Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time

For those wondering about the cross features with Vita. It supports cross save and it's super easy to do. Just upload your save to the cloud (in the pause menu), and download it on the other system. It's super quick and has worked perfectly for me.

The other is a hidden treasure finder. I really don't like how they did it. You hold up your Vita to your tv (you have to get close to your tv, closer than I wanted to) and then push the R button to display an 'x-ray' thing that shows treasures and bottles on the hub. And you still have to control the game with the PS3 controller, you can't just control the game with the Vita while you look at it. It was a missed opportunity and could have been done way better.

Here's the main review.
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For Sly fans like me, this game is a dream come true. While it is developed by another development studio, (Sanzaru Games) instead of Sucker Punch, it really doesn't matter. They clearly weren't lying when they said they were fans of the series, because it shows.

For newcomers, it has a recap of everything you need to know, but it would probably be a good idea to grab the Sly Collection as well to brush up on the story completely. Plus, it's worth playing them all.

The game starts in the introduction stage, very similar to Sly 1 actually. You're pulling off a heist, and it runs you through the 'need to knows' of how to play the game as Sly, Bently and Murray. You'll also play as Carmelita later on and Sly ancestors, who play essentially like Sly, but with their own unique abilities.

After that, it's the typical Sly 2/3 formula. Pick a character in the hideout, go out into the town/hub area and start a mission and work your way towards your goal (which is always a boss battle). Then you move on to the next area. There are 5 full areas in the game. Each very beautiful and diverse.

Missions are varied, not quite as much as in Sly 3, but that's a good thing. Each mini-game that they use in various mission handles better than Sly 3. In Sly 3 there were so many, that some of them didn't feel polished enough. There's the RC car, RC copter and hacking Bently is known for, there's some dancing (rhythm), Most of the time though, you'll be Sly sneaking around and hoping along objects doing your thing. And of course, Bently and his beat 'em up.

And Sly wouldn't be Sly without clue bottles. They return, just like they were in 2/3. 30 per area, find them all and you can unlock a chest in the area for a useful item that gives you some kind of bonus. You can also view them in your hideouts and read details on them.

There are also treasures, like previous games, grab them and run for your hideout. You can look at these in your hideout too so it's better than just getting them for coins (which you still get). When you find all of these, you unlock an arcade cabinet in your hideout. Which unlocks a mini-game you can play. Each hideout you can play ping-pong with Bently as well.

Carmelita plays like a TPS, it controls a lot better than when the series has done it in the past. There's also an ancestor that uses a gun and he plays like her and Sly combined.

There are also costumes for Sly. Which are used to open up areas to treasures, get through missions and overcome bosses. They grant special abilites to Sly like being immune to fire, or being able to shoot an arrow to create a tight rope to walk along.

The story is fantastic. It's exactly what you'd want from a Sly game. There is one twist that might disappoint some fans, but it makes for a good story so I can't really be too disappointed about it. Even if I wish it didn't happen that way. The quick run-down of the game is that Sly's anscestors are disappearing from the Thievius Raccoonus, and Sly and pals go back in time to figure out what's happening... with the time machine that Penelope and Bently were working on at the end of Sly 3 (it's in the recap, so again don't worry if you don't want to play the Collection).

And you go through periods in time helping to restore history to the way it should be, uncovering who is behind it all.

The music is great, sound effects are nice, bottles still click clank while you look around trying to figure out where the sound is coming from. Which reminds me, the hub areas in this game are a lot better than the other games. They are a lot more vertical in design. So it gives everything a more interesting design. And when you're tailing some enemies, the way the level design just clicks into your mind is amazing.

This is a fantastic game, and I wish it would sell what it deserves but it most likely won't and that really does break my heart.

The ONLY thing wrong with this game (in my opinion of course) is some frame rate drops I had experienced randomly in the hub worlds. It didn't happen often, and not for long, but it's something worth noting all the same.

My son waited patiently for the release of this game. He says that it was worth the wait. He wants the next one to come out soon..

Good day, there is nothing exciting or new about this game. Same moves, tricks, scenarios and gameplay. If you like the hack and slash and basic puzzle solving game that is Sly, then go for it. But wait for the price to go down.