Confession: Ratchet & Clank (R&C) is my absolute favorite Playstation franchise. Seriously. Sure, I love me some Metal Gear Solid, can't wait until the next Final Fantasy, already have the new Devil May Cry on my Amazon wishlist; R&C still outranks them all on my charts. There's just something about the series that makes me flash back to my 2D NES and SNES days. The straightforward storylines, the platforming, the shoot 'em up gameplay. Unlike most newer franchises, this is one I think could've worked just as well fifteen years ago as it does today. So, needless to say, I have been eagerly anticipating the series' debut on Sony's latest console. Does the old school R&C manage to continue its tradition of excellence on the new school PS3? Quite simply, yes. Yes it does.
Control: Satisfactory
First things first: there are actually two available control schemes in this game. I only used the default one, so it's entirely possible that switching to the second may have made things perfect. Seems like the type of thing one would have looked into at some point, but I didn't. Because really, there wasn't much problem in terms of controls for a vast majority of my play time. You run, you jump, you shoot, you converse, you swap weapons - it all works very easily and just as you'd likely expect. There were only two areas that on rare occasions, seemed to nag me. First, sometimes when I was in a situation where I had to spin around a lot (surrounded by enemies on multiple sides, for instance), the camera felt sluggish, and didn't really keep up with me well. I quite often had to reach down and flick the right analog in order to get it to catch up. This didn't happen too often and I don't believe it ever actually caused me any real trouble, but it was still a little annoying. Second, you have two special types of jumps available to you: a long jump and a high jump. Both are done by holding R2 before tapping the jump button. Which you do is determined by whether or not you were running or standing at the time of the action. I found that this determination was a little bit shaky; though Ratchet did what was expected 95% of the time, he did the opposite often enough that I don't entirely believe it to be user error. Unlike the previous issue, this one actually did cost me a couple of deaths, as I would try to jump over a chasm and wind up falling to my death. I'd like to stress though, both of these issues happened infrequently and in general, never really took away from the game as a whole.
Graphics: Satisfactory
I'll admit it - I may have expected too much. I read the absolutely glowing reviews beforehand. All of them described the graphics as serene. Most called it a flagship title for showing the PS3's abilities off. A few went so far as to describe R&C as the closest thing you can get to playing a a Pixar movie. Needless to say, I went it assuming I'd be blown away. Sadly, in case it wasn't obvious from my rating, I wasn't. Does the game look good? Heck yes. It looks a like like you'd expect a R&C game jumping from one generation to the next to look. The style and feel is similar, but objects show more detail, characters animate more smoothly, environments are more busy. Sounds pretty good, though not exactly mind-blowing, eh? The one exception is the cut scenes that begin and end most levels; those are absolutely stellar. Perhaps they were what all the reviewers were talking about when bringing up the Pixar name, because they really are that good. Unfortunately, you can't play cut scenes, so their overall effect on me is limited.
Innovation: Satisfactory
Have you ever played a R&C game before? If you have, then there is nothing new to see here. Oh sure, there's a few debuting characters, some unique weapons, brand new levels. But the general feel of the game is all but identical to that of R&C's of years past. You move from level to level, taking an hour or so apiece. At each, you go through an opening area, blasting baddies to move forward. The path will often split, with one way taking you towards some kind of side goodie and the other towards the end of the planet. You'll get a new weapon or two, possibly a new gadget at each. Every three or four planets, they'll throw in a StarFox-style rail shooting segment. There are also a few segments where you control only Clank, again every few planets. There's a battle arena to go through, though it is downplayed significantly compared to the previous few titles. There are a few grind rail segments, a few areas that focus on platforming over combat. All in all, there is nothing at all to distinguish this R&C from previous R&Cs. Still, taking into account the platformer genre as a whole, R&C still stands out as the most combat-focused, which sets it apart a bit. Most platformers depend on jumping areas, object collecting, and small puzzles, none of which are a major factor here. Summary: compared to previous R&C games, little innovation. Compared to other 3D platformers, still stands out.
Replay Value: Excellent
As I mentioned before, the entire R&C series has a very old school feel to it. Included in that is a pretty high replayability factor. There are a decent number of optional collectibles throughout the game, including gold bolts, skill points, and holo-plans, each of which have their own rewards. Odds are pretty good that you're going to be missing some of these your first time around, so completionists have incentive to go back through some old levels. Your arsenal is massive and fairly creative, meaning you can do a second playthough without getting bored by using the same two or three weapons over and over. In fact, your weapons actually outright encourage a second playthough, as they all have additional upgrades that can be puR&Chased only if you've already cleared the game once. Also along that line, a challenge mode is unlocked after beating it for the first time, which lets you keep your previous arsenal and ramps up the difficulty some. In general though, the reason R&C does so well here is just because of the nature of the game - everything is centered around running, jumping, dodging, shooting, surviving. These are the types of things that lend themselves well to replayability. And in contrast, R&C does not rely very heavily on aspects such as storyline or exploration, areas which sharply decrease in value with each new replay.
Sound: Satisfactory
Voice work is pretty darn great in this game, a trademark of the series. Characters feel full of life, and manage to get in a lot of humorous dialog without it ever feeling foR&Ced or cheesy. Beyond the voices though, sound is across the board unspectacular. Despite having just finished the game, I honestly can't remember a single bit of music that played throughout the adventure. If you're a glass-half-full person, I suppose you could say at least it wasn't bad. Ditto for the sound effects; things sounded pretty much like you'd expect. It's not so bad though, as the 3D platformer is probably one of the least musically-inclined genres out there.
Grade: A
What can I say? I love R&C games, and Tools of Destruction certainly doesn't stray off the beaten path. If you've played an R&C game in the past and enjoyed it, I absolutely guarantee you'll love this one too. If you aren't so much a fan of R&C games, well, nothing here is likely to change your mind. The game isn't too tough, but has just enough tricky spots that you likely won't ever be bored. My first time through took me about fifteen hours over the course of a week and a half, and my challenge mode run (yep, played it through again right away) ran ten or so hours over three days. I've had my fill for the time being, but I'll probably give it yet another run through next fall, to prep myself for the inevitable next release in the R&C franchise.
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