I had the opportunity to sit in with Sanzaru Games for a behind-the-scenes viewing of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Glen Egan, CEO of Sanzaro Games, and Matt Kramer, the Lead Designer, took us through a gameplay demo.
Sucker Punch ended Sly Cooper 3 with Cooper getting amnesia and Penelope building a time travel machine. Their mission is to restore the legacy of cooper clan. In the demo, Sly and Murray are embarking on a rescue mission. The game has the same cell shaded graphics that we are used to in Sly games. Absolute beautiful color and continuous humor, that we are also used to, continues in Thieves in Time. The fire on the torches looks so real, with a cartoonish smoke.
Murray is used for his strength and cranks a wheel to bring up a bridge. It has been over five years since the last Sly Cooper game, and it was time to revive the franchise. The same moves that were in the previous titles, plus a few extras for Sly, return. The player is expected to explore the environment to find alternate ways around the level.
Costumes are used for disguise, but also a unique ability. Each episode has it's own costume. The one that was used on this episode, slowed down time so that Sly can get through sticky situations. In the boss battle, the costume deflects fireballs.
Players can also revisit levels to collect all that the level has to offer.
The crew at Sanzaru wanted to create epic boss battles. In this level, Sly embarks on a mission to defeat El Hefe. The levels are just outstanding. Colors are vivid, but yet some dull areas provide the intensity that they are looking for in the level. Level destruction is key. They emphasize on the fact that the fire destroys the environment.
Sanzaru worked very closely with Sucker Punch, to ensure the best delivery of another title to the franchise. They used the original voice characters, including Kevin Miller as Sly and they grabbed Nolan North for the voice of El Hefe. The team looked at entire series and took pieces that they really enjoyed and incorporated it on Thieves in Time.
They reminded us about the key elements: new custom abilities and epic boss battles. More announcements are expected to come, in the coming months and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time will be out on 2012!
