Cloud Monday - The Sly Collection - Part 2 - Not Perfect But The Best Version Of Sly Cooper To Play

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 2 of playing the PS3 version of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

In Part 1, https://youtu.be/6y9KGJK1P84, our time with the game was cut short by PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service terminating our session. but there was enough time to start to compare it to the PS2 version of the game that's recently come out via emulation on PS4 and PS5. visually, the main differences between them are that the PS3 version is widescreen with more muted colours whilst the PS2 is 4:3 and more vibrant. i found the controls more responsive on PS3 and more modernised. 

But in this video, Part 2, i finally got to see what would happen without the emulated version's rewind feature. i lost all my lives. i was genuinely concerned about what would happen. but thankfully i needed not worry. the game isn't too concerned that i lost my lives and was happy to give me 5 more and restart me back at the boss fight. With lives being nothing to worry about, it makes the advantages of the PS3 version really stand out.

Both versions have quick saving, and while the PlayStation 2's ability to save anywhere is a bonus, it's not that big of a bonus as the game has frequent checkpoints. The only big difference between the emulated PS2 version and this PS3 version is that you can download and play the emulated version on PS4 and PlayStation 5. the PS3 version is stuck on PS3 and on this cloud gaming service. 

Which ever one you play, it's a fun time and i do recommend you give either version a go. it's one of those games which can be played by many ages and skill levels, but there's something for those wanting to complete the game too.

Cloud Monday - The Sly Collection - Part 1 - Better Controls Than PS2 Version But No Rewind

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the PS3 version of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

The previous game i checked out for Cloud Monday was the recently released PS2 version of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on PS4, it's also out on PS5. That version of the game is running in an emulator. So the positives after Part 1, https://youtu.be/tphGJ4lCw88, and Part 2, https://youtu.be/gg_RuiDKR5c, were that you're able to save anywhere which is great when you only have 20 seconds before the service kicks you off, and that you're able to rewind gameplay and retry. But i wondered if the PlayStation 3 HD Rerelease would be better.

So as well as the usual goals of seeing how the game plays as it's streamed to me, i was checking out a personal question of is this PS3 version than the emulated PS2 version. 

The first thing i noticed was that it was a 16:9 screen, tho the resolution wasn't 1080p, it was maybe 900p. then i noticed the camera controls were much more modern. and then i was able to get into the police building, something which took too long in Part 1 as i took time to adjust to the jump in the game. So immediately i felt more comfortable with the game. 

But then came the first instance where i would've liked to have had the rewind controls. i was hit by a missile and the respawn point was right at the start of the level. Thankfully this section is very short, but it was a tad frustrating.

Overall, i found this version much easier to play. with no rewind, i also found myself going a little slower too. but i know this section having played it previously so it will be interesting if i'm able to get to the boss fight or even a new area in part 2.

This part ended earlier than i wanted as i was kicked off the service. thankfully, not only is it easy to save in this game but it's also fast so i was able to save before the 20 second count down. when i checked my internet stats at the speed test it was clear to see why i was kicked off, these speeds were very abnormal for me and other games i've played.

Cloud Monday - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus - Pt2 - Let Down By Controls And Camera

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 2 of playing the PS2 version of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

In Part 1, https://youtu.be/tphGJ4lCw88, the charm of the game was very evident. it was also nice how each section we had to clear was nice and short and different from each other. that continued in this section with the boss also being different and unique but importantly only needing 4 hits to be defeated. The level design is mostly solid as well. the gameplay doesn't feel like a chore, nor does it feel like it's dragging on.

But it's really hampered by the controls and camera. the controls are just too sluggish. i don't think that this is a result of the game being streamed to me via PlayStation Plus either. I wonder if it's because PS2 games used a cable to connect to the console and had a different polling rate than Bluetooth controllers. basically, does the game check on what's being inputted fast enough. it's a frustrating experience pressing a button and often not seeing it happen on screen fast enough and then occasionally seeing it happen on time. it makes the jumping difficult. 

An example of this is the boss at the end of the video. for a while i couldn't jump up and down and press the button fast enough to start the next up jump before i was hit. the boss was moving faster than i could. so i had to try and start a little ahead of the boss so by the time he had caught up with me he got tired and i could hit him. i doubt this was the actual strategy, tho if it was please say so in the comments, and instead it's a result of the weird controller lag.

I'm not saying it's impossible for it to be caused from streaming the game. but i've played enough of these games to know that it's only ever been an issue in one other game. 

The camera was also another frustration. i felt like i was fighting it too often and it kept getting caught in the level. I had to make some jumps based on guess work. what really didn't help was that i couldn't change the camera to inverted. back in the day, it was a somewhat normal camera scheme, but nowadays inverted is the norm. 

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus very much feels like the first game. it has great ideas and some not so great. what i'm curous about, and may check out in the next video, is whether the PS3 HD version of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus controls any differently. if it does, would i prefer to have better controls and camera or the ability to save and rewind. i'm very curious to try the PlayStation 3 version.

Cloud Monday - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus - Controls Take Time To Adjust To, Go Slow

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the PS2 version of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

PlayStation 2 games have recently come to the service as games you can download or stream from the cloud. so far, whilst the emulation software has been a good match-up for the service allowing us to save when ever we want, perfect for a service that only gives us a 20 second warning before disconnection, one of the main issues has been whether or not the gameplay is worth it.

Resistance: Retribution, https://youtu.be/jEs97ouESk8, was interesting as it's the only game i've played that had in-game tweaks to the analogue sticks. for G-Police, https://youtu.be/P9QIJwNAhGs, not being able to tweak them made the game near impossible to play. so i was very curious how a more recent title would handle.

There are two things i noticed right away, the camera and the jumping. both took time to adjust to. there were no in-game options to change how the camera works. but i've played games like this so it go easier. the jumping and character movement in general took a little more time. it felt like, and i tried to show in-game this, that there was a little lag between what i pressed on the controller and what happened in-game. 

This is such a rare thing with games being played from the cloud that i can't say for sure if it is a cloud streaming issue, or if it's an issue with the original PS2 game or an issue with the emulation software. it wasn't game breaking, but it did take me a few minutes before i was able to jump out of the initial starting area. it can't be denied that when i tried to test the lag, i could press the button and there was a short delay before Sly jumped.

There was only a second or two of video artefacts during this, so like many of the PS1 and PSP games emulated they seem to stream well as video. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus looks great upscaled to 1080p on PS4. the one thing i thought that didn't upscale as well was the audio. out of everything i played, it came across as the weakest part of this release.