The Sly Cooper franchise is one of the most critically acclaimed single player platform games around.
Released on the PlayStation 2, Sly Cooper has remained there until the first three games were re-mastered for the PlayStation 3.
They are now part of the Classic Collections series.
2002 saw the release of Sucker Punch Productions new game, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, a stealth platform game in which one plucky raccoon named Sly tries to gain his book of family thief secrets, after seeing his parents killed by the evil villain Clockwerk.
The Fiendish Five
Together with his friends, Bentley (a green computer wizard turtle) and Murray (a pink driving heavyweight hippopotamus), they set off to defeat Clockwerk and his evil minions.
They were known as The Fiendish Five.
The Fiendish Five were responsible for keeping pages from the treasured book, The Thievius Raccoonus.
These villains were:
– Clockwerk (an ancient owl with a deep hatred of the Cooper family and their successful criminal antics)
– Sir Raleigh (a privateering frog)
– Muggshot (a gun-toting enforcing American bulldog)
– Mz. Ruby (a voodoo mystic alligator) and
– Panda King (a demolitions expert in the form of a panda).
All the while Sly, Bentley and Murray are hounded by Carmelita Fox, a police officer intent on bringing Sly down.
Complications arise however when they start to grow feelings for each other.
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Sly 2: Band of Thieves (released in 2004) follows Sly as he attempts to stop The Klaww Gang from rebuilding a mechanical Clockwerk.
The Klaww Gang consists of:
– Constable Neyla (a tiger criminal turned police officer, intent on becoming Clock-La – a combination of Clockwerk and herself)
– Arpeggio (a parrot with the ability to build self-powered flying machines)
– The Contessa (a black widow spider who poisons and brainwashes her victims)
– Dimitri (an Iguana with a talent for forging art)
– Jean Bison (a bison with big dreams of conquering small places)
– Rajan (a tiger who sells illegal substances) and
– General Clawfoot (a bat, who happens to be ticklish)
Honor Among Thieves
In Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (2005), Sly discovers the whereabouts of his family’s great vault and goes off to secure his history.
Sly recruits many of his once fearsome enemies such as the Panda King, to get them where they need to be.
They also run into new enemies, such as:
– General Tsao (a Chinese rooster who uses dark magic)
– Black Spot Pete (a Macaw who enjoys to steal)
– Captain LeFwee (a Macaw, who believes himself to be extremely intelligent and a master swordsman)
– Doctor M. (a mandrill, who gene splices and an original member of the first ever Cooper gang).
Did you know…
2013 saw the rise of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.
Sly uses his cane throughout the games. This cane not only helps him to pickpocket villains for coins, but he uses it for balance and as a weapon.
All of the games use the main style, set forth by the first – there will be a ‘main heist’ before mini games and boss battles.
There have even been spin-off comics, produced by GamePro Magazine and DC Comics. They combined elements of the second and third games for major promotion.
