F.G.M: Ratchet & Clank

Syed Fawad · July 4th, 2003

Reviewing a platformer is something that I am not good at unless of course it is a Sonic platformer.
However, this one had something which I liked but still not enough for me to start liking this genre again.

Presentation
A touch of humour in every department makes the presentation of this game right there amongst the very best platfomers out there.The opening and plot is much better than that of Sonic's DC series. Heck even the "Press start button to continue" screen is not boring.

The cut scenes are of course are all rendered in real time which of course is something that I REALLLY love. And that siad, it has some of the best scenes that I have seen in a platformer. This game will definetly bring a smile to your face even in your lowest moments

Excellent presentation, no loading times, auto saving, easy navigation, well designed map almost perfection acheived.
9.5/10

Graphics
When somebody sez that if GT3 is using 30% of PS2's HW resources then Ratchet uses 50%, he is right.
The screenshots, clips just don't do justice to this game. No Aliasing problems, no framedrop, FPS dead stuck at 60, awesome special effects, Varying textures, magnificient animation of Ratchet's and Clank's moves. Plus the facial animation and overall animation is superbly done. You'll realize that once you see this game in motion.
Something that impressed me most. When you reach planter Kerwan, you see entire hover vehicel traffic roaming across the skies. Plus the draw distance is almost FULL! And there is NO loading! I donno know how they did that....
At least 12 vehiceles moving at the same time in the skies, plus other things moving here and there and not even a frame drop and extremely clean and crisp graphics. Impressive stuff.
9.8/10

Gameplay
No matter how good the gameplay is, I just can't seem to get the grip of platformers other than Sonic. In R&C, there were numerous moments where I wanted to do a spin and go super sonic through the entire beautfull planet slicing anything getting in my way but alas, this is Ratchet and no Sonic (even though he tries to sound like Sonic, may be that's just my imagination).
But those who like platformers will LOVE this game. The arsenal of weapons is huge including the upgrades and these are cool and funny too. Heck, a few weapons are even bigger than Ratchet himself! which gives a funny looks and the "opening up" of weapons is also fine. Much attention have been paid to almost everything....
Ratchet has a number of moves plus his ol' trusty wrench is ever usefull. He can jump, flip, kinda split jump and by "upgrading" clank into a chopper he can glide as well!
Not to mention the jet pack is also cool. The hoverboard race was a nice touch too, but it was quite simple. Perhaps that is how it was meant to be. There is another weapon called "Rip you a new one" which I haven't tried myself as I can't afford it yet. My favourite weapon so far is the suck cannon.

9.5/10

Story
The story is as wacky and humurous as it can get. I mean, a leader of a planet named Drek is having trouble with over population so he deceded to take the good lands of other planets and merge them into another planet (or his planet; kinda forgot that part). But the other planets will be destroyed in the process about Drek doesn't give a damn

So how is it upto Ratchet to save the day? no it is not upto Ratchet. It is upto the Super Hero of that Solar System. But he is unaware and Clank must somehow convey tis news to him. Of course the story goes in a slight different direction fromthere and believe me, it has quite a number of funny scenes. In fact, all the cut scenes that I have seen involve humour and have made me smile.
Besides, how many platformers allows you to travel from planet to planet to save the Universe? And even if they do, this one is more fun

9.5/10

replayability
I don't like platforms in general. Heck I haven't even plyed through R&C once and I am not sure that I will either. Playing it again, except to show it to a friend, I may not.
I am not sure how other pltformer lovers think about it. Thee are some gold bolts to collect but these things don't interest me....
4/10

overall score
8.5/10
Above average? yes
Something special? perhaps not....
Let's see what R&C2 shapes up to be. It is blending two genres that I don't like. RPGs and platforms

__________________

Asus K8N (nForce3)
AMD64 3000+ (754)
768MB DDR 400MHz (PC 3200)
nVidia Geforce 6600GT 128MB (AGP)

Aquamark3 - 53,000

"Good friends mustn't always be together. It is the feeling of oneness when distant that proves a lasting friendship"

**Razor Blade** · July 4th, 2003

I bought Ratchet and Clank and love it. I must say this is a great game. One of the many great titles from PS2. I would agree with you Fawad. The only thing I didnt like was how it was over so soon but it has some good replay value to it.

__________________

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHz ● NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS ● 2GB DDR2 RAM
Hitachi 120GB HD ● Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive ● Windows Vista Home
Premium ● Dell 2007WFP LCD ● Dell XPS M1330 Laptop ● 1TB Western
Digital MyBook External HD ● Logitech Z10 Speakers ● PLAYSTATION 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Syed Fawad · July 5th, 2003

How do you kill the boss in the blarg station?

__________________

Asus K8N (nForce3)
AMD64 3000+ (754)
768MB DDR 400MHz (PC 3200)
nVidia Geforce 6600GT 128MB (AGP)

Aquamark3 - 53,000

"Good friends mustn't always be together. It is the feeling of oneness when distant that proves a lasting friendship"

**Razor Blade** · July 5th, 2003

Well I actually beat the game with my brother. He killed like all the bosses. And I did all the on foot things. Refresh my memory to who it was because I watched him kill most of the bosses.

Then I can ask him.

__________________

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHz ● NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS ● 2GB DDR2 RAM
Hitachi 120GB HD ● Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive ● Windows Vista Home
Premium ● Dell 2007WFP LCD ● Dell XPS M1330 Laptop ● 1TB Western
Digital MyBook External HD ● Logitech Z10 Speakers ● PLAYSTATION 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Syed Fawad · July 5th, 2003

Well, it was the giant robotic crab like thing....

__________________

Asus K8N (nForce3)
AMD64 3000+ (754)
768MB DDR 400MHz (PC 3200)
nVidia Geforce 6600GT 128MB (AGP)

Aquamark3 - 53,000

"Good friends mustn't always be together. It is the feeling of oneness when distant that proves a lasting friendship"

July 4th, 2003	#1 (permalink)
Syed Fawad -PM to advertise here- Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: In an average country of an average planet of the solar system of an average star of an average galaxy of an average cluster. Still not average... Posts: 8,260	F.G.M: Ratchet & Clank Reviewing a platformer is something that I am not good at unless of course it is a Sonic platformer. However, this one had something which I liked but still not enough for me to start liking this genre again. Presentation A touch of humour in every department makes the presentation of this game right there amongst the very best platfomers out there.The opening and plot is much better than that of Sonic's DC series. Heck even the "Press start button to continue" screen is not boring. The cut scenes are of course are all rendered in real time which of course is something that I REALLLY love. And that siad, it has some of the best scenes that I have seen in a platformer. This game will definetly bring a smile to your face even in your lowest moments Excellent presentation, no loading times, auto saving, easy navigation, well designed map almost perfection acheived. 9.5/10 Graphics When somebody sez that if GT3 is using 30% of PS2's HW resources then Ratchet uses 50%, he is right. The screenshots, clips just don't do justice to this game. No Aliasing problems, no framedrop, FPS dead stuck at 60, awesome special effects, Varying textures, magnificient animation of Ratchet's and Clank's moves. Plus the facial animation and overall animation is superbly done. You'll realize that once you see this game in motion. Something that impressed me most. When you reach planter Kerwan, you see entire hover vehicel traffic roaming across the skies. Plus the draw distance is almost FULL! And there is NO loading! I donno know how they did that.... At least 12 vehiceles moving at the same time in the skies, plus other things moving here and there and not even a frame drop and extremely clean and crisp graphics. Impressive stuff. 9.8/10 Gameplay No matter how good the gameplay is, I just can't seem to get the grip of platformers other than Sonic. In R&C, there were numerous moments where I wanted to do a spin and go super sonic through the entire beautfull planet slicing anything getting in my way but alas, this is Ratchet and no Sonic (even though he tries to sound like Sonic, may be that's just my imagination). But those who like platformers will LOVE this game. The arsenal of weapons is huge including the upgrades and these are cool and funny too. Heck, a few weapons are even bigger than Ratchet himself! which gives a funny looks and the "opening up" of weapons is also fine. Much attention have been paid to almost everything.... Ratchet has a number of moves plus his ol' trusty wrench is ever usefull. He can jump, flip, kinda split jump and by "upgrading" clank into a chopper he can glide as well! Not to mention the jet pack is also cool. The hoverboard race was a nice touch too, but it was quite simple. Perhaps that is how it was meant to be. There is another weapon called "Rip you a new one" which I haven't tried myself as I can't afford it yet. My favourite weapon so far is the suck cannon. 9.5/10 Story The story is as wacky and humurous as it can get. I mean, a leader of a planet named Drek is having trouble with over population so he deceded to take the good lands of other planets and merge them into another planet (or his planet; kinda forgot that part). But the other planets will be destroyed in the process about Drek doesn't give a damn So how is it upto Ratchet to save the day? no it is not upto Ratchet. It is upto the Super Hero of that Solar System. But he is unaware and Clank must somehow convey tis news to him. Of course the story goes in a slight different direction fromthere and believe me, it has quite a number of funny scenes. In fact, all the cut scenes that I have seen involve humour and have made me smile. Besides, how many platformers allows you to travel from planet to planet to save the Universe? And even if they do, this one is more fun 9.5/10 replayability I don't like platforms in general. Heck I haven't even plyed through R&C once and I am not sure that I will either. Playing it again, except to show it to a friend, I may not. I am not sure how other pltformer lovers think about it. Thee are some gold bolts to collect but these things don't interest me.... 4/10 overall score 8.5/10 Above average? yes Something special? perhaps not.... Let's see what R&C2 shapes up to be. It is blending two genres that I don't like. RPGs and platforms __________________ Asus K8N (nForce3) AMD64 3000+ (754) 768MB DDR 400MHz (PC 3200) nVidia Geforce 6600GT 128MB (AGP) Aquamark3 - 53,000 "Good friends mustn't always be together. It is the feeling of oneness when distant that proves a lasting friendship"

July 4th, 2003	#2 (permalink)
Razor Blade Locked and Loaded Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I AM CANADIAN! Posts: 12,032	Re: F.G.M: Ratchet & Clank I bought Ratchet and Clank and love it. I must say this is a great game. One of the many great titles from PS2. I would agree with you Fawad. The only thing I didnt like was how it was over so soon but it has some good replay value to it. __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHz ● NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS ● 2GB DDR2 RAM Hitachi 120GB HD ● Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive ● Windows Vista Home Premium ● Dell 2007WFP LCD ● Dell XPS M1330 Laptop ● 1TB Western Digital MyBook External HD ● Logitech Z10 Speakers ● PLAYSTATION 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 5th, 2003	#3 (permalink)
Syed Fawad -PM to advertise here- Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: In an average country of an average planet of the solar system of an average star of an average galaxy of an average cluster. Still not average... Posts: 8,260	Re: F.G.M: Ratchet & Clank How do you kill the boss in the blarg station? __________________ Asus K8N (nForce3) AMD64 3000+ (754) 768MB DDR 400MHz (PC 3200) nVidia Geforce 6600GT 128MB (AGP) Aquamark3 - 53,000 "Good friends mustn't always be together. It is the feeling of oneness when distant that proves a lasting friendship"

July 5th, 2003	#4 (permalink)
Razor Blade Locked and Loaded Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I AM CANADIAN! Posts: 12,032	Re: F.G.M: Ratchet & Clank Well I actually beat the game with my brother. He killed like all the bosses. And I did all the on foot things. Refresh my memory to who it was because I watched him kill most of the bosses. Then I can ask him. __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHz ● NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS ● 2GB DDR2 RAM Hitachi 120GB HD ● Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive ● Windows Vista Home Premium ● Dell 2007WFP LCD ● Dell XPS M1330 Laptop ● 1TB Western Digital MyBook External HD ● Logitech Z10 Speakers ● PLAYSTATION 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 5th, 2003	#5 (permalink)
Syed Fawad -PM to advertise here- Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: In an average country of an average planet of the solar system of an average star of an average galaxy of an average cluster. Still not average... Posts: 8,260	Re: F.G.M: Ratchet & Clank Well, it was the giant robotic crab like thing.... __________________ Asus K8N (nForce3) AMD64 3000+ (754) 768MB DDR 400MHz (PC 3200) nVidia Geforce 6600GT 128MB (AGP) Aquamark3 - 53,000 "Good friends mustn't always be together. It is the feeling of oneness when distant that proves a lasting friendship"

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