For a lot of people that started this series long before me, Nexus is practically a God sent for all the past Ratchet and Clank games we have been getting, but for me it’s a friendly reminder why I love this series despite only knowing about it within a year. While the phrase, “like the old Ratchet and Clank games, but short” was certainly scary to hear at first as having another disappointing Quest for Booty type game would suck; Into the Nexus is far from that DLC blunder. Into the Nexus certainly is shorter than the majority of Ratchet and Clank games, but given the amount of content they usual give and the quality of this game, I have to say I wouldn’t mind more of these ½ of a R&C sized adventures. Admittedly I did get a bit peeved that my time ended so fast or that there wasn’t that much screen time for certain characters, but in the long run, this was R&C at its purest form without any of that filler mess that tends to happen. You are only given about 4 worlds to go exploring through, but these worlds are fairly massive, and so well design that its often better than the majority of worlds you would’ve found in the older PS2 games. Granted, of course, that this game doesn’t really top ToD or CiT, but they are close to that quality. Speaking of which, Into the Nexus goes right back to the mix of comedic and dramatic storytelling that the Future series was known for. Opting out instead this time for a tragic villain team, rather than a funny one like nefarious.
As for the new gameplay elements, well, Clank gets a whole new play mechanic to work with, but this time it deals with gravity rather than time. Clank is sent to the Nexus, where he must use gravity powers to move around and find a nexus creature to lure back to the exit so it can destroy an obstacle in the way. Clank controls fairly simple in this mode as you only need to use the control stick and L1 button from time to time in order to direct Clank and his means of puzzle solving. While the objective is fairly redundant each time, the actual mechanics are very fun to mess around in, and honestly wish they give this more game time as its a very neat idea with a lot of potential. As for the weapons, they are all pretty inventive and fun to use, but the leveling system was hindered a bit for a more favorable, or at least I’d say favorable, form of upgrading. Instead of simply grinding constantly with a weapon, weapons are now upgraded through skill tree-esque system that requires you to purchase the upgrades with raretanium ores that can be found among the levels and enemies. This new form of upgrade helps give the tedious moments of grinding your weapon a more effective approach to suit players needs.
However there are also some slight changes and hiccups I still had with Into the Nexus. The entire removal of space travel was a downer considering how well Crack in Time had that going for it; instead opting out for a more simplistic cartoon map. As well, the game appears to be fairly wonky despite being patch the first week, and having the game installed. Often my game would freeze on the weapon dealers screen simply because I was trying a weapon or wanted to hear dialogue. There were a few other glitches here or there with the arena or during fighting, but these were mostly fixable and a minor problem. But perhaps the biggest trouble I had with this game was the sound itself. I don’t know why, but this game just wasn’t build for sound. Often when having a lot of items that made sound effects on screen I have the actual game audio lag about 4-5 seconds. Sometimes even cutting out the world’s music completely less I activated something. Honestly this really gave me the impression that this game was a bit rushed, but at the very least it wasn’t game breaking. Some of the character development, and usage of them in Into the Nexus was also a bit, well to put it in one word, missed. The potential for the two new villains certainly was high, having them fairly dark and menacing for a series that has always been so upbeat and lighthearted seemed like something that could have worked rather well, but they just were kinda pushed to the side for just something less. When you first play this game it really gets you going when you first meet these two villains, but it just kind falls apart after playing through the game, and its not that they are bad characters, but rather the set up for them being villains is loose. Perhaps it wouldn’t feel so cheap if we actually had more time with characters, but we simply don’t get it, and it really would have made the game a much more emotional and great ride. As well, the returning characters, for the most part, just aren’t used very well. It’s such a shame too because the game really has you going in the beginning, but you just don’t really get to see them for too long. Again its just the way characters are utilized that get me mad about how this game could have come out differently, and while I like the dynamic of Ratchet and Clank’s friendship shown throughout, you really see it shine when they are around these other characters, but they just don’t get that much time with them.
Final Thoughts:
Despite the game’s audio faults, the occasional freeze, or shortened story; Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus really does deliver what fans have been wanting for a while now, getting back to the roots of what makes Ratchet and Clank, Ratchet and Clank. With a lot of good music,graphics, heartfelt stories, great new characters, weapons, and Clank solving mechanics; Into the Nexus is a great game and great addition to the Ratchet and Clank series.