964th played so far

Genre: Platform/Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: Playstation 3
Year of Release: 2007
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

We’ve got a nice minor landmark here. While I’ve been avoiding finishing genres, the Ratchet & Clank series is one of the later entries in the “character and sidekick” series of 3D platformers that Banjo Kazooie originated and also showed up with Jak & Daxter. Each has its own twist on it, and despite the writing being good I’m not sureย the series got me as much as the others. With this being the more recent entry, I hope to see if it will grab me more this time.

Our Thoughts

Looking at my earlier notes, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is the game that hit best. The platforming works pretty well here, and is one of the smoother experiences I’ve had in a 3D platformer. The shooting is decent, with enough help to get you through and although the levels are pretty linear, there are enough places to explore and keep you finding secrets. The worlds themselves are mostly futuristic areas – from a sleek cyberpunky futuristic city to a more urban sci fi fantasy area, so far mixed in with alien swamp areas and goo/acid factories. It’s partially quite standard, but the gameplay works quite well.

You have a lot of unlocks, both to buy new weapons and to upgrade them. While the game is quite generous with the bolts that are the basic currency, it’s got crystals and others that are rarer and restrict you further – initially just giving you the crystals from bosses, but later having a few other enemies give them as well. It’s a good drive to keep you going and try a bit more, as you can really feel the impact of playing earlier on.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed myself quite a lot playing through Tools of Destruction, even as it took me a few attempts to get through the first level – it took me a while to get used to the flow of these levels. Once I got there, though, it was fun – racing along rails, shooting what came across, and occasionally using Clank’s small size to get through some other places. The dialogue and story held up and made for a really good game on their own, something I enjoyed playing. These updated versions of these franchises are worth going back to.