Growing up in the PS1/PS2 era, I was introduced to a lot of great games in my youth, many of which I cherish or at least partially remember today. However, one of the series I missed out on until I was a teenager was Ratchet and Clank. Growing up, I was more of a Jak and Daxter guy (Sly wouldn't be on my radar until a bit later), but I had seen this game a few times via kiosks and such at Toys R Us. But when I actually bought the game and its sequels when I was in college, I discovered a franchise I had sorely missed as a kid, and then I fell madly in love.
Let's talk about why.
Our story concerns a creature known as Ratchet, a Lombax who lives alone on his home planet of Veldin, building a starship that may one day let him leave and explore the furthest stars. His little corner of the galaxy is then flipped upside down when Clank, a defective warbot, crash lands on Veldin and is found by Ratchet. When Clank is the missing piece to start the Lombax's starship, they leave Veldin and engage on a planet hopping adventure to stop a tyrannical business CEO from polluting and destroying the galaxy for profit.
The story for many is a sticking point for a lot of players, while the main plot itself isn't the problem, many find issue with the acts of Ratchet himself, and how he acts when betrayed by the heroic Captain Qwark, who's firmly in the villain's checkbook, wanting to make a big comeback through any means necessary. Ratchet from that point of betrayal until later acts like a dick towards Clank, as it was the bot's idea to seek him out.
While Ratchet does act very abrasive, it's not without reason, as this is the first time he's been thrust into this situation, and his very lonely home life hasn't made him good at handling difficult situations. He does loosen up in certain scenes, and even has funny banter between Clank on occasion. He does reel it back once he realizes his revenge on Qwark costs the lives of many innocents in ignoring a bigger threat that Clank wanted to pursue, which makes him a stronger character by the end. In all, he has an arc that begins and ends well, better than the PS4 reboot at least!
Anyway, gameplay, if you're familiar with the Spyro games, then you'll see some familiarity especially with the character and monster design. Ratchet is armed with a giant wrench used for melee combat and solving a few bolt related puzzles, but his main form of combat is guns, and lots of them. Ratchet and Clank boasts plenty of weapons and gadgets to arm yourself with, from blasters, flamethrowers and rocket launchers to name a few. Your main currency to buy these weapons with are bolts, which you get from enemies and boxes, of which there are many around the levels.
Graphics and music are also stellar, the rather futuristic and sometimes bombastic soundtrack can make for great atmosphere, and those shots of landing on a planet and seeing what's ahead as the music builds when you disembark is simply masterful.
While the gunplay is fun, the lack of a strafing feature is one of the game's biggest missteps, something that was realized too late into development, and trying not to get sniped by powerful enemies can be an issue when movement isn't all that graceful. Platforming is good, but in the middle of a pitched battle, it can be hell trying to dodge shots, and this game can be punishing at times. It's not for first time players of the franchise, I'll tell you that for certain.
But in general, while this game absolutely hasn't aged well compared to its peerless sequels, it's an excellent game that can't be ignored. It allows for so much experimentation and encourages replay value, especially with all the skill points and gold bolts to upgrade your weapons with. Ratchet and Clank hit the ground running and in its sequels, it absolutely outshone its competition.
Let's talk about why.
Our story concerns a creature known as Ratchet, a Lombax who lives alone on his home planet of Veldin, building a starship that may one day let him leave and explore the furthest stars. His little corner of the galaxy is then flipped upside down when Clank, a defective warbot, crash lands on Veldin and is found by Ratchet. When Clank is the missing piece to start the Lombax's starship, they leave Veldin and engage on a planet hopping adventure to stop a tyrannical business CEO from polluting and destroying the galaxy for profit.
The story for many is a sticking point for a lot of players, while the main plot itself isn't the problem, many find issue with the acts of Ratchet himself, and how he acts when betrayed by the heroic Captain Qwark, who's firmly in the villain's checkbook, wanting to make a big comeback through any means necessary. Ratchet from that point of betrayal until later acts like a dick towards Clank, as it was the bot's idea to seek him out.
While Ratchet does act very abrasive, it's not without reason, as this is the first time he's been thrust into this situation, and his very lonely home life hasn't made him good at handling difficult situations. He does loosen up in certain scenes, and even has funny banter between Clank on occasion. He does reel it back once he realizes his revenge on Qwark costs the lives of many innocents in ignoring a bigger threat that Clank wanted to pursue, which makes him a stronger character by the end. In all, he has an arc that begins and ends well, better than the PS4 reboot at least!
Anyway, gameplay, if you're familiar with the Spyro games, then you'll see some familiarity especially with the character and monster design. Ratchet is armed with a giant wrench used for melee combat and solving a few bolt related puzzles, but his main form of combat is guns, and lots of them. Ratchet and Clank boasts plenty of weapons and gadgets to arm yourself with, from blasters, flamethrowers and rocket launchers to name a few. Your main currency to buy these weapons with are bolts, which you get from enemies and boxes, of which there are many around the levels.
Graphics and music are also stellar, the rather futuristic and sometimes bombastic soundtrack can make for great atmosphere, and those shots of landing on a planet and seeing what's ahead as the music builds when you disembark is simply masterful.
While the gunplay is fun, the lack of a strafing feature is one of the game's biggest missteps, something that was realized too late into development, and trying not to get sniped by powerful enemies can be an issue when movement isn't all that graceful. Platforming is good, but in the middle of a pitched battle, it can be hell trying to dodge shots, and this game can be punishing at times. It's not for first time players of the franchise, I'll tell you that for certain.
But in general, while this game absolutely hasn't aged well compared to its peerless sequels, it's an excellent game that can't be ignored. It allows for so much experimentation and encourages replay value, especially with all the skill points and gold bolts to upgrade your weapons with. Ratchet and Clank hit the ground running and in its sequels, it absolutely outshone its competition.