Ratchet & Clank (2016)

Game: Ratchet & Clank (2016)
Genre: Shooter Platformer
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony
System: Playstation 4 (PS4)
Year of Release: 2016
Length of Playthrough: 12 Hours

Total Score: 93/100
Value Score: 9.3/10

• Story: 9/10
• Characters: 10/10
• GamePlay: 10/10
• Graphics: 10/10
• Sound: 10/10
• Music: 8/10
• Length: 8/10
• Replay Value: 8/10
• Player Value: 10/10

Pros
+Reboot and Re-telling of the first game
+Challenge mode available after completion
+Great and fluid gameplay and mechanics
+Fantastic visual and graphic designs, lighting, shadows, etc
+Incredible level design
+Multiple difficulty choice (Casual, Normal and Hard)
+60 FPS unlike Into the Nexus

Cons
-No arena mode
-Cutscenes are from the movie, are locked to 24 FPS and showcase "Blocked cutscene"

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Ratchet and Clank HD (PS3): 78
Ratchet and Clank 2 Going Commando HD (PS3): 86
Ratchet and Clank 3 Up Your Arsenal HD (PS3): 90
Ratchet Deadlocked (PS3): 85
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PSP): 70
Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3): 91
Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty (PS3): 74
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3): 88
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus (PS3): 80
Ratchet and Clank All 4 One (PS3): 83
Ratchet & Clank (2016) (PS4): 93
Secret Agent Clank (PSP): 78

I really like adventure games in which you collect stuff, find hidden collectibles and buy upgrades. Combine this with some decent combat mechanics and some platforming and I am hooked up for hours. Ratchet and Clank is a game that does just that.

I was always fan of the Ratchet and Clank series, so when this remaster for the PS4 came out, I immediately bought it.

The story of the game is a little blend and cliché but not terrible. It gives clear directions on where to go next and you can backtrack and go on sideway paths whenever you like. The open world levels, that you can visit in every order you want, makes the game fun to play. You are not bound to a specific path and if you are like me, you complete all the side quests first and then continue with the main story.

The graphics are fairly decent and a good upgrade from the original game. The framerate is good and keeps stable throughout the game, even with a lot of action on the screen.

The sounds and music are quite nice and when playing in the background gives a calming feeling while you are exploring.

The ton of collectible items like bolts, gold nuts and trading cards made me search every inch of the game. Combine this with some PlayStation trophies you can earn for collecting everything and there is nothing in the game that I haven’t seen or experienced.

The upgrade mechanics are really cool and although Ratchet and Clank is not an RPG, it feels this way when you upgrade your weapons with specific upgrades that let you earn more bolts, cards or Raritanium.

The combat mechanics and weapon selection are well done and switching to one of your other ridiculous weapons is made easy to understand. Combat feels fluent and fair, except for some homing attacks some enemies have, but this adds to the challenge. The weapons are all over the place like the “Groovitron” and the “Pixelator”. Ever want to see an enemy in 8 bits in a fully 3D environment or see a tank dance? In this game you can.

The New Game + feature let’s you collect and upgrade everything you didn’t get around to the first time so you can complete the game anytime.

There are some minor complaints from my end about the game like the unskippable cutscenes when interacting with some NPC’s and the Clank levels which I found really boring, but this is my personal experience.

Overall, I really liked this game and would complete it again anytime. Definitely worthy for giving it a try.

[strong]Ratchet & Crank (2016) - PS4[/strong]

So this is a game based on a movie that is based on the original 2002 game. It's "I am my own grandpa" the game :).

A 3D action platformer made by Insomniac games sees you play as Ratchet, a Furry cat like creature called a Lombax and Clank a small failed war robot. Together they set out to defeat Drex and his army of robots and the Blarg.

[strong]Pros[/strong]

* Georgous Pixar like graphics. Everything from the level design, animations and attention to detail is very polished.

* The script and in game announcer voicework is hilarious. *Mr Zurkon is Bored*

* Choice of weapons and gadgets is pretty large. Everything from your standard monkey wrench to the Groovinator (makes your enemies dance to disco) or the Sheepinator (turns them into Sheep :S ). Gadgets also range from magnetic boots to jetpacs.

* Variety of levels allow you a decent challenge. The Clank levels are puzzley while Ratchet gets all the action including rail grinding, space battles, Jetpacing around or doing race events on a hoverboard.

* Once you have defeated the game and collected hidden gold nuts. You can customise the game to you hearts content. It even has a built in cheat menu that you can unlock.

[strong]Cons[/strong]

* Can be frustrating at times esp towards the end where getting knocked off a platform mid fight can make you scream at the tv.

* When battles get frantic the amount of particles flying around (nuts, bolts, gunfire, parts of enemies etc) can obscure the screen making it difficult to know if everyone is dead.

Overall it was a great nostalgia trip, a great remaster and a pretty decent movie tie in.

[strong]4/5[/strong]