Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Ratchet & Clank

    Franchise »

    The Ratchet & Clank series developed by Insomniac Games continues its success, by giving the fans the best from the previous installments, but also improving on the major gameplay elements.

    The Top Shelf: The Battle Royales 03: Ratchet & Clank

    Avatar image for mento
    Mento

    4958

    Forum Posts

    551063

    Wiki Points

    897

    Followers

    Reviews: 39

    User Lists: 212

    Edited By Mento  Moderator

    Welcome to The Top Shelf, a weekly feature wherein I sort through my extensive PS2 collection for the diamonds in the rough. My goal here is to narrow down a library of 185 games to a svelte 44: the number of spaces on my bookshelf set aside for my PS2 collection. That means a whole lot of vetting and a whole lot of science that needs to be done - and here in the second round, that means narrowing our laser focus to one game per week (at least). Be sure to check out the Case File Repository for more details and a full list of games/links!

    Extra Note: We're down to the wire now, just a few loose ends to tie up. Specifically, figuring out which of two (or three) very similar games from the same franchise is the superior entry. Our strict one-game-per-franchise policy means we'll need to bring in some science to determine the truly shelf-worthy here in The Top Shelf's third round: The Battle Royales!

    See, it's like having no underwear.
    See, it's like having no underwear.

    This episode of the Battle Royales might be one of the most brutal yet. Not only do I love all the Ratchet & Clank games like my furry alien children, but it's definitely what I would call an "it ain't broke, don't fix it" type of franchise: one where every new entry feels barely iterative but you don't even care too much because the formula they have works so well. All I need is some new planets, new guns, new characters to crack wise with, and perhaps a few new gadgets and you can throw the same basic model of game at me over and over. I've played them all, barring the most recent one and a few of the portable games, and I don't recall any occasion where I felt disappointed that it was more of the same. I found it helps to pace them out a bit, mind.

    See, it's like putting things in your butt.
    See, it's like putting things in your butt.

    We're specifically looking at the second and third games, respectively, largely because for as decent as the first Ratchet & Clank was, its two sequels expanded on the core concept in a lot of integral ways. To the extent that one of the most major components of any given Ratchet and Clank game - where the gameplay shifts from the standard running and gunning to something off-kilter like a strategy game or a space sim - is missing entirely from the first. It's a series that definitely hit the ground running, but it took another game or two to really find its groove. So, don't get me wrong, Ratchet & Clank 1 is a fine, fine game; it's just that the real contest is between #2 and #3.

    As such, I'm going to do what I did last week with Silent Hill and simply focus on the few areas in which Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando and Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal are the most different. We're side-stepping gameplay and presentation rundowns, because it's too close to call, and will instead focus on the following: the story and characters, which obviously have to change every game considering the duo are always rocketing off to a new system to tackle a new problem; the guns and gadgets, which are the meat and potatoes of the game's core mechanics and also where the designers clearly have the most fun; and the additional gameplay modes, which in this case refers specifically to the space sim shoot 'em up parts of Going Commando and the RTS-style strategic battles of Up Your Arsenal. This one really will come down to the wire.

    Story & Characters

    The Ratchet and Clank series are what I might refer to as linear 3D platformers. The genre of course began in earnest with the expansive and open Super Mario 64 and the Rare N64 platformers that followed in its footsteps, but at the same time we also saw a trend elsewhere with 2D platformers breaking out into 3D but retaining the structure of a single route through long, narrow levels through set level design, barring occasional dead ends and secret areas. It's remarkable that the latter format would end up becoming the standard for the genre, with even 3D Mario games (barring Sunshine and the more recent Odyssey) following the same linear approach as all the Crash Bandicoots, Ratchet & Clanks, and Sonic Adventures from their rival developers. Anyway, because Ratchet & Clank has linear levels, they are afforded the opportunity to put more emphasis on a story structure that allows for set-pieces and specific scenes to trigger at various points along the critical path that the player is unable to miss, by design. Likewise, it'd be difficult to miss characters placed on that path, with cutscenes often taking over mid-level to dish out some story content before returning to the action.

    In Going Commando, we have our duo still fighting against the corporatocracy of their universe, with the new shadowy "MegaCorp" taking over from Chairman Drek. However, they're initially fooled into working for the conglomerate by its affable CEO Abercrombie Fizzwidget, who had teleported the two across to a new galaxy after hearing about their exploits from the first game, and tasks them to chase down a thief who had stolen a classified and potentially dangerous biological experiment. Naturally, the thief turns out to be a good person - a female Lombax, in fact, named Angela Cross - and it's the company at fault, who plans to launch this biological experiment as a brand of adorable pet. They get out of control, and Ratchet and Clank are forced to perform damage control to fix the mistakes they made. Abercrombie is also revealed to be a character from the first game, making Angela the only new major character for this sequel: while she's a decent enough foil in her masked thief form, she turns out to be a fairly nerdy if resourceful scientist underneath, giving her two sides to her character which don't necessary gel. She doesn't seem the type to hire the mercurial "Thugs-4-Less" bandits, for one.

    Up Your Arsenal seems to recognize the importance of a good ensemble cast, bringing back recurring nitwit Captain Qwark and putting him in control of the "Q-Force" team, which includes Ratchet and Clank, the unfortunately-named extreme sports nut Skidd McMarx, and the new love interest Captain Sasha Phyronix. The game also introduces one of its best antagonists with Dr. Nefarious: a robotic mad scientist and bigot whose cartoonish evil is a perfect fit for the Saturday Morning cartoon world that is this universe. He's joined by his sardonic butler Lawrence and the paper-thin musical idol parody Courtney Gears, as well as a vicious little Clank doppelganger named Klunk. The story concerns Nefarious's return, as the Q-Force follows various dead ends to track him down before he can complete a device that will extinguish all biological life and ensure only robots remain. It's plotted a bit closer to an adventure serial than previous games, as you have all these almost self-contained little escapades before reaching the big finale. It's a format that was a good look for Ratchet & Clank, even if the later games dialled back on its frivolity.

    Advantage: Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal.

    The Guns and Gadgets

    What's a Ratchet and Clank game without an array of ridiculous weapons and the judicious doling out of various traversal-enabling gadgets that allowed players to revisit former levels for collectibles they couldn't get the first time? To me, the guns and gadgets are what makes the franchise, not unlike James Bond (which Clank regularly alludes to with his "holofilms") and each new game goes out of its way to come up with a mixture of past favorites and fun new concepts. For the more discerning gun fanatic, there's always the overpowered RYNO: if they can find the plans to assemble it, that is.

    Going Commando introduced a few new weapons, but most importantly added weapon experience to the franchise. This meant that frequent use of the same weapon would cause it to level up, growing more powerful, holding more bullets per clip, having larger area of effects, and potentially adding new traits or abilities. Some of my favorite weapons introduced in the second game include the Miniturret Glove, which spits out mini-turrets to take some of the attention away from yourself; the flamethrower-like Lava Gun; the Hoverbomb Gun which allows players to deploy and then move mines around to cover their flanks; and the versatile crowd-clearing Chopper weapon, which sends out buzzsaws that richochet off enemies and walls to hit others in their path. You also had the Sheepinator, which moved from turning enemies into chickens (in the first game) to turning them into sheep: future games would continue changing what animal the polymorph guns would focus on. Going Commando also introduces the Synthenoid: the early precursor to Mr. Zurkon, one of the best weapons in the Future sub-series.

    Up Your Arsenal brought in the Infector, which forced enemies to fight against their former comrades for a time, which made fighting crowds far easier if they were too distracted by the enemy in their midst. (It's a tactic I put to very good use in Horizon: Zero Dawn too.) There's also the Rift Inducer: a black hole gun which comes to wash away the rain, or at least suck up any enemies in its immediate vicinity. I also like the Spitting Hydra, which generates a bolt of lightning which attaches to nearby enemies and causes them damage over time, which feels like something out of Quake. Of course, the animal polymorph gun is back, only now it's ducks. Both games have their fair share of memorable weapons, but I think I'll have to give the edge to Going Commando for making such a huge leap with the level-up system, as well as pipping Up Your Arsenal's total of 29 with its own 24 (though Up Your Arsenal takes the lead again if we also include multiplayer-only weapons).

    Advantage: Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando.

    The Additional Gameplay Modes

    The original Ratchet & Clank introduced the Clank-only sequences, a trademark of the franchise wherein you had to use Clank's affinity with smaller robotic forms - gadge-bots - to solve various puzzles, rather than relying on combat and brute force. Beyond that, though, it was more concerned with establishing the Ratchet and Clank formula of running around, strafing, and whittling down crowds of enemies with outlandish weapons. It was up to its two sequels to find new applications for the duo, branching out into experimental "maxi-games", as they were called by the developers: those which briefly break the traditional format, but are still sizeable game modes in their own right.

    Going Commando introduces the ship combat, which has the player taking down enemies in brief shoot 'em up sequences between planets. It also introduces the optional arena battles which provide a lot of useful currency, bonus gear and general bragging rights. The gam takes a leaf from Jak & Daxter with hoverbike and spaceship races, and brings another Ratchet and Clank mainstay to the table with the "spherical world" levels: those in which the player navigates smaller planetoids and moons with more evident circumferences/horizons, which would act as little bonus challenges in later games. While none of these "maxi-games" were as compelling as the core experience, the variety they offered was a welcome addition.

    Up Your Arsenal persisted with many features introduced in the second game, but switched out the ship combat for"Galactic Rangers" missions which amounted to some top-down RTS-style troop management to complete objectives. Unlike the maxi-games from Going Commando, I kind of found these sequences distracting, but then I never was one for RTS or tower defense.

    Advantage: Going Commando.

    Conclusion

    This was a tricky one. Even though I appreciate the story and characters of the third game more, the second game was almost mechanically perfect, from the range of new weapons and their enhanced levelled forms to the various mini-games that kept the main action from becoming too stale. I'd probably go on record to say that either of the first two Ratchet & Clank Future games for PS3 - that would be Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time - would be my actual favorite Ratchet & Clank game, but Going Commando really represents the Platonic ideal of the franchise, with others iterating on it to varying levels of success.

    It's a fantastic franchise and it was difficult to pick a winner, but I'll be darned if the science hasn't come through to help me once again. Sorry for the relative lack of categories, but it wasn't easy to find enough differentiators to put them through the wringer. Hopefully I've built enough of a case with just three talking points this week.

    Result: Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando proceeds directly to the shelf, with Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal eliminated.

    (Next week: We hunt for the precious, and discover that the time of the Shelves is almost over.)

    < Back to the Case File Repository

    Avatar image for glots
    glots

    5169

    Forum Posts

    74

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #1  Edited By glots

    I really enjoyed my time with the HD releases of 2 and 3, after having already played ToD and Crack in Time. The very first game felt prototypey, but the sequels barely felt dated in any way when compared to the PS3 ones.

    I hope Insomniac eventually makes a sequel, since I think the remake sold well enough and seemed to score nicely as well. At the same time I’m kinda glad that the movie bombed, because now there’s at least hope that they can have a story that won’t be butchered completely because of a movie coming out at the same time.

    Avatar image for soulcake
    soulcake

    2874

    Forum Posts

    1

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    I remember being 14 and just waiting for Christmas to play the latest Ratchet & Clank game. IMO 3 is the pinnacle of the franchise. 2 was a little bit to easy especially wanna you can kill the last boss with 3 bouncer shots :D. But it was a huge improvement in the weapons department compared to 1. Anyway great write up really enjoyed this feature.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.