MY SLY 4 IDEA
I think Sly 4 should take place a couple of years after Sly 3, and Sly is now married to Carmelita and living with an assumed name and identity. It is revealed that Sly still thieves with the rest of his crew, but only with extreme discretion in order to prevent Carmelita from discoverying that he faked his amenesia at the end of Sly 3. As a subplot throughout the game, Sly deals with the fact that he must either leave Carmelita and the prospect of having a family or give up his thieving lifestyle in the near future.
Sly and friends decide to come to the aid of a small town which has had its most precious item, a large gem, stolen from its museum. The gem is an important cultural icon to the community, so out of compassion for the little town and a chance to put their skills to the test, Sly, Bentley, Penelope and Murray set out to resteal the gem.
Soon a new character is thrown in. This character is a monkey named Simon, who is a master thief on par with Sly, but who long ago hired a small army of lemur, monkey, and ape goons to do most of his dirty work. Sly and Simon have a Belloq/Indiana Jones type rivalary. Where Sly is compassionate, humble, cocky, and herioc Simon is cold, arogant, and villianious. But both Sly and Simon are slick, suave, clever, and charming. Simon isn't the one who stole the gem, but he is after it too for his own gain.
The theif responsible for stealing the gem is The Bull. The Bull is a kingpin who heads an international criminal interprise, and he wanted the gem as part of his private artifact collection, which is in his estate home. The location of The Bull's home is a secret, so both Sly and Simon must steal, sneak, fight, and spy their way up the chain of comand in The Bull's international circle to trace the location of the gem. Basically, it's a three way fight between Sly, Simon, and The Bull.
The Bull's assoicates, in order of rank are :
1)a bat named Ivan
2)an anaconda named Shedder
3)a swan named Ronda
4)a rhino named Paulie
5)a lion named Leonardo ST. Cawd
The story should have a feel that is equal parts 1930-40's crimefiction pulp, 1960's James Bond, and Indiana Jones with a little Quienten Tarantino sprinkled here and there.
At the begining of the story, Sly's gang doesn't really know what their getting into and think the gem is just a gem. By the middle of the story, clues have imerged which give the gem a very eerie history. As the story nears the end, Sly comes to realize that there is something very sinister and powerful about the gem. And for the last missions of the game, the sense of urgency skyrockets as Sly and gang findout that Simon has been after the gem for its destructive power. The Bull, by the way, just thinks the gem is just a gem.
Some locations I would love to see in this game would be:
-a grim, shadowy inner city in the rain at night
-a luxurious island beach resort (like Atlantis for criminals)
-a Hollywood movie studio complete with sets
-a small country town
-The Bull's massive estate.
-ancient ruins which reveal the gem's full story and power (and the location of the final epic boss battle between Sly and a Simon who is over-the-top freakishly immortal due to the gem's power)