Mark Buckingham: Here's another series that's been dormant for some time that could very well benefit from a reboot. With what Sucker Punch learned from making Infamous 1 and 2 the hits that they were, that can only help polish the design and mechanics of Sly's sneaky antics. It also affords them an opportunity to tackle lighter subject matter than superheroes staving off the destruction of the world.

Redmond Carolipio: The Sly Cooper games were my introduction into the design world of Sucker Punch, one of those companies in my mind that seems incapable of making a bad or unenjoyable game. Sly and his cohorts are among my favorite group of all-time characters. The fact that the designers are going to feature expansive boss battles, some of the slick thievery and that gorgeous art style under the hood of the PS3 makes this an event game for me.

Chris "Atom" DeAngelus: In a more just world, the Sly Cooper franchise would be one of those mentioned alongside the platforming greats. The games managed to combine top-notch platforming with a likeable cast and engaging story lines that made them fun for gamers of all ages. When Sly Cooper 3 ended with the raccoon thief seemingly retiring for good, it looked like the end for the franchise. The chance to play a new Sly Cooper game, especially one taking place in time-displaced locales like ancient Japan or the Wild West, is something that should make any platforming fan salivate.

Brad Hilderbrand: Last year's release of the The Sly Collection reminded me of how much I loved and missed this franchise, and the early buzz on the raccoon thief's return looks promising. Larger environments, more disguises and a bigger role for the supporting cast are all winners in my book, and I already have visions of clue bottles dancing in my head. My only bit of trepidation lies with Sucker Punch handing over development duties to Sanzaru, so we'll see if a new primary developer can let Sly steal our hearts once more.

Sanford May: Surprisingly few sequels for platformer series that were big on PS1 and PS2 have made it to PS3. The top studios in Sony's fold did all those games, and the talent was ready to move on to more visually stunning and technically complicated games PS3 promised to support. PS3 paid out on that promise but took a big hit in market position; developing glamorous new brands served both Sony and their thoroughbred studios in positioning PS3 as the console to own for exclusive, truly next-generation games — while the old platformer giants languished. Indeed, original developer Sucker Punch isn't handling Sly 4, but perhaps the new game can join Ratchet and Clank in the ranks of good legacy platformer brands promoted to the PS3 library.