The Sly Cooper Gang

PlayStation Move Heroes is a fully Move enabled game featuring a collection of characters from a few of Sony’s top franchises. This is the first time these characters have been featured together in the same game, and what better way could there be to bring them all together than with PlayStation Move. Who exactly are these PlayStation Move Heroes though? Let’s take a trip into Sony’s past and find out a little bit about whom these Heroes are, and why they are considered Heroes in the first place.

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

The first group of Heroes we are going to explore is the notorious Sly Cooper Gang. In 2002 Sucker Punch released Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on the PlayStation 2, and gave PlayStation gamers their first chance to experience the charming world of Sly Cooper. The Thievius Raccoonus is a third person platformer with beautiful cell-shaded graphics, and level based gameplay that is filled with mini-games. A light-hearted stealthy approach to its gameplay sets the game apart in its genre, as well as its charming cast of characters.

Sly Cooper is a nimble cane-wielding racoon who comes from a long line of master thieves, and has been orphaned since his father was killed by the evil Clockwerk; leader of the gang known as the Fiendish Five. While in an orphanage Sly Cooper met his two lifelong friends: the intelligent turtle Bentley, and the brawny hippopotamus Murray. Upon leaving the orphanage the friends take up a life pulling off incredible heist and eventually become known as the Sly Cooper Gang. The gang’s notoriety is taken notice of by the crime unit known as Interpol, and the foxy Inspector Carmelita Fox is assigned to track down and capture them.

Tailed by the Inspector

Sly Cooper learns of a book stolen from the Cooper family by none other than the Fiendish Five, and sets out with his gang to retrieve what is rightfully his to collect upon. Bentley and his expertise in computers, and Murray’s muscles are always willing to help out as Sly nimbly slips past the enemies, but not without Inspector Carmelita Fox hot on the tail of the gang the entire way. The gang’s perseverance prevails, and Clockwerk and the entire gang are defeated, and the Thievius Raccoonus is reclaimed.

Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Two short years after the release of the Thievius Raccoonus, Sucker Punch released Sly 2: Band of Thieves upon the world. Sly 2 not only brought back the charming cast of characters, but also totally revamped the game design into an open world format. The gang travels from the beautiful Prague to wild jungles, and even to the beautiful frozen lands of Canada. A few new gameplay elements are introduced to the series being the ability to play as Bentley and Murray, and the ability to pickpocket enemies. Pickpocketing is utilized to steal money and valuables from enemies to purchase character specific upgrades.

A thief in the night

The games settings take place two short years after the events concluded in the Thievius Raccoonus, and another evil gang known as the Klaw Gang, has stolen the powerful remnants of Clockwerk. These remnants still hold amazing power, and the gang is using them for their own evil deeds. The Sly Gang must take down each gang member that’s in possession of one of the evil parts, but once all acquired there is a betrayal. One of Interpol’s own agents steals Clockwerks parts and reanimates the remnants into the ultra-powerful Clock-La. In the midst of the intense battle that pursues Bentleys legs are crushed, but Clock-La is eventually defeated, and puts an end to the terror that the Klaw Gang placed upon society.

Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves

In 2005 Sly 3 Honour Among Thieves released, and was thought to be the final game in the series. Sly 3 built upon the open world gameplay found in Sly 2, and added a few new members to the Sly Cooper Gang as well. Bentley is now confined to a wheelchair as a result from his permanent injuries during his battle with Clock-La, and Murray is mentally strained from the recent events that injured his best friend.

On an island known as Kaine Island there lies a hidden secret. This hidden secret is found to be the form of a vault, and the Sly Cooper Gang are out to find out what lies inside it. Unbeknownst to the gang the island is controlled and heavily fortified by Dr. M, who has been looking for a way to open the vault for years. The cane that Sly wields happens to be the key to the vault that Dr. M. is searching for, and he sets forth a massive monster on the gang, and nearly brings an end to the notorious Sly Cooper thieving days for good. This tragic event starts a series of flashbacks that have the gang traveling abroad, meeting the new members of the gang, and fleshing out the characters like never before. All in the unique stealthy, mini-game filled charming gameplay that the series is known for. Will the Sly Gang survive the island and the wrath of Dr. M? What happens next if they do survive the horrible ordeal? Well we can’t tell you everything and spoil all the fun.

Is it true?

The Sly Collection

There is no better way to play The Sly Collection as there is right now. In November of 2010, Sanzaru Games remastered The Sly Collection into HD and even added in a few PlayStation Move mini-games as well. We at Movemodo think highly of the collection, and feel free to read our review, as well as our exclusive interview with Sanzaru Games about The Sly Collection.

Sly 4?

The upcoming Sly game is hinted at in a few ways in The Sly Collection. After completing all the games in the collection a video is unlocked that teases at the upcoming Sly 4 game, and the Platinum Trophy for Sly 3 is titled “Unlock all trophies for Sly Cooper’s final outing. Final… really?” No official details have been released as of yet by Sucker Punch, but when they inevitably are we will let you know. Is the mini-game collection found in The Sly Collection a tease that Sly 4 will have PlayStation Move support? Let us know what you think below in our comments section.

PlayStation Move Heroes

Sly Cooper and Bentley are two of the six playable characters found in PlayStation Move Heroes, and this will be the first time they will be found in playable form in a new title in nearly six years. The game features full Move integration, multiple mini-games, and both local and online co-op gameplay. A demo to the game is now freely available via PSN, and the full retail release is March 22, 2011 in the US, and a UK release is scheduled for later this year.