Friday, August 3, 2007
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
Game Score & Comments: 7.5/10, Not bad addition for your PSP, nice game.
After saving the galaxy from unspeakably wicked aliens not once, not twice, not thrice, but FOUR TIMES on the PS2, Ratchet finally has some time to take a well-earned break from the hero-gig on the PSP. He decides to bask in the radiant sunshine of the wonderfully scenic beaches of planet Pokitaru, without a care in the world, but as always, with his faithful robotic sidekick, Clank, in tow. Being a famous face and all, he is soon recognised by an adorable little girl by the name of Luna. Not wanting to pass up a chance to show off his superb skills to a devoted fan, Ratchet legs it across the sand displaying his incredible athletic finesse, and trademark wrenching and gun toting. But a hero can never safely rest on their laurels. Soon enough, a new terror appears in the form of the Technomites, and they kidnap the helpless Luna in plain sight for all to see. A damsel in distress needs rescuing, and Ratchet & Clank are the only duo capable of doing so. Thus they embark on yet another intergalactic run-around, later discovering that a conspiracy to bring them down brews malevolently behind the scenes.
The time spent frolicking around the beach serves to introduce us to Ratchet's control scheme that has been modified to suit what the PSP is capable of providing. If you are a long-time fan of the PS2 games, it will take a while to adjust to the new layout, but once you have made it out of this introductory area and are zipping across to other weird and wonderful locales, you'll be right at home with doing everything from quick-selecting weapons to strafing while shooting. It is a good thing that the controls are as tight as they are, allowing you to hop around the place with a champion's grace. It means that you won't be distracted as you zip across the beautiful landscapes, from soaring skyways to moonlit meadows to disturbingly trippy dream worlds.
Ratchet games have always prided themselves with their focus on heavy artillery. Size really doesn't matter in this department; during his travels, Ratchet will arm himself with an assortment of destructive weaponry including a Concussion Cannon that fires a wide burst of shrapnel, useful with crowd control, and an Incinerator that heats battles up by inflicting fiery pain. There are also a few joke-type devices such as the Agents of Doom, diminutive, but lethal robot bodyguards, and the Mootator which turns enemies into walking slabs of prime beef. In keeping with the recent Ratchet: Gladiator, you are able to upgrade any of the weapons. This is done through an experience point system, so the more you use a specific gun, the stronger it will become; you start out with just a paltry pistol, but time and dedication will see it turn into the semi-automatic Dual Lacerators that are nothing to be scoffed at. There are 13 different tools of mass destruction in all, and you won't be disappointed with any of them.
But this game is called Ratchet and Clank. Surely that little smart-alec of a recycled piston has got some star power here, right? Well, after his backseat role in Gladiator, Clank returns in fine form with his own selection of solo sprees. The metal dwarf is able to go where no Ratchet can go, sneaking into temples through potholes, and commanding a small army of look-a-like Gadgebots to activate switches or ravage any other teeny-tiny bots. When Clank obtains the ability to transform into a colossal Goliath, you can fly him through solar system, laying waste to the barrage of fighter crafts that impede your path. These flight sections play out like the classic Star Fox games or the Gummi Ship sequences featured in Kingdom Hearts II. They are packed with a simply dazzling amount of eye-candy – brilliant neon sparks, fantastic explosions and euphoric bursts of glorious technicolour. Not that the rest of the game looks bad, far from it, but these levels will make your jaw drop, and your PSP's if it had one too. It is a crying shame there just isn't enough Clank-time, because it's so good!
There's actually not enough Ratchet here as well. Size Matters is a far cry from the length of the ride that went with the PS2 outings. Don't be surprised if you manage to reach the final boss within 5 hours of play, even if you don't rush it. There are of course some mini-games to bide time: Skyboard races are an interesting diversion that grow old fast due to the lack of tracks, but the various Clank Challenges are quite entertaining. There are 3 kinds of games here: a destruction derby free-for-all that puts you in an odd assortment of vicious vehicles; a capture-the-robot game of basketball where you can punch out or lob explosives at opponents in order to stop them from scoring; and my favourite which has you assigning instructions to Gadgebots as they make their way to the goal box in a 2D maze. These parts play out just like a retro Lemmings game, and you have to instruct when the little robots should swing across gaps, build a bridge, or detonate to provide a pitfall for the good of the rest of the Gadgebots. Again, these Clank-featured bits are far too few in numbers, and it should only take the better part of 2 hours to fly through them all.
Once peace has been restored to the galaxy, in less time than it takes to roast a turkey and mash some potatoes, where to next for our nimble pair? If you are able to take this game online you may indulge in some head-to-head deathmatching, not dissimilar to what Gladiator offered to us not too long ago. Wireless support for up to 4 players has also been added to appease those without such privileges. However, if a solo adventure is all that you are eyeing, Size Matters may serve to disappoint. You can replay the game in challenge mode, retaining your existing arsenal so that you are able to fully max out the capabilities of each one, but there isn't really a point to it seeing as the enemies don't get any tougher to compensate. And how many times do you think you'll be able to play through the same linear, 5 hour (or less) jaunt?
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, for all intents and purposes, was created to capture the essence of the blockbuster PS2 quadrilogy in a miniature guise for the off-shoot PSP handheld. It was a large undertaking, but the results are nothing short of amazing. Graphically it can't be beat by anything currently available for this genre, and despite a soundtrack that's arguably inferior to previous instalments, the audio is nonetheless as crisp and clear as you'd expect from the furry animal and his robot buddy. What ultimately drags it down is the lack of content. The portable design lends itself well to more mini-games to make up for the brief quest, but unfortunately in High Five Games' debut Ratchet production, most of the effort was concentrated on imitating the look, but not the complete feel of the inspirational series. Still, it's a highly enjoyable blast-a-thon before all the smoke settles.