After the dizzying highs of a game like "Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction," which made a quantum leap forward from the PlayStation 2 to the PlayStation 3, it was obviously easy to question where Insomniac Games would take their Lombax and robot duo next. Under our noses, they answered that question with "Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty," a continuation of the "Future" saga...that was released here in America as a download-only title. Yes, a mainline "Ratchet & Clank" game that was download-only, with physical editions only being available in Europe and Australia (the former of whom even touted it on the front cover as a "mini adventure"). It seemed like the game was establishing from the jump that it was merely a bridge between "Tools of Destruction" and the next "Future" title, the then-upcoming "Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time." And while it was merely a bridge game, at least it was pretty damn fun.
"Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty" works largely because it retains a lot of what made "Tools of Destruction" such a great game. The visual design remains stunning, the characters are still just as charming as before, and the action remains fast-paced and exciting. The gameplay mixes puzzles and platforming nicely, and the story, while pretty light, does at least do a nice job of bridging the gap between the game's predecessor and successor. While the game is pretty light on new features, I did enjoy the addition of the Tether on Ratchet's wrench, and I found that despite the short length, "Quest for Booty" is perfectly paced, making it work in spite of how quick it can be to complete.
The game is definitely bogged down by a few flaws, though: for starters, it really does just feel like more of "Tools of Destruction." And while that works for the small downloadable title that it is, it does mean this game might largely play only to those that are very much into the series already. And beyond its already short length, there's not really too much replay value here. Even though it's a solid adventure while it lasts, it doesn't beg you to return to it like the other entries in the series do. Finally, the lack of Clank is a huge disappointment; at least with "Ratchet: Deadlocked," the game warns you from the start that it's only Ratchet, but here, the game is called "Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty" so...I mean, it's not wrong to want Clank to be there.
Overall, "Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty" is a fun, light little downloadable game that continues the "Ratchet & Clank Future" saga nicely. It's not exactly the most essential title in the series, and in fact, I may even call it the weakest mainline entry, but hey, if this is as weak as the series can go, I'll take it. If you're a "Ratchet & Clank" fan and can still find it on the PlayStation 3 store, give it a go.
Final rating: 7 out of 10 "Good"