Ratchetrospective: Ratchet: Gladiator (Deadlocked)

We’re here, ladies and gentlemen, the 4^th and final entry from the PS2-era. This one sparked some major changes, not all of them good ones, but before we get to look at that, let’s take a look at the story

On Catacrom 4 superhero Captain Starshield is fighting off against some robots. He defeats them as Camera’s circled around him. He’s suddenly shot dead by ‘Dreadzone’ Grand champion: Ace Hardlight

On the Starship Phoenix Ratchet, Clank and Big Al are alerted to a call from the new Mayor of Metropolis, Sasha. She tells them about the death about Captain Starshield, elaborating that he was involved in an illegal combat sport called DreadZone, run by Gleeman Vox, who runs a media empire from a lawless region of the Solana Galaxy, the Shadow Sector.

Just as she warns that Ratchet may be another victim some robots teleport onto the ship. And of course Ratchet uses his wide array of weaponry… no, he’s immediately captured. The lieutenant reports to Vox, he tells them to give Clank and Al collars and get some work out of them.

Ratchet awakens in new armour, it’s not exactly comfortable. He’s teleported into a qualification match, and is warned if he can’t complete it quickly, they’re all gonna die. Ratchet completes the course. During the course he’s given an introduction to DreadZone. If he win’s, he’ll be set free. Also, we see his motivation to keep fighting: A deadlock collar, around his, Al's and Clank's necks which can explode or electrocute at Vox’s will.

Ratchet is teleported to his living quarters which has no bed, no food or any real means of living. Anyway, he sees Al, who managed to get some combat bots off a former contestant. They’re Merc and Green and this is really the last time they appear in cut-scenes (it’s because in co-op mode they aren’t a factor)

He goes over to Clank who is his designated mission engineer, because Vox is cheap. Vox interrupts their discussion telling Ratchet to head back to the Battledome. Mobius man, their previous contestant is, not doing so hot. As Ratchet takes the shuttle to the Battledome, he watches a trailer for DreadZone.

Dallas and Juanita, DreadZone’s commentators and News Anchors announce the Death of Mobius Man at the hands of the Eviscerator. They see Ratchet coming and don’t have a clue who he is (*sigh*) Ratchet completes the challenge and we see a scene of Ace Hardlight and Gleeman Vox. Vox isn’t happy that he can’t sell Ace Hardlight merchandise at all, his fans can’t stand him and he has no charisma. He tells Ace to start selling it, or he’ll find someone else. (Quick question, why don’t you?)

Ratchet is provided a ship to begin inter-lanetary transportation. Their first stop, Catacrom 4, home of the robot zombies, he makes it through and heads to planet Sarathos. During transport there’s an ad for exterminator training cards, featuring 3 kids, the fat one, the nerd and the girl. On Sarathos Ratchet defeats the King Leviathan. A Vox news update shows that Courtney Gears has made a company after Ratchet’s attack. Dallas tells the world that Ratchet is about to go face to face with Shellshock.

Ratchet heads to Kronos, his mission to enter the Dark Cathedral. To do that they have to activate 2 spotlights. Ratchet does this, encountering Shellshock on multiple occasions. If he isn’t completely finished off his health regenerates when he retreats. Ratchet eventually prevails, much to Vox’s annoyance. He thinks that Ratchet may be useful but Ace says he just got lucky and that won’t last.

Ratchet is excited from his victory but Clank warns him they’ve killed a lot of heroes. He shows Ratchet a video glorifying Ace Hardlight, a hero that disappeared a long time ago. Clank is unsure, why would a hero kill other heroes for money? Ace teleports in, I guess, telling them it’s not for money, he enjoys it. Ratchet heads to the Battledome to partake in the Avenger tournament, his task, climbing the tower of power. He does so. As Dallas slanders Ratchet again, Clank says he has contact with a tech droid who may be able to provide the blueprints for the collars. In the meantime, Ratchet needs to continue with the challenges

Ratchet heads to the Planet Shaar and begins unlocking his way through the Ancient Temple. After earning victory there, we get an commercial for exterminator pyjamas. Vox gets a report that no-one is buying DreadZone merchandise with the exception of fuzzy lombax ears. Vox is not pleased.

Ratchet heads to the Blargian home-world of Orxon, which may or not have been repopulated after Drek’s defeat. A raritanium mining facility stands before them. Ratchet destroys a drill blocking his path but the fuel begins to leak, endangering the audience. Ratchet sets the audience free, completing the campaign. On his way back to the Battledome we see a trailer for a Reactor movie. Featuring Courtney gears as a shallow, money-grubbing piece of sh*t, so what else is new…

Ratchet fights his way through the crusader tournament, eventually fighting and defeating Reactor. He heads to the Valix asteroid belt. Usually a giant spotlight helps guide the ships around the field, but DreadZone has turned it off. After fighting his way through, Ratchet restores the spotlight. On his way to the Planet Torval. Vox conducts a focus test with the 3 children. They have a choice between a bobble headed Secret Agent Clank toy, a Courtney Gears Lunchbox or the Ace Hardlight action figure. The nerd goes for the Secret Agent Clank toy; the girl goes for Courtney Gears. The fat one says Ace is a tool and would prefer to have a Ratchet action figure.

Ratchet lands on Torval, on a former Ace Hardlight toy plant which was shut down because of poor sales. For some reason he needs a shuttle to escape the planet. He fights his way through, eventually finding a shuttle and escaping. On his way back to the Battledome a news broadcast slanders Ratchet some more and warns that he is to come face to the face with the Eviscerator. On arrival, Clank says he has the blueprints but he’s learned that there are many other heroes imprisoned here and they need to help them.

He says if Ratchet fights in the arena, it’ll buy them some time without the security monitors. Ratchet fights through the Liberator tournament, defeating the Eviscerator and earning the rank of Vindicator. Big Al manages to get Clank’s collar off but Ace shoots him, forcing Clank to put it back on. Ratchet is not happy with the news.

His next destination is the planet Stygia, a world that has a shield to protect the populous from continual meteor storms. DreadZone have attached jamming devices, deactivating the shield. Ratchet destroys the jamming devices but in the process damages the control tower. With Clank’s help they re-calibrate the lightning collectors to power the shield, saving the planet. Ratchet heads to the planet Maraxus where his combat bots are locked in prison cells. He rescues them through some major combat and is invited to the Liberator tournament.

Dallas and Juanita draw upon Ratchet’s past saying he’s responsible for the destruction of civic property and being a part of illegal hoverbike gangs, and also having inadequate dental hygiene? Anyway, he’s about to come face to face with Ace Hardlight. Ratchet fights through the tournament eventually defeating Ace, as he’s dragged to see Vox, Ace warns Ratchet not to let Vox do to him what he did to Ace. Ace apparently survives which is kinda weird but there's a reference to him in the next game

Ratchet is taken to Vox, as a champion he now is able to become the new exterminator Captain and become associated with tonnes of merchandise. Ratchet refuses, not wanting to kill other heroes just to get rich. Vox warns him he’s just signed his death warrant. He tells a robot assistant to prepare the ‘Gauntlet of Doom’ which was mathematically proven to be unbeatable.

A news update gives memoriam to Ace, with Vox encouraging them to buy new toys as Dallas and Juanita dub over the cheering children. They claim that Ratchet has used ‘banned performance enhancing drugs’ which he got from… I have no idea and say he’s been sentenced to DreadZone’s Gauntlet of Doom.

Ratchet arrives at the Gauntlet of Doom, Clank has discovered an abandoned supply ship which they can use to escape and the mathematicians are proved completely incompetent as they not only beat the course but destroy it just to be safe. Ratchet returns to his quarters. Clank has found some terminals that regulate power to the containment field. If they blow them up, the shields will go down and the heroes can escape. We reveal that Big Al is in fact alive but with a slightly robotic body. Clank has reprogrammed the Battledome shuttle to take him to the station’s core, but it’s a one-way ride.

Ratchet arrives at the core, but…

(May he rest in piece)

Vox knew they were coming and has set up a challenge. He’s wired the entire Battledome with explosives, the terminals are the detonators and they need to be destroyed or the Battledome will be destroyed, contestant and fans alike. We see in a cut-scene that follows that Dallas and Juanita are wearing Deadlock collars and probably have been the entire time.

Ratchet destroys the terminals, freeing the fans and the heroes but Clank will not leave without him. Now Ratchet faces Gleeman Vox himself. Ratchet defeats him, but Vox then activates the Battledome's self-destruct. Clank arrives with a shuttle and picks Ratchet up, Ratchet takes Vox’s pet leaving him alone as the Battledome explodes. Clank removes Ratchet’s deadlock collar just as it explodes. Dallas, Juanita and the 3 kids are also on the shuttle, it was the last one, what else could Clank do?

Al fixed the com-link and they get thanks from Kid Nova and Hydro-girl, two of the contestants that were freed. Qwark also calls in, thinking it’s nonsense that heroes were being kidnapped. After all, they never went for him. He tells them they’ve missed Qwark Cadet fan club meetings, but saved them newsletters and custard.

Doctor Nefarious and Laurence pass by the station as the game concludes. Lawrence had them coming into range but he wasn’t to know it would explode. Nefarious jams and a season finale of Lance and Janice plays, Vox’s hand floats in the background.

The biggest strength with this story is that it does not need to justify anything. You want Ratchet to go a particular path on a particular world. Then block off alternative paths, give the path straight and say that that’s the challenge.

Whilst my summary of this game is longer than my summary of either of the first two games this story is shorter than any of the Ratchet games thus far and it’s also the worst of the Ratchet games thus far.

The biggest issue I think is the fact the humour, whilst not entirely missing is only delivered through the side characters. Ratchet, Clank and Al have few funny moments or lines outside the opening scene and therein lies the issue. Everyone feels very separate in this game. Ratchet, Dallas and Juanita don’t even meet face-to-face until the last scene. A lot of comedy is from the characters’ interactions and there aren’t many in this game.

Part of that also is a lack of Qwark. For him being annoying, in your face and all the rest of it, he did provide a level of humour that just isn’t in this game. Dallas and Juanita help, trying to do another Nefarious/Laurence like double-act, they're good but it doesn’t hit the same way and that’s highly unfortunate.

Then there’s the fact that Gleeman Vox is a massive step down from Nefarious. Nefarious was both intimidating and funny. Vox is really neither of those things. He spends most of the game complaining about how he can’t sell Ace Hardlight stuff. When Ratchet eventually wins the tournament he tries to get Ratchet to sell out on heroism for money. I have to ask why he bothered with this. Here’s an idea, why not do it with the Galaxy’s super-villains? That makes the exterminators look more like heroes and become more marketable. Most powerful super-villains would likely jump at the chance to earn lots of money, so asking them to kill other villains isn’t a problem and villains can be marketed the sh*t out of. People love super-villains! Maybe they’d be too uncooperative, but that’s what the Deadlock collars are for.

That’s not to say it isn’t a threat. His threat is more down to what he’s prepared to do in order to put on a show rather than what he actually does. Ace Hardlight, then serving as a secondary antagonist and he’s boring as f*ck. The idea he’s a hero who sold out is fine an idea but it’s not played with enough. It ends up being almost a carbon copy of Qwark but whilst Qwark was at least funny, and Ace has, as the game puts it ‘the charisma of Blargian Gnat Cheese.”

For this game, there are no Clank segments or really any puzzles, hacking or otherwise, and not much exploration (no gold bolts etc) we do see grind cables return but otherwise large chunks of what made the game interesting are gone, here’s what we do get though

Combat Bots

In single player, combat bots serve as your aides in most missions. They can complete tasks like hacking, shielding, bolt cranking, launching grind cables and shooting. They’re pretty powerful and can be upgraded to increase their potential. It was nice to see this. 

Co-op mode

I'll cover this briefly as I didn't actually play it but if you'd rather not have combat bots you can go it co-op, in this mode you gain all the abilities of the bots assigned to the directional buttons. You are also tethered together which makes some of the longer platforming sessions really difficult.

Weapon Upgrades to Lvl 10 (lvl 100 in challenge mode)

I think this is where people realised that this is overkill, but it served a purpose which I’ll get to. But we at least get upgrade screens with actual data to them

Weapon Modifications

Each time a weapon upgrades, it gains a new alpha mod, these are you’re basic ammo, speed, better aiming, higher impact, greater area of effect, etc. These alpha mods can be switched between weapons. Honestly a tad unnecessary but in challenge mode you can buy these mods at a weapon’s vendor. You also have Omega mods, these are bought directly from a weapons vendor and include functions like acid mod, brainwash mod, morph mod, freeze mod, napalm mod, shock mod and mini-bomb mod. I personally recommend using acid/freeze mods on smaller weapons, shock mods on any spread weapon and mini bomb or napalm on your big weapons. I really don’t recommend morph mod unless you’re after skill points.

Exterminator trading cards

These serve a similar function to the trophies in Ratchet and Clank 3, there are 6 in total, one for collecting all weapons and Omega mods, one for upgrading all of them to lvl 10 and buying the mega versions, one for earning 100 nanotech (which is a lot harder than in 3), one for obtaining 400,000 dread points (by completing side challenges), one for collecting all skill points and one for collecting all the challenge stars, which are awarded depending on the difficulty you’ve chosen, speaking of which…

Adjustable difficulty

This is the first game in the Ratchet series where you can adjust difficulty to suit your play style. For the sake of this review, I’ve played on easy but it’s nice to be challenged with the other difficulty levels

Wrench Upgrades

Whilst a couple of these were collected in Ratchet 2, this is the first time there are paid upgrades to weapons.

Vehicles

There are 4 vehicles in the game. The first you find is the landstalker a giant spider-tank equipped with fast speed laser cannons and guided mortars for more powerful attacks. This is probably the most used of the 4 and it’s a nice addition. The Hoverbike has only one compulsory mission, the rest are optional challenges or it’s used just for transport. It’s the only vehicle that only has one attack. The puma is like the turboslider from Ratchet 3 but it has a secondary more powerful attack. It is not compulsory in any mission (although is very useful on Sarathos and Maraxos). Some wiseass thought it’d be a good idea to completely invert the up/down controls of the hover-ship from Ratchet 3, it’s also equipped with 2 attack forms, it also only has one compulsory mission in the game

There are only 10 weapons in this game, and of course you have your generic blaster, shotgun, bomb launcher, rocket launcher and sniper rifle, I’m going to talk about the other 5 weapons, even though some are of similar designs to those in other games

Scorpion Flail/Leviathan Flail

Another example of the walloper done right. A short-ranged weapon but with a great area of impact makes this useful, even against the big bosses. It upgrades to become a bit bigger. Not really a massive upgrade but a nice one none the less

Hunter Mine Launcher/Stalker Mine Launcher

Fires out mines that home in on a target, upgrades so each mine has a secondary mine within it to seek out a new target. This was one of my favourite weapons when I was younger and still is up there to this day

Holo-shield Launcher/Omni-shield launcher

Based on the holo-shield launcher from Ratchet 3 this one is bigger in size and runs on a timer rather than an amount of damage (making it much easier to use). Upgraded versions can fire shots at the enemies it’s absorbing fire from.

Mini-Turret launcher/Quasar-Turret Launcher

Based on the Mini-turret Launcher from MegaCorp, this has a similar starting position, it’s upgrade fires out larger more powerful beams rather than missiles, I kinda like that because it feels more like an extension of the weapon that way,

The Harbinger/The Supernova

There’s no RYNO in this game but this is its replacement, it shoots out a bunch of meteors in the sky which plummet down on enemies, it’s upgrade disintegrates enemies. It’s a nice weapon but it doesn’t have the heritage the RYNO had at this point.

Ratchet Gladiator is still fun to play, make no mistake. It’s a mass of explosions, enemies are everywhere, objectives are clear and the combat controls are still excellent but it’s hard not to notice that multi-player was given a heavier focus in this game (all of the worlds are given a multi-player map, and the majority of challenges take place on the map) From the relatively small weapon selection, to the smaller selection of planets, the lack of exploration and gameplay variety, just about all those things that separated it from many of its competitors.

Rating 70/100

IGN called for the duo to be retired after this game, but they returned on the PS3, and next time we’ll be looking at the first continuous story gaming trilogy of the Ratchet series with Ratchet and Clank (Future): Tools of Destruction.

Memorable Quotes
"Ha ha, those Omega Twins went down like wee little girly men" "Yes, quite ironic, especially as they were actually teenage girls"
"Hey, Juanita, are you wearing Ace Hardlight underwear?"
"We all know this is going to end with Ratchet splattered half way from here to Florana, so how about we skip it and head for a cocktail and a dip in the jacuzzi"
"I was just bluffing earlier, I knew Ratchet would pull it off. So about that cocktail, jacuzzi thing?"

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Images/clips used in this review are from Ratchet: Gladiator (Deadlocked) and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and belong to their respective owners. All images in this review are subject to fair use