Ratchet & Clank
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| Ratchet & Clank | |
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| Developer(s) | Insomniac Games |
| Publisher(s) | SCEA |
| Release date(s) | NA November 7, 2002 EU November 8, 2002 JP December 3, 2002 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer, Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (13+) PEGI: 3+ ELSPA: 3+ OFLC: G8+ |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Media | DVD |
Ratchet & Clank is a platforming and shooting video game for the PlayStation 2. Developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony, it is the first game in the Ratchet & Clank series. It was released in North America on November 7, 2002, and received positive reviews in the gaming press.
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[edit] Storyline
Ratchet is constructing his new vehicle when a spaceship crash-lands near his home. He reaches the wreck and discovers a small robot, who is later called Clank. After watching the infobot Clank found on planet Quartu, Ratchet sets out to the planet of Novalis for more information on Drek's plans. The leader of Novalis lends the duo a ship to travel through the galaxy and from there they track down the whereabouts of Captain Qwark, a galactic superhero that could help Ratchet and Clank to save the solar system. Qwark invites the two to his gauntlet in Umbris, apparently to test their skills in the battlefield. At the end of the level Qwark asks them to step into the ring of heroes. Clank accepts, but Ratchet believes that there's something going on. Clank pulls him in but Qwark reveals himself to be in the same scheme with none other than Drek. Ratchet finds a new ship and they fly off in search for Qwark, putting aside Drek until they find him. After saving countless planets from the Blarg, Ratchet and Clank finally meet up with Qwark again and destroy him and his bomber ship, which crashes on planet Oltanis. When hearing about Drek annihilating more worlds, the duo attempt to catch the villain, only to realise that Veldin, Ratchet's home planet, is under attack. A race against time begins, with Ratchet and Clank stopping Drek just as he was about to blow up Veldin. The galaxy saved and Ratchet and Clank become heroes and more importantly, best friends.
[edit] Setting and characters
[edit] Gameplay
Ratchet and Clank was one of the first to try to shake up the platformer genre by focusing the game not only on making difficult jumps, but also the action and shooting aspects. In addition to shooting, the game includes space dogfights, hoverboard races, grindboot courses, giant robot battles, and swingshot courses (courses where Ratchet swings from node to node using a special grapple-like object). The game also supports a first-person view, but the player cannot move around while in it. Later games in the series allow them to be played like a first-person shooter.
The game (as well as the series) is notorious for weaponry that is often deadly and crazy. Manufactured by Gadgetron, the Solana Galaxy's most popular retail company, these weapons are spread throughout the course of the game. With imaginative abilities such as the electric Tesla Claw, the flame-shooting Pyrocitor, and the all powerful Rip Ya a New One, cleverly dubbed the R.Y.N.O., Ratchet will have to use these if he is ever to survive. Ten of the weapons are able to be upgraded by finding the rare Gold Bolts scattered all over the galaxy, making them even more dangerous! Weapons for this game are the Bomb Glove, Pyrocitor, Blaster, Glove of Doom, Mine Glove, Suck Cannon, Taunter, Devastator, Walloper, Visibomb Gun, Drone Device, Decoy Glove, Tesla Claw, Morph-O-Ray, R.Y.N.O.
[edit] Reception
This game received outstanding reviews from various media sources, and was praised for its graphics, sound and gameplay. It set a benchmark for platforming games, and achieved better sales then any of the Spyro games (Insomniac Games' previous franchise). It is still seen as an amazing game today, and its sequels performed just as well, if not better. The game's humour and originality were second to none at the time. Ratchet & Clank has spawned many an imitator, but no other game has prevailed. Its "rivals", the Jak and Daxter series, is sometimes seen as an equal to the Ratchet & Clank series, but some argue with this statement. It is one of the highest selling series on the PlayStation 2, and its games have spread to the PlayStation Portable, Mobile Phones, and a newly announced sequel on the PlayStation 3.
[edit] Series
There are currently four released sequels to the original Ratchet & Clank game. These include Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet: Deadlocked (released as Ratchet: Gladiator in the PAL regions), and Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile. Each sequel attempts to outdo the others in terms of graphics and variety of levels. Two other sequels are in development. The first is Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters for the Playstation Portable. The other, for the Playstation 3, is not currently named.
