any paper powers or anything. I’d only recommend a player do this if they either want more unlockable jackets or want to wear the mask that the paper Conduit wears.

I actually had to do this for a code within Paper Trail.

On the other hand, the Limited Edition’s Cole’s Legacy missions are actually quite interesting. The story arc is overall pretty short and consists mostly of locating audio reports, but it provides long-time fans with some insight as to what happened to Cole and Zeke after the events of Infamous 2. I would say that the Limited Edition is worth buying for this, plus you get to wear Cole’s jacket when it’s all over, which is a nice touch.

Before I end this review, I’d like to also talk about how the game uses the PS4’s controller. The DualShock 4 is used in the sort of way that a tech demo would, by taking advantage of as many of a system’s features as possible, but in this case the features are integrated in such a way that it doesn’t feel like a tech demo at all. The touch pad is used to great effect as both an immersive function a la finger scanning as well as the dedicated button for absorbing new power or Blast Shards and picking up audio logs. Additionally, the speaker is used for phone alerts and additional audio, plus when combined with the built-in Move functionality it makes the act of spray painting even more immersive; as an additional touch, the Move light on the controller changes color to match the color of paint.

Overall, Infamous Second Son is a game worth playing. The story, though not the best, is pretty solid, the gameplay is better than before and Seattle is rendered extremely well. Karma is a bit binary here, but I actually liked the simplicity and I felt that in some ways my choices still mattered. Paper Trail can be rewarding for some, but in my case I found it too tedious to be worth the trouble. The game also manages to take advantage of several of the PS4’s features without at all feeling like a tech demo and the music is written and integrated very well. If you’re a fan of the Infamous franchise then this is a definite buy, but I’d also recommend this game to those looking for a great addition, or start, to their PS4 library.

The Adventures of Sly Cooper (Comic)

As seen with other comic reviews on this blog, comics can be used as a way to add more depth to a video game series, while also providing a convenient way to promote the next game in a series by telling a story that takes place between games, which is the approach of many of the comics reviewed here. Some however, like The Darkness II: Confession, while acting as a transition point, are only available through a promotion like Free Comic Book Day or otherwise as a free give-away, like a hand-out at a convention (the aforementioned The Darkness comic was actually given away through both of these means). The comic I will be talking about here was released in a similar fashion, as a promotional item through the now-defunct GamePro magazine. Tying into the events of the Sly Cooper games, The Adventures of Sly Cooper is a 2-issue miniseries, with each issue published at different points, the first as a transition between Sly 1 and 2 and the second issue taking place between Sly 2 and 3. Due to their limited availability, these comics can go for high prices online, ranging in several 10's of dollars (you can probably find The Darkness II: Confession much easier and for a much lower price). With these comics being about as the games they were made to promote, the question here is not just whether they are good, but also whether they are still good after all this time.

The first issue of The Adventures of Sly Cooper tells one story, but is divided into 3 sections: "The Heart of a Thief", which revolves around Inspector Carmelita Fox trying to protect the statue "Venus de Whalo" as Sly Cooper and co. attempt to steal it; "The Cookie Connection", a flashback sequence to the Cooper Gang's very first heist (stealing cookies) back when they were in an orphanage; and "A Chase Down Memory Lane", where Sly and Carmelita partake in a flashback to when they first met each other. The last two parts are related to the first in that, after the gang steals the sculpture ("The Heart of a Thief"), Sly must stall for time until another boat arrives (they were a few minutes behind schedule, causing them to miss a boat to use in their getaway). On the way over to Carmelita, Sly reminisces back to his youth at the orphanage ("The Cookie Connection"), and once he reaches her, Sly stalls by having both him and Carmelita reminisce about their first meeting as they tell their own side of the story ("A Chase Down Memory Lane").

The framing device of a heist serves as a good way to tell each of the three stories presented so as to not make the book an anthology of three short stories, and the way is which this is presented helps add more depth to the Sly Cooper mythos without any form of non sequitur. The narrative also provides more backstory on the character of Dimitri, an important character in the then-upcoming Sly 2, in addition to adding depth to the relationship between Sly Cooper and Carmelita Fox.

The cover of the second issue.

The second issue of the comic follows from the aftermath of Sly 2, expanding on the first few minutes of the then-unreleased Sly 3 as Sly learns more about his family history and tries to get the gang back together. This story is also divided into chunks, this time 4, although only two of them have proper titles: The first section sees Sly breaking into prison in order to talk to a walrus named Big Jim McSweeney, his dad's old thieving partner; the second, "...And Then There Were Two!" sees Sly and Murray breaking into a hospital to get their injured pal Bentley out so they could pull a heist better; the third, "Good Looking from afar, but Far from Good Looking Up Close!" has Carmelita investigating a failed heist by Sly and Murray while a co-worker named Winthorp tries to admit his crush on her; finally, the Epilogue details the events of the following day, leading into the events of the first few minutes of Sly 3 as Carmelita prepares to take down Sly Cooper and drama occurs within the Cooper Gang.

This comic uses a similar sort of framing device to the first to connect the four stories together, which again works in its favor. It gives the comic a unique feel to it while also expanding on events brought up at the beginning of Sly 3. The execution provides a good narrative flow that makes it feel like a Sly Cooper story, telling a story divided into chapters like the game the comic is promoting.

The comic does not really make clear who the creative teams are for each issue, but whoever wrote these comics did a good job with the setting and characters. The dialogue feels natural for each character and I could imagine each characters' voices as I was reading, which, as I have said in other comic reviews, is a really good sign (except for Carmelita, whose voice changes as often as Dante's, so I had to try to settle for one as I was reading). The artwork is also very exceptional, perfectly matching the art style of the games and feeling very lively in places. The art feels very fluid and, like the games themselves, keeps a similar atmosphere to the series at those points and makes everything stand out like in the cut scenes (in fact, I've read that some of the comic panels actually were used for the cut scenes, which I wouldn't be surprised about since some images in the second issue look like they were ripped straight from the third game). One thing I noticed, however, is a coloring error that pops up a few times in the first issue where Sly's gloves are colored entirely yellow, as opposed to blue gloves with a yellow trim. Aside from that, while I can't pinpoint exact names, I thought the creative team (teams?) did a very excellent job (I wouldn't be surprised if it was Sucker Punch employees who worked on it).

Overall, The Adventures of Sly Cooper is the perfect advertisement for a Sly Cooper game. With some great writing and artwork, the comic not only provides more development for fans of the series, it's also a good way to entice newcomers to check it out. The comic might be hard to find now, but it's still worth taking a look. On a related note, Sanzaru Games did something similar to this comic to promote Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, which comes out next week, in the form of an animated short, first scattered across the 'net in three pieces and then brought together as one. The animation and voice acting (despite only having one voice) are truly amazing and I would highly recommend watching it.

The Sly Collection - It's A Steal

Due to school and a number of other factors, playing this collection for a review took longer than expected (and somewhat decreased my recent output). In any case, reviewing this collection means our build-up to Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is drawing to a close (but it's not quite done yet). Released a couple years ago, The Sly Collection was developed by Sanzaru Games, due to Sucker Punch being busy with the Infamous series, after God of War Collection started and popularized HD remakes. Supposedly, the people at Sanzaru are big fans of Sly Cooper, so they were given the task of remastering the PS2 trilogy as a sort of test. Having recently finished another playthrough of these games, I would say they passed with flying colors.

While there isn't any change in the gameplay, there certainly is some in the graphics. The visuals of the games look more refined than their earlier counterparts and seem to run a little smoother at times. However, there is a minor difference I noticed while playing photograph missions, regarding the photos themselves. In the original PS2 versions of Sly 2 and 3, when a photo is taken, it stops to show what you took while zooming out a little and tilting slightly to the right; in their PS3 remasters, the photo just stays there without moving. To be fair, while it does sound silly that I'm going into such detail over a minor change, I found it fairly noticeable after playing the original games before playing the collection.

To increase the collection's replay value, Sanzaru has included a few special minigames, each utilizing the functionality of the PlayStation Move. These games primarily involve shooting/moving through targets, and the trophies associated with them aren't too difficult to get when playing solo. When played with another person however, these games actually become somewhat more competitive. The Move controls also work extremely well and move with 100% accuracy (whether the icon perfectly follows the glowing orb depends on your calibration) without any sort of lag. While it is possible to use a regular controller for these minigames, as well as being able to outdo a Move user half the time, I would recommend using the Move instead, if only due to increased accuracy and speed. (As a side note, these games are only local multiplayer, so fans expecting online play are out of luck.)

Despite these improvements however, I still ran into some technical difficulties. During my replay of Sly 2, I had a moment where, while playing as Bentley, I was literally knocked out of the game level while inside a deadly corridor, thus costing me the mission and forcing me to start over from scratch. I would also recommend not leaving your disk in the system for too long, since a couple times when I ended up doing that, I encountered some static from the audio that made affected cutscenes and subsequent gameplay harder to understand, requiring me to exit the game and start it back up again. I also had the sound drop out completely once during Sly 3, which again required a restart to get it going again. Aside from this and a single game freeze, there wasn't that much wrong with it technically speaking.

Before I end this review, I would also like to bring up a small comment on the 3D capability, but not concerning whether it works or not since I didn't use a 3D television. As I have said before, Sly 3 has an option where certain levels can be played in 3D via a pair of special glasses that can cause eye strain. In the HD remaster, these levels are presumably done by using the functionality of a 3D set. I'm assuming you only get the screen giving you the option when you're playing on one of these sets, because I did not see that screen at all while playing, so character dialogue referring to "optimizer goggles" otherwise seems to come out of nowhere.

The Sly Collection is a must-have for Sly Cooper fans who want to see their favorite characters again in glorious HD, technical issues aside. For those who don't have a PS2 but still want to experience the original Sly trilogy, this is a good way to do just that. Plus, combining the clue bottles from the first two games, the time trials from the first game, the multiplayer games and extra missions in the third game, and the minigames included with this collection, you get an incredible amount of replay value that offers more bang for your buck.

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves

At last we have come to the final game in the current Sly Cooper trilogy, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, originally released the year following Sly 2. Within this short time frame, some changes have been made to the Sly Cooper formula, which may either help or detract from the experience depending on your perspective. As a whole though, though it nicely ends Sucker Punch's run on the series, it isn't my favorite thieving adventure.

Sly Cooper and the gang have reached Kaine Island, on which sits the Cooper Vault, containing the Cooper family fortune that has been built up over several generations of thieving activity. Once Sly finally reaches the vault, he opens it, only to be stopped by Dr. M, who happens to own the island. Furious, Dr. M, having plugged himself into one of his experimental creatures, grabs hold of Sly and attempts to crush him. As this happens, Sly begins to think back on what led him to this point in time...

The remainder of the story is told primarily through flashback, retaining the heavier tone set up by the second game while still having a few lighthearted moments to offset it. There are some rather interesting plot twists to be found along the way, and some old faces show up from the first two games to help (or hinder) you along the way. As with before, the villains that the team must face are actually pretty interesting, and while they may not be likable, they are no less memorable. The overall experience still manages to have some of that Saturday morning feel to it, which again isn't really a bad thing.

The level design of Sly 2 is retained here, with the exception of the clue bottles from previous entries. I found the absence of this feature somewhat odd, since their inclusion encouraged exploration throughout each world in the previous game. Regardless, I got somewhat used to this as I kept playing. In its stead there are a few times where you have to search for a number combination within a painting, with the assistance of a magnifying glass of course, although it quickly gets to the point where it seems they didn't even try to cleverly hid the numbers.

Like with the last game, some changes have been made to the gameplay. For instance, whenever you pickpocket a valuable item from a guard, the amount the item is worth is automatically added to your coin total instead of having to go back to the Safehouse and selling it off through ThiefNet, which admittedly helps the game go by faster. Other features include safe cracking, in which you unlock a safe by turning a lock and feeling controller vibrations; and wearing a disguise to get around certain areas, though if a guard sees you, you must repeat a password given to you by Bentley.

Much like the last installment, you have the ability to play as Sly, Bentley, or Murray at any given time, though in certain mission you are able to use even more characters, including Carmelita (though these are in the guise of Sly/Bentley/Murray missions). Each of these characters has their own unique playstyle, which adds more variety to the gameplay presented and allows each mission to get a little more creative. However, it sometimes becomes apparent that Bentley has gained somewhat more bloodlust between games, as some of the missions involve murder (ex. feeding guards to a crocodile in order for it to chase other guards out of an area).

Continuing the trend from the first two games, Carmelita Fox once again changes voice actresses, this time being voiced by Ruth Livier. I didn't have too much of a problem with this voice, though at times she sounds sort of nasally, which can get a little grating. In the end I thought her performance was okay, it's just not my favorite Carmelita voice.

While I did actually have a good time with this game, there were a few things that bogged down the experience for me. At a later point in the game, there is a pirate themed stage that introduces new gameplay concepts, including treasure hunting and ship combat. While I understand the need for variety in a game, I think the stuff in the pirate stage feels like a little too much and only serves to introduce players to a multiplayer mode and another bit of extra gameplay (more on that later). On the other hand, the ship combat does prove to be an excellent source of coins.

Another point I want to address involves said coins. This time around there's even more abilities that you can purchase through ThiefNet for Sly, Bentley, and Murray, but at the same time it also gets more and more expensive. This can lead to hours of grinding simply to get that new button combination (for Sly) or another fire-related ability (for Murray). Because of this, I decided to forego grinding during my last run-through, which made the game go by much faster and allowed me to absorb the story more. This also allowed me to weigh my ThiefNet options and think about whether or not the ability I was about to purchase would actually be useful. (In essence, I wholly recommend not grinding.)

The game also has extra missions that can be done once a section is over, adding replay value in place of the clue bottles. However, it is possible to quickly lose interest in these side quests, since completing all of them essentially requires you to play the game twice in order to get 100% completion, whereas in Sly 2 you could easily get full completion in a single run.

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves also introduces a couple new features to the Sly Cooper series, one of them being 3D functionality, namely analog 3D (the one with the cheap red/blue glasses). There are only a few sections that use this function, and soon you figure out why: while it works really well, especially in a dark room, it can cause minor eye strain after an extended session. Whether or not this is worth it depends on the player, but I would still give it praise since it really gives you a feeling of depth.

The other new feature to the series is local multiplayer, which accommodates two players. The modes you'll find here are simple in nature, including hacking, plane combat, the aforementioned ship combat and Cops and Robbers; in Cops and Robbers, two players (one as Sly, the other as Carmelita) must compete to get 5 points, Sly by stealing items and Carmelita by hunting Sly. Of the mutliplayer modes that I explored, I personally found the Cops and Robbers one to be the most exciting, since it was the most unique.

Extra features aside, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves is a good way to cap off Sucker Punch's run on the Sly Cooper series. It has a compelling story that hits the right marks for a Sly Cooper title and there is some good variety in the gameplay, though some of the new elements can sometimes get in the way. Regardless, it is a game that Sly fans must have in their collection, especially since it ends with a lead-in to Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.

How good will it be? Only time will tell...

Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Continuing the legacy of Sly Cooper, Sucker Punch released another entry in the series two years after its predecessor, entitled Sly 2: Band of Thieves. The first game, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, was a short, yet highly enjoyable platformer with enough variety to keep the player invested. This sequel not only improves on the formula, but also delves deeper into the mythology and characters.

After the defeat of Clockwerk a couple years ago, Sly Cooper and the gang perform a heist in Paris in order to steal back a Clockwerk piece so he may never be resurrected. However, Inspector Carmelita Fox and Constable Neyla are there to ambush Sly in an attempt to capture them. When Sly tries to explain what he was doing, Neyla casually tips him off to the Klaww Gang, a group of criminals who are using the Clockwerk parts for their own schemes. Once Sly, Bentley, and Murray make a quick getaway, they set off in search of the Klaww Gang, hoping to once and for all rid the world of Clockwerk.

The story of this game is somewhat deeper than the last one, setting a more heavier tone by including more serious and dramatic moments to drive the narrative, such as a point where Bentley is separated from his friends after they were taken into custody, along with a few interesting plot twists throughout. However, there is still some of the humor from the first game thrown in to help relieve the tension. The game still retains some of the Saturday morning episodic feel the first game had, but that's not necessarily a bad thing since you can say which episodes you liked and which ones you didn't.

Which brings me to the level design. Contrasting with the presentation of the first game, each of the 8 episodes comprising this game consist of an open world (instead of a hub world) with mission points spread throughout. These missions are based on the current state of the narrative and are, of course, mandatory to progress. However, you do not have to do them immediately, since you are also given the opportunity to explore each stage and become familiar with its architecture. Personally my favorite episodes are a pair that are set in Canada, since they are brightly-lit compared to the rest of the game worlds and they are much more open (plus the first of these stages is an excellent source of coins).

Now that I mention coins, I should mention that some game mechanics are different here than before. For starters, whereas the first game had a life system, this one replaces it with a health bar, so that you have more than one hit during combat. As such, health is something you can pick up, which not only refuels your life, but also another gauge underneath. This gauge allows you to use special powers for a limited amount of time, which you can obtain either by opening safes after gathering enough Clue Bottles, or purchase at the Safehouse through ThiefNet. This is where coins come into play, which you can get by smashing objects or taking out various enemies. You also have the option to pickpocket enemies as well, during which you can get a valuable item that you can sell through ThiefNet if the target's pocket is glowing.

The characters, much like in Thievius Raccoonus, are good in their own ways, and the villains have unique and interesting backstories that help explain their motivations; those that survive even have their own happy endings as indicated by post-credits sequences. I'm still not sure exactly why Clockwerk had such an intense hatred for the Cooper clan, but that's not necessarily required to enjoy the narrative. The background music is still nice to listen to during each episode, even if there is a little dissonance at least once, and nicely fits into each locale without becoming a distraction.

On the subject of sound, this game starts a sort of trend where Carmelita inexplicably changes voice actresses between games. If I was to comment on this, I would say that I think Roxanna Ortega did a good job in the first game, though I have mixed feelings about Alésia Glidewell's performance here. For the most part she does a fine job voicing Inspector Fox, but sometimes it sounds a little off, as if not enough was put into it. Then again she also voices Neyla in this game, so that might have come from trying to have a distinct voice for each character.

Another change between games is character playability. In the first game you primarily controlled Sly, with the chance to be Murray during driving sections and Bentley in a single hacking minigame. In the sequel, you get to explore the world as all three of them (not at the same time) and they each have their own missions and abilities. Sly has the most mobility in the stages, thanks to his agility, and has the ability to pickpocket guards; Bentley is the weakest of the three, though he can perform hacking minigames and his inability to pickpocket is made up for with an array of sleep darts that can knock out enemies so he can blow them up; and Murray, being the strongest, also cannot pickpocket but he can lift heavy objects and throw them with great power (plus he can beat up enemies faster). As such the abilities you can give them are based on these skill sets; Sly's powers focus on sneaking around and getting around more quickly, Bentley's are based on technology, and Murray's center around fire and brute force. This sort of variety helps keep things interesting, as there are some things that only one of them can pull off that the other cannot.

Sly 2: Band of Thieves is an excellent addition to Sly Cooper franchise and is a definite must-play for fans of the series. Those that enjoy a good stealth game will want to give this one a try, especially if you own a USB headset for the PS2. (Admittedly I have not played the game this way, but from what I have read, using it can create an extra layer of challenge regarding stealth.) When next I look over Sly Cooper, we shall see how well Sly 3 can get the job done.

Now go outside.

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

After concluding Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank series, it's time for the main event in the anticipation for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. In 1999, Sucker Punch Productions produced their first game, Rocket: Robot on Wheels, for the Nintendo 64. Later in 2002, Sucker Punch would create the character Sly Cooper, leading to an acclaimed trilogy of games on the PS2. The first game, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, is an excellent start to the trilogy and delivers a memorable platforming experience.

Sly Cooper is the last of the Cooper family, a raccoon family long known for thievery, namely stealing from other thieves. Sly was to inherit the Thievius Raccoonus, a book passed down in the Cooper family for generations that details the thieving techniques from each previous owner, when his father was attacked by a group known as the Fiendish Five, led by an owl named Clockwerk. Each member of the Fiendish Five has taken a section of the Thievius Raccoonus while disposing of Sly's father, leaving him in an orphanage where he meets his friends Bentley and Murray. The three of them have become a master thieving trio over the years, all the while looking for hints as to where the Fiendish Five may be. After breaking into a police station in Paris, France, Sly finds what he is looking for and sets off to not only recover his family heirloom, but also defeat the Fiendish Five, including the villainous Clockwerk, once and for all.

While the story isn't very deep, it doesn't need to be in order for you to want to keep going. The events of the game play out with a tone not unlike a Saturday morning cartoon, helped by the stylized and colorful graphics, which isn't exactly a bad thing. In fact, one of the bonuses by the end is the introductory clip done in a style more akin to Japanese anime, and I must say it looks rather amazing. If there was an animated series based on Sly Cooper done in that fashion, I would totally watch it.

Getting back on track, the main characters are pretty likable and you don't need much in order to support them. The villains are actually given fair reasoning for wanting to turn to a life of crime, though Clockwerk's motivation went unexplained. Regardless, the game does a good job with whatever characterization there is and it makes me want to see what happens to the heroes next. The music is also nice to listen to, setting up an appropriate tone with repeating sounds made not annoying. One bit of music stood out in particular while I was playing, during the boss fight with Mz. Ruby that functions like a rhythm game. It can take a while to get the beat down, but to me it seemed like something that could easily be sampled or mixed into its own song, and I would go so far as to call it one of my favorite bits of background music from the entire game.

The game is a platformer, but it has some interesting things in it. As you go through each stage you can learn new ways of getting past your enemies, such as rail walking, spire jumps, and turning invisible to name but a few, and by the end your skill are put to the test on your way to Clockwerk. To learn these skills you must either defeat a boss or break enough Clue Bottles hidden in the area to unlock a safe with a three-digit code. The regular platforming segments have some elements of espionage, such as sneaking around guards or avoiding lights and lasers, among other things. There is however some variety in the gameplay of each locale, with a few racing and shooting segments mixed in, along with timed levels involving a vehicle.

For a game that's roughly 10 years old, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus holds up surprisingly well. It's a fairly short game, but that time is entertaining nonetheless. If you want a good, simple platform game or wish to start your Sly Cooper experience, I would direct you towards this game. It is an experience you won't forget any time soon.