Ratchet and Clank: A reboot done right

Created to tie in with the movie due out later this month, Ratchet and Clank is a lovingly crafted reboot of the original game from 2002, and is as far removed from a lazy HD remake as you can get.

Ratchet and Clank
For: PS4
From: Insomniac Games
Rating: (PG) ★★★★★  

Parts of the game are identical to the game from 2002, and there are new levels mixed in, which still retain the feel of the original game.

It's a testament to how good the original game was that the levels are still up to standard today.

The story follows Ratchet, a Lombax with a dream of joining the Galactic Rangers, to face the galaxy's foes (in particular Chairman Drek and Dr Nefarious), alongside his hero Captain Qwark.

Soon, a defective Drek-built Warbot, Clank, crash lands on Ratchet's home planet and together they go on a journey across the galaxy.

Once again, as with most of the games, Captain Qwark has got the best dialogue and steals the scenes he is in.

It is a twist on the original tale; keeping some elements of the original story but changing it enough so that it feels fresh.

It is a rare instance where both newcomers and hardcore fans will be satisfied with how they have done it.

In terms of gameplay, it is more reminiscent of the newer Ratchet and Clank games, particularly Crack in Time, with guns you can upgrade, and many guns such as the Sheepinator (turns enemies into sheep) and the Groovitron (disco ball that causes enemies to uncontrollably dance) making a return.

The more you use them, the more powerful they become.

In my playthrough the Groovitron was essential to surviving and also a whole lot of fun, every time.

I just cannot emphasise enough how much fun this game is.

I completed it in one sitting, and it is by no means a short game.

It is just impossible to put down.

There are space battles, sections where you play as Clank that don't suck for once, as well as a whole lot of your obligatory shooting enemies and turning them into dancing sheep.

The writing of the game is superb, mastering the animated children's movie angle of putting enough slapstick humour in to make the young ones laugh, and more sophisticated fourth-wall-breaking humour for the more mature gamers to enjoy.

In terms of how it looks, it's phenomenal.

The cutscenes, I assume, are taken directly from the movie because they look incredible.

The production values are through the roof.

What is more impressive is that it does not feel as if the game has been built around the cutscenes (as can happen with movie-based games).

The entire package feels natural and seamless.

Gameplay looks brilliant too.

Insomniac has made the worlds you visit feel alive.

There is so much going on, even just as ambient background noise.

The enemies look great. The explosions look great.

It barely slows down despite there being a monumental amount of carnage going on most of the time.

I felt the series had probably died a slow death with the release of the distinctly average QForce and Into the Nexus games, but this is a shot in the arm for the series.

It is everything that was great about it, revitalised.

I am now going to see a movie I had zero interest in before, and hope Insomniac gives the excellent second and third games a reboot in the same fashion they have done here.

It would be a travesty if they did not.

 - by Simon Bishop 

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