This happened with Ratchet, a fantastic (and quite cute) virtual creature. He was a simple mechanic on a faraway desert planet. But suddenly, he found himself in the whirl of exciting events, he became a hero, a galaxy saviour… Ratchet is carrying out his mission not alone – he has a friend, a smart robot Clank. And not only one friend! Ratchet and Clank have amazing friends from another dimension – gamers that play their adventures on PlayStation consoles =)
“Ratchet and Clank” is a very good game. In fact, we are free to say it is a great game, one of the best 3D platformers ever made. It’s a PlayStation exclusive, with the first, original game released for PS2, PS3, PS Vita, and deeply remastered – for PS4.
#Attention #Planning #Reaction #Constancy #Spatial orientation
Who will be the main evil guy?
If you plan to save the galaxy, you need someone threatening it! In the game “Ratchet & Clank”, we have a super nice antagonist – Chairman Drek. He encourages “people” of his planet to spread themselves all over the place, so they fill it totally, begin suffering from all sorts of inconveniences. Then Drek proposes them a new planet and a paid relocation. So, he has quite a business! He gets lots of money and then repeats the scheme again, and again, and again…
The only problem here is where to get new planets? Chairman Drek is just unstoppable in his evilness. He uses a special device, a huge weapon to destroy planets, to take parts of them and to create new, “perfect” planets. That’s why he is so dangerous for inhabitants of the galaxy Solana. All the planets here may be destroyed. But, we have Ratchet and Clank to stop Drek!
The story of Drek is quite extraordinary, one of the most interesting in the gaming culture. It is so deep, even if it is wrapped in humour and science fiction. A bit of effort and we’ll find something in common with the humanity situation, with the Earth situation…
Still, this is just a fun game!
Two friends… so different friends
The main characters in this game are interesting personalities. They definitely are able to attract gamers of various ages.
- Ratchet is a rare creature named lombax. There are not so many of them in the fictional world of this game. He was sent to the planet Veldin from another galaxy to protect him from evil Emperor Tachyon. He is a gifted mechanic, but in depths of his heart, Ratchet dreams of adventures. And he gets them!
Ratchet is teenager-like. He is fascinated by spaceships, by powerful weapons… He often can’t control his emotions, he rushes to battles without proper thinking. Ratchet is a brave guy, a real hero. And he is fun as well...
- Clank is a “defect” robot. He was made on a robot factory of Chairman Drek, but ran from there to inform the world about the upcoming danger. Clank met Ratchet, so they begin their mission together, helping each other. And they match each other perfectly well!
Clank is a reasonable robot. Sometimes he doesn’t understand humour and can’t feel emotions of Ratchet, but he calms down the lombax, gives thoughtful advice, helps in many ways.
The pair of these heroes is a perfect one for such kind of games. They support the spirit of the adventures, they make the story fun and even more interesting.
Many weapons, many planets
The “Ratchet & Clank” game is a masterpiece. Its innovative gameplay and colourful graphics make gamers forget about all those similarities to the Star Wars movies in the plot.
Most of the time, players control Ratchet. Clank is on the lombax’s back, allowing higher jumps and sliding. In rare occasions, we control Clank – when Ratchet can’t explore a location. But even in such situations, the gameplay is almost the same.
The developers have created a beautiful 3D world with many different planets, with many unique creatures, with many hidden places to explore, items to collect, secrets to discover.
Jumping over platforms and looking for new passageways is only a part of the gameplay. What makes it really special, is a vast variety of weapons. They are not firearms of our world – they are fantastic tools for destroying evil robots and collecting precious bolts from them. Every weapon and every item has its unique features. Understanding them and choosing the best of the weapons for your style is a significant part of the playing process.
Sometimes, you need to activate your deftness to pass a very hard location. Sometimes, you need to return to the previous planets, collect lots of bolts and buy a new very powerful weapon. Sometimes you need to repeat the same actions again and again to defeat an especially mighty boss… But all the time, the game gives real enjoyment. It’s never frustratingly hard, it’s never boringly simple. It gives some freedom in actions and it leads players to new adventures, to new layers of the plot. And it is very beautiful, surprisingly beautiful as for a game from 2002.
Three instalments of one game
In 2018, the year of writing this review, the first “Ratchet & Clank” game is available in three instalments. The choice depends on your device.
- “Ratchet & Clank” for PlayStation 2, the original version. This is a choice for retro gaming. The PS2 consoles are rather old and rare, but you may get a used one for a very reasonable price, as well as the game disk. The minuses here are obvious – an old hardware, not the best graphics.
- “Ratchet & Clank Collection” for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. This version has many advantages. It has remastered, significantly improved graphics, but also the original plot and gameplay. PS3 is a much more modern console than PS2, so there are lots of them on the market (even if Sony doesn’t produce new), and they are in a better condition. PS Vita is the handheld console of the eight generation, the same as PS4, the current PlayStation model. You can buy the game from PS Store. The collection includes the second and the third games of the “Ratchet & Clank” series. It is cross-platform purchase – one license for PS3 and PS Vita.
- “Ratchet & Clank” – the PS4 game from 2016. This is the newest (so far) instalment of the first game. It has astonishing graphics, an improved weapon scheme (with a possibility to upgrade guns). Still, it has a minus. The story has been remade not in the best way. It became more action-like and less philosophical. This version is supported by an action cartoon of the same name. It’s quite easy to find a PlayStation 4 console in shops and buy “Ratchet & Clank 2016” in the official PS Store.
The developers from Insomniac Games Inc. have released many other interesting games of the “Ratchet & Clank” series. But this is a totally different story. Maybe, we’ve got reviews of them in the future )))
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See also…
“Rayman Adventures” – a free action platformer with a classic hero, made for modern mobile devices.
Another one amazing PlayStation exclusive is the “God of War” series. Here is the review of the very first “God of War” game:
Play free platformers on computers and mobile devices! Choose any game from this collection:
