It's hard to believe that it's been fourteen years since Ratchet the Lombax and his robotic partner Clank blasted on to consoles for the first time. Since then they've been on a number of other adventures, saving the galaxy time and time again from the forces of evil. The games have become renowned for their imaginative weapons and gadgets, the talented voice cast and the hilarious, sometimes offbeat humour that the series is known for. This year the duo finally got their own film and while that didn't exactly gain as much acclaim as expected, it's companion game for the PlayStation 4 certainly did. The game is essentially a reimagining of the first installment, taking elements from games in the rest of the series as well and follows the duo on a quest to save the Solana Galaxy from Chairman Alonso Drek and his army of evil warbots. As a big fan of the original trilogy I was very excited to play this game and just last week I managed to finish it so I thought I would do a little evaluation of the game. I'll be looking at what I felt work, what I felt didn't really work and how exactly I felt about this game and how it compares to its predecessors.
What Worked
Surprisingly for a remake, a lot about this game worked and it was hard for me to fault it. First of all, the graphics are stunning and a big improvement from those of the original games. Every lush environment, every spacecraft, every hair on Ratchet's body is so detailed that its almost like a Pixar film, there was evidently a lot of hard work put into this games visuals and they certainly do pay off.
The game includes some of the elements that made the first game so great, swingshots, hoverboards, Blargian Snagglebeasts, they're all brought back to remind us what made us fall in love with Ratchet and Clank in the first place. It also felt great being reunited with such great characters like the evil Dr. Nefarious in his pre-robotic form and the hilarious Captain Qwark, one of my personal favourite characters. At the same time however, it is not a mere carbon copy of the first game and there are many surprises in store for both longtime fans and newcomers. And that's the real beauty of this game, it issues in a new era of fans to the series while offering the hardcore fans one of the greatest nostalgia trips ever.
Like the original, the game contains some brilliant humour and does not rely on recycling old jokes from the original games. One of the best lines comes from the plumber on Novalis, 'see you in the next reboot' he exclaims after fixing our heroes ship, reminding us of that clever, almost self-aware humour that made the original trilogy so memorable. Along with the games sense of humour is its sense of imagination that manifests itself in the wide arsenal of weapons and gadgets at Ratchets disposal. Some of my personal favourites are the groovitron that causes your enemies to dance, allowing you to easily dispose of them, and Mr. Zurkon, a killer robot that can be dispatched to shoot enemies while spouting out some gold one-liners.
It is because of all this that the game never feels boring, there are always new weapons and upgrades to try out, more gold bolts to find and more extras to unlock, it always keeps you occupied even after story mode is finished. Along with that, it's no walk in the park either and some levels are particularly challenging, especially towards the end of the game. It's got enough material to entice new fans while at the same time pleasing the old.
What Didn't Work
Well, nothings perfect, and this game does have a its flaws. For starters everything feels a bit rushed, from the introduction of our protagonists to some of the objectives, it all moves so fast at times that it's hard to take everything in. Now I don't know if that's to keep in line with the film or because the developers only had a limited amount of time to complete this game but at times the rushed plot makes it hard for characters to develop.
That's another thing that bothered me about the game, it introduced a number of new and colourful characters without giving them a lot of time to develop. We see a number of new characters like Brax and Cora of the Galactic Rangers, but we know little about them and little time is given to see them in action, all they get is a few cutscenes and throwaway lines that leave us wanting to know more about them. Who knows, maybe a sequel could expand their roles.
Another problem with the game being rushed is that it felt like it was over too quick. The game omitted a number of planets from the original game such as the ice planet Hoven and the stormy Olantis and it was a shame as they had some real potential. Meanwhile other planets that were omitted were merged into others, elements of Orxon can be seen on Gaspar. Now I know the games development was rushed and perhaps some planets were omitted in exchange for better graphics but still, it could have done no harm to slow things down at times.
The pacing was the only issue I really had with it and perhaps if the game had more time to develop then the story could have had more depth and maybe could have been a bit longer.
What Now?
So with the series officially rebooted, does this mean there will be a sequel? Will we be fighting off protopets and Tyhrannoids or will it be an entirely new story? Well the truth is, the developers at Insomniac don't really know and that's fair enough, they have other projects in the works so it's best to get those out of the way first before returning to this franchise. Elsewhere there is a Sly Cooper film in the works so perhaps the success of this game could inspire a tie in game for that as well? Maybe it will inspire other franchises like Crash Bandicoot or Jak and Daxter to reboot or revive themselves, could you imagine that? While the future is unclear, the success of Ratchet and Clank proves that people still have a place in their hearts and on their shelves for action platformers.
The Verdict
While it does suffer from some pacing issues, Ratchet and Clank is a reboot worthy of its predecessor that captures the spirit of the original games while bringing new elements to the universe as well. The distinctive humour and imagination is still there, enticing newcomers to the franchise while welcoming back longtime fans.
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