First Impressions - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

So I picked up the Sly Cooper Collection last weekend for $15, which is a pretty good deal considering it's normally $30 or $40. Probably $40, but that's beside the point. It was, again, one of those "big name" PS2 franchises. I have two other similar collections: God of War did good by me, while Jak & Daxter left a bad taste in my mouth. Sly Cooper however, with his band of rogues, has had me mostly smiling all the way through.

The story setup was a bit of a cold open - Sly is right on top of Police HQ ready to break in for some file. After a daring escape, slipping out of the clutches of Carmelita Fox, it is revealed the file is on Sly himself. He's using the information inside to track down the mobsters who hold on to the "Thievius Raccoonus", which contains all the Cooper family thieving secrets. Apparently it runs in the family. The style is very comic book-esque, with even the animated cutscenes looking like a comic was brought to cartoon life. It makes even the darkness that Sly slinks through seem inviting, as opposed to creepy, which makes sense since he's a stealthy thief.

The combat is pretty simple, with each enemy having some sort of attack pattern you have to dodge before moving in to take them down. It's not exactly flashy, but as a thief, Sly is all about efficiency. You slip past their attack or around their defenses, and with a swift blow, they're down for the count. It's satisfying, even though it may not have been all that hard. The game is pretty indulgent on those who like upgrades as every level has a set of clue bottles that unlock a safe which contains an upgrade of some kind. It may be a new move, an upgrade to a move, or some kind of passive ability.

Level designs are fairly simple, and typically straight-forward. They're also pretty small. However, each mission contains at least 7 levels, so there's still a lot to do. It may feel short and cut up for those used to more open-world designs, but it also leaves the player feeling like he's really getting somewhere. It's nice, and focuses your attention on the single area, making it feel like you really finished it and can move on without looking back guiltily.

The first boss fight was pretty easy, and the second one wasn't too bad either, although his final stage had me  a bit frustrated. The bosses are also the only enemies with any real personality, but it makes sense since the rest are supposed to be hired goons that respawn. You're not losing out on character interaction anyway, since Sly's crew - Bentley and Murray - are always ready to pipe up with information or head out to help.

So far the game is charming, interesting, appealing and fun. I can't wait to finish it, but I'm still pretty early on so it could get either better or worse, depending on how they handle the difficulty curve.