GameSpy: Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves - Page 1
By Sterling McGarvey | Sep 27, 2005
Sucker Punch's follow-up to last year's acclaimed sequel is a solid effort.
Last year's Sly 2: Band of Thieves firmly established Sucker Punch as one of Sony's top development houses in the United States. Arguably one of the finest platformers on the system, Sly 2 had a universal appeal that attracted a broad demographic of gamers to its amazing cel-shaded graphics, cute yet clever storyline, and solid controls. Never content to settle, the team has managed to grind out a sequel within a year's time. Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves might not be a Sly 2.5, according to Sucker Punch, but it feels pretty close in some regards. Given the two years between Sly Cooper and the Thievious Raccoonus and Sly 2, Sucker Punch managed to truly flesh out and build dramatically on its predecessor. Sly 3 utilizes the fundamentals of Sly 2 instead of re-inventing the wheel. The end result is solid and consistent, although the occasional flaw rears its head.
Taking place after the events of Sly 2, in which Murray, the brawny hippopotamus, accidentally injures Bentley, the demolitions-happy turtle, who is also the brains of the Cooper Gang's operation, Sly 3 finds the Cooper Gang splintered. Working with one of Sly's father's crew members, the team attempts to break into the island where the Cooper family treasure is hidden, only to see everything fall apart. That's where the flashback kicks in, and the action begins. Once again, the overall story deals with Sly & Co. pulling off extravagant heists in exotic locales, including Venice, Holland, China, and the Caribbean, all the while wise-cracking and making references to both pop culture and previous adventures.
The gameplay for returning characters is as good as before, and it feels as though the team wanted to put a slight amount more emphasis on the platforming elements of the first game while maintaining the expansive level design of the sequel. It works a lot more than it doesn't. Sly still glides through levels with an ease that makes me wish that Batman games could utilize his gliding and perching. He, like the rest of the team, is outfitted with some new and very useful items for purchase on ThiefNet, introduced in Band of Thieves, which is an eBay for the kleptomaniacal. One of the coolest and most useful items is Sly's new parachute, which allows him to glide through the skies. And he'll need it, considering how many missions he's airborne, from planting GPS devices on Dutch blimps to battling a beautifully designed flying dragon through the Chinese skies. Of course, all of those skills and new schwag are going to be crucial come finale time, when among other things, Sly must run an extensive gauntlet to prove that he is indeed the successor to the Cooper bloodline.
The other returning members from Sly 2 have some upgrades, too. The quirky Bentley seems a little tougher this go round. Although he still takes damage more intensely than Sly or Murray, he's got enough new weapons to more than make up for it, including a device that enables him to suck the health out of guards, and the completely kick-ass Grapple Cam, which acts as decoy, scouting tool, and weapon all in one. It seems as though Bentley, as almost an extension of his character, has taken his disability and turned it into a fully-enabled machine full of gadgetry. "The Murray" now has a variety of destructible abilities at his disposal. He can now roll himself up into a bouncing ball, which gives him the access to heights that had previously only been afforded by Sly. He's got rushing attacks, as well as another that completely scares off all opponents.
Plus, no matter which Cooper Gang character, they now all have the ability to shake down unsuspecting guards for coins. Bentley's magnetic fishing reel yanks money and loot from pockets just as effectively as Sly's cane. Murray, appropriately, opts for brute force and literally shakes down guards for dough.