Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time Review

November 15, 2009 by Delon
Filed under Featured, Playstation, Review

Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time Review

Ratchet and Clank: Crack in time will exceed all your expectations and you will delight in the stunning visuals and breath taking level design, you will fall in love with Ratchet and adore Clank but most of all you'll be enchanted by a wonderfully humorous story.

Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time is the most fun that I've had in a game in a long time, so much so, that Modern Warfare 2 remained unwrapped until I finished it. The game is absolutely action packed from beginning to end and what surprised me most was that at no point did killing thousands of robots become mundane.

As the game progresses so to do the challenges which brings a really weighty depth to the game. It lobs in a mix of puzzles, platforming, gun-play and even space ship combat into a game that is not entirely linear.

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In Crack in Time we get to play as both Ratchet and as Clank. Insomniac have done a great job at separating the two characters game play styles while keeping the controls much the same.

Ratchet is a gun slinging, acrobatic Lombax who loves to break things, in fact, breaking everything in sight will reward Ratchet with bolts which can be used to purchase weapon upgrades.

Ratchet is also very good at platforming and using his Rocket boots he can ramp over massive spaces or glide circles around his surrounding enemies.

Clank, Ratchets robotic best friend has been superbly crafted down to the finest detail. Clanks gameplay is predominantly time-puzzle based with a few snail like enemies along the way. He can glide across chasms using a propeller that folds out of his head and slow down time with special time warp orbs that come in handy when he is surrounded by enemies.

Clank also wields a special time weapon that he uses to defend himself as well as to reverse time and repair broken bits of the clock. Brain wrestling Clank's time-puzzles is fantastically rewarding and they are the best I've seen in a game in a long time.

Visually the game is absolutely stunning with huge open landscapes and spectacular explosions. There was often a time where I found myself just staring at the stylized smoke that looks like round shaded bubbles overlaid on top of one another. Each on of Ratchets many weapons produces a different explosion and each as beautiful as the next.

The attention to detail is immaculate and one of my favorite things in the game was watching the way Ratchets furry ears moved depending on what he was doing. From a slow flop as he runs to a speedy shiver as he boots hundreds of meters through the air, the detail is there.

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Insomniac have managed to cram an awful lot into this game. There are tones of weapons to choose from and each is more elaborate from the next, with names like Mr Zurcon, a weapon which spawns a hovering robot sentry to protect you and the Grooveaton glove which drops a hovering disco ball that causes nearby enemies to breakout into spinning dance moves allowing Ratchet to pick them off one by one.

The levels work on a horizontal and vertical plane and some require the use of Ratchets hovers boots to boost him along a speedy track. There are levels that take place in space where Ratchet must pilot the Aphelion, his space ship through asteroid belts and battle enemy saucers.

Clank must solve time based puzzles and repair the great clock and just the moment when you think you've seen it all, something new and wonderful dazzles you.

On top of a game that is super fun to play, Insomniac have written a really entertaining and funny story. Every corner of the game is filled with laughs that compliment the a riveting tale beneath. The cut scenes are supremely executed and well placed in the game and believe me when I say that you will be replaying them over and over again.

Accompanying all this is a perfectly orchestrated soundtrack that brings a sense of adventure to the game and the combination of the two whisked me away in much the same way Star Wars did.

Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time is a game not to be missed. It will introduce you to weapons that you've only ever dreamed of, you will be taken through a world that is absolutely beautiful and feel an immense rush of satisfaction when you complete the imaginatively crafted levels.

You will blow up more robots that you could ever count and witness a true friendship that not even galaxies could break. I for one have fallen in love with Ratchet, the last known living Lombox in the universe.