I played the first Ratchet and Clank game on PS2 and I haven't played one since. This game renewed my love for this type of game. It's basically a third-person-shooter/action game with collectathon elements. You play as Ratchet & Clank, a team consisting of a of robot and a cat(?). You run around, mostly as the Ratchet the cat, shooting/hitting enemies and collecting items throughout the 8-or-so levels in the game. The maps are just big enough to enjoy exploring without wearing out their welcome.
Speaking of not wearing out welcomes, the gadgets in the game do an excellent job of this. You get a jetpack or a set of grind rail boots, and you utilize them in the level. You can also generally find previous levels where they would have helped reach a secret or collectible, so you can go back and nab them now that you have the gadget. However, you don't spend the rest of the game using the item. It's never enough to get bored, which I always appreciate in a game. The jetpack is by far the coolest gadget, and there's an entire level where you fly around defeating enemies and grabbing items while landing on various areas in the level. It's the most fun I had in the game.
You also sometimes act at Clank the robot. These are mostly puzzle missions, where you have to navigate areas and find a way to set up the room so that you are able to pass through to the next area. It's a nice break from the chaos of the Ratchet levels.
There are at least a dozen different types of weapons in this game. I found it honestly kind of overwhelming after you get 8 or so. While it's relatively easy to switch between weapons, in order to upgrade them, you have to use them. Since they all act completely differently, you need to learn to switch quickly between different styles of shooter. I found that once I "got good" at using a certain weapon, I just wanted to stick with it, resulting in me not using all of the weapons a whole lot. However, there are some entertaining ones. The most entertaining has to be the weapon that makes every enemy (even bosses) dance around to give you a chance to hit them unguarded. The dances are hilarious and never got old. There is also a weapon that turns enemies into sheep, although it takes so long to work that you usually get hit before it can transform anyone.
The game is also really funny. I found myself laughing out loud several times during my playthrough. It can be slightly aggravating at times when too many enemies swarm the screen, but overall it's a fun experience. The game also knows what length it wants to be and sticks with it. While you can get a dozen hours out of it if you want to collect everything (and there's incentive to do so because it opens up cool cheats), you can finish the game in less than 10 hours. That's the right length for this type of game, since the formula can only last so long and the game doesn't bore you with repeat missions. Overall, I really enjoyed it and highly recommend to anyone who likes collectathon games.
8/10