Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando

"Game fo the Year (2003)"

Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando is one of the best games ever made, period. I don't think you can make a platformer much better. In fact, this time around, its a platformer with attitude, and by attitude I mean RPG elements that will blow you away, and keep you glued to the screen for hours. There isn't a dull moment in Going Commando, and it goes without saying, that Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando is the Royal Flush of Platforming!

The game picks up where the last left off. The defeat of Drek has left Ratchet and Clank out of business, or put into early retirement, since their aren't anymore worlds to save. Soon after, they are kidnapped and brought to Bogon, where they meet Ambercrombie Fizzwidget, a man who works for Megacorp, where they develop prototype gadgets. Soon, you are offered a task to retrieve a missing item from a mystery person, and along the way, you'll dsicover new friends, new missions, and learn about the attempted destruction of Gadgetron. The story is quite deep for a platformer, and Insomniac really did go the extra mile to make this game even more immersive. Plus a cameo by Captain Quark is most welcome. The new planets and mission driven story are most impressive, from planet Aranos to Yeedil, this game will have you hooked.

Graphically this game is stunning. If you remember the worlds and environments from the first Ratchet, you'll most likely be familiar with the style of the worlds of this next installment. There are even more worlds then before, not to mention the number of polygons has been ramped up in order to compete with Naughty Dogs Jak II. I must say, after playing Jak II, and now Going Commando, there is no comparison. While Jak II has large environments, almost everything in Ratchet 2 (and I mean that) can be destoryed, not to mention the environments are ten times larger and more complex, which adds another degree of depth to the gameplay, because the worlds are so interactive, even more so than the first Ratchet and Clank.

You'll want to take a look around in FPS just to see how alive these worlds actually are. For example, in the Maktar Resort, if you look in the sky, you'll see enemy ships flying around, most of which you can blast out of the sky, and you'll also see civilian vehicles flying around, in an organized manner, but organized in a way that the traffic looks random. So much so, that you'll be wondering just how they can pack such a lush and live environment, and so many onto one PS2 disc. Well, Insomniac hit the nail on the head with Ratchet 1, and I never thought it was possible, but it seems that Insomniac has managed to improve on perfection.

Gameplay....*drool*. There isn't a platformer with more gameplay than Ratchet and Clank 2. What makes it so good you ask? Well, heres what...in a nut shell: RPG elements, the Maxi games, the 20+ new weapons and many returning weapons and gadgets from Ratchet 1, which are all fully upgradable, more bots to control with Clank, more Giant Clank, larger worlds with even more life than before, more intelligent AI, and over all, you get to blow **** up. Now lets explain these different things. RPG elements: As you kill enemies, you will earn experience. There is an experience metre under your health, and it will eventually reach its maximum and thats when you level up.

As you level up, you will earn more hit points, in fact, you can earn from 1 - 80 points in a single game. The Maxigames (sometimes called Mega-games) are incredible battle arena challenges, where you are challenged to fight different bosses and several enemies, and by several I mean about 100 per battle (with few exceptions). Some examples of the bosses are the Chainblade and the B2 Brawler (also present in the OPM demo), an octopus like robot that will kick your ass if you don't figure out how to beat him down. The new weapons and gadgets are not a suprise to most Ratchet fans, as getting gadgets was and still is one of the main priorities in the Ratchet series. This time there is a twist though: You can buy weapons, and at first they seem to be quite weak compared to some of the weapons from the first game. But as you use them more and more, they begin to charge up, until the meter under the weapon is full, and then it upgrades into its ultimate form ( or so you think...read Replay Value to understand why).

In most cases, the upgrade includes a faster firing rate or incredibly stronger attacks. Either way, you'll go looking for trouble just to upgrade your weapons. Some examples are the Lancer, which upgrades to a Heavy lancer, the Miniturret which upgrades to a missle launching Megaturret and my personal favourite, the Chopper, which then upgrades into the Multistar. The Meteor Gun, Spider Bot, Zodiac...and (insert ultimate weapon here), are just a few guns to add to the list of upgradable weapons. Among other things, you can also upgrade Ratchets suit into many different forms (ie: Tetra-fibre), each increasing Ratchets defensive properties, and minimizing damage done to him, not ot mention they look cool as hell...especially Carbonox!

As Clank you will get to control a houghty amount of servo-bots, which function just like the ones from Ratchet one, only there are more of them. There are large ones, small ones, ones that shoot lasers, and ones that can act as bridges. You also get to do a lot more missions as Giant Clank...nuff said. Also, this time round, the worlds are much more larger and even more creative. The most creative "worlds" are the battle spheres, where you are literally walking around on a sphere, where you have to use jump pads to get on top of towers to destory generators and target enemies.

There is one level where you get to massacre an entire city as Giant Clank...again, nuff said. The enemies are also a lot smarter and tougher. They will literally dodge your attacks, and they become harder to defeat later on, meaning they require more power to kill. This is all interrelated as you need to fight enemies to gain experience, and you need to use your weapons in order to upgrade them, otherwise, later on, you'll regret it as you get your ass handed to you. If this isn't enough to convince you that Ratchet has the best gameplay of any platformer anywhere, you haven't played enough of them. Oh, yeah and did I mention instead of Hoverboards, its Hoverbikes...*drool some more*

Its not fair to compare this game to Jak II...but in reality, its been compared to Jak II since before this game was released. Its only fair to put those who are quick to judge to rest. There is no question, Ratchet and Clank 2 will have you glued to your sofa, or bed or chair, or whatever, because this game is non-stop action, and fun, and is perfection, in every definition of the word.

No lag, no collision detection issues, and certainly a blast to play. Insomniac has packed about 3 games worth of gameplay into this disc, definately another bar raised by Insomniac.

The controls are perfect, and function exactly the way they did in Ratchet 1, with one exception...You gain the ability to strafe in this one. holding R2 or L2 will allow you to strafe side to side, which makes it incredibly easier to dodge enemy projectiles. The triangle button activates the Quick select, square is your wrench, which is much more responsive, and you are also capable of striking in several directions from a stand still position with the wrench...where as in the last one, you must be running to fire in a different direction, and even then it wouldn't be as sharp a direction change as you would have liked. That is fixed here also. The X button jumps, and double jumps, while your circle button fires the equipped weapon.

There are a few things that were altered, but were altered in minor ways that only improve upon the orgianal controls, like turn rate, descension rate, stopping on a dime, as well as Ratchet runs a tish bit faster than in R&C. The Analog stick is much more suited for the game this time around. And the quick map is back as well, if you press the L3 button, you will see the overhead map, and if you're on a battle sphere (spherical world I mentioned earlier) you will get a pulled-back view so you can manipulate the sphere as you need to see where you are headed. The free camera returns, and is unchanged, since it was perfect in Ratchet 1. The difficulty never gets too hard, so you won't need split second reflexes to handle some of the latter enemies. Overall, Ratchet 2's controls are simply perfection.

If you thought Ratchet 1 had replaybility, you'd better get ready for this game. Not only are there certain unlockables only attainable through a second playthrough, you'll be treated to much the same factors that made you want to play Ratceht 1 over and over again. The first time through will most likely take you well over 25 hours, and that doesn't mean doing everything possible. Afterward, you can restart the game with your previous weapons and have another go at it. Since this game is so fun to play, and such a joy to watch, I'd be foolish to give this anything but 10, and if I could, I'd give it a 12. (You'll probably have fun playing with the Hanglider and new Rocket Pack, just because they are so fun to use...and probably one of the more creative things in Going Commando)

This time around there are Platinum bolts to get (sorry, no more gold bolts or gold weapons), which will help create more powerful upgrades and to unlock certain bonuses. The mods only add extra replay value, as you'll want to get all of them including the poison mod, which is the most devastating. There are a tone of extra features available to extend the replay value. Much more than in the original R&C. All the new weapons have two extra upgrades that are only available in the second playthrough.

This is over and above the normal upgrades that they have during the regular game. And it is in addition to the mods (which can be purchased with platinum bolts.) There is just so much involved with the arsenal of weapons this time, you'll just want to see what each weapon is capable of in its different forms. The same can be said about all the different suits available to Ratchet, as well as his new Gadgets and Clanks new abilites, like controlling Megacorp robots. Its all about experiementation in this game, and trust me, its hell'a fun. Its also fun to challenge yourself to try and playthrough certain planets with minimal amounts of weapons, ot finding new interesting ways to destory enemies. (Tough become punie weaklings when Ratchets arsenal is amped to the max...and its not easy to task to amp his arsenal so high, which is why there is so much replay value in this game)

Overall, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando is an incredible game, that only gets better as you play. You'll have so many weapons in your arsenal, you won't know how to obliterate the enemy...would you like pork chops or chop suey? Thats the only question you have to answer, because any weapon will do, and each weapon has its own functionality, and requires use at least once in the game...with a few exceptions (but I won't spoil the ultimate weapons for you). The story is deep, the graphics are top notch, and are on the same level as Jak II, which is a feat in itself.

One thing to notice in Jak II is that there aren't as much weapons (almost none compared to R&C, when its obvious the weapons from Jak II are blatant rip-offs of R&C, IMO), and there isn't much function to the gameplay. Yes you can steal vehicles, but it serves little functional purpose in the game. Ratchet 2 is just the opposite where everything from the weapons you have, to the gadgets you use, there is always form with function. Everything has a fundamental function, whether or not the function is always required, its there. Controls are sweet, and forget about bonuses, this game is just so damn fun, you won't want to put the controller down, though you can still go for the bonuses if you want, and I highly recommend you do.

I'd imagine a lot of people are curious as to whether this game truly is monumental, and really is better than Jak II, as so many reviews have stated. Well, I can guarantee you, that this game blows Jak II out of the water, in every aspect... in some cases Jak II doesn't even have similar aspects to compare, because it falls so short of the bar that Insomniac has set. In case you couldn't tell, I've picked this game, as the best of the year. I haven't played a more addicting, more pleasing, more visually stunning game this year. If you think you might have even the slightest of interest in this game, go buy it, or rent it if you're low on money. But buy it if you do, this game has something for everyone, of every genre...well, except maybe the Sims.

If you liked Ratchet and Clank, you'll absolutely love Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando. Its a whole new take on the Ratchet and Clank series, while retaining that familiar feel of Ratchet and Clank 1, and I like it. Anything below 10/10 would be a crime against this masterpiece. Rent or buy, either way you'll be addicted...so add this one to your collection. Jak II, eat you're heart out!

10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/03, Updated 01/18/05