Sta.sh
For anyone who has never played a Sly Cooper game, the original company that produced the series, SuckerPunch, went under and the rights to the series were bought by Sanzaru. So there hasn't been a Cooper game since 2005 (I think. I may be a year or two off, but I am pretty sure).
And so, with the new company and all, many fans were worried that the game wouldn't do the series justice - that enough things would be different with the new developers that it wouldn't feel like a Cooper game anymore. And, if you have played a Sly game, you know what I mean. Sly Cooper would be completely wrong without the American Comic book style artwork and the strange and very colorful villains. Also, the personalities of the characters themselves, and the relationships between them. Another thing to worry about was the gameplay itself. (Although, to be honest, no matter which game you play you always jump and hit the circle button ^^).
Some people might not agree with me, but I thought that T.I.T. was great! And the First thing I want to praise really quick, is the Soundtrack! I bought and have been listening to it a lot lately. It's the best in the series by far. Lots of different styles to fit with all of the different time periods. (Sorry, I just love music, particularly instrumental).
Second, considering the awkward and very open cliffhanger at the end of the previous game, Honor Among Thieves, I loved what they chose to do with the plot and how they wove it all together.
*SPOILERS*
Again, for any who don't know, Honor Among Thieves ended with Sly pretending to have amnesia so that he could live peacefully with Interpol Officer, Carmelita, someone who he flirts with all the time in all the games....whole cop and robber love story going on...but it's actually pretty funny ^^ And then Sly's genius friend Bentley built a laboratory with his girlfriend Penelope. In the very end of the game, Bentley is researching the Thievius Raccoonus (Sly's family book) and states that he is planning on building a time machine. And then the game is over.
T.I.T. starts with Sly talking about living with Carmelita and how after a while, he started to get the "old itch" to pull another heist. Then Bentley unexpectedly shows up and tells Sly that pages in the Thievius Raccoonus are disappearing, and says that it's because someone is "erasing Cooper history". I know it sorta sounds cheesy...but surprisingly it works! Haha, at least as much as the rest of the Sly storylines
So then the Cooper Gang reassembles and travels back in time to save the Coopers. But, of course, Carmelita does find out. She actually kinda joins up with them for a short run with traveling through time.*PRETTY SURE NO MORE SPOILERS....PLOTWISE....*
But anyway, the gameplay was very similar to games of the past, and I really don't have much to complain about. I liked the new option that they put in where whenever you are about to steal something or some other action in a situation, an icon appears on the screen and you actually get to decide yourself when to steal the object instead of watching a cutscene. I dunno why, but I thought that was cool ^^. One thing I wasn't a big fan of was the outfits...I mean, they were kinda fun, having the different abilities and all, but I think I'd rather just have the good old fashioned disguises back and be able to buy new abilities on the Thiefnet like in the old games. I especially liked the thief outfit and the the one Sly gets in England, just because I like to shoot bows
(Each "Outfit" Sly gets gives him a new ability).And then for the characters, of course Sly and Co. were the same as always. Murray is still "The Murray" - fists first, talk and eat later. Bently still talks to himself while hacking computers. And Sly is still full of sarcasm. My favorite thing that the new game brought back was Sly's Italian accent XD Other Sly fans know that Sly isn't very good at Italian accents....but in T.I.T. when the gang goes to ancient Arabia to save Sly's ancestor Salim, Sly disguises himself as a delivery boy and decides that by using his Italian accent he will ensure that Le Paradox (the villain) doesn't recognize him. Another funny reference that makes old fans smile is that Sly calls himself "Major Muggshot" in ancient Japan
Back to Le Paradox, he was a pretty good Cooper villain. I liked his character design, mostly because I thought his face was funny. (does that sound bad??). He's a skunk, and his face markings were just...I dunno, but they were funny to me. I sound stupid, but whatever. I laugh at his face.
However, I was sorta a little sad that Clockwerk wasn't in this game. I had heard a rumor before that Clockwerk would be making an appearance, but he was no where in the game. (Clockwerk was the villain in Sly 1 and 2, and also the main nemesis of the entire Cooper Clan). The mini bosses were really fun too, and stayed true to other villains of past. I liked Ms. Decibel a lot, but I don't know why. I think that El Jefe was my favorite though. He was fun to fight. Oh wait, I forgot about the Grizz. I just thought he was funny. He's always rapping, but then he says he wants to be an artist. But then when you go to fight him as Murray, he says that his dream has really always been ice skating. Random much?
One final note: I loved how Sly and Carmelita's characters grew in this one. They've always cared for each other in a sort of "I want to lock you up in jail because I care" sorta way, (or in Sly's case, I think he just has too much fun stumping Carmelita), but in this game they really seemed to care for each other - although Carmelita was very angry at Sly through most of the game.
Also, I loved the new character designs! Carmelit's new design in particular. And I actually liked the new art style for the cutscenes - they were a little easier on the eyes, softer edges and such.
P.S. If you haven't played Sly, I say that if you ever get the chance just play one of them. They all have background stories and explanations to catch you up in the opening cutscenes of every game, so it really doesn't matter which one you start with. But they are worth it. Plus, it's really fun to run around on ropes and poles and steal from people.
