Ratchet & Clank (PS2)

...games. In 2002, Insomniac released Ratchet and Clank, which was a great game. Since then the Ratchet series has been one of the best platformers around.

-(The Story)-
The story follows a creature known as a Lombax, which looks like a Weasel-type creature with long, pointy ears and a big tail, and a robot, with Ratchet names Clank. Basically what happens is Ratchet is building a ship, but he suddenly hears a big explosion nearby ...
...scares the hell out of Ratchet (which is pretty damn funny). Then Clank explains to Ratchet that the world needs saving and Clank needs Ratchet's help. Then the story follows on from there. The story is actually quite gripping, and it's really cool to see how it all ends. The game maintains a great, lighthearted feel from start to finish thanks to it's cast of funny characters and a very well-written script.

-(The Controls)-
... more

-(Game Information)-
Name:Ratchet and Clank
Publisher:SCEE
Developer:Insomniac Games
Genre:3D Platformer
Release Date:Nov 8, 2002
Age Rating:3+ for Violence
Number Of Players:1
Online:No
Developer Site:www.insomniacgames.com
Product Site:www.ratchetandclankgadgets.com
Memory Card Usage:355KB Minimum
Platinum edition now avalible

-(History)-
Insomniac games are a company of Sony. Their first game was Disruptor. After that they went onto making the game series that redefined platforming, Spyro The Dragon. Insomniac gave up the license to make Spyro games to Universal games. In 2002, Insomniac released Ratchet and Clank, which was a great game. Since then the Ratchet series has been one of the best platformers around.

-(The Story)-
The story follows a creature known as a Lombax, which looks like a Weasel-type creature with long, pointy ears and a big tail, and a robot, with Ratchet names Clank. Basically what happens is Ratchet is building a ship, but he suddenly hears a big explosion nearby so he goes to investigate, and that's when he finds Clank. At first Clank is asleep, but when he wakes up he scares the hell out of Ratchet (which is pretty damn funny). Then Clank explains to Ratchet that the world needs saving and Clank needs Ratchet's help. Then the story follows on from there. The story is actually quite gripping, and it's really cool to see how it all ends. The game maintains a great, lighthearted feel from start to finish thanks to it's cast of funny characters and a very well-written script.

-(The Controls)-
The controls are flawless, with great response and they are also simple to learn. They're like your basic 3rd-person action game. You have your jump (X), Crouch (R1 and R2) and Melee (Circle) buttons, but that's not all. To shoot all you have to do is press the Circle button, which if you hold down will continue to fire. It's actually really easy to select a weapon, a you have to do is press Triangle and then you can select your weapon from there. If you need to rotate the camera all you have to do is move the Right analog stick. If you need to go into First Person view then you can either press the R1 or R2 buttons. The controls are really responsive, and that's really good as this game is a little bit about timing. Overall if you want as game with great controls, then Ratchet and Clank has that.

-(The Gameplay)-
I know you must be thinking ''another platformer, oh no there's lot's of collecting'', but don't be worried anymore, as this game is much more focused on weapons and gadgets. To be honest this is more like a 3rd person shooter, but there's enough jumping and things like that to make it a platformer. While Ratchet and Clank is made like most other platformers, it's much more focused on guns andl combat rather than making difficult jumps. Your melee weapon is a large wrench, which you can swing around or toss like a boomerang. You can also use it to turn bolt switches, which will do things like joining a bridge together. You'll also start with the bomb glove. As you can tell by the name of the weapon, using the bomb glove lets you throw bombs at enemies.

As you kill enemies, you earn bolts, which are basically your currency. You can use them to buy weapons, ammo or you can pay someone to do something for you, for example you can pay someone to give you an infobot, which once you've paid them, you'll get an infobot. Infobots are basically robots that will give you a location to a new planet. But infobots will show you a cool video clip as well, for example you see a comercial for a weapon or something like that, then you can travel to the planet where the commercial was recorded. There's more examples of this, but i don't want to give any spoilers. As you make your way from world to world, you'll find or purchase lots weapons, which include a cannon that is like a hoover which lets you suck up small foes and spit them out as fireballs, a flamethrower, a machine gun, a mine-shooter, homing and guided rockets, and lots. The weapons provide a variety of ways to kill enemies, and different players with different game-playing styles will find certain weapons more effective than others.

Apart from the game's large list of guns and weapons, you'll also earn upgrades and gadgets that are mainly used for puzzle solving. You'll eventually earn hover upgrades, masks, a door opener, a water displacement device, and a cool little gadget that lets you disguise yourself as a robot, which you'll use to infiltrate a robot factory. Some parts of the game are a little different to your run-and-gun shooter. There's some different styles of gameplay involved including hoverboard races, flying a starfighter, using a couple of turrets, and even directly control Clank in areas that Ratchet can't reach. These parts of the game add some variety to the game.

The game's difficulty is a little mixed up. Sometimes the game is really easy, yet there's some moments where the game is a little challenging, but not really hard, but sometimes the game's difficulty is really hard, even to the point of frustration. This isn't really good thing, but it doesn't hurt the game much, though you can't adjust the difficulty. When you run out of health, you'll quickly respawn at the last checkpoint you crossed. Checkpoints aren't actually visible, but there are enough of them that you'll rarely have to spend a lot of time working your way through previously seen territory.

Most of the game's levels have more than one objectives, so you'll usually have two or three paths to take off from of your starting position. Each path will eventually lead to some sort of reward. Most platformers would then demand you to go through the section you just completed to get back to the start of the level and try another path. But this game is very different, as the levels are designed in a way that you'll almost never have to go through a section you've already played. Many paths loop all the way around to the starting point, while others do this artificially by placing a teleporter or other form of instant transport at the end of the track. The lack of backtracking really keeps the game moving by almost completely eliminating downtime.

-(The Graphics)-
The graphics are simply amazing. The size of the levels is really big and really impressive, and you'll find that your fighting a screen full of small enemies in these huge environments, but the game's incredibly smooth frame rate never slows down. The frame rate doesn't come at the cost of texture or animation quality either, and these parts of Ratchet and Clank also look terrific. There are many levels in Ratchet and Clank, including a completely polluted wasteland, a sun-soaked holiday resort and even a space station. And the sheer size of the levels make the levels even more impressive. The game's environments are colorful and the game features some really great animated sequences too. Convincingly done facial animations convey a wide range of emotions for both Ratchet and Clank during the game's amusing cut-scenes. The character models look fantastic as well, especially the bosses as they look fantastic, with so much detail and variety.

-(The Sound)-
The graphics are backed up by fantastic sound. The soundtrack is really cool, each level is given its own feel, thanks in part to music that can create tension, creepiness, and other feelings, but without losing the generally upbeat, lighthearted tone. The sound effects are also generally outstanding, though the perpetual sound of bolts being collected can get pretty grating over time. The game's voice actors had a strong script to work with, and the game's dialogue is all well done. The voice acting is great as well, giving the dialogue some really heart-felt meaning. Ratchet and Clank also has support for Dolby Pro Logic II, so players with surround sound systems will be able to hear things happening behind Ratchet in their rear speakers.

-(Replay Value)-
Ratchet and Clank also is a lot longer than you might have come to expect from games of this type. Games are a real bummer when they are short, for example Sly Raccoon was really good, but it was hurt by it's shortness as it was only 5-10 hours long. Ratchet and Clank is different though, as it's about 15 hours long. The game spends a lot of time leading up to its final confrontation, and it tosses in a few extra levels and quests while you're hot on the trail of the game's lead antagonists. Overall, it's longer than many similar platformers, yet the game doesn't feel artificially lengthened by late-game fetch quests. There are optional items to be found in the game, such as gold bolts and skill points, and finishing the game will allow you to play through again and unlock special items. It's a shame there's no multiplayer options, as this is the type of game you could have multiplayer with all those guns to use. There could of had some deatmatch type modes, but that's not the case. The lack of multiplayer hurts the game's value a bit, but that's not a glaring problem, and you'll probably get over it.

-(Score)-
Controls=10-So many guns, yet it's so simple to choose and use them
Gameplay=9-A little stiff on the difficulty, but that's the only flaw
Graphics=10-Amazing, some of the best on the PS2
Sound=10-Hilarious dialogue as well as cool sound effects and catchy music
Replay Value=9-Longer than the average platformer, but there's no multiplayer
Overall Score=9.6=Outstanding

-(Ending Comments)-
Ratchet and Clank is the best platformer to ever come out on the PS2-period. It has some of the best graphics and sound seen on the PS2, it has some great controls and for once it doesn't revolve around collecting. And, though the difficulty is all over the map, it has some really great gameplay. And to make everything better, it's much longer than the average platformer. If you're looking for a great platformer that doesn't revolve around collecting then you must buy this, or if you're looking for some cool sci-fi action then you should buy this. Or if you're just looking for a PS2 showpiece then you will like this. And seeing as there isn't many good platformers on the market at the minute, it seems like this is your only choice for a fantastic platformer.

-(If You Like This I'd Suggest)-
Crash Bandicoot
Spyro The Dragon
Jak and Daxter
Rayman
Klona
Sly Raccoon
Ape Escape
Ty The Tasmanian Tiger
I-Ninja
Haven:Call Of The King
Maximo

-(Where You Can Buy It)-
Amazon for £14.97
I paid £11.97 off Amazon 

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