Ratchetrospective - Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters

There’s only one Ratchet and Clank Game I never covered during the original Ratchetrospective run, or during sequel month (or a rage review – like with Secret Agent Clank) and that’s Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. It’s the first of the 2 games heralded by High Impact Games, a team that has previous games covered in Rage4Media reviews such is Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, and Secret Agent Clank. To its credit, Size Matters is better than both of those but we’ve got a way to go to explain why.

High Impact Games was made up of former Insomniac Games employees and were tasked to creating games for Sony’s handheld console of the time, the PSP. The problem is that Ratchet and Clank was a title designed for 2 analogue sticks and 8 buttons, and with the PSP you’re down to 1 analogue stick, and 6 buttons (they cheat to make a 7^th one) this is a problem in both Secret Agent Clank and The Lost Frontier as well.

But enough preamble, let’s take a look at Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters

Sequel Month - Ratchetrospective - Ratchet and Clank (2016)

I know this isn’t really a sequel but a reboot/movie tie-in game but it’s the next entry in the Ratchet and Clank series, and that’s enough for it to count for sequel month

Ratchet and Clank came out in April 2016 to positive reviews and decent sales, a polar opposite story to the movie it was tying into. Insomniac games are pros at this point but they were really up against the wall on this one, 8 months is the time they had to develop the core game, bearing in mind the Ratchet and Clank Movie debuted at a film festival in May 2015 and it could’ve gone to cinema at any point. The extra time had only a skeleton crew and was used to polish things up. The result is we have a budget title that, whilst more expensive than Insomniac’s previous budget titles, does feel more like a full game.

But, how does Ratchet and Clank hold up as a game? Well, let’s give it the Ratchetrospective treatment

Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank: (Into the) Nexus

It's time for the final entry to the Ratchetrospective

The PS4 was released in November 2013, so it’s time for the Ratchet series to say goodbye to the PS3 to move onto new platforms. After 2 games which in many ways departed drastically from the formula, it’s time to return back to the classic formula although with a few updated tweaks. This game isn’t long; it was released only a year after Q-force so it didn’t have much time to get any longer, especially since they were developing multiplayer maps for Q-force post-release.

It’s also time to look more closely at the ‘Future’ trilogy as this promised to be an epilogue to that story. How does it hold up? Let’s take a look at Ratchet and Clank: Nexus

Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank: Q-force (Full Frontal Assault)

The year is 2012, it’s Ratchet and Clank’s 10^th anniversary and to celebrate, a remastered trilogy is being released, but that’s just there to tide you over for the real Ratchet and Clank coming out that year. Promising a short game with some tower defence mechanics, an old face to return and the first game with competitive multiplayer since Gladiator (Size Matters notwithstanding). This is Ratchet and Clank: Q-force

Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One

We once thought that a Crack in Time would be the end of the Ratchet series, but it continues, even getting a new release this month. But when you’ve released 7 games already you can start to worry about the formula getting a little stale. So, it is my ‘pleasure’ to introduce the biggest departure from Ratchet formula Insomniac games has ever done in Ratchet and Clank, All 4 One

Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank #1-6 (bonus review)

A late addition of the Ratchetrospective but I’ve referenced it often enough, and it’s referenced in the opening chapter of All4One so I figured I’d give it a short review. Short being the operative word here, just trying to give it the once over.

This comic was a 6-issue mini-series, published by DC’s Wildstorm imprint for the first 4 issues, and then under DC comics for the final 2 issues. Written by T J Fixman, who had written the Future Trilogy, and drawn by Adam Archer, who recently has done work on Gotham Academy (come back Karl Kerschl) and was an artist in the Scribblenaut’s series (which I haven’t read) does it turn out alright, let's take a look

Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank (Future): A Crack in Time

It’s here, the final chapter (kinda) in the Future Trilogy, a full-length game and the last full priced game using classic Ratchet and Clank combat. What thrills lie in store? Well here’s how it is

Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank (Future): Quest for Booty

Ratchet and Clank (Future): Tools of Destruction came out in 2007, Ratchet a Clank: A crack in Time came out in 2009, to bridge the gap, a short game (it took me less than 3 hours) was released on the PSStore in the US and was available on disk as well in EU territories. It was merely there to set up some ideas, introduce a few elements and keep us going from that cliffhanger.

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

Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank 3 (Up Your Arsenal)

We’ve had 2 great entries from this action platformer, can the third one keep up the standard, let’s take a look at Ratchet and Clank 3.

Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank 2: Locked and Loaded (Going Commando)

We return return with the second entry in the Ratchetrospective

Ratchet and Clank returned for their second outing only a year after their first game, looking at it now, does it hold up, well let’s take a look

Ratchetrospective: Ratchet and Clank

Welcome to the Ratchetrospective

Throughout the month of April (give or take a few days) I’ll be looking at the Ratchet and Clank games developed by the developer Insomniac Games (apologies for giving Size Matters the shaft but my PSP is non-operational at this point) in preparation for the Movie coming out this month. Here are my ground rules

1. This will be based on a single play through of the game, no challenge modes
2. These playthroughs will be from a new save file.
3. I will not be covering the movie tie-in game, I want to avoid spoiling that - although be aware the plot will have similarities to the first game
4. Spoilers will be covered in these reviews
5. I will not be completing all skill points and gold/platinum/titanium bolt missions; I will be getting all Zoni in a Crack in Time
6. I will not be exploring all the Insomniac Museums
7. I will not be getting 100% on Collectathon Missions (except for Nexus, since it’s a requirement for the RYNO)
8. I will not necessarily be completing all arena challenges
9. I will be completing all optional help the ranger challenges in Ratchet and Clank 3 
10. I will be completing all optional missions in Ratchet: Gladiator (Deadlocked)
11. Multiplayer modes will not be covered in depth
12. All games will be played Single Player – no co-op in Gladiator, All4One or Q-force

So, let’s dig into the one that started it all (and the one that inspired the movie) with Ratchet and Clank