Game of the Week [11/10/03]: Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
- November 10, 2003 00:00 AM PST
Can Ratchet and his little robot pal survive another year in the video game trenches?
Welcome to early November, when the �holiday season� starts to reach its peak. This week alone, there are well over a dozen releases vying for your gaming dollar: Prince of Persia for PS2 (last week�s GOTW) should really be in stores today, while Kain, Medal of Honor, and Beyond Good and Evil either continue a legacy, fail to continue one, or try to start one of their own. For those daring to try something different, there�s an RTS coming out called Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde for PS2 and Xbox. It�s not perfect, but at least it�s not afraid to be its own beast.But being your own beast can be a tough thing for an established franchise. Take Mario for example. They strapped a really neat water cannon on him, sent him on vacation, and fans decried it simply wasn�t enough. Too much jumping, too much collecting, too much�well, Mario. But what else was the plumber to do? Strap on some goggles and hop into a biplane? Go on stealth missions for a mysterious mistress named �P�? Get a few girlfriends to go on a karaoke-singing, costume-changing, balloon-gathering bender after defeating the likes of Sin?
That�s the conundrum facing any designer who sets out to make a �3D platformer� nowadays. Stray too far from the formula, and you alienate fans. Stick too close to it, and everyone says, �been there, done that, your game is dumb.� Naughty Dog answered the call of mascot evolution earlier this year with Jak II by turning their world into a Disney cartoon gone haywire and peppering it with every damn thing that ever worked in a game, and then some.
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It�s the very quandary that faced Insomniac when they set out to make Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. How do you make a sequel to a hugely popular, critically acclaimed �platformer� that bent the definition of �platformer� to begin with? In this case, by leaving it more or less the same, and changing some of the foundation work to make the game more fun without being overtly different. The tweaks Insomniac have made to R&C2 are ones you�d never notice unless you were really paying attention: a slightly more complex upgrade system, a more even point and bolt distribution, a more balanced weapon advancement curve. But they�re wise corrections that work their mojo at the most basic, fundamental level. The result: Another fantastic �platformer that�s not a platformer�, only with more variety, better pacing, and wider assortment of interesting weapons. Sometimes more of the same is a very good thing.
But no matter how hard you try, you can�t please everyone�and Ratchet & Clank is going to have its fair share of detractors who think it�s just too damn similar to the last game to warrant another go. But Insomniac knows that evolution is a slow and careful process. Move too fast, make too many changes, and you wind up extinct.
Wanna know more? Read the review of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando!
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