Size Matters tries too hard to be like it's big brother.
A lot of the time when a major console game makes the transition to a handheld it often turns out as a completely different game or it takes place as a side story or a spin-off. This is apparent with games such as Vice City Stories and the Metal Gear Acid games. But this isn't the case with Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. In fact it's almost the exact same as the console versions. It's a direct sequel to Deadlocked and picks the story up from there. Ratchet and Clank are on vacation and a little girl comes up to them wanting to take pictures of them doing "heroic" stuff. She gets kidnapped and they have to go save her. The story has many twists and turns but ultimately is pretty forgettable.
The PSP is notorious for not have a second analog stick and because of this Size Matters controls feel a little sloppy. The camera is one problem. It has two different options, with one you use both shoulder buttons to move the camera to the left and right. This one feels the best and is the one that I recommend you use while playing. The other option makes the camera stick behind Ratchet at all times and when you move, the camera moves with you. It works for the most part but in the end it's more annoying than helpful. You strafe in the game by pressing left and right on the d-pad. This actually works very well and you'll have to circle strafe some bosses to beat them as it's almost the only way too, so the d-pad will quickly become your best friend in fights.
The game plays pretty much the exact same as the PS2 versions. You travel through extremely linear levels on a couple of different planets blowing things up on your way to the end. Helping your blow up these things up are your trusty guns. There are a little over a dozen in the game and the more you use them the more experience they gain leading to them leveling up. All the guns are fun to use and helpful in eliminating the bad guys, but there is one gun in particular that is like a shotgun and it misses almost every time you shoot it making it pretty much worthless. There are boxes strewn about the levels and breaking them will give you bolts. Bolts is the games currency and you use them to buy new guns and gun mods. You also gain armor in the game. There are different types that you can equip and customize your appearance. Equipping certain parts will give you attack boosts such as making your wrench catch on fire that takes down double damage or if your throw your wrench you'll leave a trail of acid that will hurt enemies that walk across it. But you'll mainly only use the armor as a defensive upgrade and rely more on your guns for attacking.
Size Matters isn't a particularly long game. It's around the 5 to 8 hour mark. However, once you beat the game you can go through it again on "challenge" mode that gives you bolt multipliers to get you more bolts and there is a new set of armor available for you to find. There are also races to partake in and Twisted Metal style Clank mini games to play. You can also play multiplayer matches to up to 4 people online and off. But the multiplayer is pretty uninteresting and you probably won't play it that much.
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters is a great PSP game. It's got everything you love about the PS2 games but it's in the palm of your hand. If your a fan of Ratchet and Clank you should defiantly pick it up although the $40 price tag is asking a little to much for a such a short game. But regardless of all that this game is worth your time.
