Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Solid"

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PROS:

- New control scheme gives it individuality from past entries in the series.
- Dozens of imaginative weapons and gadgets at your disposal.
- Combat is great fun, especially in mutiplayer mode.
- Control of the camera has been improved.
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CONS:

- First playthrough is rather short for a R&C game. (5-10 hours)
- Clank is not playable.
- All the fun mini-games have been disposed of.
- Gameplay focuses too heavily on combat and not enough on platforming.
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Gameplay: 8 - If you have already played the first three Ratchet and Clank games and this game, then you will definitely agree that Ratchet: Gladiator (UK)/Ratchet: Deadlocked (US) is rather defferent from past entries in the series, but is that really a bad thing?

In Gladiator, Ratchet will receive several other new weapons and other weapons from past Ratchet and Clank games to 'play' with. (Including the swingshot.) But unfortunately the swingshot appears to be the only gadget Ratchet procosses that doesn't involve combat, it seems that Developers Insomniac games decided to dispose of all of the fun mini-games a long with the ability to play as Clank, this is one of the biggest differences from past games that Gladiator upholds. This major differences will prove to be somewhat disappointing to hardcore Ratchet and Clank fans. (Particularly the ones that found controlling Clank a truckload of fun.)

In the game, you will spend most of your time, firing your equipped weapon at repetitive waves of enemies, and when you are at the dreadzone station and doing the dread challenges, most of them take place in the same arena, but while you are in the same arena for a lot of the dread challenges, you are having one heck of a good time blowing the brains out of your foes while you're doing it.

I will admit that because of the changes Insomniac decided to make, Gladiator ultimately ends up being just slightly less fun then the Ratchet and Clank games before and after its release. The only gameplay element Gladiator pocesses that is an improvement upon the original three, is that there are no longer any occasional problems with where the camera is positioned; you will have no longer end up with the camera stuck whenever you come across an immoveable object or a wall and now the camera will move much quicker and swifter.

Sound: 8 - All of the sound effects remains solid and the voice-acting is still absolutely spot on, seamless and very similar to previous Ratchet and Clank games, but with a slightly different tone, the music still remains above average for the normal platforming and/or shooting game, fits in with its environment almost flawlessly and manages to all this without being incredibly repetitive and annoying.

Plot: 7 - The plot is slightly below average for a Ratchet and Clank game, considering that you don't technically receive a particularly very good reason for going to whichever planet you are sent to, but the plot is still pretty darn clever and it may slightly below average for a Ratchet and Clank game, but in comparison to most of the games that are being hold back by the 'B-game booby traps' that the highly successful series has been skillfully avoiding for the past seven years; the game is slightly above average. So basically, the plots kind of stuck in between average and above average.

Graphics: 9 - As we all expected, the graphics are excellent by Playstation two standards, the characters mouths match what they are saying perfectly; (unlike most games being released for the aging console at the moment and in the past) and the environments and noticeably needless explosions are the most detailed seen in and Ratchet and Clank game - for the Playstation 2 - yet.

Overall: 8/10

The many differences Ratchet: Gladiator has from the first three entries in the series, aren't all for the best, such as the surprising lack of mini-games and the inability to control Clank, and it seems that the series has been focusing a hefty bit more on combat instead of platforming since Ratchet and Clank 3/Up your arsenal. But all and all, Ratchet: Gladiator is still great fun to play, what with all the imaginative and diverse weapons at your disposal and the immersive multiplayer mode, it also appears that the classic Ratchet and Clank sense of humor is completely intact. Sure, the game may prove to be a slight disappointment for hardcore Ratchet and Clank fans, but only slightly, they still should be able you find a lot to love about the fourth in the explosive series.

Thank you for reading my honest review of: Ratchet: Gladiator (UK) Ratchet: Deadlocked (US).