Ratchet & Clank

"Cake cookies pie cake pie cookies cake cookies pie"

The irony, oh the irony. How Sony has done it, I dare not even imagine, but some how, some way, the company once known for games like Blasto!, Legend of Dragoon, and some truly terrible sports games --not to mention ruining latter iterations of early PlayStation hits like Twisted Metal and Jet Moto-- has in just the past few years turned it's gaming division into something really special. Churning out great games left and right, from Sly Cooper and Jak and Daxter, to Mark of Kri and Ico, Sony has really come of age with the PlayStation 2, out-doing even the mighty Nintendo at their very game, in the most literal sense of the word. And now, with Ratchet and Clank they can add yet another notch to their belt; they've earned it.

Developed by Insomniac Games, the same guys responsible for one of the original PlayStation's bigger hits in the Spyro the Dragon games, Ratchet and Clank shows the work of a very experienced developer right from the get-go. Outstanding graphics and sound, charming personality and character, and most important of all; the game play is as solid as a rock. The game is just utterly polished, and comes off with every element expected of the genre well enough to firmly plant it as a truly premiere title in the genre.

R&C starts off as Ratchet, an animal... thing, with a knack for fixing and mechanics, and a dream of leaving his home planet of Veldin via a custom-built space ship, sees another ship crash land off in the distance. You take over to check it out, and upon further investigation, discover a small, toaster-like robot spat out of the wreckage, that tells you of an evil corporation called Blarg, who's leader (The conniving, insidious, and overly comical Chairman Drek) has plans to form the perfect planet, using the very best parts of the rest of the planets in the universe. Reluctantly, Ratchet agrees to help the robot called Clank, and thus, the protagonist duo is born.

From there, the adventure takes shape, and your goal is set; stop Drek and the Blarg empire at all costs. To do so, you'll find yourself traversing a plethora of diverse planets, each with their own unique atmosphere and cultures, which are generally a lot more interesting than your cliche 'ice world' and 'lava world's of your average platformer (though R&C has it's own variants of them as well), such as the sprawling metropolis of Kerwan, or the laid-back, island-world of Porkitaru, all of which are absolutely huge in scope.

Once you've set foot on a planet, your goals are clearly outlined from the map screen, making them quite linear, though you're certainly free to tackle the area how you please. From there, you can jump, swim, fly, and shoot your way through the enemies and obstacles --R&C packs just about any platformer convention you can possibly think of, and combined with the help of Clank, you can pull of an even wider array of moves, depending which parts Clank is equipped with.

And thanks to Insomniac, the levels themselves are an absolute joy to make your way through. The level design is just fantastic, dare I say the best I've ever seen in a 3D platformer. Everything is so well thought-out, from the difficulty of each section and how complicated the puzzles or obstacles are, to the novel, almost brilliant way they've finally done away with the majority of backtracking that usually inhabits most platformers. The polish is just really impressive, you'll actually find yourself thinking 'Damn, I can't believe they took the time to do that'.

Now of course, every platformer needs to have it's gimmick, and in Ratchet's case, the gimmick lies in one of the main game play elements; the weapons. During the game, you'll come across more than 15 different weapons, all with their own uses and strategies, from rocket launchers and laser blasters, to the more inventive, like the morph-o-ray, which turns grisly foes into... chickens. Literally. Thrown in with the weapons, are a half-dozen 'gadgets', used to manipulate various puzzle elements found in the game. Obtaining the weapons is a fairly easy task, as you'll use Bolts, one of R&C's very few collectible items to purchase weapons at Gadgetron vendors located near the starting point of each planet. Collecting bolts never feels like a chore though, since bolts are literally strewn everywhere as you explore the planets, found in crates and scattered from fallen enemies.

Almost more impressive than the actual game, R&C's graphics are a real wonder to be seen, it's a spectacle in itself that this game is even technically possible on the PS2, it just looks fantastic, even when compared to the majority of games on the technically superior Xbox and Gamecube. The animation is superbly done, the characters all bounce and bob around with an ungodly fluidity rarely seen, and the facial expressions are quite frankly unmatched by anything else out there right now, painting some really hilarious scenes in the game.

Likewise, the levels themselves also look really, really good. The draw distances are huge (and in case of most planets, even the outer areas of the planet that you can't actually get to are completely polygonal, no single-texture backdrops in this house), and the entire environment is absolutely bussling with life. They've really captured the outer-space theme with the planets as well, dozens and dozens of space cars fly synchronically over-head, and the buildings and overall flair seems ripped straight out of a more interesting version of the Jetsons. Honestly, the only minor gripe I can come up with about the graphics are the sometimes-bland ground-textures, which, given, isn't one of the PS2's strong suits.

On the audio front, R&C performs expectedly well. Though certainly not the most inspired music you're going to find in a game, Ratchet's music is definitely nothing to scoff at. With generally up-beat tunes that go well with the theme, the music does it's job, but where the sound department really shines is in the voice acting, which is just phenomenal. Easily some of the best voice acting I've ever heard, the VAs not only make the characters infinitely more endearing, but pull off the always-tough task of bringing genuine humor to video games. It's really a joy listening to each and every conversation, and it actually gets you looking forward to the cut-scenes.

In the end, Ratchet and Clank proves an excellent game, platformer or otherwise, and just further shows that Sony has finally learned how to make a top notch title. Combined with the wonderful game play, amazing graphics and sound, and a truly exceptional amount of polish, R&C is the perfect example of how to take everything good and bad in a genre, and make it work.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/03, Updated 01/17/03