| Ratchet & Clank | |
|---|---|
North American cover art |
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| Developer(s) | Insomniac Games |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Composer(s) | David Bergeaud |
| Engine | Ratchet & Clank engine Kinetica |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Platformer, Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | DVD |
Ratchet & Clank is a 3D platformer/shooter video game for the PlayStation 2, developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Released in 2002, it is the first game in the Ratchet & Clank series.
The game's plot opens with the anthromorphic character Ratchet meeting the robot Clank on his home planet. Clank discovers that the villainous Chairman Drek of the Blarg race plans to create a new planet for his species, destroying the galaxy in the process. Clank convinces Ratchet to help him in his quest to gain the help of the famous superhero Captain Qwark, but they soon discover that they must save the galaxy on their own.
The game offers a wide range of weapons and gadgets that the player must use to defeat numerous enemies and solve puzzles on a variety of different planets in the fictional "Solana" galaxy. The game also includes several mini-games, such as racing or lock-picking, which the player must complete to proceed. The game was positively received by critics, praising the good graphics and variety of gameplay along with the sci-fi story.
Contents |
In Ratchet & Clank, the main playable character is Ratchet, whom the player controls from a third-person perspective. The player traverses diverse environments with a large collection of unusual gadgets and weapons, using them to defeat enemies and pass obstacles. Up to 35 weapons and gadgets can be bought or found in the game.[4] The player begins the game with only two weapons;[5] the "OmniWrench 8000", a standard melee weapon with a variety of uses, and the Bomb Glove, a short-range grenade thrower. As missions are completed across the game's various planets, more weapons and gadgets become available, including the Blaster (automatic pistol), the Pyrociter (a flame-thrower), and the Suck Cannon (a weapon which sucks up smaller enemies and converts them into projectiles). Weapons are either found, or can be bought with bolts, the game's form of currency.[5] These bolts can be found in crates, along with ammo, or dropped from defeated enemies.[5] The player also needs to buy ammo for most weapons, but a small number can function without the need for ammo.[5] Vendors, which sell weapons and ammo, are situated at strategic points throughout levels.[5] After completing the game, the player may choose to enter "challenge mode", in which the game's difficulty level rises considerably, but all bolts and weapons acquired the first time are carried through. There is also the option to buy "gold weapons", more powerful versions of existing weapons. The game's health system, nanotech,[5] starts at four health bubbles, but upgrades can be purchased, giving the player a total of eight hit points.
Normally, Clank rides on Ratchet's back, acting as a jet-pack or similar device.[5] Occasionally, however, Clank becomes a playable character when Ratchet is unable to explore certain areas. Clank can control "Gadgebots", smaller robots similar to Clank, who perform certain actions for him. Racing, in the form of hoverboard races, appears in the game. Some racing missions are necessary to progress in the game, while others are optional. One level of space combat and a level of flying through the air shooting tankers is also present. Mini-games to unlock doors, extend bridges, or elevate platforms appear in most levels.[5]
On planet Quartu, an assembly line is producing large, destructive robots when suddenly there is an error, and a small, curious robot emerges. The robot encounters a video recording on an infobot. Horrified by its contents, the robot escapes the planet in a spaceship, only to be shot down over the planet Veldin.
On Veldin, a lombax named Ratchet is constructing his spaceship when the robot crash-lands near his home. Ratchet recovers the robot from the wreckage, nicknaming him "Clank". Clank shows Ratchet the infobot, which contains a recording of Chairman Drek of the Blarg race, who explains that his home planet is uninhabitable due to pollution and overpopulation. Drek's solution is to build a new planet for his race by extracting large parts of other planets, destroying them in the process.[6] Fearing that Drek will destroy the galaxy, Clank asks Ratchet to help him find the famous superhero Captain Qwark, in an effort to stop Drek. Ratchet is eager to leave Veldin in his ship, but can't without a vital component: a robotic ignition system. Equipped with a robotic ignition system, Clank starts Ratchet's ship in return for his help.
The two later find Qwark on planet Rilgar. Qwark encourages them to prove their heroic status by completing a dangerous obstacle course on the planet Umbris.[7] After they finish the course, however, Clank leads himself and Ratchet into a trap laid by Qwark, sending the two into a cavern. Here, Qwark reveals that he is working for Drek in order to become the spokesperson for the new Blargian planet.[8] Qwark leaves the two to fight a monstrous Snagglebeast.[9]
After defeating the Snagglebeast, Ratchet becomes increasingly bitter and hostile towards Clank, angry that he let Qwark get the better of them. Clank urges Ratchet to continue their quest to confront Drek, but Ratchet is obsessed with getting revenge on Qwark.[10] Eventually, Ratchet carries out his revenge on Qwark in a space battle.[11] Afterwards, Drek attacks a nearby planet. Witnessing the devastation Drek causes, Ratchet finally understands that he must be stopped and makes amends with Clank, admitting his selfishness in focusing on Qwark.[12]
Combining their efforts, Ratchet and Clank learn that Drek has developed a weapon called the "Deplanetizer". Drek aims to use it to remove Veldin, Ratchet's home planet, from the desired orbit of his newly constructed planet;[13] and this enrages Ratchet.[14] On Veldin, Ratchet and Clank confront Drek, who is about to obliterate the planet. Drek reveals that it was he who polluted the Blargian home planet in the first place, and he plans to do the same to, and make more money from, his new planet after the living space has been purchased.[15] A battle ensues, after which Drek is killed. Ratchet uses the Deplanetizer to destroy Drek's planet, sending meteorites falling towards Veldin. A meteor impact throws both Ratchet and Clank off of the platform; Clank manages to grab onto the ledge and catch Ratchet, but the strain of supporting Ratchet's weight causes heavy damage to Clank's arm.[16] Ratchet offers to repair Clank, and as the game ends they walk off together.[17]
After finishing work on the Spyro the Dragon series, Insomniac originally intended to launch a game codenamed I5 (Insomniac game #5) for the PlayStation 2. The developers, however, were never enthusiastic about it and the idea was dropped after six months. Ratchet & Clank was based on an idea by Brian Hastings, which would feature a space-traveling reptile alien who would collect various weapons as he progressed through the game;[18][19] Ratchet's final form was decided upon after Insomniac considered various terrestrial creatures, including dogs and rats; feline features stood out to the developers because of the associated sense of agility.[20] Another early idea was to have a number of small robots attached to Ratchet, which would perform different functions.[20] However, Insomniac realized that having the three robots was both complicated and created confusion about Ratchet's appearance, leading them to have only one robot, Clank.[20] Very little was cut for the final product, apart from a few weapons and gadgets which "just weren't fun".[19]
Shortly after changing the game from I5 to Ratchet & Clank, Naughty Dog asked Insomniac if they would be interested in sharing the game technology used in Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, asking that Insomniac in turn share with them any improvements that were made. Insomniac agreed, resulting in most of the Ratchet & Clank engine technology being developed in-house by Insomniac, but some very important renderers were those developed by Naughty Dog.[21] Looking back on the agreement, Ted Price said that "Naughty Dog's generosity gave us a huge leg up and allowed us to draw the enormous vistas in the game."[21] Some years later Ted Price clarified Insomniac's stance on engine technology while obliquely mentioning the shared renderers:
"We've always developed all our own technology. It's been a little frustrating in the past for us to hear people say, 'Oh yeah, the Insomniac game is running on the Naughty Dog engine.' People assumed that we were using Naughty Dog's engine for Ratchet, and that was not true. We shared some technology with Naughty Dog way back when, and that was great, but we are a company that puts stock in developing specialized technology and we will continue to do so." -- Ted Price, Independent PlayStation Magazine, September 2006[22]
Pre-production of the game began in late March 2001, with a team of approximately 35 people. The game went into production in November 2001, and by the end of the project the team had grown to 45.[19] The game was first released in North America on November 4, 2002[23] and then in Australia on November 6, 2002.[24] It was later released in PAL regions on November 8, 2002,[3][23] and in Japan on December 3, 2002.[23] In November 2003, Sony added Ratchet & Clank to their Greatest hits series of games for the PlayStation 2,[23] and the game was similarly added to Sony's Platinum Range used in the PAL region on August 22, 2003.[23] The game was added to Japan's The Best range on July 3, 2003;[23] it was also the only game to be bundled with the PlayStation 2 in Japan.[18][20]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 89.32%[25] |
| Metacritic | 88/100[26] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Allgame | [27] |
| Computer and Video Games | 8/10[28] |
| Eurogamer | 8/10[29] |
| Game Informer | 9.75/10[30] |
| GamePro | [31] |
| GameSpot | 9/10[32] |
| GameSpy | 78/100[33] |
| GameZone | 9/10[34] |
| IGN | 9.2/10[35] |
| Official PlayStation Magazine (US) | 10/10[36] |
| Gameplanet | [37] |
Ratchet & Clank was met with generally favorable reviews.[26] After playing a preview of the game, GameSpot described it as having "excellent graphics, varied gameplay, and tight control[s]".[38] The game's use of weapons, rather than simple melee attacks, was cited as one of the main features that made it stand out from other platform games;[27][34] Computer and Video Games said that "Going berserk with your giant ratchet [...] is seriously satisfying [...] Every time you thump an enemy with the hefty tool, it looks, sounds and feels remarkably solid. [...] What's more, the same can be said for all the other weapons you collect and use over the course of your intergalactic adventure".[28] GameSpot noted that the player doesn't need to follow the same paths multiple times, as was common in platformers at the time.[32] Gameplanet said that it was "Quite simply the best platform game on the PS2 right now and possibly the best on any format!"[37]
Reviewers praised the game's graphics, specifically pointing out the character and background designs as being high-quality for PS2 games of the time.[29] GameSpy called the graphics "mind-blowing",[33] and GameSpot praised the game's smooth frame rate.[32] GameZone noted the animation of Ratchet, praising the details in his animation.[34] Reviewers found that the game's voice overs and other audio elements were generally well done.[35] IGN commented on the game's artificial intelligence, saying that it wasn't as well done as that of Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, but still "purposefully comic and somewhat sophisticated" in others.[35] Gameplanet felt that the game's levels were well laid-out.[37]
Criticism was aimed at the game's camera angles, which Eurogamer felt were "idiotic" at times, giving the example of boss fights in which the camera centers on the boss rather than being freely movable.[29] Allgame found that it was hard to form an emotional bond with Ratchet & Clank's main characters, saying that Ratchet is "your typical teenager [...] who desires nothing more than excitement and adventure" and that Clank is "the stereotypical intellectual; stuffy and almost prudish to a fault", feeling instead that the characters of Jak and Daxter from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy were "infinitely more likeable."[27] Some criticisms were also aimed at the story, with GameSpy saying that the game became predictable, boring and "just bland".[33] Reviewers also noted that the first half of the game was "yawn inducing", but once the player reaches planet Rilgar it becomes much more intense and difficult;[30] GamePro found that the player doesn't "engage a single thought process" for the first parts of the game.[31]
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