|
The platform genre has always been a popular one, from Super Mario to Sonic the Hedgehog. Now Insomniac Games brings us Ratchet & Clank, a new twist on something old. The game has all the basics to keep platform fans happy, but it’s loaded with originality to make it stand out among the rest.
|
|
|
The main character, Ratchet, is some sort of weird cat creature. I don’t even have a guess at what kind of alien he’s supposed to be, but I do know he’s a mechanic. He spends his days yearning for adventure, and he’s working on a spaceship that will help him to escape his boring homeworld. Overall, Ratchet isn’t the most likeable of all characters. He’s the cliché “furry critter with an attitude” sort of guy and never seems to develop much personality outside of that. Ratchet’s comrade, Clank, is a kind hearted robot who’s on the run from the evil Blarg Empire. The Blarg homeworld has been destroyed by overpopulation and pollution, and they’re literally carving up other planets to form a new one. Clank, who was supposed to be scrapped for parts, finds out about the Blarg’s plan and jumps in a shuttle and flies off in search of help. Clank has a certain charm to him, and although Ratchet is the game's main character, Clank seems to steal the stage. After Clank escapes the Blarg he meets up with Ratchet and offers to help him with his spaceship if he’ll help him to stop the Blarg. Ratchet agrees, and their adventure begins!
|
|
There are plenty of side characters that you’ll run into during the game, and overall the characters are great. This lighthearted adventure is full of humor too, and you’ll likely find yourself laughing more than once. The game is very story driven too, which will keep you playing for hours and hours.
|
|
Ratchet & Clank’s journey involves flying from planet to planet trying to stop the Evil Blarg Empire, and each level is a different world with multiple objectives to be completed. Traveling from world to world, you’ll collect infobots that will tell you where to go next. The basics of the game are things you’ve seen before, such as running, jumping and a bit of puzzle solving. But there are some new twists that make Ratchet & Clank plenty unique! You’ll spend much of the game collecting bolts (the game’s form of money), which you can spend to purchase all sorts of different gadgets, weapons and ammo. There’s a big variety of these to choose from, and deciding which should be used when and where keeps the game from ever getting boring and adds lots of strategy. Some of the gadgets/equipment you'll collect are the magnet boots, which you’ll use to walk upside down, the morph-o-ray, which transforms your enemies into chickens, and the pyrociter, which is a flame-thrower. There’s a lot of variety to the gameplay, and you’ll do everything from fly a spaceship around and battle enemy ships to competing in hoverboard races. The variety was more than welcome and it keeps the game interesting and fun.
|
|
|
Ratchet carries Clank on his back and they’ll both gather new gadgets throughout the game. Ratchet’s main weapon is his wrench, which he’ll smack enemies around with. The majority of the gadgets acquired throughout the game will go to Ratchet, but Clank will gain a Heli-Pack and Rocket Pack, which will greatly boost the distance you can jump. Another interesting feature to Ratchet & Clank is that you get the opportunity to control both Ratchet and Clank separately. There are times when Ratchet stays in the ship and you play only as Clank, and there’s also a time when Clank has to sit in the ship for his own safety. There will even be a few times when the roles are reversed and Ratchet rides on Clank’s back!
|
|
|
There are a few control problems in the game. At times, switching weapons in combat can be a pain, and can easily lead to death if you’re not careful. Fortunately there’s an unlimited amount of lives, so you won’t be getting a game over screen. Also, Ratchet doesn’t stop particularly well, and his sliding to a stop will likely cause him to miss a few key jumps. Controlling Clank through small walkways is also not an easy task, and he doesn’t control very well, but this problem doesn’t come up enough to be too troublesome.
|
|
Graphically, Ratchet & Clank is excellent. The worlds are large and very detailed, featuring some awesome environments. The characters are also very detailed, with quirky designs. Movements are fluid and the animated sequences are a spectacular sight to see. Perhaps the best part of Ratchet & Clank is the fact that there are no loading times. Even with top of the line graphics, this game manages to keep us from sitting around waiting to play.
|
|
The music, although not exactly the most memorable, is solid. Don’t be surprised if you start humming along every now and then. The animated sequences feature a hefty amount of voice acting too, which is of very good quality.
|
|
All in all, Ratchet & Clank is an addictive adventure with beautiful graphics,amusing characters, a wide variety of gadgets to collect and plenty of different things to do. I can easily recommend this game to anyone who is a platform fan, and even if you aren’t, it’s at least worth a rental because I’m sure you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
|
|
