When Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time arrived last month, it returned the sneaky thief and his gang of misfits in style, in a story that sent them across various time eras, trying to track down Sly’s ancestors while, at the same time, doing battle with a strange new adversary. The game features hours of platforming fun, while at the same time packing plenty of collectibles, which, upon getting them all, open up a secret ending to the game.
For our latest Spoiler Alert, we look at Sly’s latest adventure, and let you know what’s up ahead. As always, spoilers are included, so read at your own risk.
The story opens with Sly, in the midst of faking amnesia to be with investigator Carmelita Fox in Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, teaming back up with his crew, getaway driver Murray and inventor Bentley. He discovers that words are mysteriously vanishing from his Thievius Raccoonus family ledger, meaning someone’s tweaking with history. Using Bentley’s know-how, the van is transformed into a time travel machine, and the gang sets off to see who’s messing with the past – with Carmelita, who’s onto Sly’s faking, following closely behind.
The gang’s first stop is feudal Japan, where they run into sushi chef Rioichi Cooper, who’s run afoul of a dangerous criminal named El Jefe. With their help, he’s able to subdue this fiend and take back his sushi shop. However, at the conclusion of Jefe’s defeat, a mysterious culprit steals Riochi’s cane, forcing Sly and the others to follow closely behind.
They then end up in the Wild West, where they stop to break outlaw Tennessee “Kid” Cooper out of jail, since he was framed for bank robbery. However, they discover the local sheriff, a corrupt armadillo, is holding Carmelita hostage, and get captured attempting to save her. It’s here that they learn more about the mastermind behind the cane stealing – a skunk by the name of Cyrille Le Paradox sent Carmelita back in time to avoid being captured in the present. The group manages to break out and defeat Toothpick, only to be whisked away into the Ice Age.
Sly tries to make nice with Carmelita, but she feels betrayed by his lies. As they try to figure out what to do next, they come across a cave raccoon that they nickname Bob, who then assists them with stopping a criminal named The Grizz, an art thief who’s a master in forgeries. Even though she’s hesitant to forgive Sly, Carmelita offers to help. They defeat Grizz and manage to head to their next time era, this time medieval England.
They run into another of Sly’s ancestors, Sir Galleth of The Knights of the Cooper Order. He loves being dramatic, but knows how to fight when the situation calls for it. It’s here that the crew runs into an evil Black Knight, who’s become a thorn in Galleth’s side. However, after defeating him, they learn it’s actually an old ally of theirs – Penelope, who assisted Bentley with a number of gadgets, including an R/C van that is used during some missions. She feels that Sly’s antics are ruining Bentley, showing deep care for him. To retaliate, she provided Cyrille with the means of traveling through time, thus allowing him to unravel history. Bentley, knocked for a loop from Penelope’s actions, falls into depression, but bucks up enough to save the gang before she can overcome them. From there, they move on to another time era, in ancient Arabia.
Here, they run into Salim Al-Kupar, the last remaining member of the Forty Thieves. With his help, they’re able to face Ms. Decibel, a “music snob” who uses the power of hypnosis to hold her subjects at bay. It’s here they finally learn what Le Paradox’s plan is – he’s looking to forge documents in the past eras, trying to build a fake royal connection so that he’ll build a huge cash build-up, as well as influence over weaker subjects. He’s also been stealing the canes of Sly’s ancestors, as a way to get back at him since his own family hasn’t been successful in thieving lineage. Just when Sly is about to piece everything together, Cyrille shows up and kidnaps Carmelita.
The gang finally returns to the present day, in Paris, only to find that the city is now under Cyrille’s control. Sly chases after Carmelita and gets captured, but the gang, including Bentley, Murray and Sly’s ancestors, manage to free both of them. As a result, a hole rips in the space-time continuum, and Sly finds himself in a final showdown with Cyrille – but not before getting the opportunity to apologize to everyone, especially Carmelita, over what happened.
Sly and Cyrille battle atop a blimp, and, following the concluding battle, Cyrille falls into the sea, and Sly vanishes in the process. The captured criminals, including Cyrille, end up behind bars, and the ancestors return home. However, Sly is never found, and Carmelita, saddened by his disappearance, joins up with the gang, vowing to find him, no matter what it takes.
Now, if you find enough collectibles in the game, you’ll unlock the secret ending, which does manage to locate Sly, who wakes up in front of a temple with a jackal face on it…
This is one of the better entries in the Sly series, and definitely a lot of fun for those of you who like a good platformer with collectibles galore. And the fact you get two versions for the price of one through Cross-Buy is a definite benefit as well.
Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time is available now for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita.
