GO GO GADGET HELIPAD (Ratchet & Clank (PS2))

Member Name: mdstone

Product:	Ratchet & Clank (PS2)
Date:	18/11/03 (496 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Value for money, Hours and hours of game play, excellent graphics

Disadvantages: not 2 player

Ratchet & Clank was one of the first 3D platform games released for the Playstation 2. As it has now been around for quite some time, it has gone platium, which means you can pick it up from any game store for just £19.99.

This game is really one for all ages and it has so much in-depth and feature packed game play, that it will keep you busy for weeks on end.

The story of the game focuses on the two main characters; Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet is a Lombax street-smart mechanic with fox-like ears, from a backwater world called Veldin who is one for an adventure. When he bumps into Clank (after a crash landing escape), who is an inteligent robot who discovers that he was meant to be part of an evil scheme to take over the galaxy, he decides to help him out.
Together they team up (with Clank on Ratchets back) to prevent the galaxy being taken over from the evil Chairman Drek and his aquatence Captain Qwark.

With Ratchet's Omniwrench 8000, you smash your way through planets under attack from the enemy, collecting bolts along the way (which are the currency in Ractchet's galaxy). These bolts can be traded at the start of each level for better weapons and gadgets using the Gadgetron mobile shop.

The idea of the game is to basically collect as many bolts as you can, as well as finding secret gold bolts, destroy enemys, locate Info Bots, that will provide you with maps to new planets and get Clank kitted up with the latest robot technology (such as a heli-pack) to help Ratchet leap and glide to a better platform adventure.

Along the way, you will find that you have a selection of more and more interesting weapons and gadgets to use, such as the Blaster gun, Suck Cannon (to suck in enemies and shoot them at others), magneboots (to cling to metal structures) and Grindboots (to slide down rails).
The most fun you will have with this game will be using the Grindboots to slide down grind rails at lightening pace with b

umps and jumps along the way. You will also have fun swinging from platforms using some great Gadgetron technology.

The graphics on this game are unbelieveable, with the detail on game characters and scenery surroundings offering superb detail. There is so much that you can do in the game, including swim underwater, fly and glide in the air, go exploring with Clank alone and much more.

I have so far been playing this game for a good 4 or 5 weeks and have yet to complete it. It is a game that will keep you entertained for hours and hours and not get bored of. There are lots of different planets to visit and once you get more gadgets, you can even go back to planets you have previously visited in order to find secret hidden areas. On top of this, you can also do missions to find certain piece of technology for some game characters you come across. In return for finding what they need, they give you some cool items, such as the hover board, where you can enter a race to become a hover board champion.

This game has so much, that it is worth every penny of the £19.99 price it is now on sale for. The game was rated 9/10 by Playstaion 2 magazine and i've seen nothing but good reviews on this game in other game magazines. You might be disappointed to find that this game is not 2-player, but it offers outstanding 1 player game play. If you liked Sonic the Hedgehog on the Mega Drive and the Crash Bandicoot series on the Playstation, this is the game for you. In comparison to other Playstation 2 titles, it is quite similar to that of Jak & Daxter.

Ratchet & Clank 2 has just hit the shops, but you really have to play the first game to fully appreciate the second. A must for all PS 2 gamers!

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