Ratchet & Clank (2016 video game)

This article is about the 2016 video game. For the series see Ratchet & Clank. For the 2002 original, see Ratchet & Clank (2002 video game).
Ratchet & Clank
Developer(s) Insomniac Games
Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment
Designer(s) Brian Allgeier
Artist(s) David Guertin
Composer(s) Michael Bross
Series Ratchet & Clank
Platform(s) PlayStation 4
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Platformer, shooter
Mode(s) Single-player

Ratchet & Clank is a platformer-shooter video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is a re-imagining of the first game in the series, based on the film adaptation by Rainmaker Entertainment and Blockade Entertainment.[3] The game was originally planned to be released on the PlayStation 4 in 2015, but was delayed, along with the film, to April 2016 in order to give the film a better marketing campaign and the game additional polish time.[1]

Gameplay

In Ratchet & Clank, players can use the Swingshot to grapple targets and swing across gaps. This gameplay mechanic was first featured in the original game.

Though the game is a re-imagining of the first game, it has a variety of gameplay elements from different entries in the series, with features like strafing, weapon and health upgrades, raritanium weapon upgrading and the inclusion of weapons that came after the first game. It also features brand new weapons. For example, the Pixelizer, which, as the name suggests, turns enemies into an 8-bit appearance.

The PS4 re-imagining runs at 1080p resolution and targets gameplay at 30 frames per second,[4] unlike the 2002 original PS2 title which targeted 60 frames per second. Heavy motion blur is used in the remake to help alleviate the sacrificed smoothness of gameplay.

Plot

The story starts with a prisoner, Shiv Helix, being moved to a joint cell with the newly-imprisoned Captain Qwark. As he is a huge fan of Qwark's, he reveals that a game is being made based on his last adventure. Eager for attention, Qwark agrees to tell Shiv his side of the story.

On Veldin, Ratchet, a young Lombax who works as a mechanic for his adopted father Grim, dreams of joining Qwark's Galactic Rangers. While he easily passes the physical exam, his criminal past convinces Qwark to personally reject him. Meanwhile, at a factory on Quartu, Blargian Chairman Alonzo Drek oversees the construction of a mechanical army built by Dr. Nefarious, a former Galactic Ranger himself. After the factory's mainframe locates a defective warbot trying to escape, Drek sends his lieutenant Victor Von Ion to destroy him. The defect escapes in a stolen ship, but Victor shoots out the engine, causing the ship to crash on Veldin. Ratchet arrives and rescues the defect seconds before the wreckage explodes. The defect explains that he needs to warn the Galactic Rangers of Drek's plans. Ratchet names him "Clank" and offers to take him to the Ranger HQ on Kerwan.

While flying over Novalis, the duo is shot down by Blarg forces over the capital city. They rescue the mayor, who asks them to rescue his nephew Skid McMarx on Aridia, and a plumber who fixes their ship. Traveling to Kerwan, they discover that Drek's invasion is already in progress. Using their ship's arsenal, they destroy the Blargian transports and mothership, but narrowly survive a bomb planted on the ship's hull by Victor's men. With help from Big Al, an electronics engineer and Ranger ally, they foil an attempt by the invaders to destroy the Hall of Heroes with a train loaded with explosives. As a reward for their assistance, Qwark reluctantly allows them to join the Rangers and even provides them with a new ship. Before undertaking their first mission, the two travel to Aridia and rescue Skid and his agent from the Blarg. A grateful Skid gives them his hoverboard, as well as an invitation to a racing tournament on Rilgar. Ratchet wants to participate, but learns that the race has been canceled due to an outbreak of Blargian Ameboids. After he manages to wipe them out, the race is reopened and Ratchet wins the grand prize. While exploring the sewers, he also comes across an arms dealer who offers to build him the "RYNO" if he can find the blueprints.

Qwark contacts the duo with a top-secret solo assignment to investigate reports of activity at a remote Blarg bio-lab. Despite his efforts to hinder their progress, they destroy several mutant specimens created by the Blarg, including a large Snagglebeast.

Using intelligence retrieved from the Snagglebeast's handler, they head next to a research facility run by Nefarious on Gaspar. A Blargian scientist hires them to collect brain samples from Nefarious's experiments, exchanging them for a jetpack and news that Drek is moving to attack a Ranger outpost on Batalia. The two arrive just in time to destroy the Blargian fleet with an energy cannon. They then receive word from Grim that the Blarg are draining Pokitaru of its fresh water, threatening a nearby resort run by Grim's brother. Big Al, who happens to be staying at the resort, provides them with rockets to destroy the extraction equipment.

Qwark calls a meeting of the Rangers on Kerwan, where he proposes an all-out assault on Quartu. Against Clank's advice, the Rangers agree to the plan. Under heavy fire from Nefarious's troops, including a large security droid dubbed "Ms. Zurkon", they access Drek's files and discover his real plan: Using the Deplanetizer, a weaponized space station created by Nefarious, Drek intends to destroy several choice planets so that he can combine their remains into an artificial world for his people. Learning that his first target is Novalis, Qwark goes to negotiate with Drek while the other Rangers battle his forces outside the station. During the fighting, Victor slips aboard the Ranger support ship Phoenix and inflicts severe internal damage before Clank disables him with the ship's sprinkler system. Ratchet enters the Deplanetizer and tries to shut it down, but Drek incapacitates him. Qwark reveals that he has been spying for Drek out of spite for Ratchet stealing his thunder. Drek then seals Ratchet in an escape pod and ejects him into space as the Rangers witness the destruction of Novalis.

For several weeks, the loss of Qwark's leadership cripples the Rangers, and Drek quickly destroys five more planets. When Ratchet finally returns to Veldin, he decides to take the blame and quit. Clank urges him to reconsider, as the Blarg are preparing to destroy their final target: Umbris, whose destruction will destroy countless other worlds due to a rare orbital convergence. Ratchet deduces the truth: Nefarious, angered by his defeat at the hands of the Rangers, has been manipulating Drek, using his resources to destroy the galaxy so he can discredit them. With his confidence restored, Ratchet heads to Kalebo III, where the Blarg have staged an attack on the headquarters of Gadgetron to acquire its stockpile of advanced weaponry. The company chairman asks him to drive off the attackers in time for an upcoming race championship, with a Holo-Guise as the prize. After winning the device, Ratchet confers with the Rangers before heading to intercept the Deplanetizer.

An increasingly disillusioned Qwark confronts Drek for breaking his promise not to attack the Rangers any further. Nefarious arrives and mocks Qwark for his treason before sending him away. As Drek comments on how well their alliance has worked out, Nefarious turns him into a sheep and ejects him in a ship headed to the artificial planet. Meanwhile, Ratchet, disguised as Qwark, removes the Deplanetizer's power core, shutting off its firing capabilities. Before they can escape, the real Qwark shows up and tries to kill them until his jetpack malfunctions. Realizing the error of his ways, Qwark appoints Ratchet as the new leader of the Rangers so that he can take Nefarious into custody. Instead, Nefarious dons a mech suit and maneuvers the Deplanetizer to crash directly into Umbris. The duo lure Nefarious into the gravitational pull of a dwarf star, causing him and his suit to spontaneously combust.

With the Deplanetizer disintegrating from the heat of Umbris's atmosphere, Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark use Drek's scooter to reach his personal teleporter on the bridge. Qwark falls onto the glass observation window, which begins cracking under his weight. Ratchet and Clank wrestle the teleporter out of its socket and push it over the edge, allowing the three to escape seconds before the Deplanetizer explodes.

The story then returns to the present day, with Qwark and Helix picking trash near the Hall of Heroes. Ratchet and Clank stop by on the way in and greet Qwark warmly. Seizing the opportunity, Helix steals Ratchet's ship and escapes. As the duo prepare to go after him, they ask Qwark if he would like to come along, which Qwark accepts without hesitation.

Development

The game was in concurrent development with the film and shared the same character models, environments, animation and some writing. For example, Insomniac would send Rainmaker a 3D character model or environment, and Rainmaker would send Insomniac its slightly altered version for use in the game, so there would be parity between the pieces. Most of the assets in the film and video game had been touched between the two parties, and in some cases Insomniac would try to match a film scene as closely as possible in-game. The film and game also used the same color-correction tools.[5]

The game was announced during Sony's press conference at E3 2014. Insomniac Games' California and North Carolina studios are cooperating on its development.[6] Developers of the first game are stated to be working on the game, such as long time design director Brian Allgeier. The game was originally slated for release in 2015, but was delayed into 2016 to tie-in with the film's release.[7] Players who pre-ordered the game received access to an additional weapon, the Bouncer, which was featured in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando and Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal.[8]

On January 11, 2016, it was confirmed that the game would release in France on April 15, 2016, the rest of Europe on April 20, 2016, and the United Kingdom on April 22, 2016.[2]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic86/100[9]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid8/10[10]
EGM8.5/10[11]
Game Informer8.25/10[12]
Game Revolution[13]
GameSpot8/10[14]
GamesRadar[15]
Giant Bomb[16]
IGN9/10[17]
Polygon8/10[18]
VideoGamer.com8/10[19]
The Daily Telegraph[20]
Hardcore Gamer4.5/5[21]
Digital Spy[22]

According to the review aggregation website Metacritic, Ratchet & Clank received highly positive reviews.[9] Critics praised the visuals, sound design, story and weaponry whilst criticizing the notion that the game can feel too familiar with previous titles in the series. IGN's Marty Sliva wrote in his review that "Ratchet and Clank is a culmination of everything Insomniac has done with the series over the past 14 years" admiring the "deep and rewarding weapon system", and "beautiful and varied worlds."[17]

The Daily Telegraph who gave the game 5 stars said it was "the closest thing to playable Pixar" and concluded that it was the "pep and variety that makes Ratchet & Clank feel like a proper adventure, providing an excellent time right up until the credits roll, and into a new mode unlocked upon completion."[20]

GameSpot were also favorable, saying that "Ratchet & Clank is proof there’s still a lot of mileage left in the 3D platformer genre." They were fond of the reboot saying it was "more of a return to form, revitalizing and updating the franchise" whilst praising the world and weapons, admiring "its use of inventive weapons, alien worlds, and quirky attitude."[14]

Game Revolution praised the gameplay and visuals saying that the "re-imagining of the original has just the right blend of enjoyable gameplay features mixed with tight controls and impressive visuals, sprinkled with a liberal amount of jocularity." They also praised the game's intuitive control scheme and storyline, whilst advising readers to "ratchet it up to the hardest difficulty."[13]

Sales

The game became the best-selling retail game in the UK in its week of release. The sales of the remake in its release week tripled the release week sales of Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, the previous record holder. The remake also became the first game in the series to debut at No. 1 in the retail software sales chart.[23] On April 29, 2016, it was announced that Ratchet & Clank was the fastest selling title in the entire series.[24] It was also number 1 on the Australian charts during the week of release.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 Makuch, Eddie (December 5, 2015). "Ratchet & Clank PS4 Release Date, New Trailer Revealed". GameSpot. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Stevenson, James (January 11, 2016). "Ratchet & Clank PS4 release date confirmed, box art debuts". PlayStation.Blog.Europe. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  3. ↑ Schneider, Ryan (June 10, 2014). "The original Ratchet & Clank is being re-imagined for PS4". PlayStation.Blog.Europe. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2015/06/10/ratchet-clank-on-ps4-where-past-and-future-meet/#comments
  5. ↑ http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/12/ratchet-and-clank-ps4-interview-preview/
  6. ↑ LeJacq, Yannick (June 9, 2014). "Ratchet And Clank Getting A Movie And A PS4 Remake In 2015". Kotaku. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  7. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (May 13, 2015). "Ratchet & Clank for PlayStation 4 now coming spring 2016". Polygon. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  8. ↑ Stevenson, James (June 10, 2015). "Ratchet & Clank on PS4: Where Past and Future Meet". PlayStation.Blog.North.America. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Ratchet & Clank for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  10. ↑ Carter, Chris (April 11, 2016). "Review: Ratchet & Clank". Destructoid. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  11. ↑ Campbell, Spencer (April 11, 2016). "Ratchet and Clank review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  12. ↑ Reiner, Andrew (April 11, 2016). "Sweet Nostalgia - Ratchet & Clank - PlayStation 4". Game Informer. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Haught, Jeb (April 11, 2016). "Ratchet & Clank Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  14. 1 2 Moser, Cassidee (April 11, 2016). "Ratchet & Clank Review". GameSpot. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  15. ↑ Sullivan, Lucas (April 11, 2016). "Ratchet & Clank review". GamesRadar. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  16. ↑ Ryckert, Dan (April 18, 2016). "Ratchet & Clank Review". Giant Bomb. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  17. 1 2 Sliva, Marty (April 11, 2016). "Ratchet & Clank Review". IGN. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  18. ↑ Kollar, Philip (April 12, 2016). "Ratchet & Clank review". Polygon. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  19. ↑ Orry, Tom (April 11, 2016). "Ratchet & Clank Review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  20. 1 2 McKean, Kirk (April 11, 2016). "Ratchet and Clank review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  21. ↑ Dunsmore, Kevin (April 11, 2016). "Review: Ratchet & Clank". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  22. ↑ Loveridge, Sam (April 12, 2016). "Review: Ratchet & Clank". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  23. ↑ Phillips, Tom (April 25, 2016). "PS4 exclusive Ratchet & Clank tops UK chart". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  24. ↑ Phillips, Greg. "The Ratchet & Clank Movie Hits Theaters Today". PlayStation blog. Sony. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  25. ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayStationAU/status/725932958113099776

External links

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