Quick Look: Ratchet & Clank

Rambling on.

Great to see Mr. Zurkon. And the RYNO (seemingly neither Jeff nor Dan know the origin of the name).

Seeing these two realize the R&C games are good games is refreshing but also not surprising. This kind of game, a pure platformer with bright graphics has really been WAY out of vogue since the whole "next gen" era brought on by waves of bald space marines in beige/gray environments. We've run into an era where so many gamers feel that games like this are too "kiddy" for them. Which is weird, since if you do it in 2D with some pixelation they snap it right up.

I hope we've run far enough past this consensus to a time where it's okay to like a game like this again. And I don't mean ironically either. You shouldn't need to pretend like the game is laughing off its own conceit to sell itself to gamers (see Sunset Overdrive and its various gags and camera mugging). What I'm saying is gamers, realize that maturity doesn't mean you have to act like you're above a fun experience just because it also appeals to tweens.

Insomniac has usually done good work and it's glad to see it recognized again. I'll pick this game up as soon as I finish what I'm playing right now.

And wow does this game look great.

I liked Crack in Time, I didn't really like all 4 One. I'm not sure I remember Into the Nexus! I feel bad about that.

Ratchet looks so fluffy in this. This must be a good game.

That upgrade system was in Tools of Destruction IIRC. Also the ability to strafe has been in since 3

Man, Human Revolution had some great design all around, from the UI to all the futuristic billboards and branding. Glad to see someone else shares my nerdy-ass appreciation of that game.

Man I'm really on the fence about this one.

For what it's worth, they bring up Enter the Nexus on the 4/12 Bombcast, albeit after some searching. I can't completely blame them, as it came out after two other games which were departures for the series and long after the series' ending plot wise. Also, the quick look for the game was done by Patrick and Vinny.

This attitude is nothing new. I don't know if you were gaming during the Gamecube days, but the "kiddy lunchbox" argument was the #1 thing used to tear that system down during console war arguments. The Wind Waker really helped push that mentality. I lost track of the number of people who refused to play that game on principle because it was "too kiddy."

It's UI presentation and basic art direction was pretty good all round, but the weak voice acting of 'tiny headed' character models didn't sit well with me, some nice creative flourishes throughout, like world building and visual story telling, but in the end I didn't think it was a great game from narrative and mechanical point of view.

Ratchet's always been great in my opinion. If you own a PS4, don't miss out on this.

I wasn't expecting them to utilize the exact same level design from the first game as much as they have... Probably won't discourage me from eventually playing it (and it isn't necessarily a bad thing by any means, R&C is one of my all time favorites/most influential games in my life. Looks really nice regardless

I am just so happy to see so many people and sites give the game such good reviews and high praise. I have been playing these games since I was like in 4th grade when the first one came out and I adore them still to this day lol

I definitely didn't play Into the Nexus. I would have remembered the Nightmare Box.

I feel bad now. Let me see how much it is on PSN. Hmm. $15. I wonder if I should go out and find discs or just go with the online option.

Yup! This has the same feature. You can customize which weapons go where on the wheel, and once you have more weapons than fit on one wheel, you just hit R1 or L1 to cycle through the wheels while you have triangle pressed.

Having the D-pad quick select for your four favorites is nice, but when the action is really going, taking your finger off the left stick to hit the D-pad is usually not advisable, especially playing on Hard. Pressing Triangle to bring up the wheel pauses the action without forcing you to stop your movement.

Game looks gorgeous except for that 2D flame effect :P

Loved into the Nexus. Just finished this game, and haven't enjoyed a game this much in a long time. After a year of bouncing off of games thus far, this has really fucking done it for me. I miss games like this.

As someone who lives and breaths ratchet and clank this is a perfect remake. They use the exact same level geometry as all the original levels with a lot of extra detail to spice it up, and everything that is new is separate from the old levels. It is a perfect example of taking something you love brushing up what was there without fucking with it, and adding some new flair. It's amazing!

@kid_gloves: It's my favorite PS3 Ratchet but I'm not surprised a lot of people forgot it because Sony did not back that game AT ALL. I honestly never heard about that game at all til 2 weeks before it was out, and even then I wasn't sure if it was on disk or not.

funny video description re: time

@ockman: And also, the weapon upgrade system with Raritanium is in Nexus! (I'm playing it atm). So its not a "new upgrade system" at all.

@belowstupid: It came out at a bad time iirc. Was released when the PS4 was getting launched (or shortly thereafter) and flew under the radar. I only recently picked it up on the recent PSN sale.

I have to admit that I was expecting a shameless cash-in with this, but it actually looks pretty damn solid. I wasn't expecting to be tempted to pick it up, but I actually have to seriously think about spending my hard earned money on it or not. Decisions. Decisions.

That engine looks beautiful, no question about it.

That upgrade board is straight out of Digital Devil Saga 2. I feel like I've seen it before that, too, but can't remember in what.

I really enjoyed the traditional Ratchet games, but I never bought nor played Into The Nexus, partially because I was playing GTA V so much (I don't recall when I finished the single player campaign), partially because I may have had other things occupying my time and I had already played five of these games (six if you count Quest for Booty).
I still have my PS3, but I think I might check out this re-imagining first.

These graphics are ridiculous. Makes me wonder how great a Mario NX game would look :O

A 60 fps patch just came out on PS5 if anyone is interested.