Many people think of the platform genre as the same old thing over and over again. Jump here and land there. Well Sly Cooper changed all that with the inclusion of innovative stealth mechanics into the game. Now it is true that the game was one the short side, but there were many challenges worthy of pulling you back in. With inventive boss battles and great cinematics, there is no platform game aside from the great plumber man himself that can stand up against Sly Cooper. Even the graphical style was fresh. It took a different take on the cell shading technique that some would argue is being overused. It doesn’t always look like a cartoon but it also doesn’t look anything near realistic. The visuals really added to the overall concept of the game and without it, the game would simply be another Crash Bandicoot clone. Now here is the bad news; Sly Cooper hasn’t been selling very well. Countless ad campaigns didn’t raise the sales up to anything spectacular but it did ensure moderate success. It had been highly promoted before its release and received critics praise soon after E3. The reasons for why it didn’t sell well are shaky at best. It is possible that competition with Ratchet and Clank was too much or that many people were too busy buying Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Whatever the reason, it looks like the developers are going to give Sly another chance to be a smash success. While it has not yet been officially confirmed, the tidbits flying around are too obvious not to realize. So what do I recommend that Sly Cooper fans do? Well before the fans even act, it would be a wise decision to induct Sly Cooper into the Greatest Hits section simply because it has received such praise and is one of the greater Playstation 2 titles. Then people would start buying it due to its lowered price and the interest in a sequel would rise, leading to a hit game upon the release day. The fans can simply support and defend their favorite raccoon for as long as people will listen. It can only help word get out about a new game and it would ensure that at least some people would be there on release day. I suggest everyone rent or buy this game because it is genius in the best way that the platform genre can present.

    Yes its true, the game was crap. No one can truly defend this game. The graphics were something that resembled mashed potatoes on a very humid day. The gameplay was the equivalent of an MTV licensed game and heck, even the music sucked. I do not usually become very harsh against a game, but there was no justified reason for this game to end up as a pile of crap. It all basically lies on the lap of the developers who must have had a really bad few months. Nudity does not make a good game. In fact, nudity has never done anything for a games reputation except make it worth using as a circular paper weight. Acclaim was off its rocker on this one and even Dave Mirra knew it. Mirra pulled out of the game because he felt it would ruin his image. Well Id say that’s the best thing a celebrity has done since Britney Spears took a year’s break (which is still going thankfully). He downright deserves the money he is suing for because even though it didn’t have his name on the box , people did associate it as a Dave Mirra game because that’s what they expected from Acclaim. So a little note to developers looking to expose body parts in their next game; don’t do it! It’s as simple as that and it will never become anymore complicated. If they do not take my advice, well that’s their decision but I would not be surprised if we all saw them in the “Former” developers section of a popular magazine. Acclaim is a great developer and they have had their ups and downs just as much as every other company has, but hopefully they now realize that it wasn’t the best business decision to make.