Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)

The beloved dynamic duo makes their next-gen debut.
1/31/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 2

Ever since the PlayStation 3 came out a year ago, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction was exactly what Sony's next-gen system needed: a well-known franchise with proven gameplay and lots of fancy graphics whirling wildly and merrily. Blu-ray, schmu-ray. We're gamers. Get that little furry guy and his robot buddy in here so we can tear it up. And that's exactly what Tools of Destruction finally does.

The Ratchet & Clank series is a bit of an odd duck for how it marries platformers with shooters. Imagine a hybrid of Mario's charm, minus the kiddie-stigma, and those Unreal Tournament guns, minus the Goth, grit, and gore. Over the last five years, the developers at Insomniac have honed to perfection their platformer/shooter hybrid. It has the constant forward pull of a platformer, complete with collecting and cheerful splashy visuals. But it has the glorious gunplay of a shooter, with outrageous and upgradeable weapons. And perhaps most remarkably, Insomniac has worked wonders with the PlayStation 2, consistently pushing the envelope of what the hardware could do, even as it was going obsolete.

The PS3's next-gen hardware is a huge asset to the Ratchet & Clank series. There's no slowdown in Tools of Destruction, despite gratuitous showers of glowing golden bolts, swarms of elaborate clanking robots, and bits of the environment breaking obligingly under your swinging wrench. If you're looking closely, you'll appreciate Ratchet's finely detailed fur and ear physics. You might even notice that the goodie-crates are actual stacked objects that can be toppled over. Technically speaking, this is a great showcase for the PS3, and it gives the series the hardware power it's long deserved.

But in terms of gameplay, there's something sadly unambitious about Ratchet & Clank Future. You can hardly blame Insomniac, since they're doing what they do best, and no one expects them to reinvent the wheel. But the previous games in the series all have had a touch of new, whether it's sphere worlds, multiplayer support, cool new mini-games or fresh and inventive weapons.

Instead, Tools of Destruction offers somewhat of a comfort-food vibe by resorting to the same old gimmicks: the rail grinding, the arena challenges, the Clank missions, the magnetic walkways and the goofy robot bad guys. Even the supposedly new weapons elicit a response of 'Ah, yes, this is the Tools of Destruction version of that old gun!' Even if it is a bit too familiar, it's awfully comfortable. Of course, if you're new to Ratchet & Clank, then you're in for one hell of a ride.

There are a few new touches. The teleport cannons on one level are a bit like Super Mario Galaxy. The funky space station's gravity tricks are a bit like an elaborate version of the sphere worlds. Clank's new time control powers figure prominently in his puzzle missions, which feature mystical floating creatures instead of the cute robots who used to tag along behind him. But for all intents and purposes, the Clank missions play the same as they always have. You need to accumulate a certain number of the creatures to open doors, and you'll need to use their tricks to get past certain puzzles.

The new spaceship levels are a welcome return. But with their independent controls for moving and firing, they're a bit of a handful. Insomniac is clearly attempting a bit of retro shooter gameplay, giving it some extra oomph with these next-gen graphics. Once the controls click, it works wonderfully. The spaceship missions are gorgeous orgies of color, light and movement.