It's crazy to me that, in its earliest years, "Ratchet & Clank" was a yearly franchise. These days, when I hear the term "yearly franchise" in gaming, I get a bit of a shiver and expect the worse. I tend to fear when it comes to games like that because hearing that they are "yearly titles" makes me think they're going to be virtually identical to one another, almost feeling like they could just be mission packs. "Ratchet & Clank" managed to largely avoid that pratfall in its first years, and thankfully, "Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal" was a huge entry in the series. I would go as far as to say it's the best entry in the original trilogy.
"Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal" nails a lot of the elements that were compelling in the previous games, with the same great cast of characters and aesthetics, along with more wonderful visuals and music. I think it also features some of the best worlds in the series, which is a tough ask given that the franchise has so many excellent worlds. And while the platformer elements of the game get downplayed a bit, that's not too bad because the combat is superb. "Up Your Arsenal" features the best weaponry of the original trilogy, and there are plenty of quality-of-life upgrades that make the gameplay even smoother than before. Even though the game was rushed a good deal, it still blows me away how polished it is, and once again, while it can be a challenging game, you are definitely well-equipped when playing it. The addition of multiplayer, for its time, was a nice transition from the base gameplay, and the driveable vehicles were a nice way to add to the gameplay variation this entry offered.
If I had to say anything against the game, I do still think the waves of enemies can still be a bit of a pain to deal with. With this game, though, it does feel far more rewarding, so that's what keeps it from being an overly big issue.
Overall, "Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal" is one of Ratchet's finest adventures yet. It's hard to keep a series fresh and exciting in its third entry, especially when you've released new games on a yearly basis, but Insomniac Games did it wonderfully, crafting another stellar entry in the Lombax's pantheon. Give this a shot if you haven't already. Hell, play the entire original trilogy, it's pretty amazing stuff.
Final rating: 10 out of 10 "Fantastic"