Heisateki
Story wise, it's really the most touching one in the series. Putting the relation of the duo in the center of the story was clearly a good choice because it made it feel really emotionnal and I for the first time in the serie I felt moved during some of the cutscenes.
But I have a major complain about the game and it is making it half of the playtime in the ship. I'm the kind of player that HATES spaceship and plane missions in videogames because they almost all the time kill the pacing of the game and ACiT is no exception. I think the game would have benefited a LOT of being more story focused than trying to fill in playtime with terrible spaceship gameplay. For the rest, it's juste like TOD so it's really good and they finally made Clank gameplay interesting and enjoyable after all those terrible moments in the previous games.
But I have a major complain about the game and it is making it half of the playtime in the ship. I'm the kind of player that HATES spaceship and plane missions in videogames because they almost all the time kill the pacing of the game and ACiT is no exception. I think the game would have benefited a LOT of being more story focused than trying to fill in playtime with terrible spaceship gameplay. For the rest, it's juste like TOD so it's really good and they finally made Clank gameplay interesting and enjoyable after all those terrible moments in the previous games.
2016
This review contains spoilers
To say I had a lot of apprehensions before starting the game would be an understatement. I knew the bad reputation it got since 2016 and I was ready to dislike the game but well I had quite a pleasant surprise.
To be clear from the start, story wise it's a complete fail and clearly the worst main game of the franchise except for one thing. What the game does right is the treatment of Qwark which is WAY more interesting and relevant than what has been done with the character since R&C3. Making him jealous of Ratchet because he is a real hero and making him insecure is a great thing that I would have liked happened in the main storyline but it might be too late now to introduce it in the series and make it relevant given how stupid they made him. For the rest it's a complete disaster, Ratchet lose his selfish side he had in the first game (which 2016 remakes) that was what made the first game interesting, Ratchet becoming a hero thanks to Clank influencing him to be a better person was cool. I believed in the friendship of Ratchet and Clank because it was built in bitterness and discord. Here they never argue and this link to one of the main problem of the game which is Clank being USELESS and having no personalities at all he is just a jetpack and nothing else, completely irrelevant to the story. Which is funny considering the fact ACiT ended with Ratchet asserting that Clank is his friend and not his acolyte, they are a duo not a hero and his sidekick. Still on the thing I didn't like about the story is the the new characters. I don't mind erasing characters to add new ones but make it at least relevant, creating cool new designs for Brax, Victor and Cora just for them to be irrelevant to the story is useless, just put the Qwark Force Team if you don't do anything with the new characters. And last but not least, they completely erased what made Nefarious a pretty cool villain, first thing being is human design that is way less cool than his robot one. And to add to that what was cool with Nefarious (and said in the games directly) is that he was a genius but also a complete bufoon with stupid goals and stupid backstory while also being a looser. Here he juste became a random mad scientist you can find in any piece of media. So yeah that's basically it story wise. The staging is really cool and the graphic update helps it a lot by feeling way more dynamic.
Gameplay wise it's also a juge improvement, maybe even bigger than what TOD was when enterring the PS3 era.
To be clear from the start, story wise it's a complete fail and clearly the worst main game of the franchise except for one thing. What the game does right is the treatment of Qwark which is WAY more interesting and relevant than what has been done with the character since R&C3. Making him jealous of Ratchet because he is a real hero and making him insecure is a great thing that I would have liked happened in the main storyline but it might be too late now to introduce it in the series and make it relevant given how stupid they made him. For the rest it's a complete disaster, Ratchet lose his selfish side he had in the first game (which 2016 remakes) that was what made the first game interesting, Ratchet becoming a hero thanks to Clank influencing him to be a better person was cool. I believed in the friendship of Ratchet and Clank because it was built in bitterness and discord. Here they never argue and this link to one of the main problem of the game which is Clank being USELESS and having no personalities at all he is just a jetpack and nothing else, completely irrelevant to the story. Which is funny considering the fact ACiT ended with Ratchet asserting that Clank is his friend and not his acolyte, they are a duo not a hero and his sidekick. Still on the thing I didn't like about the story is the the new characters. I don't mind erasing characters to add new ones but make it at least relevant, creating cool new designs for Brax, Victor and Cora just for them to be irrelevant to the story is useless, just put the Qwark Force Team if you don't do anything with the new characters. And last but not least, they completely erased what made Nefarious a pretty cool villain, first thing being is human design that is way less cool than his robot one. And to add to that what was cool with Nefarious (and said in the games directly) is that he was a genius but also a complete bufoon with stupid goals and stupid backstory while also being a looser. Here he juste became a random mad scientist you can find in any piece of media. So yeah that's basically it story wise. The staging is really cool and the graphic update helps it a lot by feeling way more dynamic.
Gameplay wise it's also a juge improvement, maybe even bigger than what TOD was when enterring the PS3 era.
It's not a bad game but it's really basic for the serie and does the minimum that you'd ask from a R&C game. The game is too short to be really interesting and feels a lot like a filler game which is a shame for a the last game that was considered canon until Rift Apart. The feeling is even stronger because the game follows the release of All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault which are TERRIBLE games. I completely understand why Ratchet fans were really worried of what would happen to the serie after the game. It has a worse gameplay than A Crack in Time that came out 4 years prior, worse weapons and worse maps. It has also a frustrating story that seems to repeat what the previous two main games told, we already knew Ratchet's decision to stay in the same situation if changing would make people suffer. But well juste like QFB, I won't say no to more Talwyn Apogee.
The first game of the PS3 era for Ratchet and gosh what of an upgrade it is. The graphics truly gives a lot to the formula established with the first trilogy and the staging gets incredible which is what the previous games lacked. It's also has a way more serious tone which I can understand would upset some people who prefered the lighthearted tone of the serie but I prefer it that way, I tend to like when unserious things gets serious. Going deeper in the lore of R&C and giving more personal objectives and antagonist to the series was a really good way to redynamize the serie that would probably became too reptitive after 1 or 2 more game like the previous ones.
Gameplay wise it's pretty much the same except that for the first time there is another upgrade system with the raritanium that is pretty cool since you can make your favorites gun way stronger but this bring the probleme of using a less diversified arsenal. This feeling is strenghtened by the fact that the first weapons becomes useless at the end of the game and will juste be used as replacement for your other weapons when you don't have any more ammo.
Gameplay wise it's pretty much the same except that for the first time there is another upgrade system with the raritanium that is pretty cool since you can make your favorites gun way stronger but this bring the probleme of using a less diversified arsenal. This feeling is strenghtened by the fact that the first weapons becomes useless at the end of the game and will juste be used as replacement for your other weapons when you don't have any more ammo.
It's a nice continuation of Tools of Destruction but it's main purpose of being there to make the wait for A Crack in Time less frustrating clearly disapear when playing it in 2024. But well, I clearly won't complain since I get to have more Talwyn Apogee.
It's just SO BAD that I can't even get myself to believe Insomniac did this terrible game
Huge QOL improvements from the first game. Keeps the formula but adds some nice twists to it like the weapons upgrade that is pretty lovely. Difficulty skyrockets at the end of the game like the first one but is way more manageable with a way more useful arsenal than in R&C1. Best improvement is the ability to lock the ennemies that was the biggest flaw of the previous one.
Clearly the best one of the trilogy that follows everything the previous games did great without adding a lot to the formula. The main improvements of the game are more QOL based than game/level design based but there are still a few with the most important which is the weapons upgrade. In R&C2, you could upgrade your weapons to level 2 and that was it, this time you can go up to level 5. That is a nice improvement that will make you use more different guns until you get to the end of the game and you will start to use your most useful guns. I don't have much more to say other than it has the the coolest weapon of the trilogy and also the hardest final boss.
2005
Pretty cool game but way too repetitive, you've done everything the game has to offer after 2 or 3 hours of gameplay. I can easily understant why people love this game though, it has decent combat and cool guns.
If you're wondering if you have to play the game to understand the story of R&C : no you do not.
If you're wondering if you have to play the game to understand the story of R&C : no you do not.
Never ever again in my life do I want to play this horrible game on this horrible console that is the PSP.
2002
Pretty cool game that is sometimes really frustrating with his checkpoint system. The game is also hard sometimes with levels you'll have to do some try and retry if you don't have the proper weapons to fight the ennemies. Directions feels a bit clunky and I hope they'll find a way to attack the ennemies while moving because this is the main problem of the fight. Not much to say else, it's basically what you would expect from a 2000 adventure game. Cool weapons, cool graphics and lovely artistic direction, basic level design.
On the story part, I have to say I'm pleased to see they did a little bit more than what you could have with games like Sly 1 or Spyro and putting a bit of effort in the story. It's cool to see that the Ratchet & Clank serie started with the two protagonists not being able to stand each other for half of the game.
Can't wait to play the other games and see how the formula has improved ! There is a lot of potential in those two characters
On the story part, I have to say I'm pleased to see they did a little bit more than what you could have with games like Sly 1 or Spyro and putting a bit of effort in the story. It's cool to see that the Ratchet & Clank serie started with the two protagonists not being able to stand each other for half of the game.
Can't wait to play the other games and see how the formula has improved ! There is a lot of potential in those two characters
Everything I loved about Exodus.
Everything I disliked about Exodus.
2019
The game takes what made Metro games great and makes it even greater but fails to add new stuff to the formula.
I really disliked the open world parts because I'm quite worn out of them always being the same and feeling like something the game would have benefited from NOT being in the game. But well there it is so I'll just have to bear with it. To be a little more honest, there are some parts I liked about the OW, like the fact you have to actually take out the map from your pocket and not just open an overlay that will pause the game. Also in Volga they made me want to do the side objectives by making the characters actually giving me a good reason to accomplish them like finding Nastia's teddy bear or a guitar for Stepan.
Aside of that it's impressive how the game is genuinely good when you go back to classic Metro with long corridors and cramped gunfights. This is basically what the first 2 games did good but even better thanks to the huge graphic update taking the ambiance even beyond what it was, especially with RTX on.
There are some gameplay issues like stealth is still not great and it's frustrating that you need to it to get to the good ending, Volga was easy but Taïga was horrendous. And the other major point is how floaty Artyom is, like sometimes you run in stairs and he will just start to stop being connected to the floor and you'll end up two floors down and just die.
And story-wise it's clearly the most well written one, I would have loved for every character on the Aurora to get screentime but well it's no big deal because the main characters are really good handled and that (good) ending...
So now that I'm up to date with this franchise I can highly recommend playing it just for its general ambiance and immersion.
I really disliked the open world parts because I'm quite worn out of them always being the same and feeling like something the game would have benefited from NOT being in the game. But well there it is so I'll just have to bear with it. To be a little more honest, there are some parts I liked about the OW, like the fact you have to actually take out the map from your pocket and not just open an overlay that will pause the game. Also in Volga they made me want to do the side objectives by making the characters actually giving me a good reason to accomplish them like finding Nastia's teddy bear or a guitar for Stepan.
Aside of that it's impressive how the game is genuinely good when you go back to classic Metro with long corridors and cramped gunfights. This is basically what the first 2 games did good but even better thanks to the huge graphic update taking the ambiance even beyond what it was, especially with RTX on.
There are some gameplay issues like stealth is still not great and it's frustrating that you need to it to get to the good ending, Volga was easy but Taïga was horrendous. And the other major point is how floaty Artyom is, like sometimes you run in stairs and he will just start to stop being connected to the floor and you'll end up two floors down and just die.
And story-wise it's clearly the most well written one, I would have loved for every character on the Aurora to get screentime but well it's no big deal because the main characters are really good handled and that (good) ending...
So now that I'm up to date with this franchise I can highly recommend playing it just for its general ambiance and immersion.
I shot a guy laying in his bed that was defenseless.
I lost 6 moral points because of this.
He was a nazi.
Worth it.
(almost the same game as the previous one except that this one is clearer on its mechanics)
I lost 6 moral points because of this.
He was a nazi.
Worth it.
(almost the same game as the previous one except that this one is clearer on its mechanics)