The other problem with gameplay comes from combat, which is generally a madhouse of fun with huge explosions and creative enemies. Clank has his own annoying mini-games, including one where a laser fixes fissures in time on various planets. Except of course when Ratchet is forced several times to participate in these little detours, either to eventually rescue a friend or collect enough of a certain item to earn a necessary upgrade. In short, there's no good reason to do them. The problem is the missions are often repetitive and do not offer anything not seen in regular play. In each sector, Ratchet can head towards the next mission destination or he can detour to hail other ships or land on smaller planets to do mini-missions. The game also suffers from its own openness. The mechanics of such a puzzle are pretty impressive - you're actually recording yourself several times over and combining your past efforts - but even for a game with a weapon that turns enemies into monkeys, it seems over-the-top. While playing with time certainly is a good time - freezing little green aliens in place before swatting them over the head with a staff really doesn't get old - the game takes time manipulation to near ridiculously complex levels.įor instance, there are several puzzles in which Clank cannot pass through a door unless he creates several "past selves" to depress certain buttons in order. While also a major plot device, time manipulation is also used constantly by Clank on a much smaller scale both in combat and to solve puzzles. The time manipulation is a welcome addition as both a tool and an integral part of the overall plot. Puzzles also have a nice learning curve, starting very simply and leading to sometimes overly complex time manipulation later in the game. Weapon and armor upgrades are paced nicely with the story so that combat evolves from world to world as enemies grow stronger.
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The story evolves nicely if the gamer plays straight through, but if you're the exploring type, expect large breaks in the plot advancement while roaming various moons. Without taking itself too seriously, the game has some profound dramatic moments between the characters and reveals more about some long-term plot lines. Without giving too much away, the gameplay and plot of "A Crack in Time" is not much of a departure from previous installments except that Ratchet and Clank are completely separate in this game and players will alternate between the two for extended periods.īut there are no shortage of sidekicks and allies for Ratchet as he fights to find and rescue Clank - and a few other characters along the way. Luckily, after playing for a short time I realized that once you're in Ratchet's world, nothing is too silly, and from the dancing aliens to the goober secondary characters Ratchet and Clank encounter, it's fairly charming and entertaining with admittedly low-brow humor. I knew previous iterations had been well received, but I imagined strapping on hoover boots and throwing disco balls at cartoonishly ugly enemies "too silly."
#Ratchet and clank future a crack in time review full
In a note of full disclosure: "Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time" is the first Ratchet game I've ever played and I entered into the task with a good deal of skepticism.
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Enter the silly, sly and addictively entertaining omniverse of "Ratchet & Clank" where dabbling button-mashers and hardcore gamers somehow find a common ground in the engaging story, mind-bending puzzles and hyper-tense combat.
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This is not exactly Shakespeare, folks, but that's a good thing. 30, 2009 - In "Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time," the latest installment in the popular series, Ratchet, the lovable fox-like Lombax, must save his best friend, Clank, a small hyper-intelligent robot, from the evil Dr.