Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction (2007)

Genre: Platformer | Players: 1 | Developer: Insomniac Games

The first part of a trilogy of Ratchet & Clank: Future games.  Tools of Destruction came out early in the PS3s life and wasn't the huge leap ahead that fans were expecting; instead it delivered the same tried and tested platforming and guns formula Insomniac used in previous R&C PS2 games but with tighter controls and bigger areas to explore.  The HD visuals are pretty to look at but beauty is only skin deep, it’s the solid gameplay that kept fans from being disappointed.  After the arena-based Ratchet: Deadlocked (aka Ratchet: Gladiator) it was nice to get back the freedom to explore open areas again.

You run, jump, double jump, strafe, swing, shoot, drive, grind and fly your way through levels kicking bad-guy butt as you try to get closer to evil-tyrant and all-round-sulky-meanie Tachyon.  He's attempting to ruin everyone’s day by bringing back the banished Cragmites.  Everyone knows a Cragmite is a butt-hurt killjoy, so hooray for Ratchet and Clank (and ... er... Capt. Quark).

The game uses the tilt function of the PS3 Sixaxis controller.  That dumb-ass addition that Sony thought was the future after Nintendo made millions from gamers and non-gamers alike with their Wii.  There are some flying sections and some puzzles that require you to move the controller about on an X,Y,and Z axis, spraining your wrist in order to progress.  It’s a feature that irks.  The Sixaxis was arse-paper and remains Sony’s second greatest shame (only surpassed by the PSP).

Your weapons level up the more enemies you kill with them, making them more powerful, which is necessary as the enemies themselves get harder to kill.  You can also purchase unique upgrades from vending machines if you have the cash. Doing so adds extra functionality to each individual weapon, most of which are useful.  It's platforming at its best and another great addition to the R+C cannon.

Buyer’s Guide:
Available for PS3 only, on blu-ray disc.  It's old now so you should be able to find it for cheap in the trade-in section.

3½ Lombax tilts out of 5

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time (2009)

Genre: Platformer | Players: 1 | Developer: Insomniac Games

Third and final part of the Ratchet & Clank: Future trilogy, and by far the best.  It concludes the story that began in Tools of Destruction and continued in Quest for Booty.  It’s not essential to have played Quest for Booty, but do play Tools of Destruction first if you want to follow the story.  As such, I can’t go into plot details but people don’t play the R&C games for plot anyhow, it for the big-ass guns that bring big-ass fun and the excellent level design.  There are new weapons and some old favourites (yes, the RYNO but you’ll have to work hard to get it).  There's other equipment surprises, too, that I won't spoil but I predict that one of them will become your new best friend.

New to the series is Clank solving tricky temporal puzzles that start simple: flick a switch and a door opens or floating platform appears enabling progress.  Get deeper into the game and you’ll need to flick three or four switches simultaneously.  Clank can record one of his actions using ‘Time Pads’ and set it to playback while he performs a different task.  You’ll need to record yourself up to four times and get the timing precise to complete some of the trickier puzzles.

You have the freedom to fly your ship from place to place in real time.  It gives you optional tasks and enemies to kill along the way.  You can stop off at small moons and obtain bolts and upgrades etc.

As always, after the main game finishes you can enter Challenge Mode which lets you replay the story with your weapons, bolts, exp, and upgrades intact, and adds the ability to obtain ever more powerful weapons.  There are also some optional Clank puzzles that'll really melt your brain, or maybe cause you to rip out all your hair… all of it, from even the most secret places!  They are feckin hard.

It's the same R&C formula I love, honed and tweaked to perfection.  If you hated the previous games then you'll likely hate A Crack in Time, too.

Buyer’s Guide:
Available for PS3 only, on a regular blu-ray disc.

4 shames for Mr Zurkon out of 5

Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty (2008)

Genre: Platformer | Players: 1 | Developer: Insomniac Games

At the end of Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction something happened that was later resolved in Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time.  This mini adventure slips in between those two larger games and tells the story of what Ratchet got up to with Talwyn.  He went looking for booty (not hers).
It’s the same running, double jumping, simple puzzle solving antics that we've come to expect from the series.

As usual, the game engine is almost flawless.  You can dodge, strafe or jump in all directions while targeting and shooting with ease.  It added the ability to lift various things with your wrench (the ever-reliable Omniwrench Millennium 12), which became a regular feature.

It’s a short game, you can finish it in one or two sittings (depending on how long you consider a “sitting” to be - I’d estimate it takes about 5 hours) but it has the same high standards as the full length games.  The developers care about the franchise and it shows.  Textures and character models look amazing in HD, if you care about such things.  My one complaint is some of the cavernous levels are almost too dark.  I had to tinker with the contrast more than once.

For me the real fun in the Ratchet games comes from levelling up the ridiculously named and oversized weapons.  They start small and after many kills eventually become a devastating explosive barrage of hot death.  It feels good having a weapon the size of a coffee table on your shoulder.

Buyer’s Guide:
PS3 only.  Originally a PSN title.  It was later released on a regular blu-ray disc in Europe only.  Because of its short length it was a lower price than normal.

3 Crotchetizers and butterscotch Snickerdoodles out of 5