Better gameplay and improved features makes this game better than the original.

User Rating: 9 | Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked and Loaded PS2
Not too long ago I reviewed Ratchet and Clank and gave it a nice 8.0. Now I am reviewing the sequel and does it do any better? Let's find out! As you may know, this is the direct sequel and the story takes place minutes after the events of the original. You, Ratchet, are being interviewed alongside Clank after defeating Chairman Drek and out of nowhere you get teleported to an unknown area. Here you meet Abercrombie Fizzwidget who wants you to steal a species of alien called the protopet from the wrong hands. You are then sent to pickup some armour and find this mysterious character. That's as far as I'm going to go into the story because I don't want to spoil anything. Expect a lot of differences in this game because there are so many of them so I'll get to them in a bit. The graphics are far better than the original, smoother and nicer looking. Gun effects, weather effects and the environments themselves look stunning and certainly one of the best looking PS2 games ever. There is also a decent selection of weapons old and new and even some new wrench upgrades. Also Clank gets a bigger chunk of the action with Clank helping you escape from jail and killing off some enemy drones. The controls are virtually the same as the last game so if you want to see what they are like then check out my previous Ratchet and Clank review. This game is chock full of new things and I'll go through them. The all new arena battles are a terrific addition and makes the gameplay more fresh and you can win money and new equipment and you can even fight arena bosses. Hoverbike racing is a bit tricky at first but is a pleasant experience when you get used to the frightening speed. I am not joking it is nearly as fast as F-zero. You can use weapons and speed boosts like in Mario Kart but it's way more intense, you can fire an electric ray that will damage your opponents in one hit, you have rockets that can blow opponents up into little pieces and you have your typical machine gun to annoy and k.o. your enemies. Unlike Mario Kart there are lots of hidden passage ways unlike one little one. These short cuts are essential when trying to catch up to someone in a heated race but watch out though, enemies will try there best to cut your off or ram you into an enemy monster or even k.o. you. Just like the arena battles you can win money for your performance. There have also been a few tweaks to the menu system and on-screen indicators. There is now a monsterpedia to look at to see what aliens you've killed, new skillpoints that will help you unlock cheats and extras and a new health system. Instead of four measly pieces of health you can have more than 20 of them and you don't have to buy them! I just wish it didn't have a game save problem because it is very annoying. You can save your game fine but if your PS2 controller messes up then you will have to start ALL OVER AGAIN. This doesn't happen to everyone but it does to me. The boss battles were good but can range from kindergarten easy to contra hard and some enemies could either be dumb or super smart. The level design is just as good as the original but with more quirky ideas like a floating island full of two-headed creatures or a flying jail. There are a lot of cheap deaths in this game unlike the original which can be a pain but oh well. Ratchet and Clank 2 is a revolutionary game. With Spectacular visuals, prefect controls, a decent range of weapons/gadgets, a few easter eggs, adding old weapons is a great idea, the new features are superb and the gameplay is sublime but the cheap deaths are a pain, the difficulty is unbalanced, some parts of the game are frustrating and that stupid bug is annoying but overall it is a must buy to everyone who owns a PS2. Go grab yourself a copy.