A weapon based blend of 3-D platforming and third person action that stands out in both genres.
While Ratchet is making some final touches on his ship one day, a small robot, whom he names Clank, falls from the sky after being shot down by enemies and helps Ratchet start his ship. This sends the pair on an adventure that eventually involves deception, vengeance, and an evil chairman bent on destroying the galaxy to rake in the cash (that makes a little more sense in context of the full story). The tale is far better than it needs to be to carry a game like Ratchet & Clank, with a plot that's more than the typical save the princess or kill the villain fantasy. The game also adds an interesting character development as Clank continually tries to make Ratchet see what their mission's priority needs to be while Ratchet struggles with a blinding vengeful attitude. The dialogue also keeps the story interesting with its continual light humor.
The story creates the backbone of Ratchet & Clank, but the gameplay makes up pretty much everything else. The game is a unique blend of 3-D platforming and third person action that focuses on developing both elements to greatness. Bringing the elements together is the collection of bizarre and fun tools and weaponry the pair acquires throughout their intergalactic adventure. There are basic weapons such as the Blaster and Pyrocitor (flamethrower), but there is also a Morph Gun, which turns enemies into chickens, Tesla Claw, which shoots thunderbolts, and many more. Tools that aid the platforming area include the Hydrodisplacer, which relocates small bodies of water, and the Swingshot, which helps Ratchet cross gaps. The weapons are fun and effective to use, but switching weapons is sometimes a hazard as the game doesn't pause while players use the Quick Select feature to equip another weapon or tool.
Weapons and tools in hand, the dynamic duo must travel the galaxy and visit many diverse planets in their quest to stop Chairman Drekk. Each planet is well designed as a standalone level, but what makes the level design work so well is the way it draws the player back to previously visited planets with a minimal amount of backtracking. Getting from planet to planet is as simple as hopping in the Ratchet's ship and choosing a destination, and after a particular objective is cleared on a planet there is an option to warp to that point in the level. Other missions also use parts of the levels that are unreachable on the first visit due to lack of equipment, but the game never forces the player to spend even 5 minutes getting back to where they were on the level. To top it all off, the various tools in the game call for many creative puzzles, such as the previously mentioned Hydrodisplacer that can be used to reach higher areas by moving bodies of water. For those reasons, Ratchet & Clank is a very well designed game, and the enjoyment factor benefits from that element greatly.
The entire adventure can take roughly 15 hours to clear, which is a solid length for this type of game. After the final boss is defeated there are also many incentives to play back through the game with plenty of unlockable goodies, and Ratchet keeps all the weapons acquired in the previous playthrough. There are also gold versions of each weapon, which require the collection of gold bolts (which are very hard to find) and payment of thousands of regular bolts (the game's currency). So in the end Ratchet & Clank has a solid adventure that still has plenty to offer after it has been cleared.
Visually speaking, Ratchet & Clank is a huge step up for Insomniac. Of course, the PS2 has a lot more power than its predecessor, so naturally the quality received a huge boost, but the game's visual style looks so much sharper than in the Spyro games. The main reason this is significant is that there was no difference between the graphics in the second and third Spyro games, and suddenly the style and quality improved greatly in the company's next game. Considering it was an early PS2 game it also looks great with nice textures and colors, lively animations, and character models that successfully convey individuality in each character.
Ratchet & Clank is, despite being set in a totally different world, still somewhat reminiscent of the Spyro games. It is clear that Insomniac didn't do away with everything that made Spyro great and start over: they even recycled several favorite sound effects from the series. The rest of the game's sound adds nicely to the effects of shooting a gun or using a unique tool. The game's music is good as well in that it successfully conveys each planet's theme, and yet the soundtrack is also similar to Spyro's. Ratchet & Clank's sound makes it clear that Insomniac didn't want to do away with everything they had done well with before, and the result is a sound package that fits the game perfectly while still reminding players of the entirely different world of Spyro.
It might seem that I have spoken about Spyro a little too much in a review about Ratchet & Clank, but I think it's important to note that, being its successor in a sense, the game improves upon Insomniac's already proven formula and adds a fresh twist to it, throwing it in a new world on the intergalactic scale. Ratchet & Clank is great fun because it doesn't try to be flashy or revolutionary, yet it innovates the platformer in some unique and exciting ways. PS2 owners should definitely pick up a copy of Ratchet & Clank, because it's a great game that is also sold for a bargain price nowadays.
Positive:
+ Solid story and character development with humorous dialogue
+ Perfect blend of action and platforming
+ Plenty of fun and bizarre weapons
+ Level design conveniently links all the worlds together
+ High replay value
+ Graphics are greatly enhanced from Insomniac's previous games
Negative:
- Quick selecting a weapon doesn't pause the game
9.0/10