Ratchet & Clank

This game is a classic. It's the first in a large series of Ratchet & Clank games. My son now owns just about all of the different Ratchet & Clank games & this is still one of his favorites. Every Ratchet & Clank games has different weapons & levels. This game will entertain your kids 4 many hours. They can freely roam many different worlds, defeat enemy's & finish objective in order 2 more on 2 different worlds. Rest assured there is no foul language of any sort in this game. This game is one player only & there is no online option.

Ratchet & Clank represents platforming at its best. The game is fun 2 play, & has a pretty good replay value. Though it's not that long (it's taking me around thirty hours 2 complete it) it's an addictive game. It also has hidden prizes & the music really fits the game's style. I plan on playing the rest of the games in the series as well.

Having gone through the PS3 release "Ratchet & Clank Future" & its downloadable sequel, I totally fell in love with this series. When I saw that there are numerous prequels 4 the PS2, I bought all of them (new & used) through 3rd party, Amazon sellers. I'm glad that I did I that or else I'd be far more upset 4 reasons that I'll go over shortly.

The game plays exactly the same way as its latest successor -- fight through a series of well-made landscapes, buy new weapons, upgrade existing weapons, & so forth -- & it includes all of the great humor that I've come 2 expect. From that perspective, it can be argued that if you've played one R&C you've played them all; but that doesn't make the game any less fun 2 play.

The biggest problem -- & this is my fault 4 not researching it beforehand -- is that this game does not play well on the software-emulation, 80GB PS3. It is playable; however, it runs very slowly in most sections & cutscene audio goes out of sync. Other R&C games are said 2 freeze in certain areas. So, you can still go through the game, but you might become frustrated by the slowness. Again, that's not a fault of the game. That's my fault 4 not researching it, although it would have been nice 4 Sony 2 upgrade the compatibility due 2 the popularity of "Rachet & Clank Future". They should expect people 2 be interested in the old versions. Oh, well.

If you have a PS2 & you like 3rd person arcade shooters, you have 2 have this game & indeed the entire series. They are so much fun. If you have the original, 80GB PS3 with software emulation, you sadly should consider finding a used PS2 2 play this game.

I think this game was good because of the great graphics, weapons, & enemies. the enemies werent too hard & not too easy. the weapons were destructive & enough 2 do the job. there were a couple of times in the game where if I kept dying, I would just give up & then try in a couple days or even weeks.

I love the ratchet & clank series because the weapons are sweet,the story rocks,controls are easy,difficulty gets increasingly difficult as you go on,and the game is funny.The story starts off as you,Ratchet,fixing a ship.You are on your homeworld Veldin when you see ship crash 2 the surface.You go explore & find Clank,a small robot.When he tells you he can get you off the planet you are thrilled.The story takes off from there.

As you are on your adventure you collect Bolts that pay 4 some of your guns & ammo.To aquire Bolts you can do 4 things:Kill an enemy,destroy boxes,participate in hoverboard races,or collect them as you see them.
On every planet there are Gold Bolts that help you aquire gold weapons(More on them later).

The weapons are funny as well as deadly.There is a Blaster,Pyrocerator(flamethrower),R.Y.N.O.(Rip Ya a New One),Suck Cannon(Sucks up small enemies 2 be shot at other enemies,a Morph-o-Ray,and many others.There are also gadgets that help you in your journey.There is the Swing Shot that allows you 2 swing through marked areas,a Hydrodisplacer that allows you 2 suck up water from certain nozzles as well as place water in certain nozzles,and a gadget that allows you 2 open otherwise unaccsesible areas.

The planets are nice sized with many surprises like Gold Bolts,weapons & Skill Points.Skill Points come into affect after you win the game.You can choose 2 replay the game with all your weapons & bolts & if you do you can get skill points by completing certain hidden tasks that you must do by either using the strategy guide,or decoding the title of the skill point.

Clank upgrades are awesome.You can have a Helo-Pack which allows you 2 glide across gaps easier,a thruster-pack which is an upgraded Helo-Pack,and a pack that allows you 2 swim very fast underwater.Helmets are also cool.One allows you 2 breathe in space or underwater,another allows you 2 pilot enemy fighters(in certain missions only),and one allows a sandmouse(A floating robot with machine guns)to accompany you 4 a short time.

Missions are fun & varying & help ease the story along.All missions happen 4 a purpose.There are no worthless missions that are there 4 no reason which is good.Plus some missions allow you 2 play as Clank!

Now on 2 the bad.When selecting a weapon the game doesn't pause time so you are completely vulnerable when selecting a weapon.Also you must choose 2 use gadget from the inventory screen instead of letting you press a button 2 do so.Those are my only complaints.Go out & get yourself a fantastic platformer & read reveiws on Going Commando & Up Your Arsenal if you like this one!

Ratchet & Clank is a fantastic new adventure starring the strangest heroes you've ever seen, in the strangest solar system ever!

Forget about Super Mario Sunshine--this is the real superstar platform action game of the season. Featuring a pair of wacky robots in a quest 2 save the universe, Ratchet & Clank may offer the same old basic platform scenario--run around, elude or destroy enemies, jump, & negotiate treacherously dynamic environments--but it has a number of things going 4 it that place it among the best titles ever in this genre.

The feature that will strike you first is the terrific art direction. Set in a science fiction future, the game has a beautifully executed retro cartoon look (think old Warner Bros.). The attention lavished on every detail, from architecture 2 character design, makes 4 a world that feels complete & real. This extends 2 the cutscenes, which feature a variety of colorful characters given vivid life with excellent voice acting. Then there is the sheer size & level of interactivity of the environments. For me, a particularly stunning moment was when my character was knocked off a skyscraper, but instead of perishing, landed on a ledge & was able 2 seamlessly navigate 2 a whole separate section of the game. Another moment of truth came when I aimed my blaster at one of the vehicles whizzing by in the sky. These vehicles were just pretty wallpaper, I thought, but no, the thing blew up. In fact, nearly everything you see is destructible or responsive in some way: you can jump up trees, scuttle over walkways, smash boxes, & climb up ledges. And the control scheme is just complex enough 2 keep things interesting with multiple weapons & the like, without being bogged down by too many features.

While the routine of finding & destroying enemy robots may get tedious after a while, Ratchet & Clank keeps things interesting with the many metamorphoses of Clank (who takes on forms that surprise even himself), cool weapons like the Glove of Doom (which unleashes armies of tiny Clanks), & shifting first-robot, third-robot points of view.

If this game doesn't become the bestselling platform action game of the year, it will prove that nostalgia 4 old characters, marketing hype, & brand loyalty really are more important than quality. --David Stoesz