Sly is far from the best the genre has to offer, but some original ideas and a whole lotta charm will keep you playing.
The presentation in Sly Cooper is among the high points of the game. With beautiful cell shaded graphics and wonderfully varied levels that range from the streets of Paris to the snowy hills of China, Sly Cooper is incredibly visually impressive. There are also breif 2D animated cut scenes between each level, that shine with colour and always entertain. The same can't be said for the ones of three dimesional variety however, with characters standing still and rarely showing a chanage in emotion. This rarely detracts from this great looking game however.
Though Sly is pretty to look at, it doesn't quite play as well as some of the other platformers available on the PS2. The light stealth aspect in the game add for some nice variety, with Sly able to run across ropes, swing over high placed hooks and even turn invisible. There just isn't quite enough of this to set it apart though, with most of the levels simply following a very linear path with some villians in the way, which can be whiped out with one hit of your staff. However, the same can be said for Sly. The fact that one hit can spell death would seem quite scary, if not for the multitude of checkpoints placed throughout every level, and the fact that the game would have been far too easy if otherwise. You can gain another hit or two by gaining coins, as well.
Yes, Sly Cooper is perhaps held back most by it's less than challenging difficulty. Platformer fans should breeze through this one in less than 8 hours, and even though there are extra things to do such as collect every message in every bottle, you won't feel much of a reason to. The boss fights are all less than spectacular too, with each one following a specific pattern that leaves them pretty easily defeated. With the exception of a Simon Says-like beat based battle against an evil crocodile, which I enjoyed every minute of, all of these bosses were pretty underwhelming.
This doesn't mean Sly Cooper is bad game by any means. Most of the levels are hugely entertaining, and even offer some variation in tasks such as protecting your pal Murray by shooting enemys in his way, racing your van against some baddies, and even killing chickens. All of these are great, and offer a lot of fun and a nice break from the platforming.
Sly Cooper features loveable characters and great presentation. However, the fact that you can just zip through the levels by following the clear set path, swinging your cane and keeping your finger next to that circle button leaves it as perhaps not quite the next big platformer it wanted to be. If you're in the mood for some great platforming and wonderful style, it definetley comes reccomended, though perhaps only as a rental.