Play.com synopsis - Sly 3 finds Sly and his crew in disarray and struggling against some setbacks. Bentley was crippled in the final battle with Clockwerk at the end of Sly 2: Band of Thieves and confined to a wheelchair, and Murray, feeling responsible for Bentley's tragic accident, has quit the team and chosen a path of non-violence and solace.
Meanwhile, Sly learns of a secret family fortress that houses the amassed Cooper family fortune. Upon arriving at this hidden location, Sly discovers another enemy group attempting to steal the Cooper fortune. Sly and Bentley quickly realize they will need considerable help to defeat this new rival. Their recruiting starts with Murray, and once back on-board, Sly, Murray and Bentley set out to enlist some new and familiar faces in an effort to pull off a World Class heist.
Review - Sly is a platform game. Yawn is the usual response. With the genre seriously lacking in decent titles, the most recent decent being Ratchet and Clank: Up your Arsenal, it’s not surprising that this game can get passed over. Oh ye of little faith! Sly 3 is the best platformer in years, and provides fun and a challenge at the same time, suitable for all ages.
Don’t be fooled by the cell shaded cartoon graphics, a la Futurama the game, this is no cutesy kids platformer. Sly offers hundreds of mini games, numerous characters and team work to keep gamers of any age amused. Unlike Crash Bandicoot which can be beaten fairly quickly, there are literally hours and hours to lose on this game.
Sly works his way around the globe, chasing up various leads and items that are needed to complete his goal of opening the Cooper vault. Each character has various missions to complete in each place to work towards this goal. They all have different strengths and weaknesses that mean team work is vital to complete the missions. Sly for example, is the ninja cum sneak cum acrobat. He can sneak and do stealth attacks, he can run along wires and balance on poles, he can pick pocket and is also in charge of flying the planes which have to be flown at regular intervals in the game. These flying sections provide a challenge and are great fun at the same time. Even with an infinite amount of lives in which to complete these missions, you’ll find you don’t spend a lot of time (at least in the beginning) having to repeat sections of the game in order to advance. There are regular restart points, auto saved, which means the frustration factor is low.
Other characters include Bentley, who is the computer nerd and the brains behind the operation. He has a jet powered wheelchair which means he can get to high places. Hacking and looking for secret codes provide a change from Sly’s running and sneaking. Marvin is big and the fighting is much easier, however he isn’t as intelligent as the other two and his jobs are often smash and grab! He is also in charge of the boat that appears on missions. Other characters include Dimitris, who featured in Sly 2, for the underwater missions; the panda king who has a rather unconventional method attack of using fireworks; and Carmelita who is a police officer who never quite manages to get Sly! However you get the feeling throughout that she doesn’t necessarily want to catch him for his acts against the law!
Sly offers a great range of mini games, challenges and gives the platform genre a welcome fresh feel. Where Jak and Daxter got repetitive and Ratchet and Clank got ridiculously hard; Sly maintains a difficulty level that is challenging and always manages to stay on the right side of a players frustration threshold. There are 3d glasses included, which can be used at various intervals. However these are optional and the 3d sections are often difficult to make out, making the player squint rather than enjoy! However Sly has a lot to offer, and has enough variation to keep you interesting throughout. Taking a long time, and I mean a long time, to get through it’s refreshing to see and play a game that feels this new. Get this little gem as soon as possible!