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Ratchet and Clank - A Crack in Time : PS3
The end of my week of Ratchet and Clank then. I finished the third game after about twelve hours of play on Friday night, and I think an intense week of Ratchet and Clank playing was just about right. I’m not looking for more this week (and if I am, there’s plenty to go back and do in the vein of extras) but I am looking forward to new games on the horizon (or maybe going back to some of the PS2 ones).
How was A Crack in Time though? Well, the first thing that hits you is the graphics update. This looks significantly better than Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty. It’s stunning really and really proves why the PS3 is better than its predecessor. Once you get past that and into the game, you smile some more and settle down for what is obviously going to be another fun time.
It’s hard to go from the ‘I’m uber and have all the weapons’ moments where you left off to the ‘I’m crap, get killed easily and have no weapons’ of starting a new game and it took me a while to get used to it. The weapons structure of Crack in Time is different to Tools (I’m ignoring Quest for Booty as it was a bonus game, rather than a real entry in the series) and this immediately shows. One of the things I both liked and disliked about Tools was that some of the weapons were truly awesome and meant you just needed to concentrate on those to beat everyone in the game. Those weapons are gone, and the range in Crack in Time is significantly different with no easy win items at all. This makes the latter game a lot more challenging in combat, and some of the bosses actually had me run out of ammo on every gun I had. Crazy stuff. Along with the weapons change comes a menu change which is significantly better than Tools -much easier to navigate and understand. So I felt the loss of the nano-swarmers but it meant I played a lot more with Mr. Zurkon and that’s very fun as his constant insults and comments add quite a lot to the combat.
Speaking of comments, Clank is still missing. Now the little robot has his own large section (and central storyline point) where he makes his way through the puzzle-ridden great clock. The puzzles here were interesting and while I found them easy (well, I’m not thick, 35, and very experienced in playing games) I can see plenty of newer players struggling a little, which is a good thing in my opinion. There are some very clever puzzled based on recording multiple clanks and having them run off in different directions which need a moment of thought. Clank missing though means that, like Quest for Booty, you miss his little interjections. Talwyn doesn’t make an appearance either (except for some nice subtle side-comments which you could easily miss) so Ratchet feels like he’s missing a sidekick (even with the odd mission alongside Qwark, and some other characters (who I don’t want to spoil) joining midgame).
Ratchet’s sections are classic Ratchet and Clank material. He gets some new gadgets (notably hoverboots which are fast and pretty neat), an array of new weapons (the frog-burping thing is both effective and amusing) and then goes about doing what he does best. The level design is all very nice and the variety of environments and scenery doesn’t disappoint (this is one of the things which first really drew me in with Tools of Destruction after playing the blandness that is Fallout 3, and it continues here). It’s all very enjoyable.
Significantly improved are the spacey sections, which now feel like a game in their own right. There are space missions, spaceship upgrades and quite a lot of side missions as a subset of the flying; it’s a great addition and is miles better than the rails-shooting of Tools. A nice touch is the radio stations you get to listen to while in your spaceship which add a little depth and atmosphere to the proceedings.
So, the big question is… Is it better than Tools of Destruction? And the answer? Well, yes. And no. And yes. And no. And oh, I dunno. It’s graphically superior, with excellent level design, far better mid-level space sequences, better puzzles and great cutscenes, but somewhere along the line it lost a tiny bit of soul. This is ‘Ratchet no Clank’ and ‘Clank no Ratchet’ for the most part, meaning it doesn’t feel quite ‘Ratchet and Clank’ and I really rather enjoyed that in Tools. As far as games for the Playstation 3 go, this is a must-own product just like its predecessor, but it isn’t quite the finest point in the sequence. I think, if I’m going to be honest, I just enjoyed the weapons set in the first game a little bit more, though when I replay that game (which I will), I’ll pay a little more attention to Mr. Zurkon. He’s just cool.
