Ratchet and Clank: Trilogy
Reviewed By Stephen Pastic
Another one of Sony's flagship franchises gets the HD collection treatment, with Ratchet and Clank's PS2 titles brought together on the one disc. But is this a worthwhile purchase that can compete with other current releases, or should these titles have been passed over for a facelift.
Initially released in 2002, Ratchet and Clank was an immediate hit - since then, the duo have featured in several titles spanning both the PS2 AND PS3 eras, and have also gone on to become some of the most recognisable characters under the Playstation brand. Ratchet (who looks like some bizarre man/animal hybrid) is interrupted by a nearby crash while working on his spacecraft, and after investigating comes across Clank - an intellectual midget robot, for want of a better description.
From this point, the two set off to visit many varied planets and locales as the story unfolds. All three games also have a sense of humour throughout that actually manages to be somewhat funny without becoming overbearing and laboured, much to my own surprise.
I had not played the Ratchet and Clank games prior to the HD collection, so you can rest assured that nostalgia plays no part in this review. Gameplay wise, the Ratchet and Clank titles reminded me of games such as Banjo Kazooie, albeit with a slightly greater focus on combat, and slightly less on exploration. Players will traverse each location to fulfill certain objectives such as finding a certain item, or defeating a boss - all the while collecting bolts to exchange for some of the ludicrous weaponry available for purchase from vendors. Save for Ratchet's default wrench weapon, players can expect to have access to a varied arsenal of firepower across all three titles. From a standard machine gun, to a lava gun, to the series stalwart "Rip Ya A New One" (RYNO) rocket launcher, there are always plenty of varied options for combat as the games progress.
Control wise, the HD collection fares quite well. Ratchet moves fluidly and easily, and for the most part, the controls never get too complex. However, i did notice that both the double jump and high jump move seem to have a weird kind of floatiness to them - by no means a deal breaker, but even after completion something doesnt quite feel right about that second jump. Another slight issue was rapidly switching weapons out in the middle of a fight - the way it is implemented (hold a button down and select the desired weapon from a pop up menu) can make it difficult to easily swap one weapon for another without taking damage, particularly when actively being pursued by an enemy.
Graphically, the cartoony art style of the collection definitely helps with its transition to HD. Having never played these titles before, i was expecting the visuals to appear far more dated than they did - while not up to par with modern graphical heavyweights, Ratchet and Clank have a much better transition to HD than something with a more "realistic" graphical style (i.e. the Silent Hill HD collection). In fact, after the first hour or so i would often forget that i was playing a PS2 era title until a (slightly visually outdated) cutscene would show up. Stereoscopic 3D is also included as an option, although you will obviously need a 3D capable tv to get anything out of this particular bullet point.
As one progresses through the collection, it is clear that Insomniac had found a formula that worked and stuck to it. However, there are some little tweaks to the formula which do jump out between the titles. Strafing is introduced in Ratchet and Clank 2, and by simply holding one of the shoulder buttons, one can both deal and avoid damage much easier than in the first game. Weapon upgrades also make their first appearance in the second game - by simply using particular weapons to defeat enough enemies, players will gain more powerful permutations of their arsenal. Ratchet and Clank 3 introduces both online multiplayer as well as some sidescrolling 2D levels starring series regular Captain Qwark, among other minor tweaks to the gameplay. It should also be pointed out that there is also a noticeable jump in graphical quality between Ratchet 1 and 2.
Aside from minor control issues mentioned above, there are a couple of petty grievances i have. Particularly in the first title, aiming a weapon can be something of a haphazard affair, as it seems Ratchet will fire in either the direction the left control stick is held, or where the camera is centered - which is ordinarily fine, at least until the player ends up in a room with a conga line of enemies making their way toward them. In these instances, you will either be forced to use your wrench or walk towards the advancing line of goons and invariably take damage from a sneaky bugger approaching from the side. Another minor issue i had was the repetition of collecting bolts - no doubt one of the game's hooks is the continual acquisition of new weapons, but very quickly you will find yourself in a routine of smashing every box you see and slowing down purely for the purpose of collecting more bolts. Given weapons tend to come at a high cost, it does sometimes seem a disproportionate amount of the players time will be devoted to gathering enough for an exchange later on.
As stated above though, these really are minor issues in what is surprisingly an impressive package. Featuring three solid games which hold up remarkably well, even to a series newcomer (let alone anyone with nostalgic memories), the Ratchet and Clank HD collection is well worth your time and money.
Rating: 85%
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Game: Ratchet and Clank Trilogy
System: PS3
Developer/Co-Developer: Insomniac Ganes / Idol Minds
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
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