Ratchet: Deadlocked
Ratchet: Deadlocked, known as Ratchet: Gladiator in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, is a platform/shooter video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony. It is the fourth game in the Ratchet & Clank series and is the sequel to Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. It was released on October 25, 2005 in North America.
Story
Template:Spoiler After saving the galaxy once again, Ratchet and Clank are given the job of running the Starship Phoenix, as well as Al for back-up if need be. When Sasha, the new mayor of Metropolis, phones in and informs the crew of the death of Captain Starshield and the fact that many heroes are being abducted, robots approach the Phoenix and overrun it, taking Ratchet, Clank and Al captive.
They are transported to the Shadow Sector, a lawless region on the fringe of the Solana Galaxy. Here, Ratchet meets Gleeman Vox, the president of Vox Entertainment (a massive media empire within the Shadow Sector), who reveals that Ratchet is now being forced to compete in the reality holovision show, DreadZone. Ratchet is now wearing a "DeadLock" collar that can shock him if he strays into restricted areas or explode if he becomes uncooperative or boring.
Collectively referred to as "Team DarkStar", Al serves as the mechanic for Ratchet's combat bots, Merc and Green, while Clank serves as his "Mission Control", similar to an Operator from the movie series The Matrix. Ratchet and the combat bots (or a second player) compete across a series of Battlecourses, and a series of tournaments in the BattleDome at DreadZone Station, clearing challenge after challenge, with Ratchet becoming one of the most popular contestants in DreadZone's history.
Ratchet's most notable victories are against the DreadZone Exterminators, a squad dedicated to destroying the other competing heroes. He defeats ShellShock on Planet Kronos, then Reactor, The Eviscerator, and Ace Hardlight (the Captain of the Exterminators) in separate BattleDome tournaments.
Following his defeat by Ratchet, Ace, as he lays dying in the BattleDome, says to Ratchet, "Don't...let Vox do to you what he did to me." Ratchet is then taken to see Gleeman Vox. He claims to have been trying to make Ratchet a star; an ironic claim, due to the fact that Vox's reporters Dallas and Juanita have been slandering Ratchet every chance they get. Vox tells Ratchet that it was just "building up his bad boy image", and he offers to make Ratchet the new Captain of the Exterminators, and Ratchet (perhaps obviously) refuses, saying, "You actually think I'd kill other heroes for money? You're not just corrupt, you're stupid."
Stating that Ratchet has signed his own death warrant, Vox has him escorted from the room, and requests that the "Gauntlet of Doom" readied at the Ghost Station battlecourse, despite protests from the workerbot whom he gave the order to that "...it was mathematically proven to be...unbeatable." This was justified to DreadZone fans via a false news report that Ratchet was using banned performance-enhancing drugs.
After Ratchet successfully runs the Gauntlet of Doom and demolishes the Ghost Station, he returns to his DreadZone containment area, and Clank tells him that he has found a way to shut down the containment fields holding the heroes hostage. Al makes his return as a cyborg (he had previously been shot by Ace Hardlight after the third tournament, when he succeeded in deactivating Clank's DeadLock collar), and tells Ratchet what he needs to do; take a reprogrammed shuttle to the BattleDome's control level and destroy the central computer.
After his arrival at the control level, Ratchet fins out that Vox was luring Ratchet into yet another trap. Stating boldly that the BattleDome is wired with "six gigatons of nitroglycerin", Vox says that Ratchet will be responsible for the death of everyone there if he fails.
Running a massive gauntlet of enemies and destroying each of three power generators, Ratchet manages to deactivate the containment fields and simultaneously unlock DreadZone Station's escape shuttles. Ratchet's final battle with Gleeman Vox follows, first against Vox in hoverpod of sorts, then against a giant mech which Vox docks his hoverpod into.
After his defeat, Vox reactivates the self-destruct sequence, stating to Ratchet that "The escape shuttles all left long ago. Now we'll die together, on live holovision. It'll be the best ratings I've ever had!"
However, Ratchet is spared a horrible death when the last shuttle (piloted by Al) swoops in to rescue him. He grabs Vox's pet, Slugga, and leaps aboard, where Clank wastes no time removing his DeadLock collar, which he then tosses out the airlock. The collar explodes, followed shortly by DreadZone Station itself.
Gameplay
The game includes many of the same modes of gameplay as Up Your Arsenal, such as online games with nine other people (ten people max to a game), and many similar weapons. New modes and attributes include co-op gameplay in single player mode (better named, "story mode" now), and newer, more devastating vehicles. Also, the game includes a vastly more RPG style in the form of custom armor and weapons (through the use of "mods").
Ratchet's weapons upgrade in the same manner they did in Up Your Arsenal; they gain experience and levels as you use them, changing form once they reach Level 10 (a difference from UYA, where this happened at Level 5.) The main difference between the weapons used in Deadlocked and the previous games is that they are more customizable. Each weapon can equip one Omega Mod, which adds a secondary effect, and up to ten Alpha Mods, which customize the weapon.
The single-player campaign also features a co-op mode in which a partner will replace the two combat bots. The story mode is fully playable in co-op much like Halo: Combat Evolved and Doom 3 for the Xbox. The players will be bound to each other within a certain distance by the game's "Deadlock collars" which will detonate if the players become too far apart. There are unlockable skins that can be chosen as well in co-op mode. The second player can unlock a Jak skin from the Jak and Daxter series.
This game is notable in the series for two reasons. First, Insomniac has removed Ratchet's sidekick, Clank, as a playable character. In addition, many of the platforming elements from the previous games, including gadget-based puzzles, have been removed, as the game became focused more on "shooter" elements than earlier iterations in the series.
Weapons
Bold means used online and offline
Italic means only offline
Some old and some new weapons are back in Deadlocked.
Dual Vipers - the equivalent to a machine gun in speed, in strength, a super soaker.
Magma Cannon - Same weapon as in Up Your Arsenal but a new name. It is also well known for itv version 10 glitch
B-6 Obliterator - see above.
Holoshield Gun - Similar to the Holoshield Glove in Up Your Arsenal, except it's a gun rather than a glove.
Hunter Mine Launcher - Similar to the Mine Glove from Ratchet & Clank 1 and Up Your Arsenal Multiplayer, except it'ts a gun rather than a glove. It launches mines at a much farther distance than the mine Glove.
Fusion Rifle - Similar to the flux rifle in Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal.
Arbiter - Launches high pwered rockets. Similar to the Devastator from Up Your Arsenal.
Scorpion Flail - A mace that is attached to a chain. Similar to the Blades of Chaos used in God of War.
Mini Turret Launcher - Similar to the Mini Turret Glove from Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, except it's a gun rather than a glove.
Harbinger - Equivalent to the R.Y.N.O. in previous Ratchet and Clanks but with a different effect. When fired, many lines of pure energy come from the sky and hit the ground doing mass amounts of damage to any foes in your path.
Online play
The game is the second in the series to make use of the PlayStation 2 Network Adaptor. The online mode features five modes: A completely revamped version of Up Your Arsenal's "Siege" (in which players captured nodes and attacked the enemy base) called Conquest. This new mode features nodes which players must capture and vote upon upgrades to sustain their lead in conquest. Points (bolts, ratchet: deadlocked off line money) are awarded for taking and defending nodes as well as several kill variations (Sharp shooter for a sniper kill, road kill for running over an enemy, and a Humiliation kill for defeating a foe with the series trademark default weapon the wrench). Other modes are classic multiplayer modes such as Capture the Flag (CTF), Deathmatch (Team Deathmatch is also part of this), King of the Hill (KOTH), and Juggernaut. Each mode is changed to fit with the Ratchet and Clank universe, but still retain their main objectives and play styles.
Trivia
The idea of Ractchet and other heroes of wearing the Deadlock collars around their neck and being forced to fight on live television is a reference to the film Battle Royale.
External links
- Official game site from SCEA
- Ratchet: Deadlocked at MobyGames