Well, dust off that PS2 and toss $20 at your locak retailer. Ratchet and Clank rock the ....well you know. Recently I had $15 and a coupon burning a hole in my pocket, so I decided to grab me a greatest hit game and get some cheap gaming. I decided to find out what all the fuss was about Ratchet and Clank on the PS2. I figured that the first game would be a little rough, and the latest one is full price, but number 2 is a little gem at $19.99, so it won out.
Summary
3D action/platform game with fun graphics, constant action and more guns than you can shake a BFG at. With good in-game graphics, cut scenes that are polished and a sense of humor that rises above the bland and campy standard set in most platform games, Going Commando has style. In the end, apart from very rare graphics glitches, related to camera movement and the occasional clipping problem the game is very solid and I'd go with about 8.5 out of 10.
Big Guns, small robot
The game stars Ratchet a kind of upright walking alien cat creature with 'tude, and Clank. Clank is Ratchet's side kick and straight man. Clank spends most of the game riding around on Ratchet's back providing some accessories that allow Ratchet to glide, fly and hover.
The game has our heros our on an adventure trying to track down a thief. No spoilers on the story here, such as it is, needless to say everything is alright in the end.
There are about two dozen game worlds in this game, space battles, hover bike races and the battle arena where you can take out your frustrations on the world.
Progress through the game is quite linear, though you can revisit any world you've previously been to. There are so many kinds of enemies for you to shoot/whack/smack that I can't even begin to name them all. Each planet has a definite look of it's own, and specific creatures that make up enemies and monster roster for the action. You collect golden bolts as you go, each time you kill an enemy you get more bolts. With these you can buy guns, ammo, armor and upgrades. Your ship is upgradeable, and with special platinum bolts you can upgrade your weapons with special abilities.
The mini games break things up nicely. My favorite of these is the hover bike race which is well done and reminds you of Wipeout crossed with the original pod racer game.
The graphics are cartoony, and well done. The backgrounds are gorgeous and feature a lot of moving objects that truly seem to fit. Many of the items in the environment are destructable.
The graphics are not Toy Story quality, but they're good, really good. The animations are smooth and the game world has a solid, real feel to it. There are more weapons than I can mention here. I particularly liked the bounce gun, the Ryno gun (for sheer devastation) the Sheepinator for utter stupidity (it turns your enemies into Sheep).
Once you've beaten the game you can replay it in 'challenge' mode. In Challenge mode you get more powerful weapons and face more numerous and more powerful foes, although the game is the same game.
Once thing to look out for is the Black Sheepinator. This is an upgraded Sheepinator that turns your foes into Sheep. When an enemy turns into a black sheep, it turns on your enemies and explodes causing damage. Kewl.
OK, this is a Teen game, it's cartoony graphics and what not are easy on the eye and there is no gore. However you have a sniper's rifle and routinely take long distance head shots at vaguely humanoid guards. So, even though it appears to be a game that younger kids can play, you might want to preview it first. I would stick the the teen rating.
I like the game, it has an addictive quality, once you start challenge mode, you can't stop, and I want that Black Sheepinator!
Ratchet and Clank have gone on to their next installment which deepens the game by adding online play. The online mode has death match, cooperative play and capture the flag modes (a la Halo, imagine a cartoony version of Halo). Aparently the upcoming fourth game in the series takes this even further. Look forward to it, if the graphics and sound are as good as this game, and the game mechanics work well, it should be a great game.
Insomniac games, the publisher, is also resposible for the Spyro games, and there are some influences here from that game. Not least the sheepinator. Having all those sheep standing around reminds me of the Spyro games.
Ratchet and Clank rock. If you like fun, kinda cartoony, action/platform games, then go get this, it's a bargain.
~Highlander
Overall:
Here's a link to IGN's review/preview/FAQ page for the game. Ratchet and Clank going Commando
3D action/platform game with fun graphics, constant action and more guns than you can shake a BFG at. With good in-game graphics, cut scenes that are polished and a sense of humor that rises above the bland and campy standard set in most platform games, Going Commando has style. In the end, apart from very rare graphics glitches, related to camera movement and the occasional clipping problem the game is very solid and I'd go with about 8.5 out of 10.
Big Guns, small robot
The game has our heros our on an adventure trying to track down a thief. No spoilers on the story here, such as it is, needless to say everything is alright in the end.
There are about two dozen game worlds in this game, space battles, hover bike races and the battle arena where you can take out your frustrations on the world.
Progress through the game is quite linear, though you can revisit any world you've previously been to. There are so many kinds of enemies for you to shoot/whack/smack that I can't even begin to name them all. Each planet has a definite look of it's own, and specific creatures that make up enemies and monster roster for the action. You collect golden bolts as you go, each time you kill an enemy you get more bolts. With these you can buy guns, ammo, armor and upgrades. Your ship is upgradeable, and with special platinum bolts you can upgrade your weapons with special abilities.
The mini games break things up nicely. My favorite of these is the hover bike race which is well done and reminds you of Wipeout crossed with the original pod racer game.
The graphics are cartoony, and well done. The backgrounds are gorgeous and feature a lot of moving objects that truly seem to fit. Many of the items in the environment are destructable.
The graphics are not Toy Story quality, but they're good, really good. The animations are smooth and the game world has a solid, real feel to it. There are more weapons than I can mention here. I particularly liked the bounce gun, the Ryno gun (for sheer devastation) the Sheepinator for utter stupidity (it turns your enemies into Sheep).
Once you've beaten the game you can replay it in 'challenge' mode. In Challenge mode you get more powerful weapons and face more numerous and more powerful foes, although the game is the same game.
Once thing to look out for is the Black Sheepinator. This is an upgraded Sheepinator that turns your foes into Sheep. When an enemy turns into a black sheep, it turns on your enemies and explodes causing damage. Kewl.
OK, this is a Teen game, it's cartoony graphics and what not are easy on the eye and there is no gore. However you have a sniper's rifle and routinely take long distance head shots at vaguely humanoid guards. So, even though it appears to be a game that younger kids can play, you might want to preview it first. I would stick the the teen rating.
I like the game, it has an addictive quality, once you start challenge mode, you can't stop, and I want that Black Sheepinator!
Ratchet and Clank have gone on to their next installment which deepens the game by adding online play. The online mode has death match, cooperative play and capture the flag modes (a la Halo, imagine a cartoony version of Halo). Aparently the upcoming fourth game in the series takes this even further. Look forward to it, if the graphics and sound are as good as this game, and the game mechanics work well, it should be a great game.
Insomniac games, the publisher, is also resposible for the Spyro games, and there are some influences here from that game. Not least the sheepinator. Having all those sheep standing around reminds me of the Spyro games.
Ratchet and Clank rock. If you like fun, kinda cartoony, action/platform games, then go get this, it's a bargain.
~Highlander
Overall:
85%
Here's a link to IGN's review/preview/FAQ page for the game. Ratchet and Clank going Commando
