The Ratchet review and EB impressions thread

[duckman2000]

At least I think it's the first one. 7/10

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ratchet-and-clank-a-crack-in-time-review

"There's no question that Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time is a quality platformer, complete with a superb combat system, decent puzzles, fun weapons, pretty visuals and plenty of variation. If you've never played a R&C game before, you should, and this is a great place to start. If you're a fan who just wants more of the same, you won't be disappointed."


Sounds like the platforming is better and the rest is as polished as ever, but they don't seem too thrilled about the whole space exploration thing. I had hoped that part would have involved more adventurous exploration, but I guess they are just excuses to shoot more stuff and collect more bolts. Oh well, it's going to be good entertainment anyway, but I'm not so sure about actually buying it right away.

Sort of wish Insomniac would drop the fast paced release schedule thing and put some serious work into something brand new at this point. And not an FPS either, something colorful and stupidly entertaining because that's what they are really good at.

[fistfulofmetal]

IGN gave it a 9

it's gonna be a Ratchet and Clank game. really all that has to be said. i'll rent it and play it and send it back.

[duckman2000]

Well, I guess I was hoping that it would be more than just another Ratchet game. It will be fun, and it's real pretty, but Insomniac needs to up their game.

[ManaByte]

Yawn. Waaaay too many Ratchet games.

[duckman2000]

Yawn. Waaaay too many Ratchet games.

Can it, nerd.

[ManaByte]

I own every Ratchet game except the second PSP one and the PS2 port of Size Matters. After Quest for Booty I got sick of the same old same old. It's like Insomniac has a piece of software where the select options in a wizard and it pops out a new Ratchet game. They need to do something new.

[Purple Filth]

i really hope that ACIT being the "end" will put the series on hold for a good while.

And maybe they can actually put back the multiplayer 

[cool breeze]

To be absolutely fair, it's more like five games, one expansion pack and one off-shoot.  Still crazy when you consider they also pumped out two Resistance games during that time and another dev made two PSP games using the Ratchet license.

I'm still looking forward to it.  I always think the formula gets dry after I play the game, but then I always get addicted to the new game and enjoy it for the while it lasted.

i really hope that ACIT being the "end" will put the series on hold for a good while.

And maybe they can actually put back the multiplayer 

multiplayer was actually fun in the Ratchet games.  Someone needs to make a mascot based multiplayer shooter for the current gen.  Maybe Bizarre can do a new Fur Fighters.


oh, and there is actually a demo for this new Ratchet out today

[cool breeze]

true

(but really Quest for Booty has nothing that even makes Ratchet games fun or addicting.  No new weapons or upgrades, collectibles or anything like that.  It was just a straight run through 3 hours of boring, but pretty, ares.)

[AdmiralViscen]

They really couldn't cram some co op in here, or bring back the deathmatch they already had 4 years ago?

I spent a lot less time on the first PS3 one than I did on 2 or 3. Another game of that length with no multi just isn't gonna fly, I don't think.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

downloading the demo now 

[close]

[Himu]

Game looks like most refreshing Ratchet game since Ratchet 2.

[Mrbob]

I don't think I'll get this right away, but down the road I will.

I really enjoyed Tools of Destruction.  Nothing innovative, but a damn fun game.  Tons of variety and as strange as this sounds about me not wanting the sequel right away, I would put ToD in the top 10 games this generation on the fun factor alone. 

Too close to Dragon Age release.

[duckman2000]

Eh, I played Destruction, and it was ok but nothing special.

A colorful mascot shooter with great production values is "special" by default in this generation, but I agree with that it was very familiar. I was hoping against reason that this new one would bring more than just new guns and puzzles to the franchise, but at this point I think Insomniac is just plain incapable of doing so. So, maybe this one will end Ratchet and let the company move the hell on.

Game looks like most refreshing Ratchet game since Ratchet 2.

That's what I thought too, until that review. We'll see, though; I'm getting it, as it's bound to be good entertainment, I just don't know if I want to "reward" another formulaic entry with a full price purchase.

[AdmiralViscen]

Game looks like most refreshing Ratchet game since Ratchet 2.

Why? lol

[duckman2000]

Gametrailers review

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-hd-ratchet/57978

Game sure is purty

edit: god damn it, you have to unlock Hard difficulty for a second run.

[AdmiralViscen]

Looks like CG, which I think is a first for the series.

[cool breeze]

The game looks pretty incredible.  Something about how it has a sorta soft ZoE2 style "not quite cel shading but it still has a cartoon look" to it makes it just look so good.  It confuses me since Resistance 2 is one of the ugliest games, yet Insomniac can still make something look this good.

[duckman2000]

They have had a lot of practice in this style, though. I think Resistance 2 was quite accomplished in terms of tech, but that dark and gritty "realistic" style just isn't their thing. Unsurprisingly, the alien levels in Resistance 1 were the only genuinely impressive environments in the game.

[M3wThr33]

I own every Ratchet game except the second PSP one and the PS2 port of Size Matters. After Quest for Booty I got sick of the same old same old. It's like Insomniac has a piece of software where the select options in a wizard and it pops out a new Ratchet game. They need to do something new.

Yeah. Aside from adding weapon levelups, the series has been virtually the same since the second one. Hell, my favorite was Deadlocked simply because it tried to be different without journeying to a shitload of planets, talk to stereotypes, see the plumber, play a dumb Captain Qwark minigame, upgrade the wrench and look, its over.

Jak changed genres with virtually every game. They actually tried to improve it.

Hell, they haven't even brought back Multiplayer! I could excuse it for the first one on a new console, but leaving it out here is criminal.

[duckman2000]

I don't know if that's the extent of what it was. They put a lot of effort in to the game, even having achievements, and normally I love character based games like that, so its not about me growing out of it. I loved Kameo and I loved Viva Pinata, but something about Ratchet just didn't grab me. I kind of remember having the same problem on PS2 though, I enjoyed Jak much more than ratchet.

Think maybe it's the whole shooter thing? That's what drew me into the game (Going Commando) in the first place, an imaginative arcade shooter with a colorful, bright presentation. It's still a fun shooter and the presentation stands out more than ever, but the combat obviously doesn't feel very imaginative. In contrast, I could never get into the Jak games, although that may have been because I started with the second game in that series.

Hell, they haven't even brought back Multiplayer! I could excuse it for the first one on a new console, but leaving it out here is criminal.

I was arguing in defense of their decision to leave it out for TOD, simply because I bought their talk of wanting to deliver a single player game without compromises. In retrospect, I can't think of a good reason as to why it didn't have for example co-op. None of the missions or puzzles felt so expertly tuned that they couldn't have been restructured to accommodate two players.


The cynic in me thinks they are just setting things up to release co-op or multiplayer modes via PSN.

[duckman2000]

Kotaku:

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time retains a lot of what was good about the previous games. But it also continues one of the best traditions of its developers — to compress past accomplishments, quickly give players a lot of the old stuff in the game's early going and then try new things. Earlier games' experiments with dialogue systems and multiplayer didn't thrill me. But, the new game's more dynamic physical movement (hooray for hoverboots), more interesting mission flow, amazing graphics and smart system of relatively easy main missions that branch off to more challenging moon challenges, are good innovations.

The Ratchet gameplay is improved. The Clank gameplay is a revelation. Two years ago, Ratchet & Clank Future showed how good Insomniac could make this series look on PS3. A year ago, Ratchet & Clank: A Quest For Booty showed that Insomniac was still prepared to innovate with gameplay. A Crack In time, the space case notwithstanding, finally shows the series leaping forward.

http://kotaku.com/5387715/ratchet--clank-future-a-crack-in-time-review-the-leap-at-last

Dude really didn't like the space stuff, though

[M3wThr33]

I was arguing in defense of their decision to leave it out for TOD, simply because I bought their talk of wanting to deliver a single player game without compromises. In retrospect, I can't think of a good reason as to why it didn't have for example co-op. None of the missions or puzzles felt so expertly tuned that they couldn't have been restructured to accommodate two players.


The cynic in me thinks they are just setting things up to release co-op or multiplayer modes via PSN.

You think that, but I honestly thought Resistance 2 was one of the worst games I played this generation on the TEXTURES alone. Their sequels have hardly been earth-moving. The graphical inconsistency really just ruined the game for me. I haven't been impressed with Insomniac at all. I don't understand why they aren't more reamed for pumping out the same game.
(I own and beat every R&C game except Secret Agent Clank)

I fucking want a new Jak so bad. Hell, I got 100% in Jak X. I'm nuts for it. The PSP looks ok for a platformer, but I loved the open driving stuff in it, not the poor-man's R&C gameplay.

[iconoclast]

As someone who has only briefly played the Ratchet PS2 games (no idea which ones), I'm kinda excited to get this during the Best Buy sale.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I actually own Tools of Destruction, but never played it 

[close]

[duckman2000]

I don't understand why they aren't more reamed for pumping out the same game.

Every review so far has mentioned this, even by critics who usually seem to have no problem with "more of the same." It's evidently being saved squarely by the fact that it's a well designed familiar format.

[M3wThr33]

I don't understand why they aren't more reamed for pumping out the same game.

Every review so far has mentioned this, even by critics who usually seem to have no problem with "more of the same." It's evidently being saved squarely by the fact that it's a well designed familiar format.

Pointing it out is different from drastically lowering the score for being lazy. Although a 7 is a good start. They need someone to stop the constant praise so they can challenge themselves a bit.

[duckman2000]

I'm not sure why you would expect that kind of ballsy lesson from critics. The fact that they are saying anything about it is out of the ordinary for them, as they usually tip toe around critical issues with games and typically grasp for ways to justify impossibly high component scores for their darling games. I don't necessarily think that's a bad mindset to have when it comes to judging entertainment products, but it can't be very beneficial for future games from these cushioned developers.

[cool breeze]

the demo is up and it's 2.4 gigs, and this is only the Clank demo (Ratchet one later iirc)

[AdmiralViscen]

Well, I'm gonna try it. BestBuy's deal may be this game's savior.

[Joe Molotov]

I picked up ToD for $15, probably do the same with this one. I like R&C, but it's not worth paying full price for the same game over and over.

[duckman2000]

I picked up ToD for $15, probably do the same with this one. I like R&C, but it's not worth paying full price for the same game over and over.

That's generally how I feel about this, and some additional modes would help quite a bit. But the truth of the matter is that irrespective of how similar the games are to one another, they are still pretty unique when you look at what else is on offer these days. But since the cartoony shooter bit is the main draw for me, I sort of wish they would go all out with another Deadlocked instead. Fuck Resistance, they already had a superior multiplayer shooter.

[AdmiralViscen]

I'm such a sap, this demo is making me want to buy the game.

[cool breeze]

well, if you do want it the day of and don't want to spend a lot, there is that Best Buy deal.  Amazon also is selling it for $52 if you enter RATCHET3 (gets you $5 off)

[duckman2000]

When is the Ratchet demo coming out?

[fistfulofmetal]

demo was surprisingly good. i think the time puzzles were awesome.

but the graphics are pretty bad

[Snuflupagulus]

When you hold down L1, eeeesshh.  What's with the streaking on Clank's head? 

I'm not sure how to square the praise for the graphics with what was on offer from the demo.  Quest for Booty looked great.  What happened?  Unless they forked this thing from main development eons ago, I'm not sure I trust that they could have improved this to the point the praise makes any sense.

[cool breeze]

I thought the demo looked great, though, not as good as the videos led me to believe. 

noticed that Giantbomb put a review up: http://www.giantbomb.com/ratchet-clank-future-a-crack-in-time/61-25673/reviews/

5/5 meaningless score but the little blurb says "Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time manages to play to its strengths while adding enough to make this the best in the series."

so, uh, cool.

[Third]

Great reviews so far. I have it ordered.
Still don't know when the PAL release is out, though.
I'm hearing nov 4.

[Snuflupagulus]

I have it pre-ordered.  I guess I'll be pleasantly surprised.  GB says the graphics are stunning.  The stills made it appear stunning.  The demo left me stunned.  Thankfully, Amazon keeps giving me coupons.

[fistfulofmetal]

It looks like the took all the weird graphical features from Resistance 2 and shoved them all here. Anyone else see the strange dithered lighting and textures? Whenever something explodes

[duckman2000]

If it's anything like the first game (or any other Ratchet game, really), the quality will vary wildly between levels. There were some areas in TOD that looked almost impossibly good, presumably in part because that's what their artists knew the best, and in part because those areas played to the strengths of the engine. I have seen some ridiculously awesome stuff from ACIT, but the first area they showed feels pretty bland.

[duckman2000]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/arsenal-trailer-ratchet/58025

I have to say, I like the updated rift inducer.

[AdmiralViscen]

http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-ratchet-clank-future-a-crack-in-time/17-1545/

[Darunia]

the clank stuff seems kinda interesting, but everything else is just same ol' same ol'. Blowing stuff up in an arena with the same exact weapons or rehashes got stale a while ago

At this point it's hard to get even remotely excited for a ratchet game

[Van Cruncheon]

ew, i hate the kooky weapons.

[duckman2000]

I enjoy the base Ratchet gameplay enough so that a lack of new ideas is less damaging, and I almost think I'd prefer a version that only reworked the best weapons, as opposed to force in new "creative" ones with each new game. Give me a few spectacular environments to use some high damage weapons in, and I'll be entertained. I guess it's a bit like Halo in that respect; every game has some deep flaws, but it's hard to deny the charm of bullet hoses and chain reaction gameplay.

That doesn't mean that I don't wish both studios would move on, though.

[cool breeze]

I went into this not too excited and I think it's really good so far.  After a good amount of playing, I'd say the people saying this is the best Ratchet game might be right on.  Everything I hated in the past games, especially from the past two PS3 ones, are gone.

[fistfulofmetal]

should have it in two days. gamefly 

[AdmiralViscen]

I'm enjoying it too. The two new things - the space zone and the bolt-on weapon accessories - are both pretty well implemented.

I turned it off after doing a couple side missions, but is there a way to know whether or not you completed the side mission on a planet? It would suck if in the endgame you had to keep on landing on them only to find you already got the little duder or the bolts.


edit - yup, it's all extremely organized. There are like 3 different ways to see what planetoids you still need to finish.

[cool breeze]

It's kinda weird that they don't let you check that stuff when you're on a planet, though.  Like, I wanted to see if I got everything on the planet I was currently on and had to fly out just to see it say "incomplete" then jump back in to continue looking.  Load times are also pretty long between the space and planet sections, but at least the transition between space and moon is instant.

[duckman2000]

Damn, almost bought this last night, but I just checked GF which has a Keep It price of $40 (with coupons).

[Sho Nuff]

I thought the first one on PS3 looked amazing, but I'm a sucker for 60fps. Gameplay-wise it was an utter snore though, I stopped after about 2 hours of running down trenches and shooting/hitting things

[AdmiralViscen]

It's stupid that having a Ratchet save file automatically gives you a discount on all weapons. I'm like 2 hours in and I already have 30,000 bolts as a result.

Though I guess it doesn't matter, since so far weapon buying is completely linear anyway like in QFB. In the past you'd have a few guns available at any one time and you wouldn't be able to afford them all.

[cool breeze]

I never got that discount, but I have the pirate hat.

[Snuflupagulus]

Yeah, this is actually pretty fun.  The space stuff, I kinda like.  Turning down the brightness helps quite a bit with the graphics.  The demo seems to be aberrant as the game so far is gorgeous.

I don't know if it'd convince people tired of Ratchet's gameplay, but the game is fun so far.

[cool breeze]

I thought the Clank sections still looked kinda weak even in the final game since it's all really pristine and sharp environments.  Some of the Ratchet levels still look incredible.

and I finished the game and thought it was the best Ratchet game yet.  The only problems I had were that, despite removing most of what made recent and past Ratchet games bad, the new things added weren't expanded as much as I would have liked.  Weapon customization should be there for every gun, and space combat and exploration should have also been fleshed out.  I would have also liked it if some of the basic tools you got were upgraded a bit more.

[pilonv1]

I thought the first one on PS3 looked amazing, but I'm a sucker for 60fps.

sorry that boat has sailed

http://www.insomniacgames.com/blogcast/blog/mike_acton/1503082

a drop in framerate is interestingly seen by some players as a reward for creating or forcing a complex setup in which a lot of things must happen on the screen at once. As in, “Damn! Did you see that? That was crazy!”

There is virtually no advantage in sales or reviews of a 60 fps game versus a 30 fps game.

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time will probably be Insomniac’s last 60fps game.

[Draft]

Mid tier dev doesn't understand importance of 60fps.

Film at 11.

[duckman2000]

That's a real bummer. I can see why they'd feel that way, but I really hope this is not them trying to appease critics again. Last time they did that, we got Resistance 2.

[Stoney Mason]

a drop in framerate is interestingly seen by some players as a reward for creating or forcing a complex setup in which a lot of things must happen on the screen at once. As in, “Damn! Did you see that? That was crazy!”

I saw that thread and that quote over at GAF and I loled hard.

And there is indeed a big difference in 60 versus 30 which is obvious to anyone who plays games. Just got through playing Forza today and the immediate and first thing you notice between it and a game like NFS Shift is the night and day difference in smoothness.

It's their call because lots of games settle for 30 to get other legit graphical benefits and enhancements on consoles or other benefits like in an open world game but that one excuse is utter bs. Nobody sees frame rate drop and goes "Wow Cool!"

They seem to be confusing it with old school top down shoot em up games where slowdown is appreciated as a gameplay benefit to dodge bullets or slow motion which is used to create a cinematic effect. But that is not the same thing as frame rate drop.

[Joe Molotov]

I thought the first one on PS3 looked amazing, but I'm a sucker for 60fps.

sorry that boat has sailed

http://www.insomniacgames.com/blogcast/blog/mike_acton/1503082

a drop in framerate is interestingly seen by some players as a reward for creating or forcing a complex setup in which a lot of things must happen on the screen at once. As in, “Damn! Did you see that? That was crazy!”

There is virtually no advantage in sales or reviews of a 60 fps game versus a 30 fps game.

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time will probably be Insomniac’s last 60fps game.

PS3