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Ratchet & Clank - Review Thread

M

masud

Banned
This will be my first Ratchet and Clank game. As primarily a Nintendo gamer on the console side this should be right up my alley but I've stongly disliked most of the Sony first party stuff that I've played.
 
S

silva1991

Member
The first R&C I played was the demo that was in the PS2 that i bought. I loved the demo , but for some reason I never bought the game :/

forgivemefatherforihavesinnedneoGAFmade.gif


I will be redeemed by buying this.
 
H

HanzSnubSnub

Member
masud said:
This will be my first Ratchet and Clank game. As primarily a Nintendo gamer on the console side this should be right up my alley but I've stongly disliked most of the Sony first party stuff that I've played.
Click to expand...

silva1991 said:
The first R&C I played was the demo that was in the PS2 that i bought. I loved the demo , but for some reason I never bought the game :/

forgivemefatherforihavesinnedneoGAFmade.gif


I will be redeemed by buying this.
Click to expand...

Thank you both for supporting my favourite series!

Ratchet & Clank is some of the most pure fun I've had with a game series. I hope both of you enjoy it!
 
G

GOOCHY

Member
Amazon is breaking my heart. Mine doesn't show up until tomorrow. I've had it pre-ordered for months! :( Loving the great reviews.
 
T

Tuck

Member
The hype is making me want to go back and play Going Commando.

I might just do that after this one. And Dark Souls 3. And Uncharted. And Mirrors Edge.

...Well... maybe over the summer, then.
 
G

Glorified G

Member
The_Hitcher89 said:
If you saw my game collection you'd see how wide of the mark this is.

Been almost entirely on the Sony train for about 15 years.

Not every criticism has an agenda behind it.
Click to expand...

Do you have Heavenly Sword, Lair & Haze in that collection? The revisionist history about the PS3 library in its early years is pretty funny. There is a reason the "PS3 has no game" meme existed.
 
C

Carbonox

Member
Really really excited for this. A Crack in Time was one of my favourite games of the entire PS3 generation and I was a diehard fan up to that point. Fell off the wagon afterwards though as I wasn't keen on the follow ups but I really like how Insomniac are handling the franchise again going forward with this and the film. Looking forward to that too of course.
 
psychotron

psychotron

Member
zUz3qUq.jpg
Click to expand...

Wife picked up Souls for me today, and I just grabbed this at lunch. Come on work day...end!!
 
T

Tuck

Member
Carbonox said:
Really really excited for this. A Crack in Time was one of my favourite games of the entire PS3 generation and I was a diehard fan up to that point. Fell off the wagon afterwards though as I wasn't keen on the follow ups but I really like how Insomniac are handling the franchise again going forward with this and the film. Looking forward to that too of course.
Click to expand...

Did you play Into the Nexus? It was short, but a legit mainline Ratchet title all the same (i.e, it wasn't another All4One or Full Frontal Assault). More like Quest for booty but way, way better.
 
C

CosmicQueso

Member
Tuck said:
Did you play Into the Nexus? It was short, but a legit mainline Ratchet title all the same (i.e, it wasn't another All4One or Full Frontal Assault). More like Quest for booty but way, way better.
Click to expand...

Into the Nexus was fantastic. So much fan service in that one too. Damn fine game.
 
P

PayOffWizard

Member
Tempted to give this a try.
I never liked the originals because they felt like a shit jak and daxter, but willing to give this a go as it looks beautiful.
 
M

mishakoz

Member
Just some early on thoughts:

*Ratchet and Clank are instantly best buds. Its kinda weird, the first game made them seem like unlikely allies, and now they are already best friends within the first couple of planets. It doesn't feel too weird considering their "history", but still strange
*The game is called a reboot but its more like a remake. The second planet is designed exactly the same as the game 15 years ago. There are differences later on but the deja vu is strong with this one
*Hoverboarding is rigged, what a weird design decision
*Animations are amazing, sometimes. The tank on Rilgar will jump and twist, but then the interactions between Ratchet and Skidd and others look like people controlling puppets with delayed reactions.
*Not a fan of having Qwark tell the story. I feel like he would embellish a lot more which could be funny, like the tease of a mutant dinosaur attacking Ratchet. Qwark also had this "I'm telling a story" thing in one of the PSP games, and it was embellished quite a bit.
*Ratchet is very happy, excited. Ratchet from the first game was kind of a dick, and in this game he is happy and pleasant all the time. Not a bad thing, just different.
*Old Drek was menacing and intimidating. This Drek is a bit aloof.
*Gunplay is still just as good even if the weapon recycling is high. Mr Zurkon, combusted, Groovitron, and fusion grenade have been in 6+ games now.

Most of what I mentioned are super nitpicks. Overall, it feels very solid. I wonder where Insomniac will go now, and I hope it isn't remaking Ratchet 2, and they do a new story with all new characters, and new weapons.
 
P

potatohead

Member
mishakoz said:
Just some early on thoughts:

*Ratchet and Clank are instantly best buds. Its kinda weird, the first game made them seem like unlikely allies, and now they are already best friends within the first couple of planets. It doesn't feel too weird considering their "history", but still strange
*The game is called a reboot but its more like a remake. The second planet is designed exactly the same as the game 15 years ago. There are differences later on but the deja vu is strong with this one
*Hoverboarding is rigged, what a weird design decision
*Animations are amazing, sometimes. The tank on Rilgar will jump and twist, but then the interactions between Ratchet and Skidd and others look like people controlling puppets with delayed reactions.
*Not a fan of having Qwark tell the story. I feel like he would embellish a lot more which could be funny, like the tease of a mutant dinosaur attacking Ratchet. Qwark also had this "I'm telling a story" thing in one of the PSP games, and it was embellished quite a bit.
*Ratchet is very happy, excited. Ratchet from the first game was kind of a dick, and in this game he is happy and pleasant all the time. Not a bad thing, just different.
*Old Drek was menacing and intimidating. This Drek is a bit aloof.
*Gunplay is still just as good even if the weapon recycling is high. Mr Zurkon, combusted, Groovitron, and fusion grenade have been in 6+ games now.

Most of what I mentioned are super nitpicks. Overall, it feels very solid. I wonder where Insomniac will go now, and I hope it isn't remaking Ratchet 2, and they do a new story with all new characters, and new weapons.
Click to expand...

Nice to know these actually, was curious what kind of design/narrative changes would happen.

In a way I feel the early R&C titles were more targeting adolescents, like most PS2 games were post-PS1 era.

Now we're kind of in a much more broad demographic of games players in the PS4 era, so the Pixar approach is probably what they were going for, just a guess.

Any more similar comparisons are welcome, I didn't actually play the original R&C games, only the PS3 ones.
 
V

Voysa Reezun

Banned
semiconscious said:
i can never follow stuff like this. you 'desperately' want a game in a series that you already own a collection of that you've never played? :) ...
Click to expand...

I got sidetracked by XCOM on Vita and I want to use my PS4 for more than Netflix, WWE Network, and MLB: The Show...

...but yeah, that was a statement full of strange contradictions. :)
 
H

hawk2025

Member
Heard from two friends that picked up Ratchet & Clank while at the store to get Dark Souls 3 because of the price.


THE STRATEGY IS WORKING IN MY ANECDOTE
 
S

Shivvy_NTL

Member
silva1991 said:
The first R&C I played was the demo that was in the PS2 that i bought. I loved the demo , but for some reason I never bought the game :/

forgivemefatherforihavesinnedneoGAFmade.gif


I will be redeemed by buying this.
Click to expand...

OMG THAT DEMO DISK!!! I was just a 9 yr old back then when i came across that metropolis/blackwater city demo of the first game and i was hooked into it
 
S

SgtCobra

Member
Congrats InSomniac Games, can't wait to see how the final product fares. I have been on a sort of media black-out so this should be fun.
 
Yautja_Warrior

Yautja_Warrior

Member
NoFaceNico said:
Exactly, I don't think anyone expected this game would have trouble selling. It has a freakin' kids movie releasing alongside it for Christ's sake.

It really is sad that platformers have been few and far between after the 6th generation. I think the collapse of the licensed game market and the 7th gen focus on FPS killed the AAA studio interest in developing platformers. It's sad because I don't think the market or demand for these games ever went away, it's always been there and the fans just had to try to find their fix in the indie scene. Hopefully Yooka-Laylee's explosive success on Kickstarter and this Ratchet & Clank game will encourage studios to revive this genera.
Click to expand...

Well lets hope this and Yooka-Laylee are hits, and it does mean a comeback for platforming games, as it's a genre that really needs to come back.

I guess we can dream that after Naughty Dog are done with Uncharted 4, they will do a new next gen Jak & Daxter or get back the rights to Crash Bandicoot, which would be awesome with visuals like this new Ratchet & Clank, and knowing ND they would have it looking even better.
 
P

potatohead

Member
Yautja_Warrior said:
Well lets hope this and Yooka-Laylee are hits, and it does mean a comeback for platforming games, as it's a genre that really needs to come back.

I guess we can dream that after Naughty Dog are done with Uncharted 4, they will do a new next gen Jak & Daxter or get back the rights to Crash Bandicoot, which would be awesome with visuals like this new Ratchet & Clank, and knowing ND they would have it looking even better.
Click to expand...

I just wonder if Sony is willing to let them go that route.

Will they demand something more mature for sales or to target a larger demographic?

Or maybe they can make Jak/Crash that desirable... I want it for sure, particularly a new Jak... and get Sucker Punch to do another Sly game... oh man. I wish.

If PS4 could somehow get remakes of Jak/Ratchet/Sly, probably the greatest platform icon trifecta of all of Sony's consoles, all on the same platform that would be incredible :)

Heck I wouldn't mind if Insomniac went back and explored Spyro again but I know that is Activision property.
 
R

RK128

Member
Regarding the talk of rebooting Jak.....I'm not expecting that. If anything, I expect Jak and Daxter to be forgotten and replaced with Crash Bandicoot, assuming rumors are right and we get a new Crash game this fall.

If not, I can see Insomniac making the Jak game or BigRedButton (with HEAVY supervision from Naughty Dog and Sony) making it.

Sly Cooper I have more hope for, considering Sucker Punch finished up work on Second Son & First Light (DL Game) in 2014 so they can develop the title. Sanzaru also likely finished up work on Sonic Boom 3DS Fire & Ice (with SEGA just sitting on the completed game until the second season airs), so the can be free for the Sly game too.

Sly has a movie in the works and once Rainmaker is done with Ratchet, they can move on to full production of the Sly movie for 2017 or 2018 (giving either Sucker Punch or Sanzaru plenty of time to develop a new Sly game).

Naughty Dog moved on from the platformer with Last of Us and Uncharted, so I highly, highly doubt they will go back to making platformers in the future.
 
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