Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PlayStation 4
Tested on: PlayStation 4
Ratchet & Clank – Review
“We’re all out of dick puns… We’ll have to reboot Ratchet & Clank.” Is probably what the lead designer at Insomniac said when they brain stormed on what to make for a next game. With the original games being over a decade old, it’s a blast from the past for old time fans, yet for those particular players it might seem like Insomniac just got a little too cheeky with their humour on the level of Capcom’s latest DMC title. Ratchet & Clank doesn’t seem to know what it really wants, be it attract new fans or polish the nostalgia goggles of the older fans. As it currently stands it feels like it is in limbo and it doesn’t do anything to hide that fact.
Story
The story goes back to the first game and starts with the origin story. Ratchet is the last of the Lombax kind, catlike antropomorphic aliens. He tries to get into the Galactic Ranger squad. He fails however and this coincides with him finding a ‘Death Bot’ called Clank. Clank is a ‘defect’ and this shows in his tiny stature and his non menacing demeanor. If you play this game, as an old fan, you’ll notice that the story has been revamped and it has to be said, it somehow is more coherent.
It also drags in other enemies from the second and third installment of the series, so this game might be the only recreation, and the Insomniac mascots may get some rest. This would be a shame because the writing is rather good and a sequel on the same level shouldn’t fall short of success.
Graphics
Ratchet & Clank looks gorgeous… Yet it’s still marred by what it’s trying to be. It’s trying to be the game based on the movie based on the game. Now if all the graphics were rendered in game’s engine this wouldn’t be a problem, however every now and then Insomniac tied in fragments of the movie. This was a big mistake.
The graphics just don’t mesh and those parts really stand out like day and night. The filter hasn’t been removed from the movie’s segments and the graphics of the game look more gritty than those of the movie. It also makes the game feel like a gimmick to sell the movie to the gamers.
With so much effort being put into the game it really is jarring that they chose for this option. This game has so much going for it without Insomniac trying to make it look like a lame movie tie in. Which, because of the movie segments makes it a lot like a cop out.
Sound
There’s not much to say about the soundtrack and the voice acting but to say that it’s nothing short of perfection. Even the segments of game and movie fit perfectly without even so much as a drop in quality, it’s not like the segments between game and movie are jarring sound wise. That’s what some developers fail to do, to marry the gameplay to the movie bits soundwise.
Often the sound of the game is bad and the movie’s voice acting is good. Here it’s just one level of professionalism. Then again, the voice actors are nothing to scoff at so it’s not really surprising. The gun sound effects are quite nicely done and when you acquire the ‘Sheepinator’ you can turn battlefield into a field filled with bleating sheep. It’s funny of how quick you can go from ‘oh fuck I’m gonna get mauled’ to ‘ahahaha, bleat sheep, bleat!’
Gameplay
Ratchet & Clank is an action adventure third person shooter. The game is basically the lovechild of the first game which had a menage a trois with the second and third game. All that without the clunkiness of any of those games. It’s like the developers really went to town and wanted to make the game the best it could be. What the first game lacked was weapon upgrades, which this game incorperated. Also the frustrating part where you had to race the water level has been simplified and even if you mess it up you can still make it in one go. Newcomers to the game will be pleased to play the game as it has cut out the frustrating parts, even with how little of them there were… The game feels short, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s short, but it feels short.
It’s probably because it plays so very well that you’ll be seeing the credits roll by before you are really ready for it. Then again, nothing stops you from playing the game in challenge mode and finishing it again and again and again. Challenge mode is the same game with tougher enemies but you still keep your guns at the level you finished the game at and you can buy omega weapons if you’ve collected the right cards.
Because you don’t only need bolts to purchase the murder makers, but also collect certain cards if you want to upgrade them. If you have duplicate cards you can exchange those for other ones and finish your collection.
Conclusion
The game is reasonably priced for the amount of content you are getting, but that is keeping in mind that Insomniac is hoping that the money you save on the game will go to you seeing the movie. This is the case, yet they’ve added parts of the movie to the game so you can probably bet that it will follow the same story arc and watching it might not give you any extra information on the story. Ratchet & Clank the game based on the movie based on the game is worth all of your bolts if you are looking for a decent 3rd person shooter. Even openminded fans might like the direction the story is going.
Ratchet & Clank - Review,
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