Ratchet: Gladiator (2005 / 2013 in HD)

Genre: Platformer  |  Players: 1 or 2 co-op  |  Developer: Insomniac Games (original PS2 edition) / Idol Minds (PS3 port)

Prior to Gladiator (aka Ratchet: Deadlocked (NA) / Ratchet and Clank 4 (JP)), all of the HD updates I’d played had been successful, but it’s impossible to outrun the law of averages forever. It had to happen eventually. I got a shitty one.

If you received the game free because of the QForce/Full Frontal Assault (2012) delay then you can offset the cheapness somewhat, but if you bought it as a standalone entry then there’s every reason to expect a product that’s worth the price paid, particularly when Idol Minds did such a sterling job on the previous collection. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that the lack of care and respect that went into the conversion makes me hesitant to trust them in future.

FMV scenes are repeatedly jerky and there are times when the foreground textures go inexplicably transparent, enabling the backgrounds to be visible through them. Is the jerkiness a PAL thing? Is the NTSC version the same? I don't know. All I know is that interactions between characters during those times are an important part of the R+C experience, and they've been treated badly.

Mercifully, once you gain control of Ratchet the game works. There’s still slowdown during heated moments, but it's easy to adjust to. The only notable exception is when the game pauses you in mid-swing over a bottomless death-gap so that it can load the platform on which you're planning to land.

The arena challenges that were a small part of the previous games are the sole aspect of Gladiator. It’s not always confined to a small area, but it is essentially a series of bouts/ battles that get increasingly more challenging and frustratingly hectic as you progress. I acknowledge that a large number of people will feel the direct opposite, but I need more than just shooting/ advancing toward endless waves; the balance that was achieved in previous games was sorely missed.

Gun-fans may feel equally short-changed when it comes to the limited array of weapons available. They can level up to insane proportions but there's a lesser number to play around with than long-time players will be used to.

In a series known for OTT weaponry and ballsy humour, being underwhelming hurts more than it would otherwise; it means that it failed to do its job as well as it should have, and will hold the interest of only the most ardent or forgiving fan.

2½ ratings wars out of 5

The Ratchet & Clank Trilogy: Classics HD (2012)

Genre: Platformer  |  Players: 1 / Up to 8 Online (R+C 3 only)  |  Developer: Insomniac Games (original PS2 editions) / Idol Minds (PS3 port) / Mass Media Inc. (PSV port)

Replaying the first three R+C games was even more fun than I'd expected it to be, and my hopes were pretty high to begin with.  The revisit brought to light something that can be viewed primarily in one of two ways: it either shows how little the series changed over a short number of years (2002-04), or it highlights how spot-on the devs at Insomniac got the formula on their first try.  I sit firmly in the latter camp while acknowledging the former from afar.

I'm not implying that the first game is perfect.  It clearly isn't.  It’s the only one of the three without a strafe manoeuvre, making it a lot harder than it could've been otherwise.  There’s a workaround but it’s not ideal.  On the plus side, Clank’s first words are of the series-defining innuendo variety.

The second game, known as R+C: Locked and Loaded (EU); R+C: Going Commando (US); or simply as R+C 2 (JP), remedied the lack of strafe and nailed the voices that we've come to know and instantly recognise.  The platforming and guns were better, and there are more forgiving checkpoints throughout.
For my money the only stains on an otherwise perfect gaming experience are the frustrating glider sections that require a lot of patience and more than a little trial and error, and the awful Clank on the Moon missions.  In fact, in all three games the Clank parts are more of a necessary chore than an enjoyable break.  They were included to offer gamers variety, but if they could be removed it would make R+C 2 a strong contender for the best 3D platformer on a Sony machine.

R+C 3 (EU + JP), known as R+C: Up Your Arsenal in the US, tweaked the formula a little more, but with R+C 2 being so good there wasn't a lot they could do besides add more inventive weapons and not cock-up anything that already worked perfectly.  To that end, they cranked the innuendo lever even harder.

The replay value of each game is more than generous.  If it takes X amount of time to finish, it’ll take at least 2X to mop up the bonus stuff.  You've access to even more destructive weapons on your second playthrough, known as Challenge Mode.  During C Mode you keep the majority of your inventory and every bolt you've earned.  Being fully armed from the start means it’s easier to progress, but the enemies are more dangerous so it’s not completely effortless.

The port from PS2 to PS3 by Idol Minds doesn't harm the games in any way.  They even kept the multi-player aspect of R+C 3 intact, making it fully playable over PSN.  I didn't care to try it, but it's a notable addition, nonetheless.

It's one of Sony's 'Cross Buy' titles, but I can't comment on the PSV versions.  I'm not one of the half-dozen people in the UK that actually own a PSV.

4 socioeconomic disparities out of 5

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