PS2 Game Review - Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

A PS2 Game Review By
Le Chupacabra

I’ve always been a fan of the Jak and Daxter series and after playing the first Ratchet and Clank game and its over-hyped sequel, Goin’ Commando, I still had one thing to say: Jak ownxxorz Ratchet!

Why did I get the third game then? Well since I did spend some money on a PS2 Multi-tap and I had also heard that Up Your Arsenal (ahem) had a really fun and frantic multiplayer portion, I had to give in. Oh, my brother’s also a fan of the Ratchet series. Yet another reason for what I thought would a rather suspect purchase.

Boy, was I ever wrong!

It’s true that the 3^rd Ratchet game eschews all but a small part of its platforming roots, but making precision jumps was never Ratchet’s forté. Instead it emphasizes the use of a zany and wild variety of fire-power. You do have your basic SMG, shotgun and rocket-launcher stereotypes but that’s where the similarity with most shooting games will end. The Rift Inducer creates small vortexes that suck enemies into another dimension. The Quack-O-Ray morphs your enemies into fluffy ducklings that can be bashed into a mass of feathers. The Suck Cannon will suck in small opponents and boxes/crates (a platforming cliché that refuses to die...) and spit them back out with tremendous force. The madness doesn’t end here. There are 20 wacky weapons and each can be upgraded into more powerful versions! Since your main protagonists are a tiny robot (Clank) and a furry…well, cat-like…thing (Ratchet), it only makes sense that the weapons are as goofy.

However, don’t let the humorous 'Loony Toons'-esque atmosphere fool you, this one of the most enjoyable and accomplished shooters this side of Halo 2 and TimeSplitters! The fights are brutally-paced with enemies that aren’t just cannon fodder. While initial combat was easy, latter parts threw lots of quasi-intelligent opponents (a gaming rarity) at me. An ingenious control system called ‘Lock-Strafe Mode’ turned what could have been a frustrating war between the camera and the enemies into a truly remarkable shooting experience. Lock-Strafe is basically like playing an FPS from a Third-Person perspective. It sounds weird on paper, but in terms of gameplay it’s a blessing from Heaven. This way you can move about, strafe and perform evasive jumps, while being able to track the enemy(ies) at all times.

While you’ll be inclined to stick a personal weapon set it’s still rewarding to experiment with some of the more, well, odd weapons. Since all weapons level-up like the main character, what may have been considered weak and useless at one point can turn into something that doles out monstrous amounts of damage. You can also fiddle around with the weapons not for the sake of upgrading them, but because it’s also fun and sates those curious enough to try everything a game can offer. The multiplayer mode cuts the weapon selection down to only eight, but it makes perfect sense. There are 3 gameplay types: the expected Deathmatch and Capture-the-Flag mods, and Siege. Unlike the former two, Siege has you having an all out battle with the destruction of the opposing team’s base being the main objective. Autonomous base defences and Power Nodes serve to only increase the intensity of the battles. Strategic players will realise that by capturing Power Nodes, the chances of winning are greatly increased. They also become spawn points for your team. Having a Node right next to an opponent’s base is sometimes crucial to victory or it can help you severely cripple the defence system at the very least. With the addition of ground and air vehicles, you can expect fast and frenetic matches which resemble large-scale cartoon wars. Though I’m not one to give into hype, I had to admit this: the multiplayer mode in Ratchet 3 is awesome and will be enough to pull you away from Unreal or Halo 2 for quite some time. A brilliant achievement indeed!

The story in this game is very reminiscent of something that Hanna-Barbera or the makers of the Loony Toons would create. Hilarious character interactions, cheesy dialogue and completely hammy and (rightfully) overdone voice-overs make this a journey that will have you chuckling from the get-go. While it’s for all ages, there are some slightly naughty jokes and innuendo that slightly older games will appreciate and enjoy. The voices fit so perfectly, from the Buzz Lightyear-like Captain Qwark to the perfectly “eeevil” Dr. Nefarious, you can’t but love all the characters for their absurdities. Watch out for the Courtney Gears music video, it’s freaking hilarious and an awesome parody at the same time.

The graphics complement the cartoon-like nature of UYA even further. With bright, often garish colours and some wacky character design, this game isn’t the best looking but it still holds its own. There is a ton of activity going on at any given time and the levels are rather huge. Not Jak huge, but still huge. The ‘small planet’ levels from Ratchet 2 return and are some of the most interesting-looking. The best parts are during the cutscenes. Each is rife with some brilliant facial expressions and sight gags worth watching out for.

So here you have a brilliant intergalactic adventure filled with humour at every turn and some of best shoot-em-up action ever. It’s an awesome game for a single player but a truly brilliant and an incredibly exciting godsend of an experience for 2 to 4 players!