Tom Plays: Ratchet and Clank (PS4)

Tom Plays – Part 4 and we have another Playstation 4 game to talk about, this time it is the turn of the rebooted Ratchet and Clank. So, what’s good and what’s bad about the game? Here’s what I thought about it. 

You’ve heard this one before but I never had a Playstation 3. I did have a Playstation 2 but never ever played any of the Ratchet and Clank games on that console – mainly because I was a kid and didn’t buy games as much as I would buy other kid things like football stickers or Pokémon cards.

So, with this being a “reboot” of the series, it didn’t really matter to me as I hadn’t experienced it before. Coming into a new series of games when they’re trying to make it again is probably never a bad thing as I can’t be like “oh, yeah, I liked it better when…” but also any reference to the past would go completely over my head.

I do like platform games but I hadn’t played one for a very long time prior to booting up Ratchet and Clank for the first time. Thinking back, I believe I might have played a couple on the Xbox One/360 but none of them are obviously that memorable as I can’t think of anything other than the Crash Bandicoot/Spyro games on the PS1 – but who didn’t play them?

Ratchet and Clank is a pretty simple game to follow – bad guys want to take over the world and our hero has to try to stop them, but not before he is rejected by the Galactic Rangers  – only for a short while though as he eventually earns his way in. Seen it all before, right?

One thing you can’t fault Insomniac Games for is that this game looks amazing from a graphic perspective. So colourful and each level has its own personality – some filled with water and fish, others are factories full of robots; I believe that, after doing some more research about the game, there are fewer planets than were in the original game but those that are here in this version are much, much bigger. Again, I can’t back that up so I’m trusting the random guy Google found isn’t telling porkies…

Alongside that, the game is also linked to the CGI animated movie of the same name which came out at the same time (or at least around the time of release?) which is a nice touch – in fact the game plays like a movie. Occasionally you get narration from one of the minor characters in the game and there are plenty of really nice-looking animated cut scenes throughout the game. It’s a joy to play, honestly.

It’s the sort of game you can just pick up and play and get lost in the environments. I mean, there’s a story for you to play through but there’s plenty of things to find – like collectable cards which, when completing sets, you get extra reward in-game and there are also “Golden Bolts” to find which unlock things such as cheats. The invincibility and unlimited ammo ones sound like they’d be perfect for playing through the game again and just destroying everything in sight!

Speaking of weapons, there are A LOT of weapons. Some good (the multi-rocket launcher is amazing), some not so good (spinning blades are lame) and some that are downright weird (Sheepinator? Like…why?). I assume some are running jokes from the series beforehand – inside jokes aren’t cool if you’re not on the inside…

It’s not a violent game. It’s got explosions and stuff, but it’s more fun violence. Kid-friendly violence. If such thing exists. It’s not too difficult either – in fact, I pretty much cruised through the game with minimal hassle. Until the final boss. That took enough attempts to get done.

If only I had the cheats for invincibility active then, I’d have been sorted.

Once the main story is over, there’s the option to play the ‘Challenge Mode’ which – as far as I can tell – is just the main story again but with the chance to use stronger versions of the weapons you have in the game. Because you need more explosions and stuff in your life, right?

Probably earns a few more trophies along the way as well. That I’m not sure of as I’m only about 60% through a second playthrough on Challenge mode – I just enjoy blowing things up, is that a crime? (Well, IRL yes. In Video Games, no.)

Until the Crash Bandicoot trilogy gets a release, I reckon that Ratchet and Clank on the PS4 has been the best platformer game I have played on the console. Maybe that’s because it’s the only one…so…yeah.

Had a lot of fun in the game and, at the end of the day, who wants to play a boring game that you don’t enjoy and have zero fun with?

Loved Ratchet and Clank and feel sad that I’ve not played any other games in the series, certainly looks like a series that I truly missed out on playing. Sad times, man.

T.