An almost perfect sequel that fixes every problem I had with the first game.
Strafing was a master stroke addition to the series, but more importantly than anything else, Ratchet is now fast and responsive and only moves when you're actively giving inputs, fixing every problem the first game had with platforming and combat. The health upgrades, weapon upgrades, and armour are also welcome additions. On top of all of that, the game has a banger soundtrack.
I don't have much to say about the gameplay besides that it's still tons of fun and I love revisiting this game every couple years.
My only criticism is that in trying to be bigger and outdo its predecessor, like many other platformers of the time, it's a tad bloated and not all of the new features are good. The arena was good enough to become a mainstay of the series, but other additions like the vehicle races and Giant Clank battles range between okay and annoying. Ship battles are a good idea, but feel a bit awkward to control in this game, and were improved in later entries. The collectathon exploration levels are another idea with a lot of potential, but needed fleshing out more. The desert environments these levels take place in are very dull and become monotonous fast. The PS3 Ratchet games executed the idea much better.
There are also a few too many weapons. Some of them aren't very useful and it's better to save your bolts, but new players won't know ahead of time which ones to skip.
But taking all of this into account, I think this game did a better job of growing and evolving the series than its contemporaries such as Jak and Sly did. Although those series introduced some very unique and interesting ideas too, the new mechanics added in this game were a lot less awkward and clunky than some of the new mechanics in those games, making this one much more replayable for me.
Going Commando is my second favourite in the series after Deadlocked and these two are by far my most replayed games in the series.
Strafing was a master stroke addition to the series, but more importantly than anything else, Ratchet is now fast and responsive and only moves when you're actively giving inputs, fixing every problem the first game had with platforming and combat. The health upgrades, weapon upgrades, and armour are also welcome additions. On top of all of that, the game has a banger soundtrack.
I don't have much to say about the gameplay besides that it's still tons of fun and I love revisiting this game every couple years.
My only criticism is that in trying to be bigger and outdo its predecessor, like many other platformers of the time, it's a tad bloated and not all of the new features are good. The arena was good enough to become a mainstay of the series, but other additions like the vehicle races and Giant Clank battles range between okay and annoying. Ship battles are a good idea, but feel a bit awkward to control in this game, and were improved in later entries. The collectathon exploration levels are another idea with a lot of potential, but needed fleshing out more. The desert environments these levels take place in are very dull and become monotonous fast. The PS3 Ratchet games executed the idea much better.
There are also a few too many weapons. Some of them aren't very useful and it's better to save your bolts, but new players won't know ahead of time which ones to skip.
But taking all of this into account, I think this game did a better job of growing and evolving the series than its contemporaries such as Jak and Sly did. Although those series introduced some very unique and interesting ideas too, the new mechanics added in this game were a lot less awkward and clunky than some of the new mechanics in those games, making this one much more replayable for me.
Going Commando is my second favourite in the series after Deadlocked and these two are by far my most replayed games in the series.