"Heroes never die, they keep coming back as re-runs!"

Mindless gonzo combat as an analog for scathing potshots at manufactured celebrity - a much more resonant theme now than on release - they made you, and will turn on you in an instant for being exactly what they created you to be. Unquestionably a downgrade from the previous games though, Ratchet is barely an entity in this and you can't even play as Clank - but boy does this do the whole forced 2000s grit cringe WAY better than Jak II and III. In fact this whole thing feels like a predictor of the gaming generation to come - with an emphasis on fleeting short-attention-span gameplay over depth, so you can crank out these missions (in dull, empty environments) as fast as possible without having to really think about it. But it's also reasonably fun at doing that, plus the story is loaded with searing social satire and is absolutely fucking hilarious to boot (Dallas and Juanita ftw). PS3 port is rife with visual glitches and framerate drops. Grindrail sections are HOT ass. Had a good time with it no doubt, but also really glad they got this out of their system.

"Heroes never die, they keep coming back as re-runs!"

Mindless gonzo combat as an analog for scathing potshots at manufactured celebrity - a much more resonant theme now than on release - they made you, and will turn on you in an instant for being exactly what they created you to be. Unquestionably a downgrade from the previous games though, Ratchet is barely an entity in this and you can't even play as Clank - but boy does this do the whole forced 2000s grit cringe WAY better than Jak II and III. In fact this whole thing feels like a predictor of the gaming generation to come - with an emphasis on fleeting short-attention-span gameplay over depth, so you can crank out these missions (in dull, empty environments) as fast as possible without having to really think about it. But it's also reasonably fun at doing that, plus the story is loaded with searing social satire and is absolutely fucking hilarious to boot (Dallas and Juanita ftw). PS3 port is rife with visual glitches and framerate drops. Grindrail sections are HOT ass. Had a good time with it no doubt, but also really glad they got this out of their system.

"🎶🗣🎶I want my, I want my, I want my MTV 🎶🗣🎶"

Snags a high 3 for now - but at first I was honestly enjoying this more than both Guitar Hero III and 5. The first half of the campaign is elite - with essentially wall-to-wall bangers, a neat spin on its story mode, and characters that look fantastic. But the second half dwindles intrigue almost immediately - with what feel like the most filler-iest filler songs the console releases have ever seen and winners only few and far between. But even a lot of its hits are ultimately undone by this game's weird collection of re-recordings and live versions which - I'm sorry - are never superior or even on par with the originals. That Ozzy + Metallica "Paranoid" rendition outright SUCKS, and didn't they already use the original like barely three years before this? Tiering system based on vibe was done so much better in my beloved Guitar Hero World Tour. I dig when this gets weird like the grotesque + straight-up badass transformations, that huge titan amp monster thing, as well as a few standout venues like the haunted house, dingy pub, and Lars' awesome forest place. Appreciate that this took steps to differentiate itself, but it doesn't all pan out - needed another couple years in the pot to avoid the rhythm genre running out of steam the way it did at this time, as this is clearly still the product of crunch and overuse. Too much to a formula that craves simplicity.