Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet & Clank is a series of 3D platform/shooter video games. The franchise has been developed primarily by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and soon for the PlayStation 3 video game systems. The series is noted for the inclusion of many exotic and unique weapons and gadgets.
Setting
Ratchet and Clank takes place in a science fiction setting, where faster-than-light travel from planet to planet and across galaxies is readily available. Numerous biological and robotic species populate these worlds, some which range from highly developed metropolises to those filled with primordial ooze.
The games focus on Ratchet, a Lombax from the planet Veldin, who is a master of gadgetry and always carries around a large wrench. The series opens with him finding Clank, a diminutive robot that has fled and crash landed on Veldin because of information that he has learned. The two become partners in their efforts to stop the destruction of Veldin, and then subsequently, to halt other evil forces that mean to bring harm to the galaxies. Through their travels, they are helped and sometimes hampered by the assistance of Captain Qwark, a celebrity superhero persona who is shown to be a sham throughout the series.
Lombaxes
A Lombax is a fictional species from the series. Only one character in the series is a Lombax, and that is Ratchet. (Angela Cross, despite what she looks like, is not a Lombax.[1]) Lombaxes are completely covered in yellow, velvety fur, with orange stripes running down much of the body. They are bipedal but their facial features are similar to those of a domestic cat. Lombaxes have large triangular feet with three claws on each foot, as well as large hands with four fingers and a thumb on each. This makes them different from most other species in the Ratchet & Clank universe, such as the Blarg, which traditionally have two fingers and a thumb per hand and feet with two toes. Insomniac has gone on record stating that Sasha and the Galactic President (From Up Your Arsenal) are not Lombaxes, but are instead a species known as Cazares.[2] Cazares are tall, bipedal, fox like creatures with brown fur and fox like ears and noses. They, however, have the same number of fingers and thumbs as Lombaxes. It's unknown if their feet are the same.
Characters
The main characters in the series are Ratchet, a Lombax mechanic from the planet Veldin, and his robot sidekick Clank, who was originally designed for destruction but works for the good side because of an error in his manufacturing process and is a complete genius in most cases. The player controls Ratchet for a majority of each game, though certain missions will require the player to directly control Clank. Otherwise, Clank sits on Ratchet's back (like a backpack) and is used to provide useful jumping, hovering, and diving abilities through various upgrades. These upgrades were given over the course of the first game, but Clank keeps them through the later ones. Another character common to the series is Captain Qwark, an ego-driven, fake superhero that may help or hinder Ratchet and Clank's missions.
Gameplay
Each of the games in the Ratchet & Clank series have had a number of common elements, with later entries improving upon these elements. The gameplay in these games are some of the best ever devised for an action/platformer. The weapons are notably interesting while each planet is unique in its own way.
In both graphics and gameplay, the series is similar to the Jak and Daxter series, also published by Sony. All of the PlayStation 2 Ratchet & Clank games run on a modified version of the engine used in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
The series is primarily a 3D platformer in the third-person perspective, while later games have skewed increasingly towards a more shooting-based gameplay mechanic, with the option of playing the game similar to a first-person shooter added in as well.
Each game is divided into a number of worlds, with Ratchet and Clank exploring each to discover the location of new worlds as part of the game's plot, leading to a final boss battle. Worlds typically have two or more missions available to complete, but some missions may be impossible until the player acquires specific gadgets that are available in later missions. Except in a few cases, the player always has the ability to return to any world previously visited as needed.
Ratchet begins each game with his standard melee attack, using his oversized but versatile wrench, but the game has become known for a wide array of exotic, powerful, and occasionally humorous weapons, ranging from pistols and rocket launchers to vacuum cannons and rayguns that turn enemies into ducks. Weapons generally have one specific function, including use for close combat, long distance targeting, area effects, and the like, each with its own limitations on power, ammo capacity, range, and firing rate. Some weapons also provide defensive abilities, such as one that creates a temporary decoy to draw in enemy fire. Although the exact mix of weapons, as well as their names and designs, varies, a number of basic archetypes are usually found in most games:
- A rapid-firing gun
- A bomb-tossing weapon
- A missile launcher
- A sniper rifle
- A hard hitting shotgun
- A gun that transforms enemies into animals
- A gun that fires disk projectiles
There is one extremely powerful, extremely expensive weapon in each game, typically a variant of the "R.Y.N.O" (Rip Ya a New One), a multiple-target rocket launcher. As the use of this weapon is unbalancing to gameplay (the final boss can be defeated in mere seconds when using this weapon), it is usually either not available the first time a player goes through the game, or so expensive that the player is generally not able to afford it until they start a second playthrough.
Weapons can also be upgraded over the course of the game. These upgrades make the weapon more powerful/effective, and often add new abilities to the weapon. In the first game, this was achieved by finding Gold Bolts throughout the game worlds, and using them to purchase the "Gold" versions of each weapon. From the second game onward, weapons gained their own experience as they were used to destroy enemies, and would upgrade into their more powerful form on their own. Each game added additional levels to the advancement of the weapons.
Another trademark of the game is a wide array of gadgets, which help Ratchet pass through certain areas in each map. Like the weapons, these vary in shape, number, and use, but with a number of common abilities, mainly a grappling hook that allows Ratchet to swing or grapple onto certain objects, a device that uses a minigame to unlock doors, and boots that allow him to grind on rails or walk up certain walls.
Weapons and gadgets can be acquired by either purchasing them at vendor machines, or by completing specific missions. For instance, the Morph-o-Ray is found in the destroyed remains of Gorda City and the Sheepinator is found on Planet Todano. In later games, weapons from earlier games can be obtained, for free if the player has already completed those games validated by the saved game.
There are also numerous side games in addition to the usual platforming elements. These have included hoverboard races, hoverbike races, space fighter battles, giant robot combat, and arena combat. The player is usually required to win at least one of these to progress in the plot, but they can return and attempt more difficult objectives to earn additional rewards. Additionally, some of the gadgets (typically those to open locked doors or other barriers) have featured logic or timing mini-games that must be completed.
A common game play element with Clank is the ability to control mini-drones on special levels. These drones can attack foes or help to remove or overcome obstacles in Clank's path. These drones, known as Gadgebots (or Micro Bots in Going Commando, due to the circumstances of Gadgetron not being in the Bogon Galaxy for years), have 4 commands that can be selected from a menu by pressing Triangle: Wait, follow Clank, attack enemies or obstacles, or enter a bot port. Going Commando introduced the Bridge Bot, Lifter Bot, and Hammer Bot. The Bridge Bot makes a bridge between gaps, the Lifter Bot lifts a barrier (the Lifter Bot is only used once in the game), and the Hammer Bot hammers unstable-looking crates and teeter-totter platforms.
Bolts are used as a unit of currency in the game, and are dropped by defeated foes, found in crates scattered about the levels or by destroying parts of the world environment, or awards for completing certain tasks. Bolts are used to buy new weapons , ammo, and armor at vending machines, usually located near the start of each world and at key mid-level locations. The games feature a limited number of special bolts (Gold, Platinum or Titanium Bolts) that are usually in hidden or difficult-to-reach locations that can be used to improve existing weapons or buy new skins. In addition to crates with bolts, there are also crates with weapon ammo which is randomly generated but nearly always of an ammo type that the player is low on, explosive crates which can be used tacticly to hurt foes from a distance, and Nanotech crates that can restore the player's health.
Later games in the series feature a simple experience system which apply to both Ratchet (as to increase health levels) and to weapons (to increase their power), with experience points awards for defeated foes.
Skill Points are another feature found in the series, the concept having been introduced in Insomniac's own earlier Spyro the Dragon titles and subsequently used in Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man. These are tasks that the player is not told specifically how to complete, but instead only given the name of the world it can be completed on and the title of the task. However, when the task is completed, the player is informed that they earned a skill point, and can check again to see what that point actually was. Typical Skill Points involve defeating certain enemies using only Ratchet's wrench, completing certain areas (such as grind rail sequences or boss fights) without taking a hit, or acts of mass destruction against non-essential targets. Skill points are typically used to unlock additional content from the game.
Each game has a special challenge mode which the player can access after completing the game once. While some gadgets and weapons carry over in this mode, ones critical to the game's plot have to be reacquired such as those that open locked doors. The enemies in challenge mode are usually tougher, but the player has the ability to increase the power of their weapons even more beyond what was possible in the first run through of the game. However, some upgrades take a considerable number of bolts (in the millions) to obtain, though challenge mode typically includes a Bolt Multiplier, which enables the player to collect bolts at a much faster rate as he defeats more enemies as long as the player does not take damage.
Games
Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet & Clank was released on November 4, 2002 in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 2. In the game, Chairman Drek plans to take pieces of different planets across the Solana Galaxy and create one new planet for his people, the Blarg. Aside from the two protagonists, the game also introduces Captain Qwark, who appears in the following games.
Ratchet & Clank was the first Western game to be bundled in with the PlayStation 2 in Japan, but there were a few changes made to make it more popular. Ratchet's eyes are more of an anime style, and he was given large eyebrows.
Going Commando
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked & Loaded in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand) was released on November 11, 2003 in North America for the PlayStation 2. There are many improvements over the first game, in that weapons, and also Ratchet's spaceship, can be modified. Going Commando also introduced strafing to gameplay. The game takes place in a different setting than the first game, this time in the Bogon Galaxy. In going commando Ratchet hoverbike races, and has space ship battles. The Story in this chapter is about megacorp boss Abercrombie Fizzwidget trying to make his invention the "protopet" galaxy-wide, a mix up of who is the 'badguy' leaves Ratchet & Clank stranded on a Desert Planet, in the end they discover Fizzwidget is an imposter and the imposter is a familiar face. Ratchet's personality is drastically different in Going Commando, since many people complained about his attitude in the first game.
Up Your Arsenal
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (UYA for short, Ratchet & Clank 3 in the UK and Europe) was released on November 2, 2004 in North America for the PlayStation 2. UYA improves on Going Commando by adding more weapons and mods, the upgrade system was modified so that weapons upgraded four times through their first playthrough. The weapons in this game inspire more imagination for the player providing many ways to obliterate your enemies. The huge number of secrets throughout the game, like the hidden trophies, titanium bolts, and more, add excitement to the gameplay. In Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet and Clank take on Dr. Nefarious in his plan to turn all of the Solana Galaxy population into robots. With the help of Qwark & his Q-Force, they battle against the forces of Dr. Nefarious. Up Your Arsenal is also the first game in the series to offer online competitive multiplayer.
Deadlocked
Ratchet: Deadlocked (Ratchet: Gladiator in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Europe) was released on October 25, 2005 in North America for the PlayStation 2. Ratchet: Deadlocked deviates from the previous installments of the series by reducing the platforming and puzzle elements and focusing on the shooting aspects. In Deadlocked, Ratchet,Clank and Al are captured and forced to compete in an underground sport called 'Dreadzone' run by the media mogul Gleeman Vox. For the first time in the series, Clank is not a playable character nor accompanies Ratchet on any of the levels. Deadlocked supports online play and a cooperative mode.
Going Mobile
Going Mobile was released in November 2005 only for mobile phones. The game was developed by Handheld Games Corp. for Sony Digital Pictures. Ratchet & Clank are transported into your mobile phone and have to fight their way back out. There are seven weapons available, and eleven levels including the boss. Finally, they have to defeat the main core of the system. Going Mobile is the first 2D Ratchet & Clank installment, specially made for mobile phones under major carriers. There was to be a direct sequel to Going Mobile entitled Clone Home, but it was canceled.
Size Matters
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters was released on February 19, 2007 in North America for the PlayStation Portable. The development was performed by High Impact Games, composed, partially, of former Insomniac Games employees. While on a much needed vacation, Ratchet and Clank's rest and relaxation time is suddenly cut short as they soon find themselves lured into a mysterious quest. Following the trail of a kidnapped girl named Luna, Ratchet and Clank rediscover a forgotten race of genius inventors known as the Technomites. They soon uncover a plot more dangerous than they could have imagined. In this game, Ratchet and Clank use a whole new variety of weapons that may seem familiar to those who have played the series before. The skill points are still in the game and so is the upgrading system.
Future: Tools of Destruction
Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (also known as TOD) will be developed by Insomniac Games, to be released on October 30th, 2007 for the PlayStation 3. At the 2006 Game Developers Conference, a Ratchet & Clank tech demonstration was shown for the PlayStation 3, as a tour around the series planet of Metropolis. This installment, the evil Cragmite known as Emperor Tachyon is after the last few Lombaxes, Ratchet included! The duo escape to a different galaxy, where they discover more about their origins. TOD will feature new weapons and gadgets, as well as stunning and spectacular visuals and all-new gameplay enhancements.
Secret Agent Clank
Announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2007, Secret Agent Clank will be again developed by High Impact Games for the PSP for release in 2008. The game is set to take place between the events of Size Matters and Tools of Destruction and will focus more on Clank as the playable character, due to Ratchet being wrongfully imprisoned and needs rescuing by Clank in his super spy motif suggested from previous games. While Clank can use martial arts action to defend himself, there is the need to use stealth at times to progress in the game.[3] A trailer for the game is available.
Manga
A manga of Ratchet and Clank named Ratchet & Clank: Bang Bang Bang! Critical Danger of the Galaxy Legend (ラチェット＆クランク - ガガガ！銀河のがけっぷち伝説, Ratchet & Clank - Gagaga! Ginga no Gakeppuchi Densetsu) was serialized starting on February 2004 in the Bi-monthly Edition of the Japanese magazine, CoroCoro Comic. It is drawn by Shinbo Nomura, and is currently still being published. The first volume containing the first 12 chapters was released on November 28th, 2005, though further volumes have yet to be scheduled.
Cameos
- Jak II - Ratchet and Clank appear on some of the walls in Haven City.
- Jak 3 - Ratchet and Clank appear as targets in a secret gun course.
- Ape Escape 3 - In the Japanese and European versions of the game if the password "RATCH" or "ginganoraihousha" (depending on which version you have) is typed in a monkey dressed up as Ratchet called "Ape Ratchet" will appear in the TV Space Station level in the secret room.
- Hot Shots Golf Fore! - Jak, Ratchet, Daxter, and Clank appear as additional characters.
- Jak X: Combat Racing - Ratchet appears as a secret racer.
- Sly 2: Band of Thieves - Ratchet and Clank appear on a poster on one of the walls.
- Daxter - Ratchet and Clank masks can be worn throughout the game once found.
- Everybody's Golf - Ratchet and Jak appear as golfers, and Clank and Daxter appear as caddies.
- Resistance: Fall of Man - Clank appears as a unlockable back pack for soldiers.
- Resistance: Fall of Man - "Going Commando" is the name of a medal received after a player has scored 100 node or flag recaptures.
- Resistance: Fall of Man - "Up Your Arsenal" is the name of a medal received after a player has 100 kills with each weapon in online multiplayer.
See also
- Insomniac Games
- High Impact Games
- Resistance: Fall of Man
- Spyro the Dragon (series)
- Jak and Daxter
- Sly Cooper
External links
- The Insomniac Games official website
- Official page (redirects to Sony site)
- The Ratchet & Clank series at NeoSeeker
- Kyzil Plateau (fan website)
- [1] ( Ratchet and clank fansite)
Wiki Guide
- The Ratchet & Clank Wiki A Wikia dedicated to Ratchet & Clank.
References
- ^ Post on the Official Insomniac Games forums by an Insomniac Games employee explaining that Angela is not a Lombax: http://forums.insomniacgames.com/index.php?topic=37795.msg1062019#msg1062019
- ^ Post on the Official Insomniac Games forums by a now ex-Insomniac Games employee describing the "Cazares": http://forums.insomniacgames.com/index.php?topic=3861.msg80534#msg80534
- ^ Haynes, Jeff (2007-09-19). "TGS 2007: Secret Agent Clank First Look". IGN. Retrieved 2007-09-19.