I went in expecting more stealth platforming, but
ended up with pirate sea battles.
PS2 exclusive.
Sly 3: Honor among Thieves is a stealth platformer published by Sony and developed by Sucker Punch for the Playstation 2, Playstation 3 and Vita.
GAMEPLAY
With the ability of hindsight I think it's worth mentioning just how innovative this game and the two before it were. The climbing mechanics, stealth system, parachute, sailing and more were features that were way ahead of their time and appeared in other franchises later.
As per the other second game, all three main characters are fine; with Sly still the most fun to play as, I actually thought Bentley was improved in this game, as his levels sometimes felt even more fun than Sly’s a couple of times. The Guru is a one dimensional bore of a character, who has two moves, that’s it. You can’t attack, sneak, only turn into something or use mind control. Why did they bother with him? Why not just give one of three main characters that ability?
As per the other second game, all three main characters are fine; with Sly still the most fun to play as, I actually thought Bentley was improved in this game, as his levels sometimes felt even more fun than Sly’s a couple of times. The Guru is a one dimensional bore of a character, who has two moves, that’s it. You can’t attack, sneak, only turn into something or use mind control. Why did they bother with him? Why not just give one of three main characters that ability?
I thought the RC tank part from the 2nd game was bad, but
somehow the Dimitri levels are almost on par with them. I almost got repetitive
strain injury playing the boss you have to fight with him. The grappling hook
to the RC helicopter is far worse than the abilities that it had in the second
game, it’s a bit of a mess in the first level you play with it, as it can’t aim
correctly. The Panda King is a pointless addition that wasn’t needed, not to
mention how he is brought in at the end of episode four, yet never really
appears in the next two.
STORY
A regression from the heights that the second reached, with
a less intricate story and many questionable segments, I don’t have the fingers
to count how many times I asked myself why some parts were necessary.
In fact, let’s point some out. Why was the Panda King
needed? Bentley was the brains and the demolition expert in the second, why not
just expand his role a little bit? Dimitri was in because they needed a diver,
for some reason that wasn’t foreseen, Bentley is a turtle and Murray is a
hippo, neither of them could do it? Penelope’s original skill was also
something the Cooper Gang already had, but her skills as a mechanic made it
more justifiable, not that they knew that beforehand.
The problem is that all the levels just felt forced really,
that they needed a story to go alongside the game. In the end there were about
eight playable characters, it would have been much better to just expand on
Sly, Murray and Bentley’s skills. All the other characters really felt so
pointless too, as the gang had already beaten Dimitri and the Panda King
before, why would they need their skills anyway? I know you're not supposed to take they story very seriously but Band of Thieves had a delightfully good one and this one failed to follow up with that quality.
GRAPHICS
The same as the first and second game really.
SOUND
Voice actors and SFX are all good and the music is fine.
VALUE FOR MONEY
Reintroduction of the master thief Challenges are a poor
choice as an attempt to add length to the game, which is considerably shorter
than the first two.
OVERALL
Sly 3 is still a good game at heart, but it really feels as
if so many marks have been missed with this game. I found myself getting so
frustrated with it at times, something I rarely, if ever, felt about the previous
two. There are some interesting ideas thrown in, such as the ship combat, or
the fighter plane, and there are even fewer turret sections. The game fails in
other places though, such as all the additions to the Cooper Gang and regression of the story.
