Review: Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Its interesting to note than fans of PlayStation consoles are usually fans of Ratchet and Clank games, even regardless of their age. Ratchet and Clank as a series has always brought family-friendly fun to Sony consoles, yet the E10+ ESRB rating has never managed to make the game unappealing to older or more mature audiences. The reason, simply put, is because Insomniac’s flagship exclusive series brings enough shooter-style action, entertaining puzzles, and pop-culture referencing humor to satisfy even the hungriest of gamers. And no game in the series so far has delivered more on these bullet points than the latest entry titled Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time.

A Crack in Time sees the end of the Future trilogy, and picks up where Tools of Destruction (as well as Quest for Booty) left off – Clank has been abducted by the mysterious Zoni, and Ratchet sets out with Captain Qwark to discover his partner’s location and current status.

The most obvious change to Insomniac’s signature series mechanics is that Ratchet and Clank are operating individually. Clank’s parts of the game are more puzzle-oriented, and his storyline ties into his origins and The Great Clock, a nearly-impossibly-large clock set in the middle of the universe. Ratchet is initially simply looking for Clank, but eventually runs into another Lombax named Alister Azimuth who reveals more about Ratchet and the history of the Lombaxes.

Ratchet’s side of the game takes up the majority of the time spent in A Crack in Time, and is mostly dominated by combat. Ratchet can use a gigantic wrench (the Omniwrench) as a melee weapon against foes as well as use a number of different weapons. The series basic blaster and bomb weapons make a return (albeit with a new twist – I’ll get to that later) alongside 15 other weapons, some new, some familiar to series veterans.

Amongst the new weapons are the Sonic Eruptor, a creature that emits timed sonic blasts to devastate foes, the Dynamo of Doom, a remote-controlled explosive device, the Chimp-O-Matic, a machine designed to turn enemies into chimpanzees, and a very special weapon that calls forth a being from another dimension to engage targets within a specific area. Also noteworthy is the return of the Synthenoid weapon, previously a few small flying robots that would hover around Ratchet and aid in combat, here a singular entity called Mr. Zurkon.

Each weapon handles essentially the same way. Ratchet is able to fire from the hip by locking onto enemies and strafing, and this is likely how most of the combat will play out. For players feeling a bit more zesty, an over-the-shoulder view can be used for increased accuracy.

Three special weapons in the game – a blaster, a bomb-tossing glove, and a shotgun – are labeled as Constructo weapons, and their abilities and attributes can be modified by finding Constructo Mods throughout the universe. Available modifications go by separate groups: Trigger (or Barrel), Payload, Upgrade, and Paint. Paint allows the player to customize how the weapons look from various pre-set schematics as well as selecting an entirely-custom paint scheme. Trigger or Barrel changes type of delivery from each weapon, Payload alters how weapons deal their damage, and Upgrade is used to various effects from anything to adding explosive charges to bullets, shooting blasts skywards to damage airborne targets, or coating shrapnel in toxic poison.

The ability to modify these Constructo weapons at first seems a bit gimmicky, but as later upgrades become available, even these basic (and relatively underpowered) offensive gadgets become more useful than some of the end-game weapons. Players can customize their blaster to anything from charged long-distance explosive sniping shots to rapid-fire ricocheting laser beams, allowing Ratchet to take down enemies in any manner he may find most useful.

The idea of fighting however a player likes must have been a central theme during the development of A Crack in Time. Players have the option of strafing and jumping around while littering the battlefield with flying, ricocheting, explosiding weapons (which is my preferred method); but a more elusive, defensive player is able to create a perimeter with the Tesla Spikes, throw out a Groovitron Bomb to confuse their foes, and lead a distant attack with the Plasma Striker or Dynamo of Doom. Or they could just do both. There isn’t a limit to how it can be played with the options available.

Unfortunately, a few of the weapons won’t be seeing much time in combat. The Buzz Blades are beginning to lose their offensive value, especially relative to the Constructo weapons, and the MagNet Launcher doesn’t really pin down enemies long enough to justify switching to it.

Combat itself takes place usually between and sometimes during Ratchet’s platforming segments. Most of the locations are different planets, each offering a distinct style of flora and fauna and traversable terrain. Each of the planets are lush and full of detail, staying true to the Ratchet and Clank formula.

Somewhat early in the game Ratchet is given a new gadget called Hoverboots. These boots allow Ratchet to quickly move around some of the larger levels as well as conquer large jumps from various distances. The Hoverboots are quite obviously well-matched with the Grindboots from previous titles, providing quick-moving platforming segments that enable players to reach higher and further across stages than the series has seen before.

Another new addition to the core experience is the space exploration. Space combat was featured in Tools of Destruction, but its execution was a little more towards the on-rails shooter type than was to be expected from an otherwise open game. In A Crack in Time, players are tossed into an open spatial arena with various planets, ships, floating islands, and moons to explore. Quests can be tackled from locals found on the docking bays, specific moons, as well as some found stranded in space. Moons see the return of Going Commando’s spherical levels (and yes, Ratchet and Clank pulled them off long before Super Mario Galaxy) and are host to most of the collectibles in the game, most notably the Zoni and Golden Bolts.

Of all of the new elements incorporated into A Crack in Time, I think the moons are my favorite. Though a few of the moons are essentially just open levels with a set number of enemies to kill before a reward is unlocked, the rest are highly-specialized platforming arenas. Towards the end of the game, players will be dashing with the Hoverboots over ramps and quickly switching to the Swingshot in order to land on moving platforms suspended huge distances above the lunar surfaces. I haven’t had a more satisfying platforming experience than these moons have delivered in years, not since the likes of Super Mario 64. And that is saying a lot. The technical payoff for these levels are the same as the rest, a new Constructo mod, a Gold Bolt, or a new Zoni, but I prefer to think of the moons as rewards in and of themselves.

While tying into the overall storyline, the Zoni do unlock upgrades for Ratchet’s ship Aphelion, which allow him to complete more quests and more easily take down baddies in the revamped space combat. Gold Bolts don’t really tie into the story, but they unlock new costumes and have their requisite trophy.

On the other side of the game is Clank, whose gameplay mostly consists of various kinds of puzzles. The dominant trait in Clank’s mechanics are the new time-based puzzles, utilizing recorded actions layered over on another to depress switches to activate elevators, platforms, and eventually the doorway to the exit. These puzzles are unique and challenging, giving a strong sense of Clank’s previously-untapped powers. Clank is also able to utilize his new time sceptre to not only bludgeon enemies, but to restore unstable anomalies (“cracks”) in time across several planets.

As always, A Crack in Time delivers wholly on the familiar universe, characters, and distinct humor that has become a trademark of Insomniac’s well-loved series. Captain Qwark’s and Dr. Nefarious’ voice actors do a phenomenal job, the music is suitable for each and every mood the game aims to instill, and the overall polish level is far above the average fare. Particularly noteworthy among the audible traits of the game are the Fongoids, a race of horned beings who have a very peculiar and quirky manner of speaking.

The graphics employed aren’t of the most realistic nature available in other titles, but they aren’t really meant to be. Each world has its own feel, somewhat natural, somewhat alien, and creatures and machines have an unquestionably large amount of detail. And, of course, the entire game runs at an exceptionally-smooth framerate.

It really is the sum of the small things that makes Ratchet and Clank titles so enjoyable, and A Crack in Time is no exception to this rule. Everything in the game offers a reward, be it from any and all destructible items showering the player in bolts, to constantly earning upgrades, modifications, skill points for unlockables (of which there are many), to even the basic experience and Nanotech. Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time is, simply put, one of the most holistically entertaining video games available on the PlayStation 3.

Doin It RIGHT: - Wonderful, well-detailed graphics. - Great platforming and puzzle segments. - Well-rounded story and score. - Constructo weapons are a lot of fun.	Doin It RONG: - The game is a bit on the short side. - Some of the weapons are less useful than others.
FINAL SCORE: 9.5 / 10