The last time we saw Ratchet and Clank, in 2003's Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, the two had once again catapulted themselves into the celebrity limelight with another high-profile save of the universe. Rather than let the pair soak up the "celeb vibe" that comes with universal fame, developer Insomniac games is sending them off on another adventure in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Despite the fact that the third outing for the now-seasoned duo on the PlayStation 2 is slated to ship almost a year to the day from its predecessor, the game is looking to be anything but cranked-out. We recently had the chance to take a look at the upcoming sequel at Insomniac's Southern California-based offices, where the developer unveiled what is arguably the most ambitious Ratchet & Clank game yet.

Ratchet & Clank are back to save the universe on the PlayStation 2.

As mentioned, we last left Ratchet and Clank on top of the world after they saved the universe from the protopets. Unfortunately, the passage of time has made for a somewhat depressing development, at least for Ratchet, anyway. As happens with most famous duos over time, it starts to become clear that there's one standout star. For instance, take Sonny and Cher, Ike and Tina, Mario and Luigi, and the list goes on. When we check in with Ratchet and Clank, we find that Clank is now the star of his own popular television series, "Secret Agent Clank," and is well on his way up the road traveled by Cher, Tina, and Mario. Ratchet, on the other hand, guest stars as Clank's butler on the show and appears to be headed down "Sonny, Ike, and Luigi Way." Fortunately (well sort of, anyway), Ratchet's home world of Veldin comes under attack by the evil Dr. Nefarious, who is on a quest to wipe out all organic life-forms, which he dubs "squishies." The crazed alien backs up his insane wishes with the mutated muscle of the thyrranoids, who are powerful, bizarre alien creatures. In the face of such a threat, the Galactic president sends the pair off to find the only man to have ever defeated Nefarious (just guess where this is going) on the planet Florana. Following a chance encounter and a race with Skidd McMarxx, hoverboarder extraordinaire, the pair sets out to find the mysterious hero, who turns out to be...Captain Qwark. Unfortunately, for those who remember the end of last year's game, the good captain isn't at his best. While we won't say he's a vegetable, we will say Qwark isn't playing with a full deck when you find him. However, once he's brought back to his senses, Qwark remembers how he once defeated Nefarious and assembles an elite team of freedom fighters to stop him again. Actually, we probably shouldn't have said "elite," because any team made up of Skidd McMarx, Big Al (of Big Al's Robo Shack fame), and Helga (she of the enormous bosoms and testy attitude), can't be that discerning about membership. At any rate, that's pretty much what Ratchet and Clank have to work with to save all organic life in the universe (Lord help them).

The environments in the game are more detailed.

The game's story will send you adventuring through a series of old and new locales as you set out to stop Nefarious with the "help" of Q Force. Thankfully, Insomniac hasn't thrown you to the wolves on this one and has beefed up Ratchet and Clank's arsenal of weapons and gameplay mechanics. The game will feature a new mix of weapons and gadgets, with more than 14 weapons that feature four levels of upgrades. While Insomniac didn't show us the whole arsenal in the game, we did take a look at a few choice weapons and gadgets. The N60 storm gun can be upgraded to a hurricane, which doles out the kind of damage you'd expect. The shock blaster is a powerful gun whose upgrades become increasingly more lethal. The rift inducer is a sweet gun that generates black holes, which is always handy when facing overwhelming odds. The Infector is a slick, little weapon that makes enemies who are hit by its blast turn against their comrades in battle. The weapon's first two upgrades increase the length of the infection, while the final upgrade lets you fire off an "infecto bomb" that infects all foes within a certain area. The last weapon we saw, the plasma whip, was probably our favorite, given the satisfying control and animation for it. On the gadget front, we took a look at the refractor, which is a device that lets you redirect laser beams. The multipurpose device is essential for solving some of the puzzles in the game, but it is also pretty handy in combat, since it can reflect certain types of beam weapons. If you get the angle right, you can even use it to take out your attacker with his or her own blast. For those fans of the weapons in Going Commando, you can look forward to five of the weapons from that game popping up in Up Your Arsenal.

Your arsenal will feature some all new, but still deadly, weapons.

The gameplay in Up Your Arsenal won't stray too far from the mechanics seen in the previous games, although there are the expected assortment of tweaks and additions. This time around, you'll use a hub system to get from level to level. In this case it will be the Starship Phoenix, which is home to the Q Force and Sasha, the Galactic president's daughter (who serves as both a pilot and a love interest for Ratchet). The weapon-upgrade system works roughly the same, although you'll find that the experience you earn has been tweaked to make it a little easier to manage your various weapon-upgrade needs. Zip lines and minigames are back, but spherical worlds appear to be out. You'll find a new gameplay sequence, which Insomniac is dubbing a "gauntlet challenge," that sends you through tight action sequences that mix combat and platforming through dangerous areas. Clank will once again be playable, but his sequences will be more than just rehashes of those seen in Going Commando. Space battles are back, but they're being implemented in a new way. Of course, Insomniac wouldn't elaborate too much on what that was. The upgrade system has been tweaked a bit to accommodate the different levels of upgrading, and the artificial intelligence has been improved to make enemies smarter about how they try to take you out.