Imagine Jak and Daxter with guns, and you've got Ratchet and Clank in a nutshell. Beautiful, epic, and addictive, Sony's latest project is another prime example of why they remain on top of the videogame heap.
Upon first looking at Ratchet and Clank, you'll probably think you're looking at some kind of in game cutscene. And you'd be right, since most of the cinematics are done within the confines of the game engine. But once you leave the show, and start the game, you'll realize that the level of detail that goes into making each of the game's vivid worlds seem alive doesn't stop due to technical constraints – the sheer scope of the metropolis level would be an amazing feat on the X-Box, let alone PS2. It's a living, breathing world, or at least you get that impression, as the environments never are static, even for a moment. Character designs also stand out as being some of the most varied and imaginative to hit the genre in quite some time. Any way you slice it, Ratchet and Clank is a visual masterpiece.
The sound quality, too, is something that must be experienced. The voices contained within have all the charm of a Disney animated feature, sans all the cutsey morality tales. The accompanying musical score is appropriate, but never intrusive. For the most part, the music will stay in the background, until you reach a point where the difficulty/action ramps up. Then, the tempo and/or beat starts to change, but it does so in a manner where you don't notice it, unless you're looking…such as if you're writing a review, for instance.
Ratchet and Clank's gameplay is innovative, though not as much so as previous SCEA titles. Most platform games break their monotony with a few shooter levels, or other variant stages. Ratchet bucks this trend by combining the Jak and Daxter engine with an excellent dose of non-stop shooting action. It would be easy to classify said shooting as a gimmick, if it weren't so well done: not only are the mechanics spot on perfect with any 3rd person shooter, but you're given upwards of two dozen weapons and gadgets to work with, most of which are very necessary to your survival in the later levels. The game drags a bit in the beginning, but about an hour or so into it, you're hooked. And there is variety to be found, but in the form of gameplay mechanics introduced via such gadgets as the swingshot and trespasser, as opposed to hit-or-miss minigames.
Unless you're completely jaded on platform games, Ratchet and Clank is a solid addition to any self-respecting gamer's library. It's no Mario Sunshine, and it damn well isn't the next Sly Cooper, but it's a fine, fine game in it's own right.
-George
Company Info
Sony Computer Entertainment America Unveils Groundbreaking Title Developed Exclusively for the PlayStation® 2 Computer Entertainment System
FOSTER CITY, April 30, 2002 – Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today the winter 2001 release of Ratchet & ClankTM , an innovative action-platform game created exclusively for the PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system. Developed by Insomniac Games, the creators of the highly acclaimed and best-selling Spyro the Dragon™ series, Ratchet & Clank reinvents the action category, blending action-platform, exploration, adventure, puzzle-solving, strategy and racing genres, and fuses these elements into a creatively original, sci-fi fantasy.
Delivering exhilarating gameplay mechanics, unique character designs, enormous environments, where it is possible to blow up everything that stands in your way, brilliant graphics, an engaging storyline and an arsenal of the coolest weapons and high-tech gadgets ever seen in an action-platform game, Ratchet & Clank provides players with an immersive experience that demonstrates superb technological advancements and highlights the previously untapped power of PlayStation 2.
Insomniac Games advanced to the forefront of the videogame industry in 1998 with the successful introduction of Spyro the Dragon on the original PlayStation. The developer extended the franchise with Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage ™ in 1999 and the critically acclaimed Spyro: Year of the Dragon™ the following year. The highly rated titles have sold nearly six million units collectively in North America, and have broken sales records across the globe.
Since the release of Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the entire Insomniac team has been developing new content for PlayStation 2. The team's first new venture on the system, Ratchet and Clank, is an intergalactic, weapons-based action-adventure game, featuring the dynamic pair, Ratchet – a young, self-taught mechanic who has a knack for building and repairing things – and Clank, a diminutive but brainy robot. Insomniac's talented team of more than 30 designers, programmers, artists, animators, including Mark Cerny of Cerny Games, have created a truly unique, genre-breaking title that incorporates brilliantly designed characters with unique gameplay elements – including an economic system that enables the player to purchase more than 35 different gadgets and weapons. The game is set within a world of enormous, breathtaking vistas filled with life, movement, energy and full interaction, showcasing the extraordinary potential of the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system's third-generation software.
"We are delighted to have the highly talented team at Insomniac Games on board to create engaging content exclusively for PlayStation 2," said Ami Blaire, director, product marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "Ratchet and Clank clearly demonstrates that we are only just scratching the surface of the technological power of PlayStation 2. This time around, the limits are no longer with the technology but with the imagination and abilities of the development team. This holiday season will elevate the talented developers from the fray, with Insomniac leading the pack."
Set in a futuristic world filled with spaceships, robots and high-tech gadgets, Ratchet and Clank moves from planet to planet across a vast solar system. Ratchet lives on an abandoned backwater planet and dreams of someday striking out on a magnificent space adventure. Closer to the center of the galaxy, Chairman Drek rules a polluted planet, Orxon, inhabited by an ugly race called the Blarg. He too has dreams, but his concern is conquest and domination. Tired of his polluted world, Chairman Drek comes up with the ultimate solution – to build a new planet using the best parts from many of the other worlds in the galaxy. If he can't convince the inhabitants to part with a few thousand hectares of their worlds, the army of robots and Blarg warriors can eliminate any resistance.
In one of the factories creating Chairman Drek's evil armies, a computer glitch creates a small but smart robot – Clank. Learning about the Chairman Drek's plans, Clank flees the factory seeking help, but his ship is shot down over Ratchet's homeworld. Forced together by circumstance, Ratchet and Clank blast off from planet to planet through an extraordinary sci-fi universe. The unlikely pals encounter imaginative characters, acquire a plethora of weapons and gadgets, and blow up everything in their path, as they uncover more of the Chairman Drek's plan.
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