Ratchet and Clank (Ratchet & Clank (PS2))

Member Name: butters

Product:	Ratchet & Clank (PS2)
Date:	19/05/06 (528 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Humour and environments

Disadvantages: N/A

Created by Insomniac, who had created Spyro on the PSone, I had mixed hopes for this game because Spyro had its ups and downs, but a demo that I played convinced me of getting this game on the 8th of April 2002. It is that good I remember the date.

Story.
*****

Well, in a galaxy far away, is a planet full of creatures called Lombax', and we just happen to be playing as one called Ratchet, who is saving the galaxy one planet at a time from Chairman Drek, an evil villain who, after polluting his own planet, wants to make a new one to live on. However, to do this he wants to rip parts from other planets to create a 'jigsaw' of the best parts of other planets to live on. However, whilst creating an army of robots to aid him in his task, the machine that processed the robots created Clank, a fault, because instead of being a 6 foot tall killing machine, ended up being a backpack sized brainy robot who, after a miraculous escape from the plant where he was created, came across Ratchet, who just so happened to want to explore space. They set off on a journey to save Ratchets home town Veldin, and more importantly, the planet.
The story is nothing new to be honest really because it is the classic 'saving the world from an evil villain' game. However, the enemy in the game is fun and the story, though over-used, has a new spin on it, making it interesting.
The main characters, Ratchet and Clank or course add to this since there is a certain charm to both characters and the humour of the game will have you wanting to watch the cut scenes. The relationship between the main characters is brilliant.

Gameplay.
*********
It is an action adventure game with a fair amount of platforming. Whilst not free roaming you travel from planet to planet, hunting down the enemy and try to stop his plans. The gameplay is amazing and varied as you use different weapons to take down different enemies, all of which vary in difficulty. The characters movement is fluid and with Clank on your hack you can glide down with a mini-helicopter. Mostly you will be following a set path (that occasionally splits in a fork), taking on enemies and collecting bolts which allow you to buy weapons.
The weapons obviously take up a large part of this game and for good reason. They're probably the highlight of the game as you have wacky inventions that can either mimic realistic weapons (whilst putting a cartoony spin on them) like having a futuristic gun or flamethrower to having a Glove of Doom which can sent little robots out to aid you in combat. You also get weapons that can shoot out electricity or turn your enemies into a farm animal and they help to keep the game interesting. Whenever you may get bored of one weapon another one will come along which will keep you entertained. Good weapons alone don't make good gameplay though, but the gameplay is fantastic, helped by the environment.
The game is quite varied, ranging from an urban metropolis to a Hawaiian resort though they all require platforming of some sort and beating enemies. You get a variety of gadgets to help in your exploration, which allow you to walk up certain walls or swim underwater or swing and they keep the gameplay fresh and interesting. You can be in a fast paced section one minute, taking on hoards of enemies, and the next minute have the pace slowed down by making you solve a small puzzle. It never gets boring though because regardless of the pace, the atmosphere and environment keep the game interesting. It's not a full free roamer though the different environments are all large enough to allow for a decent amount of exploration and fun, full of secret areas. You can find "Gold Bolts" for example which let you, after completing a game for the first time, to upgrade your weapons to gold. It's a rare case of collectables done well since the game rewards you for exploration, whilst at the same time it isn't necessary. It helps with the replay value immensely.
The enemies are also good, and are never unfair. They can get challenging of course though, and the bosses are also fun.


Extra information.
***************
1 player.
355kb minimum on PS2 memory card.
Made by Insomniac in 2002.
Amazon proce-£11.97 or from 4.49 used and new.
3+

My Opinion.
***********

Altogether I love the game. The graphics are excellent and there are no glitches at all as far as I know. The sound matches the gameplay-just chilled out and adventure style and the game will last you quite a while to complete.
There is also a tremendous lifespan in the game because you can complete it more than once. The second time you get more bolts and throughout the game you find items called gold bolts and the 2nd time round these are used to buy gold weapons with more power and this makes you want to play on more. Even though it does get easier each time because you start out with the more powerful weapons, there is still the element of a challenge there and since there is something to add-on for you to accomplish second time round, lifespan of the game will last you ages.

Then there is the game itself which is superb and although I thought that Jak and Daxter was better for gameplay, I think that this will suit a wider range though because it has a wider range of gameplay. It may be a platformer like Jak 1 but with the addition to guns which more people like, it has a more themes which should hopefully bring in more gamers who own this.
The weapons are excellent and really well thought out and then the enemies you kill them with are just as well thought out. The A.I provides a small problem but I doubt many would notice it because the fast paced game would just usually take you to an enemy which you will try to beat without running away. There is even the vast amount of enemies.
The environments are equally as good as the weapons too because there are so many of them, all so different varying from sunny places to war-torn rainy areas and there is load to explore where you will find different enemies and weapons enemies have, such as tanks or mines which provide a huge challenge if you add it on to the amount of enemies there are I the beautifully done landscape. Sure some people may argue that there is not enough detail for their liking or the story in not of movie-quality but it gives all you expect from a platformer-fun. The story is still fun, like it should be and maybe the graphics could have been better but it is 4 years old, and it was great for its time and still lives up to good standards now.

Altogether this is a great game full of guns and gameplay with some great jokes inside the cut-scenes which provides a challenge. Most gamers will like this.

Summary: Great action advanture