Ratchet and Clank gets things right on the second try!

User Rating: 8 | Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando PS3

Having beaten Ratchet and Clank and then playing a little bit of Going Commando I knew for a fact that this game was miles and above better than the first. Everything about the first is improved and made better. The weapons are better, the combat is better, the story is better, everything is just better. I feel like I shouldn’t play the 1st game ever again because I know that Going Commando is simply superior. It really just amazes me that Insomniac games was able to make a far better game within a years’ time. All the problems with the first are nearly fixed and made better, as well Going Commando tends to introduce new variations that make me glad the series kept going. Everything that was also good about the first was also made better in context and overall it’s just a really good game.

Gameplay in Going Commando certainly is more combat focused and less frustrating thanks to the upgrade system and the ability to strife. The weapons you get are often varied enough that each handles differently and anyone can get their own personal favorite because of it, personally a fan of the mr. zurkon bots and mini turrets. The puzzle solving minigames this time can be a bit tedious, but they often provide to be a nice little challenge overall. Although I have to say that the gadgets this time around weren’t used as often as I remember from the first game, but I can’t really say this is a good or bad thing. Going Commando is simply a different game, and geared more to combat then puzzle solving. But it does seem like gadgets were put aside this time in favor of weapons. The enemies in this game though, especially in the end, really just require too much time to take down then they really should have. I really think this could have been solved easily enough if the player was either given more ammo per weapon, the weapons actually did more damage, or the enemies simply didn’t have so much health. The game kinda guides you thru 70% of the game, but once you hit that percent, the game just spikes up in difficulty. It gets really annoying how many enemies can be on screen at once, and you can hit them over and over again only to see them get back up. Course this is countered by having a lot of weapons in your arsenal, which I didn’t have the majority of the game because I was foolishly trying to get the Ryno II on my first run.

The atmosphere in the game was far better than its predecessor and a lot of the worlds simply have more personality compared to the last game. The music is actually noticeable this time around too which made for a much more enjoyable experience. My favorite time actually playing through this game though would be going through the ice level and collecting all the moon rocks. Just something about exploring the area with a bunch of enemies felt right and really made me wish that ratchet and clank would focus there levels to be more like that then going from planet A to get to planet B.

Final Thoughts:

Music, atmosphere, story, combat, weapons, anything Ratchet and Clank did, Going Commando did better. Aside from still sticking to a formulaic design of going from planet to planet, and an enemy difficultly spike near the end of the game; Going Commando proves that some games just need a sequel to truly shiny.