This is the third installment in an excellent series. In this new edition of Ratchet & Clank your goal is to find and put an end to the plots of an evil being robot named Nefarious. If you do not know what Ratchet & Clank is about, you are missing out. The concepts in Ratchet and Clank are very simple; Ratchet, your cat-like/human friend is a weapons expert. You must travel across the galaxies defeating evil beings with a variety of weapons puchased with "bolts (currency)" and solve a variety of puzzles with your buddy and robotic sidekick Clank. Clank is your heli-pack as well as your robotic translator. This installment has many new features, the most raved about being the additon of online/mulitplayer. Also new to the game is the ability to play on a video game system where you are Captain Qwark, a retired super hero, that must go through a series of side-scroll stages. This game is definately beefed up and is the best installment in the series.
Graphics - (9.75/10) - The only thing that makes me lower the score is some tough angle positions to see and the fact that it isn't as good looking as Jak 3. I do have to admit though, the graphics are a big improvement to the first game, especially the character models.
Gameplay - (10/10) - If only there were numbers higher than 10 put on this score. Ratchet & Clank Up Your Aresenal earns the renound honor of becoming the first game to have a constant 60 frames per second online. If you've never played Ratchet & Clank and you saw that statistic, you'd think that this is an MMO or a slow game: dead wrong. Ratchet & Clank is a bullet fury with dozens on monster on screen with no lag. This game also fixed a major problem that urked me in the first game, and that was the repetition of cutscenes unintentionally. Also, I really like the new menus, they are set up better and easier to read and adjust to.
Sound - (10/10) - Although not the games strongest point, I had no complaints about it. The sound in this game is just as polished as the rest of the game and features great voice acting, with a great story, and great soundtrack. No negative in my opinion.
Replay Value - (10/10) - I put a 10, but it deserves a 12/10. Online on a game that would have had a 10 without the online is amazing. The major replay value, at least for me, is the want to evolve your weapons to see what the final version of it looks like. For example, the Flame Whip. The Flame Whip is a beginner weapon you get to destroy multiple weak enemies with one hit. In its first evolution to V2, it doubles in length. In its second evolution to V3 it turns blue and is twice as powerful. In its third evolution to V4, it goes to the length of V2 and remains blue. And finally in the V5 final evolution, it is a black flame that shoots a beam of black energy with every swipe. Weapons like this make me want to evolve all weapons to V5 right away. As always, you also have tons of mini-games in this game, and with multi-player and online, I'm sure you can play many of these mini-games on the net or with a buddy.
Controls - (10/10) - Same with sound, no complaints. The controls are essentially the same as the previous game, and some of the camera angles were fixed, but not all, but that falls under graphics, but controls are invertantly involved. The controls are a bit tough to learn, but VERY simple to master. This game has a learning curve of 5-15 mintues depending on PS2 history and platform game history.
Overall - 9.95/10 (nearly perfect)
Conclusion - GOTY potential... cross your fingers... must have to any PS2 collection
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