Insomniac’s reboot of the iconic series, Ratchet and Clank, was shown off at this year’s E3, and it’s gorgeous. Though the game is just a retelling and remake of the original, it brings more than just a fresh coat of paint to the table.
Right off the bat, Ratchet and Clank assaults your eyeballs with a burst of bright colors as you make your way through Metropolis once again. In the demo that I got to play, I was given access to four different guns, including the new Pixelizer. As the name suggests, the Pixelizer turns your enemies into little 8-bit pixels, which you can break with your wrench. Other weapons such as the Groovitron and the Warhammer also make an appearance in the game. Insomniac Games has become well-known for being creative with their weapons and equipment (Sunset Overdrive, Resistance), and Ratchet and Clank is no exception.
Taking control of Ratchet, I got to jump aboard a moving train as thousands of colorful cars whizzed past below me on the road. The city was vibrant and so full of energy it was difficult not to stop and admire the environments every once in awhile. In spite of how beautiful and slightly immature it looks, the game can still pose a significant challenge to the uninitiated. The new Ratchet and Clank definitely retains the level of challenge present in previous games as well; you still need to be patient and precise with your movements in order to progress through the stages.
Enemies in Ratchet and Clank are no pushovers either. Tapping the square button to use Ratchet’s melee attacks usually gets the job done when you’re facing foes in close quarters, but the demo thrusts you into many situations where the player would have to resort to using guns to take them down from afar. The combat and platforming requires a certain degree of precision to pull off, but it ends up feeling immensely fun and satisfying.
Armed with a deeper origin story that promises to reveal more details about the characters we’ve come to know and love, Ratchet and Clank ups the ante by introducing new content like bosses, weapons, and upgrades as well. For newcomers who have been holding off on this series of games since it first came out in 2002, this is a good place to start.
Ratchet and Clank will be made available on the PS4 some time in spring 2016.
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