Ratchet And Clank

If you owned a PS2, chances are you would have at some stage gone crashing through crates in a Ratchet And Clank title. Now developer Insomniac Games have brought the duo back to consoles with a reboot of the original to tie in with its recent movie release.

Set in the same platform shooter style of the original, Ratchet & Clank focuses on telling the story of pairs first meeting, though this storyline muddies significantly due to the movie association pressing heavily on the cut scenes. If players are unfamiliar with either the movie or the original game, plot points and characters wouldn’t be abundantly clear without some googling.

Thankfully the storyline issues are insignificant to the joyful platforming that is also offered up. True to the spirit of the 2002 original, gameplay is addictive and entertaining with wonderful modeling and particle systems to flesh out a vibrant domain. Younger players will adore the bright ‘pixar styled’ world with a massive variation of characters, while older players will be entirely content with the constantly entertaining and varied adventures of platforming that harks back to platforming styles of the past with a nostalgic heart in modern hardware. Like the original titles, the game is driven heavily by a collectables system and the wide array of weapons in Ratchets arsenal that can be upgraded, such as the Pixeliser, a gun that’s capable of converting enemies into a 8-bit 2D form before being shattered into pieces or the Goatinator to transform combatants into angry goats. The concepts are wild, quirky and filled with humor and attitude which bolsters out enjoyment of each stage. Characters and dialogue have brilliantly endearing moments and the welcomed return of Captain Qwark’s deluded version of events and mocking wit is the perfect breakup piece between events.

Ratchet and Clank does feel somewhat barebones in that it lacks any multiplayer elements or groundbreaking features that will be experienced in many recent titles, but the focus on delivering a strong gameplay experience allows it to hold its head aloft and will certainly gather more than a few purchases at the lower price point it’s released at. Platform fans can rejoice in having a title that keeps the spirit of third person shooting alive in an energetic world while making full use of the hardware at hand.