[PS3/Vita] Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

[Bullwinkle]

I'm surprised there isn't a thread for this already (only saw a teaser video one from two and a half years ago).

New developer this time around.  They worked on the Sly HD update, and that turned out pretty well.

I have to say, I'm only in the second time period, and I'm loving this game.

The graphics are really great, for the most part, and occasionally stunning (especially when sunlight is streaming in from behind something.  Sly himself looks a little odd.  They've tried to add depth to his cheek fur, but it winds up making him look like he has wrinkles.  When I watched the opening sequence, I thought a lot of time had passed, but it turns out it starts up very shortly after the last one ended.

One thing I'm extremely excited about is the fact that they brought back collectibles. The bottles are back in the main area, and if you find them all, you can unlock a safe with a useful upgrade (the first one gives you a coin magnet, for example).  There are also Sly Masks to find and treasures to haul back to the HQ.  All stuff that was missing from the last game, and I'm happy to see them again.  This kind of obsessive collecting thing may not be everyone's itch, but it works for me very well.

There are costumes that Sly unlocks as he progresses.  They are usually tied to the story, but then bring a benefit or two of their own.  The first suit of armor not only lets you walk past guards, it also protects you from fire.  These are easily swapped with the L2 button.

The controls are very fluid and simple, but there are a couple of relatively minor issues.  Jumping onto things with the circle button is sometimes tough to judge.  Usually it works in your favor, though (you'll often go a little higher than you thought possible making it to an elevated branch, for example), so it's not often a problem, but I have misjudged coming out of a danger zone, where I thought I was clear only to die.  But the checkpoint system is fairly generous. There's a set of train tracks in the second level, and they've been designed so that when you jump on one you go one way and the other goes the other way. This isn't very intuitive and can often lead to grumbling frustration, but it's usually easily fixed.

The biggest gripe I have with the game is that there is no list of moves available in the pause menu.  The only way to remember what moves you have and how to pull them off is by going back to the HQ.  The load times are a little longer than I'd like (though I'd prefer that over having to install yet another game, honestly), so needing to be in the HQ to find out this important information is inconvenient to say the least.  Honestly, I don't know how this slipped through testing.

On the subject of upgraded moves, though, there's been a big shift.  In previous games, there was very little money to go around, and so you had to either  do massive amounts of grinding or pick your upgrades carefully, but apart from finding a guide online, there was no way to tell what the best upgrades might be.  Frankly, the stinginess of the coin system was often very frustrating.  Sly 4 goes to the other extreme.  I believe I have more money in my bank currently than I did in all previous Sly games combined, and I'm only in the second era.  I have had no qualms about buying each and every upgrade as it becomes available, because doing so has made barely a dent.  Unless these upgrades get exponentially more expensive, I don't see an issue with getting them all (now if only I could remember how to pull them off in-game).  There could be a little more carrot here, I think, but I prefer having too much than too little.

Overall, this may be my favorite Sly Cooper to date.  Certainly it has the most promise for me.  The developers have done an impressive job maintaining the Sly Cooper formula, while taking it back to its core roots (there are other characters here, but you're basically playing Sly, Bentley and Murray with limited time as the ancestors).  Visually, they've brought it into the modern age in a very satisfying way.  If you're a fan, you should definitely give it a look.

EDIT: I meant to mention a very cool feature if you have the Vita version (which comes free when you buy the PS3 version).  If you run them at the same time, you can use the Vita as a treasure detector.  It goes into a nightvision mode and rotates as you look around in the PS3 game (you can't use the Vita as the controller, sadly), while various treasures are highlighted in the background.  The only problem with it at this point, is that if you just leave it running, it will eventually powersave off.

[EddieA]

I'm not too far in, but I'm really enjoying the game too.  Sanzaru did a great job of adding enough new stuff while not straying far from the formula.  I really like the ancestors concept, as it allows for characters that play like Sly, but with new moves.  I could do without the touch controls in some of the minigames, but other than that, the game is fantastic.

[Teggy]

I was doing a Sly 1-3 replay (well, Sly 1-2 replay as I never got far into Sly 3 on the PS2) but got distracted by Morrowind. I have this but I'll wait until playing through Sly 3. I'm curious to try crossplay.

[The Grue]

EDIT: I meant to mention a very cool feature if you have the Vita version (which comes free when you buy the PS3 version).  If you run them at the same time, you can use the Vita as a treasure detector.  It goes into a nightvision mode and rotates as you look around in the PS3 game (you can't use the Vita as the controller, sadly), while various treasures are highlighted in the background.  The only problem with it at this point, is that if you just leave it running, it will eventually powersave off.

I had no idea this was even in this game.  What do you have to do on the Vita?  Just start the game or do you have to go into a menu?  One thing I love about having the Vita version is the cross save so I can play on the PS3 and then pick up where I left off on the Vita.  I, too, am in the second time period and enjoying the game so far.

[Bullwinkle]

EDIT: I meant to mention a very cool feature if you have the Vita version (which comes free when you buy the PS3 version).  If you run them at the same time, you can use the Vita as a treasure detector.  It goes into a nightvision mode and rotates as you look around in the PS3 game (you can't use the Vita as the controller, sadly), while various treasures are highlighted in the background.  The only problem with it at this point, is that if you just leave it running, it will eventually powersave off.

I had no idea this was even in this game.  What do you have to do on the Vita?  Just start the game or do you have to go into a menu?  One thing I love about having the Vita version is the cross save so I can play on the PS3 and then pick up where I left off on the Vita.  I, too, am in the second time period and enjoying the game so far.

There is something you have to enable in the menu.  I forget what it's called, but it should be fairly apparent.

[Harpua3]

Must resist purchase...

[Dante Rising]

I played the demo and really enjoyed it. I'm going to purchase this as soon as I complete the HD Collection.

[Scraper]

Has anyone played this on the Vita yet? Just wanting to know if the low frame rates are as bad as some of the reviews are saying?

[Jumangi]

I haven't seen any framerate problems problems with the Vita.

[The Grue]

I haven't seen any framerate problems problems with the Vita.

Seems to run fine to me as well, but I'm not a stickler for frame rate stuff.

[Andrew Wonser]

For those that have played the previous games which would you say this one most resembles?

[EddieA]

For those that have played the previous games which would you say this one most resembles?

Definitely Sly 2, with a dash of Sly 3's minigames and large roster of playable characters.  I think the developers even said they used Sly 2 as an inspiration.

[Autistic Angel]

Don't forget Best Buy has this for $10-off this week: $30 for the PS4 & Vita version or $20 for the Vita version alone.

-Autistic Angel

[Bullwinkle]

For those that have played the previous games which would you say this one most resembles?

Definitely Sly 2, with a dash of Sly 3's minigames and large roster of playable characters.  I think the developers even said they used Sly 2 as an inspiration.

I was going to say Sly 2 as well, though I don't feel like the roster of characters is large (unless that changes by the end).  To me, Sly 3 got crazy with the number of characters.  This one seems to have the main three and one ancestor for each region.

[Scraper]

Don't forget Best Buy has this for $10-off this week: $30 for the PS4 & Vita version or $20 for the Vita version alone.

-Autistic Angel

Nice that seals the deal on this one.

[Lordnine]

Amazon price matched as well.  Picked it up there for $30 with no tax/free shipping.   

[EngineNo9]

I started playing yesterday and had plenty of fun.  I played for most of the time on my PS3 and then picked up on the Vita later to finish off the first time area and boss fight. 

The Vita ran well and looked great for most everything, although it did seem like there was some slowdown during the boss fight.  I wasn't enjoying the boss fight to begin with so that probably didn't help, but overall nothing seemed detrimental and it was pretty seemless.

[Scraper]

I picked this up today at Best Buy. I opened up my copy and the only thing inside is the disc. Is there supposed to be a code for the Vita version, or is it on the disc? The game definitely fails the lift test. (Not that that means much anymore).

[The Grue]

I picked this up today at Best Buy. I opened up my copy and the only thing inside is the disc. Is there supposed to be a code for the Vita version, or is it on the disc? The game definitely fails the lift test. (Not that that means much anymore).

With cross-buy stuff, there is something you launch from the XMB to redeem it.  It will be an icon under the normal game launcher.

[Scraper]

I picked this up today at Best Buy. I opened up my copy and the only thing inside is the disc. Is there supposed to be a code for the Vita version, or is it on the disc? The game definitely fails the lift test. (Not that that means much anymore).

With cross-buy stuff, there is something you launch from the XMB to redeem it.  It will be an icon under the normal game launcher.

That's good news. I was dreading having to exchange the game for another copy.

[Bullwinkle]

I picked this up today at Best Buy. I opened up my copy and the only thing inside is the disc. Is there supposed to be a code for the Vita version, or is it on the disc? The game definitely fails the lift test. (Not that that means much anymore).

With cross-buy stuff, there is something you launch from the XMB to redeem it.  It will be an icon under the normal game launcher.

When you put the disc in, there will be three disc icons instead of the usual one.  The first is for gameplay, the second is called "Disc Features" or some such and the third is for the manual, IIRC.  The Vita unlock is under the second one.  It goes online and unlocks the game in the store.  You don't have to download it and transfer it, though.  Once you go through the short procedure, it's unlocked in the store and you can download it to your Vita from there.